Seen at the CVS on University while in hunt of an at-home test. (None at any CVS, Walgreens or Wal-Mart within 15 miles of Denton. Community Pharmacy on Scripture got a truck about an hour ago, but it’s $30 for a single test and going fast).
Some personal news, as they say: These are my last weeks
@DentonRC
. Starting Jan. 2, I’m joining the Dallas Morning News business desk, where I’ll be covering transportation and mobility. 1/2
English lit
Summa Cum Laude
Touchstone Scholar
@TWUHonors
4.0 GPA
2-year
@twulasso
editor
2-year
@EnglishCon
chapter prez
@TWUJNIWL
leader
5 published papers
12 awards for published work
2x internships
Job in my field
Full ride to grad school
@MaybornUNT
I did THAT
NEW: 20+ members of the National Justice Party, a white nationalist group, protested the passage of House Bill 1193 outside Providence Village last Sunday. The law prohibits Providence & other HOAs from discriminating against renters who receive federal housing aid.
#DentonRC
1/
This parachute journalism by large state and national outlets is built on the backs of local papers, who are on the ground breaking these stories that impact the very communities we live in. 2/5
Whether we acknowledge it or not, local news is, in many ways, what allows larger media outlets to do what they do so well. So when you see stories like this one, remember it’s often a community journalist who made it possible — though they won’t get the credit.
I’m at the Rayzor Ranch Starbucks in Denton, where partners and supporters are waiting for an NLRB vote count to determine whether they will become the first union store in North Texas.
#DentonRC
So proud to say I officially work for a news nonprofit in North TX! Looking forward to the ways this acquisition will help us expand coverage of what matters to the Denton community.
KERA, North Texas’ source for PBS and NPR programming, and the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton County’s primary source of local news online and in print, have completed their previously announced acquisition.
Stories like these deserve wider coverage, and I’m glad they’re getting it. But when you read a state or national publication, I hope you’ll also think about the local newspapers who are doing so much of the work breaking these stories without the same resources. 4/5
My first
@Dallas_Observer
piece is live! If you’re an emo kid at heart like me, you should def check out all the cool things
@EmoNightDenton
is doing for the scene (even during the pandemic).
"Money doesn't buy happiness" is such a cop-out. It buys comfort, it buys health and it buys time. Those absolutely make a difference in how easy your day-to-day is.
It’s not the first time something like this has happened, though I would have expected better from the Trib, a news outlet I believe in and that our newsroom has supported, sharing their content on our website frequently (with credit). 3/5
Barista Alex Wells was attracted by Starbucks' reputation as progressive when it came to employee rights. But Denton union organizers say that public perception isn’t one they feel is reflected in the company’s policies and culture.
#DentonRC
Excited to say I’ve accepted a data reporting internship at
@dallasfreepress
for spring 2021! Can’t wait to learn more about the important work they’re doing covering Dallas news deserts.
@princess_antifa
I cover labor. Even if he can’t afford an attorney, he should immediately make a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and his state’s workforce commission. Retaliation for expressing concerns is ILLEGAL
Stoked to share I’m one of just over a dozen U.S. journalists selected to learn about German perspectives on news issues of the day through the prestigious
@FulbrightPrgrm
. Can’t wait to get started with virtual meetings next month & visit Berlin in September!
Last fall, a woman whose family had just moved back to North Texas submitted a letter to the editor describing the loss of $20,000 to a local landlord and his company in a rental deal gone awry. 🧵
#DentonRC
1/4
I’ll be (trying to) work on a list of what’s open/closed in the Denton area with the weather tomorrow, so if you know the status of a grocery store/local retailer/pharmacy/restaurant, drop it here please!
#DentonRC
Got the call this morning—my grandma passed away in her sleep last night.
We knew it was coming but it still doesn’t feel real.
I was too far away to say goodbye but I’m glad she’s at peace. If there’s anything after this, I know she’s with my grandpa again.
Rest easy, grams
Another semester down - secured a 4.0 while running the student newspaper + extracurriculars + being a full-time stepparent! ✨ Happy to say I’ll also be retuning to
@TWULasso
in the fall to serve as EIC another year! Now Ima go binge something cause I’m tired 💤
I consider educating people about media part of my responsibility as a working journalist, and that means being prepared to take criticism — but sometimes it’s exhausting.
Behind every story is a real person just trying to do their best. We’re tired. Please be kind.
Major props to
@TWULasso
staff for kicking ass during the crazy year that was 2020. We brought home 17 awards from the TX Intercolleg. Press Assoc. competition in Division 4, including 2 1st place wins. Not bad for a staff of 9 at a uni without a journalism program. So proud 🥺
Proud to announce
@TWULasso
staff brought home 12 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association awards in Division 3, including three first-place wins! Who said a staff of 9 can’t still do amazing journalism?? 😭😭
Apparently when you have three journalism jobs you can’t escape deadline anxiety even in your sleep, I literally had a nightmare that I was supposed to do a pre-write for an event and the event was almost over & I couldn’t get past the first sentence 🥴
A few things: After my editor reached out to the Tribune, they updated the story to link back to our reporting, which I want to acknowledge and thank them for. Admitting we can do better is hard as journalists, and I've had to do my fair share. 1/?
Diane & Joe met as teenagers in 1977. 40 years later, they reunited on the Denton Square for their first date.
Now, the couple is returning to downtown, bringing a shared love of books, indulgences & the era where their love bloomed.
#DentonRC
These are my last few weeks of grad school—I graduate Dec. 17th. I’ve faced a lot of personal struggles the past two years & I’m beyond proud of myself for still getting here (with a 4.0 to boot)
When did any of us, regardless of political leanings, start accepting that someone calling out racialized hate speech is “just easily offended”? Treating our fellow humans with respect is not about being PC, never has been. It’s the minimum
Denton County Brewing Company filled containers for visitors from their 700-gallon tank of filtered, distilled water Thursday, and now have cases of water that are free to the community.
#DentonRC
Breaking: Two Texas Woman’s University students have tested positive for COVID-19 this week and one resident is in isolation after coming into contact with a student that tested positive for the virus.
Vegan diners will have another option for plant-based fare near UNT with the opening of Pepitas Vegan Taqueria on Hickory Street this month.
“We’re trying to replicate recipes that we all grew up with as a Spanish family.”
#DentonRC
Also -- if you have been a victim of sexual assault at UNT and would be willing to share your experience with UNT police's response/involvement, email/DM for a story. agaudet
@twu
.edu
I made the tough decision last week to step down from full-time classes to focus on my health. I’ve dealt with chronic illness for years & I know the path to healing isn’t linear, but this meant losing the full ride I worked so hard for. Feeling defeated rn
Poor people deserve the same basic daily comforts as everyone else! Stop telling people it’s their fault they’re poor bc they bought a $4 coffee last week
@StanFalk
@hutchleah
I have Celiac. Of course I don’t expect anyone to accommodate me, but it still sucks to be left out of every office party, social function, etc. It’s a human thing to want to be included.
BREAKING: The Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Paccar, alleging Peterbilt Motor Co. fired an employee concerned about COVID last year. The termination violates federal whistleblower protections, DOL alleges.
#DentonRC
NEW: The white nationalist group National Justice Party visited Providence Village again this past weekend. At around 1 a.m. Saturday, literature inviting residents to join the group and “tell your story” was left on doorsteps. (Photo courtesy of resident)
#dentonrc
1/5
Some ~personal news~: Super excited to join the
@DentonRC
intern team this summer and learn more about reporting on the city I call home! Prepare to be spammed with ALL the bylines 🤪
Catch me on
@TexasStandard
today discussing the recent investigation into Kamy Investments. You can find the episode on Spotify and on here:
CC:
#DentonRC
@SergioMarBel
A property management company in Denton is accused of exploiting would-be home buyers by saddling them with unlivable homes.
@dentonrc
reporter
@amb_balam
brings us the story:
NEW: Providence HOA will not enforce its ban on Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher recipients until the Department of Housing and Urban Development completes its investigation into the leasing rule changes passed in June.
#DentonRC
Is anyone else genuinely shocked when someone at a business/university/company actually talks to you when you tell them you’re a journalist rather than passing u off to their marketing dept
In my first year as a staff writer
@DentonRC
, I was honored to take home 10 awards for individual and team efforts during the Texas Managing Editors convention in Irving earlier this month. 1/?
I have power and better connection today and am calling grocery stores/gas stations/hardware stores to find out what’s open and who has what. If there’s a specific place you want to know about, drop it here.
#DentonRC
Came up in my memories that I got my internship offer letter from
@DentonRC
one year ago today 🥺 Also the fact that I got it on April Fools didn’t even hit me til now lmao
I'm working on a
@DentonRC
story about a new autism assessment clinic opening & the impact it'll have on the community. If your family has been impacted by long wait times for ASD services & would be willing to talk about your experience, please DM me!
#DentonRC
Internship/fellowship program coordinators: PLEASE stop making your applicants write essays that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job. If you can't get a sense for a candidate from their cover letter, resume, transcript & clips, reassess your process.
We don’t talk enough about the online harassment women in journalism face, and even less about the gaslighting and patronizing by male colleagues (and even sources). We don’t feel we can bc we don’t want to be “the problem.” So the status quo endures.
The fact that
@txwomans
is hosting a "drive-thru commencement" which is literally just a two-second photo while UNT, a school with 2x as many students, is having an actual social-distanced commencement makes me more mad than I can say. We deserve better.
ICYMI: After being shuttered for more than four months,
@auracoffeedtx
reopened its doors this past weekend, with plans to introduce new in-house offerings.
#DentonRC
As Dallas weighs eliminating parking minimums, proponents say it will make for a more walkable city. Opponents fear the impact on residential streets.
Both groups agree the outcome will help define what the city looks like a few decades from now.
Why do I feel like moving beyond the “I want to work at the New York Times!” stage is a journalism milestone of its own. Community journalism >> flashy national pubs
“Normalize therapy as maintenance.” “Drink water today.” “Thoughts have power.”
These messages aren’t what most college students expect to see spray-painted on the outside of their local bookstore, but at Voertman’s, the graffiti is by design.
#DentonRC
A man was trying to sell me banana bread one time and when I told him I have a gluten allergy he said “You’re not allergic to Jesus, are you?” The CONFIDENCE
A lot of us in local Texas media think of the Trib as a giant in the nonprofit space. It says a lot about the state of journalism that even they’re not immune to huge losses. My thoughts are with these talented reporters & editors today.
Thankful
@txwomans
is enforcing cloth face masks but s/o to my ASL professor for being as combative w/ students as possible while also forcing immunocompromised students to wear face shields w/o masks “if you want credit” 1/2
Big thanks to the folks at
@LMattersNews
via
@IRE_NICAR
for including our reporting on Providence Village’s Section 8 ban in its weekly newsletter on the best local journalism around the country.
Look out for an update tomorrow, and subscribe to LM here: