Maya Fawaz
Hays County ReporterWhat I do at KUT
Where most reporters have a certain beat they focus on, my reporting includes a little bit of everything: education, politics, the environment, business and housing. My coverage area is also vast, I travel frequently across San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Wimberley and Dripping Springs.
I love what I do and the ever-changing nature of my beat, but it frustrates me to know I can’t cover everything. I try my best to bring attention to what’s most important to the communities in Hays County and will always lend an ear to someone willing to chat. I work hard to keep people at the heart of every story I tell, whether it be on the air or on our website.
My experience
I was labeled an “excessive talker� in every classroom growing up, often having to be moved away from friends and exiled to the other side of classrooms � where I inevitably would strike up a new conversation with a stranger. I got accepted into the University of Texas at Austin and didn’t know what would come next. All I knew was I loved telling stories and was obsessed with learning languages. I took a journalism class, which led to another, and yet another.
I graduated with a bachelor’s in Journalism, a minor in French and with a first-level Arabic class under my belt. I produced an investigative podcast under our student-run audio production house called , a five-episode series reported entirely in Spanish. It followed a family of journalists in Ecuador as they fought for a free press amid a national controversy in 2011.
I freelanced for a while, editing and producing podcasts, until I landed an internship at KUT. I was given a chance to stick around as a part-time general assignment reporter and, to my delight and surprise, was hired as the Hays County reporter in January 2023.
Journalistic ethics
I care more about covering the news fairly and with context than to be the first reporter to break the news. I believe in producing accurate stories while treating sources with compassion and care. At the end of the day, reporters are people, with our own opinions and beliefs. I take great care to not let my own experiences and opinions impact my reporting.
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CloudBurst Data Centers is planning to build a facility south of San Marcos that could be leased to an AI firm or other tech company. Residents are concerned about the potential health and environmental impacts. -
The Austin vintage store in the North Loop neighborhood and its vendors will take a financial hit from the water damage. -
The cities of Kyle and San Marcos and Texas State University will likely have to find ways to further reduce their water use. -
Visitors looking to cool off in the San Marcos river or picnic around Rio Vista Park this summer will have to make their way through a fenced area before the relaxation can begin. The San Marcos City Council agreed to set up the temporary fencing through Labor Day in an attempt to keep trash out of the water. -
Una persona residente de Kyle dio positivo en sarampión. Recibió atención y ya no es contagiosa. -
A Kyle resident tested positive for measles. The resident received care and is no longer contagious.
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Un abogado dice que Denisse Parra Vargas fue detenida la semana pasada por tener etiquetas caducadas y se le dijo que se presentara a un centro de procesamiento el martes. Su familia se encuentra ahora en México. -
A lawyer says Denisse Parra Vargas was stopped last week for having expired tags and told to report to a processing center Tuesday. Her family is now in Mexico.
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The money will go toward expanding existing schools, building new ones, funding tech upgrades and more. -
A Parks and Recreation worker reported a possible mountain lion near Dante's Trail last month. Sightings are rare in Central Texas, but that doesn't mean the animals aren't around.
