T-Squared: Aman Batheja is Trib's Latest Hire

I'm excited to announce that Aman Batheja, one of Texas's best political reporters, will soon join the Tribune staff, covering urban affairs (mainly transportation and infrastructure), the state budget and politics.

Aman, who's spent the better part of eight years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, will begin with us on April 2. I can't wait. To be honest, I've been trying to figure out how we could steal him from the Startlegram for more than a year. He's a terrific journalist, technologically savvy and intellectually curious in way that makes him an instant expert in his areas of interest, and temperamentally he's one of us — a news nerd in the fine tradition of everyone we've brought aboard here. Nearly every news organization with a presence at the Capitol has toyed with hiring him; he's that hot a commodity at the moment. We're lucky as heck to be the ones to get him. All of you who read the Trib will soon realize how lucky you are as well.

A native of Cedarhurst, New York, Aman has an undergraduate degree in journalism and psychology from New York University and a master's in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington. He was hired by the Startlegram after interning there, working his way up from metro reporter to business reporter to political and government reporter, and he has been an energetic contributor to the paper's PoliTex blog, and a fixture on social media, for as long as I can remember.

All along we've said that the way to cover public policy and politics in Texas is to swing for the fences every time. The addition of Aman puts another big bat in the lineup. Cannot wait for the 83rd session to begin...