Just Desserts
Sandy Jenkins was a quiet accountant at the Collin Street Bakery who felt overlooked and dreamed of living the good life. He found it (for a while) by embezzling nearly $17 million from the famed fruitcake maker.
Katy Vine joined the editorial department of Texas Monthly in 1997 and became a staff writer in 2002. As a general assignment reporter, she has written dozens of features on a range of topics, including rocket scientist Franklin Chang Díaz, hip-hop legend Bun B, barbecue pitmasters, cult leader Warren Jeffs, refugees in Amarillo, the moon landing, a three-person family circus, chess prodigies, a woman who kidnapped the Kilgore Rangerettes director and her daughter, an accountant who embezzled $17 million from a fruitcake company, and a con man who crashed cars, yachts, and planes for insurance money. Her stories have been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing and Best Food Writing. Her feature story about a West Texas sting operation was the inspiration for the 2012 television series The Client List.
Sandy Jenkins was a quiet accountant at the Collin Street Bakery who felt overlooked and dreamed of living the good life. He found it (for a while) by embezzling nearly $17 million from the famed fruitcake maker.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
What pushed an East Texas mother to kidnap at gunpoint the director of the famed college drill team and her nineteen-year-old daughter?
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Over a decade, Theodore Robert Wright III destroyed cars, yachts, and planes. That was only the half of it.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
John Mueller was the heir to one of the great Texas barbecue dynasties. Aaron Franklin was an unknown kid from College Station who worked his counter. John had it all and then threw it all away. Aaron came out of nowhere to create the state’s most coveted brisket. Then John
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Brandon and Denise were not like other people. They were smarter, more introverted. They adored computers, playing games online at three in the morning with people in Finland. When they and other hard-core techies moved to Walden, a Houston apartment complex with the fastest residential Internet connection in the world,
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The child custody battle between the State of Texas and a fundamentalist Mormon sect prompted many people to wonder how 437 kids could have been ripped away from their parents. When the criminal trials of a dozen sect members got under way this month, the question became, Was it really
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
When Warren Jeffs fired his attorneys and decided to represent himself in his sexual assault trial, many predicted, accurately, that he would fail miserably. Few realized just what a wild show he would put on.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
How a mild-mannered database analyst from Dallas became the undisputed king of extreme competitive deep-frying in Texas—which is to say, the world.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history as the first humans to set foot on the surface of the moon. Forty years later, the researchers, astronauts, engineers, scientists, and NASA officials who made the voyage possible remember the day the Eagle landed.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Meet the 22-year-old hooker who, with her fellow “massage therapists,” scandalized Odessa
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Kimberly Garza’s coastal debut, ‘The Last Karankawas,’ draws on her childhood memories of one of the city’s lesser-known ethnic enclaves.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
After a lifetime away from his hometown of Waco, the legendary director and playwright returns to the Houston Grand Opera with ‘Turandot.’
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
If a husband and wife can quarantine together, they can get manicures together.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
At the charming Hotel Ritual in small-town Jacksonville, you can tap into any frequency you wish.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The Alamo City legend broke up Girl in a Coma and decamped to L.A. She’s back with a new solo album, a recording studio, and some hard-earned wisdom.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
He was the magazine’s first big hire and—over the next few decades—delivered some of its most memorable stories.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
What pushed an East Texas mother to kidnap at gunpoint the director of the famed college drill team and her nineteen-year-old daughter?
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Moriba Jah, a self-proclaimed “space environmentalist,” has joined a new effort to map the millions of bits of discarded debris orbiting the Earth.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
On Kalahari’s thirty waterslides and lazy river, my kids and I took our first plunge into some kind of normalcy since the pandemic started.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
University of Texas at San Antonio professor Marco Cervantes mixes history, activism, and hip-hop on his latest album.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
UT’s Caitlin Casey will use the Webb Telescope to peer nearly 14 billion years back in time.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
For almost eighty years, the name “Fletcher’s” has drawn state fair visitors. After a dramatic feud—and a pandemic—the family’s banner will fly again.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
One lucky night of dancing with the masters unlocked a new appreciation of the craft.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
As clinics across the state offer ketamine therapy for depression, a bill would fund further studies on MDMA use and psilocybin for PTSD treatment of vets.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Former Texas Monthly editor in chief Greg Curtis’s new book explores the years he spent rediscovering Paris after the death of his wife.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Video: The mother-son team are behind some of the city's most colorful murals.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
When the power went out and the water stopped running, Trae tha Truth and DJ Mr. Rogers were there to pick up the slack.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The New York–born singer-songwriter got to Texas as soon as he could—and spent the next five decades changing the lives of seemingly everyone he met.
David Courtney, a.k.a. the Texanist, is a staff writer.
Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue.
Jeff Salamon is the deputy editor at Texas Monthly.
John Spong writes primarily about popular culture.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Christian Wallace writes about West Texas, oil and gas, music, cowboys, history, and history-making Texans.
The filmmaker discusses the winding path, from Texas to Singapore to Japan and back, that led to Amazon commissioning his first feature.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Mason, one of the most sought-after young composers in the country, has a new work set to premiere in November.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
For nearly a quarter century, this bohemian venue and ”social sculpture” has been a gathering place for poets, performance artists, and even a rooster or two.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Over a decade, Theodore Robert Wright III destroyed cars, yachts, and planes. That was only the half of it.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Eight days inside America’s Auction Academy, learning the secrets of “the dynamo from Dallas.”
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Recommendations from the creators of Texas’s new African American Studies elective.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Katy Caldwell, CEO of Legacy Community Clinics, talks to Texas Monthly about medical supply shortages, staff safety, and financial woes.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Emily Ramshaw and Andrea Valdez discuss their vision for the 19th*, a nonprofit venture where politics, policy, and gender will converge.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
A guide to finding the perfect pair, whether you're working cattle, two-stepping, or presenting a TED talk.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The 90-year-old blues legend currently holds down three weekly residencies in Austin.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Treatments for chronic Lyme disease are controversial and expensive. As a last resort, some patients are pursuing this unproven and painful alternative.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The stories, the traditions, and the deeper meanings of the boots in their lives.
Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue.
Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives.
Emily McCullar covers pop culture, news, and Texas history. She lives for drama.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The author of "The Years That Matter Most" spent a lot of time at UT-Austin—where he saw reason for hope.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
With NASA’s ambitions trimmed, private space companies come to Texas, dreaming of Mars.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business.
Nearly sixty years ago, Funk and twelve other women proved that they could be astronauts too. But they never got to walk on the moon.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
How the groundbreaking Nigerian-Houstonian rapper has gone viral—and why his art matters.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The Grammy-winning jazz-funk-rockers are back with American Music: Vol. VII, their first album in five years.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
A new exhibit at UT-El Paso displays works by young people held last year at the immigration detention center.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Critics of the forthcoming transformation of the state’s child welfare system worry about the new model’s lack of transparency. Legislators are running out of time to introduce greater safeguards.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
No one can explain why. Not even Southwest Key, the nonprofit shelter that keeps telling refugees they have no other choice.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The situation has become so dangerous that Mexican police escorts have been discontinued after sundown.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
At the Texas Inventors' Association, you'll find plans for the contraptions and gadgets of your dreams. Just don't tell anyone your idea.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Cecy Treviño started her girls' music school to provide a safe space for self-expression. But the bands are getting booked all over town.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
James Surls has a storied legacy as one of Texas’s greatest living sculptors. But at age 75, the eccentric artist is far from finished.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Two of the city’s veteran musicians talk us through its ongoing auditory transformation after the departure of Leon Bridges—and why some uncertainty is a good thing.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
We talked to Austin-based director Andrew Bujalski about his latest film, 'Support the Girls,' starring Regina Hall.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
The solutions to our current crisis on the border are relatively simple, says Houston immigration expert Charles Foster. But our politicians don’t have the nerve to make them happen.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Rio Grande Valley attorney Jennifer Harbury explains the nightmares facing immigrants today, whether they gain entry or are turned away.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
Dr. Marsha Griffin, co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics special interest group on immigrant health, tells us what she's seen and what separation traumas could mean in the long term for immigrant children.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
An expert on helping parents navigate the asylum process describes what she's seeing on the ground.
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
"Sometimes a festival rep will say they don’t want acts that are too similar. Could you imagine telling a man, 'Sorry, we can only have one indie rock band, you're all wearing Levi's and that's pretty overdone so we can't have that'?"
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.
"We need more women to tackle the energy transition and tackle the biggest challenges we face: climate change, energy poverty, and good infrastructure."
Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002.