Laura Mallonee
@lauramallonee.bsky.social
It's "Mal-uh-knee."
Freelance journalist based in Austin
Freelance journalist based in Austin
Reposted by Laura Mallonee
New: Quinta Mazatlan represents a decades-long bet that what’s good for birds is also good for humans. @lauramallonee.bsky.social tells the remarkable story of how the Rio Grande Valley birding sanctuary came to be and its wild vision for the future.
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
McAllen's World-Class Birding Center Bets Big on South Texas’ Future
After a $59 million renovation, the McAllen sanctuary has doubled in size and hosts a new educational center
texashighways.com
August 28, 2026 at 11:06 PM
New: Quinta Mazatlan represents a decades-long bet that what’s good for birds is also good for humans. @lauramallonee.bsky.social tells the remarkable story of how the Rio Grande Valley birding sanctuary came to be and its wild vision for the future.
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
When cities invest in nature, they invest in people. It was a delight working with @hoinski.bsky.social on this story that shows how McAllen, Texas, has done just that at Quinta Mazatlan.
Every once and a while there’s a story that comes through the pipeline that all the editors gush over. This is that story. A remarkable deep dive into the Quinta Mazatlan birding sanctuary in South Texas by @lauramallonee.bsky.social for @texashighways.bsky.social.
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
texashighways.com/travel/mcall...
McAllen's World-Class Birding Center Bets Big on South Texas’ Future
After a $59 million renovation, the McAllen sanctuary has doubled in size and hosts a new educational center
texashighways.com
August 28, 2026 at 9:09 PM
When cities invest in nature, they invest in people. It was a delight working with @hoinski.bsky.social on this story that shows how McAllen, Texas, has done just that at Quinta Mazatlan.
“If anybody thinks that they’re done, that the job is done, it’s not. It’s just starting.” My latest for @grist grist.org/extreme-weat...
What another Texas flood revealed about the state's warning system
Texas remade its early warning system after last year's deadly inundation. July's flood revealed what it accomplished — and what’s left to do.
grist.org
August 4, 2026 at 2:19 PM
“If anybody thinks that they’re done, that the job is done, it’s not. It’s just starting.” My latest for @grist grist.org/extreme-weat...
It was great to speak with @kutnews.bsky.social about my reporting last year on the Hill Country floods for their latest episode of 'After the Flood' kutkutx.studio/after-the-fl...
Feeling Forgotten - KUT & KUTX Studios - Podcasts
On July 5th, one day after the deadly floods in Kerr County, another flood hit the community of Sandy Creek 100 miles away. Nine people died and over 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.Ashlee Willis ...
kutkutx.studio
July 15, 2026 at 4:20 PM
It was great to speak with @kutnews.bsky.social about my reporting last year on the Hill Country floods for their latest episode of 'After the Flood' kutkutx.studio/after-the-fl...
For my latest, I returned to Sandy Creek, an unincorporated community near Austin where dozens still live in damaged homes, temporary housing, and RVs—some now closer to the creek than the homes it destroyed.
One year after the Texas floods, home feels further away than ever
One year after the Texas floods, home feels further away than ever
Many in Sandy Creek remain stuck in a recovery system that wasn’t designed for them.
dlvr.it
July 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM
For my latest, I returned to Sandy Creek, an unincorporated community near Austin where dozens still live in damaged homes, temporary housing, and RVs—some now closer to the creek than the homes it destroyed.
It was fun chatting with the @texasstandard.bsky.social this week about the rollback of clean energy policy in Texas. My story: www.texasstandard.org/stories/texa...
Texas saw a $50 billion future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted.
Renewables brought income to ranchers and tax revenue to counties long buffeted by boom-and-bust oil cycles. Policy changes in Washington and unease on the ground threaten that momentum.
www.texasstandard.org
April 9, 2026 at 2:15 PM
It was fun chatting with the @texasstandard.bsky.social this week about the rollback of clean energy policy in Texas. My story: www.texasstandard.org/stories/texa...
My latest for @grist explores the promise that clean energy holds for a former oil county in West Texas, how incentives rollbacks threaten it, and residents‘ complex views about it all.
Texas saw a $50B future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted.
Texas saw a $50B future in clean energy. Then the political winds shifted.
Renewables brought income to ranchers and tax revenue to counties long buffeted by boom-and-bust oil cycles. Policy changes in Washington and unease on the ground threaten that momentum.
dlvr.it
April 1, 2026 at 2:39 AM
My latest for @grist explores the promise that clean energy holds for a former oil county in West Texas, how incentives rollbacks threaten it, and residents‘ complex views about it all.
What a delight! Thanks @longreads.com
"Some people are quiet because they’re afraid of things. She was quiet because she was industrious." —John Danaher to @lauramallonee.bsky.social, for her @TexasMonthly.bsky.social profile of Helena Crevar www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
This Texas Teenager Is One of the World's Most Feared Fighters. Don’t Expect Her to Talk About It.
Not yet twenty, Helena Crevar is one of the most feared fighters in martial arts. What’s her secret?
www.texasmonthly.com
February 23, 2026 at 6:28 PM
What a delight! Thanks @longreads.com
Reposted by Laura Mallonee
Not yet twenty, Helena Crevar is one of the most feared fighters in martial arts. 🤼
What’s her secret? https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/teenager-helena-crevar-best-female-jujitsu-grappler/
What’s her secret? https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/teenager-helena-crevar-best-female-jujitsu-grappler/
This Texas Teenager Is the Best Female Grappler in the World. Don’t Expect Her to Talk About It.
Not yet twenty, Helena Crevar is one of the most feared fighters in martial arts. What’s her secret?
www.texasmonthly.com
February 19, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Not yet twenty, Helena Crevar is one of the most feared fighters in martial arts. 🤼
What’s her secret? https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/teenager-helena-crevar-best-female-jujitsu-grappler/
What’s her secret? https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/teenager-helena-crevar-best-female-jujitsu-grappler/
“'When I was young, I wanted to see old trees,' Moore says as we walk along a sandy path littered with pine needles. 'Now that I’m old, I love to see young trees.'" Lovely piece on the woman (and town) saving the Venus fly trap from development, via @longreads.com gardenandgun.com/feature/venu...
Saving the Venus Flytrap: How One Woman Rallied a Town Around Its Weirdest Attraction
Despite their outsize hold on popular imagination, Venus flytraps are native to a tiny corner of the globe: the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas. As development threatens, one town—spurred on by one tir...
gardenandgun.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:10 PM
“'When I was young, I wanted to see old trees,' Moore says as we walk along a sandy path littered with pine needles. 'Now that I’m old, I love to see young trees.'" Lovely piece on the woman (and town) saving the Venus fly trap from development, via @longreads.com gardenandgun.com/feature/venu...
Reposted by Laura Mallonee
Issue drop, November, Texas Highways.
Christopher Collins on East Texas Forests
@lauramallonee.bsky.social on Parks Volunteers
@bobby-aleman.bsky.social on Barton Springs
Christopher Collins on East Texas Forests
@lauramallonee.bsky.social on Parks Volunteers
@bobby-aleman.bsky.social on Barton Springs
October 28, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Issue drop, November, Texas Highways.
Christopher Collins on East Texas Forests
@lauramallonee.bsky.social on Parks Volunteers
@bobby-aleman.bsky.social on Barton Springs
Christopher Collins on East Texas Forests
@lauramallonee.bsky.social on Parks Volunteers
@bobby-aleman.bsky.social on Barton Springs
After the July 4 Hill Country floods, residents of Sandy Creek in Travis County felt ignored, even as officials insisted they were doing everything possible to help them. This gap in perception fuels a crisis of trust that threatens unincorporated communities nationwide. My latest @grist.org
Flood of Doubt.
Almost a third of Americans live in unincorporated communities beyond city limits, where disaster aid can confuse and frustrate.
grist.org/extreme-weat...
#Texas #Floods #TX #Disaster #Climate #Community #Weather #ExtremeWeather
Almost a third of Americans live in unincorporated communities beyond city limits, where disaster aid can confuse and frustrate.
grist.org/extreme-weat...
#Texas #Floods #TX #Disaster #Climate #Community #Weather #ExtremeWeather
September 29, 2025 at 3:22 PM
After the July 4 Hill Country floods, residents of Sandy Creek in Travis County felt ignored, even as officials insisted they were doing everything possible to help them. This gap in perception fuels a crisis of trust that threatens unincorporated communities nationwide. My latest @grist.org
Reposted by Laura Mallonee
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
August 28, 2025 at 10:24 AM
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Texas politics has never been short on controversy—and the state’s first woman governor, inaugurated a century ago, brought plenty of her own. I unpacked her bizarre story for the July/August issue of @texashighways.bsky.social
texashighways.com/culture/hist...
texashighways.com/culture/hist...
The History Behind Texas’ First Woman Governor
How Miriam “Ma” Ferguson won the state 100 years ago
texashighways.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Texas politics has never been short on controversy—and the state’s first woman governor, inaugurated a century ago, brought plenty of her own. I unpacked her bizarre story for the July/August issue of @texashighways.bsky.social
texashighways.com/culture/hist...
texashighways.com/culture/hist...
My latest @grist.org , co-published with @texastribune.org, follows a group of prep school boys in Dallas who rise early on weekends to rescue rare native plants from bulldozers — to the consternation of some professional conservationists in Texas.
The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from ‘silent extinction’.
“This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle or throwing up white flags.”
grist.org/solutions/th...
#Texas #TX #Environment #Climate #Prairie #Nature
“This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle or throwing up white flags.”
grist.org/solutions/th...
#Texas #TX #Environment #Climate #Prairie #Nature
The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from 'silent extinction'
"This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle or throwing up white flags."
grist.org
July 28, 2025 at 5:15 PM
My latest @grist.org , co-published with @texastribune.org, follows a group of prep school boys in Dallas who rise early on weekends to rescue rare native plants from bulldozers — to the consternation of some professional conservationists in Texas.
Tbh, Musk's fence isn't exactly an outlier. In Austin, a lot of rich people are guilty of "building stuff and then asking for permission later."
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? No Thanks, Elon Musk.
www.nytimes.com
May 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Tbh, Musk's fence isn't exactly an outlier. In Austin, a lot of rich people are guilty of "building stuff and then asking for permission later."
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
My first piece for @gristnews.bsky.social explores how restoring the thorn forest of South Texas can boost community resilience. Turns out, what's good for animals may also be good for humans.
The Rio Grande Valley was once covered in forest. One man is trying to bring it back.
grist.org/solutions/th...
#RioGrande #Forest #Trees #Environment
grist.org/solutions/th...
#RioGrande #Forest #Trees #Environment
The Rio Grande Valley was once covered in forest. One man is trying to bring it back.
Thorn forest once blanketed the Rio Grande Valley. Restoring even a little of it could help the region cope with the impacts of climate change
grist.org
April 7, 2025 at 2:12 PM
My first piece for @gristnews.bsky.social explores how restoring the thorn forest of South Texas can boost community resilience. Turns out, what's good for animals may also be good for humans.
Minutes from Fort Worth's historic stockyards, an exhibit exploring the myth of the white cowboy was temporarily shut down after complaints about "mature content." Artists and many museum staff were left in the dark. My story for @texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
A Museum Exhibit Challenges the Myth of the White Cowboy. It Opens With a Trigger Warning.
The Amon Carter added a mature content warning soon after opening “Cowboy,” a show originally aimed at “disrupting” the portrayal of the Western ideal as cisgender, straight, and white.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 30, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Minutes from Fort Worth's historic stockyards, an exhibit exploring the myth of the white cowboy was temporarily shut down after complaints about "mature content." Artists and many museum staff were left in the dark. My story for @texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
I did a crazy thing and wrote about it for @texashighways.bsky.social. This is a story about me, my dad, and the part of Texas where he grew up, a place that both enchants and bewilders me. Oh, and there are alligators, too!
New! From the December issue of @texashighways.bsky.social!
@lauramallonee.bsky.social returns home to East Texas in search of gators lurking in "The Shire."
texashighways.com/outdoors/fac...
@lauramallonee.bsky.social returns home to East Texas in search of gators lurking in "The Shire."
texashighways.com/outdoors/fac...
Facing Fears in Gator Country
The daughter of a naturalist comes face-to-face with alligators in East Texas
texashighways.com
December 5, 2024 at 3:45 PM
I did a crazy thing and wrote about it for @texashighways.bsky.social. This is a story about me, my dad, and the part of Texas where he grew up, a place that both enchants and bewilders me. Oh, and there are alligators, too!
Here I am on yet another social media site, which happens to share the same name as the company that tunes up my furnace.
November 20, 2024 at 8:43 PM
Here I am on yet another social media site, which happens to share the same name as the company that tunes up my furnace.