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Clare Amari

@amari-clare.bsky.social

Local Investigations Fellow at The New York Times. Based in Houston, Texas. Sicilian, Spurs fan #COYS, and Classics nerd. clareamariwrites@gmail.com

60 Posts1649 Follower725 Folgt
Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Over more than a year of reporting on school policing in Texas, I’ve read hundreds of police reports and talked to dozens of students. My latest story, published today in @nytimes.com and @expressnews.com, is about one case that stood out. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...

Incident at Texas School Underscores Concerns About Police Officers on Campuses

The incident, one of thousands of times that school officers in Texas have used physical force in recent years, underscores long-held concerns about policing in schools.

nytimes.com

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 4mo ago

More than two years ago, I obtained video footage of an arrest at a Texas high school. It showed an officer confronting a student who had thrown a can at a girl in his special education classroom. The officer dragged the 17-year-old boy to the ground and punched him. 🧵

Keri Blakinger@keribla.bsky.social · last yr.

As they say... PERSONAL NEWS: I'm leaving the LA Times after 2 wild, amazing years. For my next stop, I'm heading back to Texas to join the @houstonchronicle.com's i-team. www.houstonchronicle.com/about/newsro...

Keri Blakinger joins Houston Chronicle as new senior investigative reporter

Keri Blakinger, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Oscar-nominated documentary producer, has been named a senior investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

houstonchronicle.com

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · last yr.

"Some defendants seem to have been forgotten in jail. Two men were released after The Times asked about them, half a year after their sentences had been completed." This is bananas. Powerful, important work from Jolie McCullough. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/u...

How a South Texas Court System Is Failing Poor Defendants

People in Maverick County spend months in jail waiting to be charged with minor crimes. Some are simply lost in the system.

nytimes.com

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

My last story as a @houstonlanding.bsky.social public safety reporter published! José Luis Martinez and I found that Pct 4 Constable deputies initiate dozens of high-speed chases every year over minor traffic violations, with at least 9 fatalities since 2021. 🧵 houstonlanding.org/minor-offens...

High-speed chases over minor infractions turn deadly in Precinct 4

Precinct 4’s pursuit policy allows high-speed police chases in response to even minor traffic violations, leading to numerous fatal crashes since 2021.

houstonlanding.org

Grits for Breakfast@gritsforbreakfast.bsky.social · 2y ago

Maybe Paxton going after the Harris County Jail so publicly will help slow down Phil King's Bill Waybourn Protection Act (SB 781) which wd make secret misconduct records for police officers and jailers. That was filed to protect Tarrant Co, but wd also apply to Harris.

Grits for Breakfast@gritsforbreakfast.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is a case of even a stopped clock being right twice per day. Do I think this is happening bc of politics more than Ken Paxton caring about jail conditions? Of course. Are other, R-run jails like Tarrant just as bad or worse? Also yes. But does Harris Co. need to be sued for noncompliance? 100%

Grits for Breakfast@gritsforbreakfast.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is a case of even a stopped clock being right twice per day. Do I think this is happening bc of politics more than Ken Paxton caring about jail conditions? Of course. Are other, R-run jails like Tarrant just as bad or worse? Also yes. But does Harris Co. need to be sued for noncompliance? 100%

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: Nearly 2 years after issuing a remedial order for the Harris County Jail, the TX Commission on Jail Standards is calling on the office of the TX AG for help enforcing minimum standards at the troubled facility. What does that mean? Maybe a lawsuit. houstonlanding.org/texas-attorn...

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: Nearly 2 years after issuing a remedial order for the Harris County Jail, the TX Commission on Jail Standards is calling on the office of the TX AG for help enforcing minimum standards at the troubled facility. What does that mean? Maybe a lawsuit. houstonlanding.org/texas-attorn...

Texas attorney general to join efforts to enforce state standards at Harris County Jail

The move escalates the state’s efforts to improve conditions in Harris County’s jail system, which has struggled to comply with a remedial order since 2023.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

Nearly one in four domestic violence assault charges filed in TX last year came from Harris County. I spoke with the Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecutors spearheading an ambitious, county-wide effort to address the problem. houstonlanding.org/safety-accou...

‘Safety, accountability and prevention’: Harris County DA expands domestic violence team

The new domestic violence bureau could help crack down on Harris County’s most common criminal charge and help survivors navigate support services.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

Trump's been busy this week. So has @annacat.bsky.social. Here, she illustrates the human toll of Trump's decision to eliminate a humanitarian program - one that drove down unauthorized border crossings from participating nations by 65% (!) in just over a year. houstonlanding.org/we-dont-have...

‘We don’t have options’: Trump ends parole for Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians

The humanitarian parole program for Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live in the U.S. has now been gutted per Trump’s executive order.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

If you haven't smiled today (or listened to Cowboy Carter), check out @moniquewelch.bsky.social's latest knockout story about teaching the Black history of the American west. Can I sign up for this class please? houstonlanding.org/we-took-univ...

We took University of Houston’s new Beyoncé Cowboy Carter class.🤠 Here’s what we learned

Beyonce’s album sparked national discussion about the exclusion of Black country music artists and was the backdrop to a unique UH course.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

“A Houston Landing review of Whitmire’s calendar from January through November 2024. found no scheduled meetings with grass-roots groups focused on climate or transportation, such as Air Alliance or LINK Houston.” Good stuff by @timcarlin.bsky.social houstonlanding.org/community-or...

Community organizers frustrated by lack of access, input in Mayor Whitmire’s first year

One year into Mayor John Whitmire’s term, some community organizers say they feel unheard and ignored by Houston’s chief executive.

houstonlanding.org

Keri Blakinger@keribla.bsky.social · 2y ago

How many incarcerated firefighters are fighting the LA wildfires? What type of work are they doing? And how do they feel about it? I teamed up with @themarshallproject.org to answer all these questions we've been seeing online: www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/11/l...

The Dangerous Yet Desirable Work of Being an Incarcerated Firefighter in California

More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their choice are complicated.

themarshallproject.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

Harris County's new DA Sean Teare saw his law license reinstated last week following a brief administrative suspension. He forgot to pay a fee, the TX bar confirmed. It's an embarrassing oversight for the new DA, but not one that will impact his work. houstonlanding.org/harris-count...

Harris County DA Sean Teare’s law license reinstated after brief administrative suspension

The Texas bar reinstated Teare’s law license retroactively after a four-day suspension caused by nonpayment of an administrative fee.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

Harris County has one of the highest rates of Black maternal/infant mortality in the COUNTRY. @moniquewelch.bsky.social wrote about one Black midwife helping to change that. This rather remarkable story, with photos by Meridith Kohut, includes a live birth. houstonlanding.org/from-statist...

From statistic to birth hero: How a midwife is solving Houston’s Black maternal health crisis

DeShaun Desrosiers started her practice in 2018 to empower Black parents in their birthing experience. She’s one of the few Black midwives in Houston.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: Harris County DA Kim Ogg has spent more than $2.4 million in asset forfeiture funds on donations this year, almost all of it after she lost March's Democratic primary. At least $150,000 in funds went to political allies in the bail bond industry. 🧵 houstonlanding.org/outgoing-da-...

Outgoing DA Kim Ogg donates forfeiture funds to respected charities, plus political allies

In under a year, Ogg cut her asset forfeiture fund in half, donating more than $2.4 million to a range of charities — and political allies.

houstonlanding.org

Clare Amari@amari-clare.bsky.social · 2y ago

HISD gets a lot of attention, but @brookekushwaha.bsky.social is on the Alief ISD beat and putting out really important stories like this one... where she reveals that the budget-strapped district's enrollment has dropped 18% (!) in the past decade. houstonlanding.org/i-want-to-fi...

‘I want to fight’: Alief ISD confronts enrollment losses, charter growth as budget cuts loom

The southwest Houston district has lost about 8,000 students over the past decade, mostly due to charter school growth.

houstonlanding.org