Cotulla for the Texas Observer

I spent an afternoon in Cotulla for the Texas Observer last month. This tiny town south of San Antonio is known in my family as the epicenter of Pig Fest, aka, the La Salle Wild Hog Cook-off. We've spent many a chilly March weekend sampling the finest chili, stew, roast, tacos, sausage, you name it, and watching the hog-themed parade down Main Street.

Cotulla is a different place now. In the last two years the population has more than doubled from 4,000 to 10,000 due to the fracking of the Eagle Ford Shale. Temporary housing and hotels can't be built fast enough. Heavy equipment and truck traffic roar through Cotulla's only stop-light, snarling traffic and damaging roads. The locals are happy with the boosted economy and higher paying jobs in the oil fields, but there is a cost. You can read Alex Hannaford's article here.

Austin Eats for the Dallas Morning News

As a native Austinite, I get stuck in routines around town.  The same running trails, coffee shops, and traffic shortcuts rotate through my week without a second glance.  I forget there's so much new to love in this town.  Last month's food assignment from the DMN gave me a big dose of new and hip.  You can read the reviews here.

Odd Duck

PubCrawler

Uchiko

24 Diner

Foreign & Domestic

Jared Muston for the Dallas Morning News

"Ride for 8/15" is the message plastered to Jared Muston's bike.  On that date in 2007, he received a devastating diagnosis.  What he thought was mono turned out to be Hodgkin's lymphoma - blood cancer.  Just a few days from beginning his college career at the University of Texas, Muston instead had to endure 12 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation.  He was in remission by January of 2008 and began cycling soon after, following the example of fellow cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. 

This summer, Muston and over 50 other UT students and cancer survivors will journey 4,687 miles from Austin to Anchorage in the 7th Texas 4000 to raise money for awareness and research.  You can follow his journey, twice as long as the Tour de France, here and read more about the ride here.

Andrea Bearce for the Wall Street Journal

Spent a few hours with Andrea Bearce in central Austin for a story on young adults and their financial connections to their parents.  Bearce is a freelance food writer and pastry chef and was generous with her time and banana/chocolate-chip cookies.  You can read Karen Blumenthal's story here.

The editors over at the journal were great in communicating their vision for a graphic grid.

Drowning in Debt for the Wall Street Journal

Cynthia Mason of Volente, Texas, reduced her mortgage payments through the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) but is still underwater with debt payments. The 49-year-old former school secretary is battling cancer and has legal expenses, credit card debt, and a car loan in addition to the mortgage. "This was supposed to be our dream home, but it's turned into a nightmare," said Mason.

You can read more of Mason's story here.

Monroe Shooting for the NYT

Drove to Homer, Louisiana last week for an NYT story about a police shooting. Two white officers were cleared by a grand jury in the death of 73-year-old African-American Bernard Monroe, Sr. Reporter Campbell Robertson did a nice story summarizing the legal case as well as the mood in Homer. You can read it here.

Marion Jones for AOL

Got a call to photograph former track star Marion Jones as she works towards a WNBA tryout next year. After a six-month prison sentence for lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and the birth of her third child, Jones started training in September for her comeback as a professional athlete.

I was impressed by her candor with reporters and how articulate she was about her fall and potential rise. You can read Kevin Blackistone's column for AOL FanHouse here.

Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress used some photos from my Raising Emilie story in their recent report 'A Woman's Nation' which included several chapters on the changing roles that men face at work and at home.



I was impressed by their use of documentary images throughout the 450 page document. In an age when generic iStock imagery is slapped on just about everything, it was refreshing (and, dare I say, encouraging) to see someone taking the time to seek out real moments and stories.