How much does Texas stand to lose if president Trump’s emergency declaration holds? The Pentagon does the numbers. Projects at Fort Bliss, Fort Hood and Joint Base San Antonio all on the chopping block if money is diverted to a border wall. We’ll have details. Also, what could be the next hot ticket for career builders: as the Texas University launches a masters degree in dementia studies. And when it comes to fortune 500 companies, does a texas city really hold the top spot in the nation? A Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 19, 2019
As smoke from a chemical fire fouls the air over Houston, officials insist it’s not toxic. We’ll look at what we’re learning 3 days into a massive petrochemical blaze. Also, John Cornyn may have felt a sense of relief when Beto O’Rourke decided to run for president, but he may yet need that multimillion dollar warchest. Carlos Sanchez of Texas monthly reports on what could well be another battle royale for a U.S. senate seat. And shops selling CBD oil in Texas, is that legal? Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 18, 2019
Wallace Hall fought a bitter battle with the University of Texas alleging corrupt admissions policies. Considering new revelations, was he right all along? We’ll have a conversation with the former University of Texas regent about a college admissions process once dubbed affirmative action for the advantaged. Also, when it comes to performance based pay for teachers, do some teachers have a built in advantage over others? And a ruling in a case that could hold gunmakers liable in the wake of mass shootings. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 15, 2019
A rare, bipartisan rebuke over the border as the republican-run senate votes to block the president’s emergency declaration, what happens next? We’ll explore. Also, it’s being called the biggest conservation move on South Padre Island in two decades. Thousands of acres of land set aside to save a sea turtle. And you’ve heard the talk of a polar vortex, reports on this week’s bomb cyclone. But when it comes to monster meteorological events, what’s in a name? Plus, Emily Ramshaw of the Texas Tribune with the week that was in Texas politics, today on the Friday edition of the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 14, 2019
The 15th democrat and the second Texan has made it official: he’s running for President. But do the numbers add up for Beto ‘O Rourke? We’ll have more on the announcement by a former congressman from El Paso who wants to take on Donald Trump for President. Also, in conservative Midland, a test for the Castle Doctrine following the shooting death of a policeman. And the east Texas mayor who’s banning the STAAR test, and hoping other mayors will follow suit. It looks like some just might. Plus Omar Gallaga with the tech buzz from SXSW, and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 13, 2019
The biggest college admissions scandal ever? With a Texas coach one of 50 charged over corruption in college admissions, what’s fair versus what’s legal? Why the federal probe of wealthy parents securing spots at elite colleges and universities for their own kids may or may not bring reforms in higher ed. Also, were pilots warnings about the safety of the Boeing 737 Max ignored by authorities? The Dallas Morning News makes some stunning discoveries. We’ll talk to one of their investigators. Plus why a new album by Houston’s own Solange matters way beyond the music itself. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 11, 2019
Political lightning round: capitalist or socialist? High profile Democrats get a grilling in an unlikely venue as SXSW gets political. Democratic luminaries shining bright this weekend at what many think of as a music and film festival. We’ll hear who was making news and what it means for election season 2020. Also, an infectious disease specialist says San Francisco is beating HIV, why not Houston or other southern cities? Plus the $7,000 film: director Robert Rodriguez gets back to his DIY roots with a scrappy new release about a budding filmmaker. All of those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 8, 2019
After weeks without wedge issues in the legislative session, two GOP lawmakers say Texas cannot remain silent on the issue of late-term abortions. In the wake of fights in Virginia and New York, we’ll have more on how the abortion issue could rattle the work on bread and butter matters here in Texas. Also, former CBS newsman Dan Rather tells us about a story he thinks is as big as the development of the atomic bomb, and his concerns we’re not talking about it. Plus the week in Texas politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 5, 2019
Will Texans vote to return Donald Trump to the White House? The 2020 contest might be closer than you think. We’ll hear from the head of the Texas Politics Project about the finding of a new poll of 12 hundred Texans and what they’re telling us about the early state of the 2020 presidential contest. Also: hemp. Illegal to grow in Texas, but the times are a changin and the republican ag commissioner is pushing the change. Plus how a forgotten story of hispanic North America tells us something about our politics and our American identity. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 4, 2019
Texas has 44 billion dollars set aside for education: the biggest such endowment in the U.S. So why is the state spending less on schools? We’ll have the latest. Plus, in Texas’ biggest city, concerns growing over recent shootings involving children. Police are focusing on gangs, but heath workers want to look at something different. Also, millennials now more than a trillion dollars in debt thanks to college. How the price of higher ed is shaping up to be a factor in the forthcoming political season. Plus an iconic oasis in West Texas reopens, are you ready to take the plunge? All that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 1, 2019
Surprise! You thought you were insured but got an unexpected medical bill. Now a plan to help Texas patients left holding the bag, we’ll have the latest. Plus a new attempt to clear a backlog of untested rape kits statewide, we’ll have details. And for seniors, independent living facilities can be costly. That’s why one Texan’s alternative retirement plan is making national headlines, we’ll talk to him. Also, mariachi is nothing new, but here’s what is: a statewide festival of students embracing the tradition. We’ll look at why it marks a turning point of sorts. All of those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 28, 2019
A key provision of the Texas open meetings act struck down by the state’s highest criminal court. We’ll look at what it means for government transparency. Also, the state’s school librarians read the fine print of a bill to hike teacher salaries, and they’re pushing back. We’ll hear from the state’s top librarian. Plus the timeless voice of tejano superstar Selena. Was it one voice, or two? All those stores and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 27, 2019
Texas has a savings account soon to reach 15 Billion dollars. When it comes to spending it, there’s a surplus of ideas, and a deficit of agreement. We’ll take a look at what this adds up to. Also, a long cool dip into the Texas rainy day fund, or should we leave it untouched? We’ll consider the options. And a degree in Video Games? The University of Texas isn’t playing around. We’ll hear about the new frontier in higher education. Plus preserving an important part of Texas history: the freedom colonies. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 26, 2019
A Texas led rebuke for President Trump? Congressman Joaquin Castro tells us how he’s pushing back against the border emergency declaration. Also, military defectors in Venezuela raise the stakes for strongman Nicolas Maduro after days of violence over aid supplies, we’ll have the latest. And Texas Governor Greg Abbott raising millions and millions of dollars, for what exactly? We’ll take a look. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 25, 2019
A male only military draft is unconstitutional says a federal court judge in Houston. Should women have to sign up for selective service? We’ll have the latest. Also, Texas is #1 in cases of a mystery polio-like illness striking children, according to last years numbers from the CDC. We’ll hear how TX doctors and parents are fighting back. And the price of gasoline spiking at the pumps: why’s this is happening at a time when oil production in west Texas is reaching record levels. We’ll take a look. Plus a fight over casino style games in Texas hits home for Native Americans. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 22, 2019
A botched drug raid in Houston sparks an FBI civil rights inquiry and a push to curb so-called no-knock police raids statewide.
After the Las Vegas shooting, a ban on bump stocks has some Texans worried the feds are coming for their guns. Forget the guns, the feds will have a tough time coming for the banned bump stocks.
Is zombie deer disease spreading to humans? So goes the viral headline–and ‘no’ goes the formal answer. Still some say the sensationalism has an upside. Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more.
Texas Standard: February 21, 2019
Two top Republicans in the House put their names behind a bill that could change how Texas handles capital crimes. That story coming up on the Texas Standard.
9 to nothing: rare unanimity in the US Supreme Court on a issue that some call policing for profit. We’ll hear what it might – or might not mean for Texas.
Lawmakers pledging property tax relief – but let’s face it: how many folks really know how property tax is calculated in the first place? A primer from the Texas Tribune.
And, the Texas researcher who plans to launch a new space project: a clean up project.
Texas Standard: February 20, 2019
Lawsuits mounting over the Texas Secretary of State’s efforts to purge voter rolls of suspected non-citizens, we’ll have the latest. Also, lawmakers promised a focus on education and now, a big push for an across the board pay raise of 5 thousand dollars. So why the muted applause from public school educators? We’ll find out. And Southwest Airlines declares an operational emergency planes, with nearly 200 flights cancelled and little love lost between company chiefs and its mechanics union, we’ll look at details. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 19, 2019
Two dead and five police officers wounded after a botched drug bust. Now the police chief in the state’s biggest city wants to end no knock raids, we’ll have the latest. Also, drug money and corruption rampant in Mexico, but also bad on this side of the border. We’ll talk to a reporter from the New York Times about how drug money’s greasing the wheels in the Rio Grande Valley. And a struggling elementary school in Odessa and a calculated risk to keep it from getting closed down. Plus The University of Texas tries to recend a PhD and a Texas judge says not so fast. We’ll get schooled on the matter. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 18, 2019
A construction on what at the border? As the wall gets the lion’s share of attention, a new facility for asylum seekers is going up. We’ll have details. Also, we often bemoan the growing political divide. But is it possible we were just born this way? A new book by a San Antonio based researcher makes claims about a biological basis for our political inclinations. And a Dallas sports legend who’s done more from globalizing basketball. Plus a presidential pop quiz for Texans. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard: