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Alicia Maria Orta

@aliciamariaorta.bsky.social
114 followers 103 following 4 posts

managing editor at @texasmonthly.bsky.social, sometimes translator. she/her

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Alicia Maria Orta @aliciamariaorta.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
congratulations to @freshparsley.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing! the whole staff of @texasmonthly.bsky.social is grateful for your work on this remarkable story, and so proud to see it honored. ❤️ www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/s...
texasmonthly.com
Texas Monthly Senior Editor Aaron Parsley Wins 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
His first-person account of his family’s experience in last year’s devastating Central Texas floods was honored in the most prestigious awards in American journalism, a first for the magazine.
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Sasha von Oldershausen @sashavonawesome.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Before Reza Pahlavi started pitching himself as Iran's future savior, he was just a West Texas good ol' boy @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
The West Texas Days of the Exiled Prince Who Wants to Lead Iran
In 1978, Reza Pahlavi, then heir apparent to the throne, came to Lubbock for jet-pilot training. Locals still remember their brush with royalty.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Fue en busca de una mejor vida para su familia. Su hermano se negó a dejarlo ir solo. Solo uno de ellos sobrevivió al viaje. Dentro del desastre migratorio más mortal de la historia estadounidense: www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/sa…
texasmonthly.com
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The Food & Environment Reporting Network @thefern.org · 10/12/2025
ICYMI: Mariano Santiago came to the U.S. from Mexico in search of a better life for his family. His brother, Begaí, refused to let him go alone. Only one survived the journey. Story by Elliott Woods for FERN and Texas Monthly. Link below ⬇️
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Data centers are thirsty for water. High-end chips run hot, and they require liquid cooling; the largest state-of-the art data centers require millions of gallons of water to keep their electronics happy. In a place like Webb County, every drop of this water is precious.
texasmonthly.com
AI Data Centers Are Taking Texas Resources. Residents Without Reliable Water Are Sounding the Alarm.
The massive facilities in the state are projected to consume 49 billion gallons of water this year alone.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A treaty between the U.S. and Mexico aims to manage resources that flow between nations. What happens when the water dries up?
texasmonthly.com
Mexico Is Sending Texas Billions of Gallons of Water. It Won't Be Enough.
A treaty between the U.S. and Mexico aims to manage resources that flow between nations.
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José R. Ralat 🌶️ @tacotrail.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I don't believe in destiny. I don't believe hard work is rewarded. We don't live in a meritocracy. But I believe in inevitability as the result of a series of variables of which one has no control. Being pulled over by ICE is example of chilling inevitability.
texasmonthly.com
What It Feels Like Getting Stopped by ICE
My work for Texas Monthly demands hundreds of hours on the road each year. Being pulled over by immigration enforcement officers has felt like an inevitability for months.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
“You are preparing to invite children to swim in the very river that may still hold our daughter’s body when you plan to ‘open your gates,’” a new statement from the parents of the remaining camper missing after July's floods reads.
texasmonthly.com
Their Daughter Is Still Missing. They Say Plans to Reopen Camp Mystic Are “Unthinkable.”
"You are preparing to invite children to swim in the very river that may still hold our daughter’s body when you plan to ‘open your gates,’” the new statement from CiCi and Will Steward reads.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Good news: Thirteen new episodes of our docuseries with PBS will be airing weekly. 🎉 www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/tex…
texasmonthly.com
'Texas Monthly Presents' Returns to Texas PBS Stations This Fall
Thirteen new episodes of the docuseries will begin airing weekly on August 31.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
🎸👨‍🎤 ⛓️ An exclusive excerpt from a new oral history of the wild, early days of the Lone Star State’s distinctive and underappreciated punk scene: www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertain…
texasmonthly.com
The Secret History of Texas Punk
An exclusive excerpt from a new oral history of the wild, early days of the Lone Star State’s distinctive and underappreciated punk scene.
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anna walsh @annamccachren.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
#journalismjob alert: We've just posted a new role at @texasmonthly.bsky.social, a research chief who will supervise our team of fact-checkers and do some fact-checking themselves www.texasmonthly.com/about/jobs-a...
texasmonthly.com
Jobs and Internships
Since 1973, Texas Monthly has chronicled life in contemporary Texas, reporting on vital issues such as politics, criminal justice, the environment,
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
This week, @texasmonthly.bsky.social’s reporting on the floods in Kerr County has been so purposeful and so deeply empathetic. It was personal. This first person account is so, so horrific and so beautifully written. You’ll cry very hard. (CW: Child death.) www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
“The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.”
The July 4 Texas flooding ripped our Kerr County home from its pillars, pulling us into the water and into the night. Then morning came.
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Sasha von Oldershausen @sashavonawesome.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Cloud seeding isn’t new. It dates back to the Dust Bowl era, when Texans desperate for rain took to the skies with silver iodide. Today, it’s still used to "nudge" clouds, but decades later, it’s caught in a storm of conspiracy theories. @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
A West Texas Cloud Seeder Debunks Those Conspiracy Theories
Why there’s no scientific basis for blaming the longtime drought-fighting practice for the tragic Central Texas flooding.
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MikeHallTexas @mikehalltexas.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
The most haunting story you will read about the flood. "If I or anyone else had been closer to them, we would have helped her. We would have grabbed one of the kids. But we didn’t know that we were about to be plunged into the water. We simply didn’t know." www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
“The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.”
The July 4 Texas flooding ripped our Kerr County home from its pillars, pulling us into the water and into the night. Then morning came.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
“I don’t know how long it took—ten seconds, maybe fifteen—for the house to come apart." During the early-morning hours of July 4, the Guadalupe River pulled senior editor Aaron Parsley and six members of his family into its waters. Read his firsthand account:
texasmonthly.com
“The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.”
The July 4 Texas flooding ripped our Kerr County home from its pillars, pulling us into the water and into the night. Then morning came.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Catastrophic flooding hit Kerrville overnight. Fourth of July revelers and campers are feared lost in the floodwaters.
texasmonthly.com
The Fourth of July Turned Tragic in Kerrville, Texas
Catastrophic flooding hit Kerrville overnight. Fourth of July revelers and campers are feared lost in the floodwaters.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Our 2025 list of the Top 50 barbecue joints in Texas is here! Thank you, @bbqsnob.bsky.social and team. 🙏🍖🙌🤠 Feast your eyes (and then feast)! 👀 www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/...
texasmonthly.com
The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2025 Edition
Is there such a thing as too much good barbecue? If you’re trying to determine the fifty best barbecue joints in the state, the answer is yes.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
After losing dozens of farm animals to suspected chemical poisoning, two Texas families are pushing lawmakers for a fertilizer ban. www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
After Cows Kept Dying on a Texas Farm, Lawmakers Are Taking Aim at Forever Chemicals
Two Texas families that lost dozens of farm animals to suspected PFAS poisoning are pushing lawmakers for a fertilizer ban.
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Lauren Larson @lonlozzin.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Congrats to J.K. Nickell and @texasmonthly.bsky.social, who won an ABA Silver Gavel Award today for this fantastic feature about a Dallas eviction lawyer's heroics www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
The Eviction Cure
What happens when a hotshot Dallas attorney gets ticked off about thousands of his fellow citizens being thrown out of their homes in violation of the law? Courtroom fireworks, for starters.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
The Society of Publication Designers recently announced that Texas Monthly’s art department is a finalist in seven categories, marking the second year in a row. 🏆
texasmonthly.com
Texas Monthly’s Art Department Shines Bright Again in Society of Publication Designers Competition
In the society’s sixtieth annual competition, the visuals team is a finalist in seven categories, including the prestigious Brand of the Year.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Trump sent a teenager in the US legally to a gulag for being Venezuelan www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
The Austin-Area Teen Trump Disappeared to El Salvador
Eighteen-year-old Daniel Terán was taken from his home and shipped to a notorious prison on the charge that he is a gang member. The government hasn't produced evidence supporting the claim, says his ...
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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 30/03/2025
In film: Long dismissed or disregarded, the Texas-Mexico border has come to be seen as a violent no-man’s-land thanks to incessant sensational news coverage and cartel thrillers. But these stories paint a different, quieter picture.
texasobserver.org
The Texas Border Is the New Frontier of Film
After years of having their stories told by outsiders, locals are fighting back with their own cameras and building much-needed infrastructure. But they need more support.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Texas Monthly received two dozen nods in the national awards competition this year. 🏆 The magazine was recognized for its writing, design, and digital platform, as well as for general excellence, for works published last year. www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/2...
texasmonthly.com
Texas Monthly Shows Up Big as a Finalist for Multiple 2025 National City and Regional Magazine Awards
The magazine received two dozen nods in the national awards competition this year.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Political operatives want to crush the state’s independent press. They’re using a crude messaging strategy. www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
DOGE Has Reinvigorated the Right-Wing Crusade Against Texas Media
Political operatives want to crush the state’s independent press. They’re using a crude messaging strategy.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Tourists are flocking to the 1,252 square miles of rugged terrain, where visitor safety is a primary concern. DOGE just slashed five employees from the already understaffed park. www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
“Terrible, Thoughtless, and Reckless:” Inside the Firings at Big Bend National Park
Tourists are flocking to the 1,252 square miles of rugged terrain, where visitor safety is a primary concern. DOGE just slashed five employees from the already understaffed park.
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Alicia Maria Orta @aliciamariaorta.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
more than a year ago, the TM editorial staff concluded that we needed to cover this disaster in our backyard in the same way were then covering the uvalde shooting: with human depth and mightily resourced reporting. i’m so proud to see that effort come to fruition today.
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Alicia Maria Orta @aliciamariaorta.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
are you a recent or upcoming grad looking for an *actual entry level gig* in journalism? one week left to apply to our editorial coordinator job! www.texasmonthly.com/about/jobs-a...
texasmonthly.com
Jobs and Internships
Since 1973, Texas Monthly has chronicled life in contemporary Texas, reporting on vital issues such as politics, criminal justice, the environment,
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Two @texasmonthly.bsky.social features are finalists for the American Society of Magazine Editors’ sixtieth annual National Magazine Awards. The magazine was also recognized for awards in Design, Photography and Illustration. 🏆 🤠 www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/t...
texasmonthly.com
Texas Monthly Is a Finalist for Two 2025 National Magazine Awards
The American Society of Magazine Editors announced Thursday that Texas Monthly’s “The 50 Best Tacos in Texas” and “The Billionaire Who Runs Texas”
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Julia Love @julialove.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
For my latest story, I reported on the lives of the undocumented contract workers who helped power Elon Musk's expansion in Austin. Sweeping debris, laying plumbing and pouring concrete, these workers built facilities that helped make Musk’s $400 billion fortune. Read for free: bloom.bg/41gG6a3
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The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk’s Texas Gigafactory
Tesla and SpaceX both relied on their labor while Musk advocated for a border crackdown.
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Texas Monthly @texasmonthly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
One of the largest workplace immigration-enforcement actions in American history upended the Panhandle town of Cactus in 2006. The hamlet’s recovery offers warnings about Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations. www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
texasmonthly.com
ICE Came for This Town’s Workforce. It Was Never the Same.
One of the largest ICE raids in American history upended the town of Cactus in 2006. The recovery offers warnings about Trump’s mass deportations.
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