The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Panhandle, already the second biggest wildfire in Texas history, is so far 0% contained. We’ll talk with an evacuee and officials with the Texas A&M Forest Service to get the latest.
With increasingly unpredictable rainfall and extended droughts, you may be thinking about what to plant to survive our new weather reality. The Standard’s Alexandra Hart has ways you can cut water use without letting your lawn die.
Plus: Director Richard Linklater and filmmaker Alex Stapleton on the new HBO three-part series based on Lawrence Wright’s recent book “God Save Texas.”
Drought
Why Austinites should embrace a ‘summer blonde’ lawn during a drought
A mild February, especially the last couple of weeks, may have you dreaming of Spring. But that means, if you have a yard, it’s time to start work on flower beds and other landscaping. But with increasingly unpredictable rainfall and extended droughts, you may be thinking about what to plant to survive our new weather reality. Over the last few days the KUT newsroom has been focusing on water and all it means to our area. Today a story from the Texas Standard’s Alexandra Hart about ways you can cut water use without simply letting your lawn die.
How frontline workers fared during COVID and how best to protect them
A Texas senator wants to reopen impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton – but it’s unlikely to happen.
What have recent heavy rains done for drought conditions in Texas?
A plan to overhaul the way the U.S. Census Bureau counts people with disabilities has received so much pushback that the agency is rethinking the updated questions.
And: lessons learned from the pandemic about the impact on frontline workers.
Could Texas’ electric grid finally connect to other states?
A grand jury in Uvalde will consider possible charges over law enforcement’s failed response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.
An Air Force general who was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph faces a court-martial over charges of sexually assaulting a subordinate.
The Texas power grid is famously separate from the rest of the country – but a plan has been quietly moving forward to connect it to a grid operating in the southeastern U.S.
And: Shipping lanes are shifting routes amid attacks in the Red Sea. What are the ripple effects in Texas?
KUT Afternoon Newscast for December 13, 2023
Central Texas top stories for December 13, 2023. Much needed rain fell today. Fewer people live and work in Austin. Eanes ISD partners with the Texas Workforce Housing Foundation to provide affordable housing to teachers and staff. Hays CISD expects the student body to more than double by 2033. Peter Pan Mini Golf has its lease renewed. How to watch tonights Geminid meteor shower.
Rare ‘Cattle Tyrant’ spotting dominates birders’ attention
Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people under 45, and the odds of survival may depend on what part of the state you’re in. Lauren Caruba of the Dallas Morning News joins us to talk about a new investigation.
The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldaña has the latest on what some may see as contradictory signals in new employment numbers in Texas.
Are Texas roads considerably less congested? Why a new state-mandated report may raise some eyebrows.
And why the visit of a Cattle Tyrant to Corpus Christi drew excited fans from far and wide. The Standard’s Raul Alonzo explains.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 24, 2023
Central Texas top stories for October 24, 2023. Vote by mail registration deadline. Proposition 9. Integral Care layoffs update. Dead tree removal. Texas Rangers win the pennant.
Dallas pastor stuck in Israel shares what he’s seen amid renewed conflict with Hamas
A third special session of the Texas Legislature gets underway and it’s not just education that’s on the agenda. Although the governor’s push for a so-called education savings accounts is getting the lion’s share of attention as the session starts, border security is rising fast as a top issue. Julián Aguilar of the Texas Newsroom joins us with more.
As Texas lawmakers offer support for Israel, some Texans are feeling the effects of war firsthand. We’ll talk with the head of a Dallas interfaith group caught in Israel at the outbreak of fighting, now trying to get himself and his colleagues back home safely.
Fall is finally here. What does that mean for Texas’ drought?
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has faced increasing pressure to resign since Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial – and a special session of the Legislature starts next week.
El Paso, a city with a reputation as welcoming to migrants, is now at a breaking point, according to its mayor. Angela Kocherga of KTEP El Paso has details.
About 24 million Texans are living through some level of drought right now, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. What’s on the horizon as fall weather moves in?
The former Texas Memorial Museum on UT Austin’s campus, shuttered in March due to COVID and cutbacks, returns in grand style with a new name and focus.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 14, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 14, 2023. Prosecution rests in Ken Paxton trial. Kyle is running low on water as it faces drought. Austin City Council calls for police transparency program.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 6, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 6, 2023. Day two of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s trial. Drought restrictions in Cedar Park. Lake Travis water levels drop.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 14, 2023
Central Texas top stories for August 14, 2023. Excessive heat warning. Calls for water conservation. Parmer lane fire relief. CapMetro service disruptions. Hot school buses. University of Texas at Austin Medical Center. Longhorns 11th in AP rankings.
Why many Texas cotton farmers are planting less this year
After a disastrous season for cotton production, could Texas lose its crown as top producer? Three Texans on the front lines talk about why some fear 2023 could be a tipping point.
The head of the University of Texas System Board of Regents puts a pause on new diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
With student debt forgiveness plans on hold, what are the implications for those struggling most to get out from under it?
Also tech expert Omar Gallaga on the rising price of social media verification and whether it pays to buy into the changes.
Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr.
Texas marks MLK day with parades, celebrations and reflections on the life and the impact of a giant in the civil rights movement. Coming up, civil rights scholar, teacher and author Peniel Joseph with reflections on what the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have thought of today’s political and social landscape. Also with the Texas Legislature in recess until tomorrow, a look ahead at what to expect in this second week of the 88th session. And if you bought it, you can fix it… unless it’s a tractor? How the farm became a focal point in a fight over the right to repair. And concerns about an oil spill in the Gulf activists say hasn’t been cleaned up. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
The Flood
Drought has crept back over much of Texas. Now, a burst of rain provides much-needed moisture to a parched land. The challenging, perhaps heartbreaking ebb and flow of this weather pattern was the inspiration of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 21, 2022
Central Texas top stories for October 21, 2022. F1 transportation woes. Barton Springs aquifer drought. Williamson County emergency preparedness. Austin FC.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 20, 2022
Central Texas top stories for October 20, 2022. Austin ISD bond. Florence ISD threats. Mayor 2 year term. A day without water. Longhorn volleyball.
Texas Standard: September 28, 2022
In Florida, as flood warnings go out ahead of hurricane landfall, echoes of Texas’ Hurricane Harvey. The managing editor of space city weather with a live update on Hurricane Ian and parallels to a catastrophic storms in Houston. Also after relatively upbeat reports on Texas’ economy, is the Dallas fed changing its tune? Plus an update on the trial of the mass shooter accused in the attack on an El Paso Walmart. And non-profits taking a new tack to encourage Texas farmers to use less water. Plus a Politifact check of a claim about democrats objecting to presidential election outcomes. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Low Water
The last several weeks brought a bit of much-needed rain to most of Texas. But it hasn’t been enough to offset months of drought. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: September 13, 2022
More details emerge about the horrific conditions faced by youths locked up in Texas’ juvenile justice facilities. Locked in a cell 22 hours per day with no place to use the restroom… That’s how some of the kids in Texas’ youth detention system spend their weekends, thanks to short staffing at the facilities. We’ll learn more about what’s being done to fix it. Plus an offensive by the Ukrainian military found Russian troops on the back foot. What’s it mean for the future of the war? Also on today’s show we’ll learn about two kinds of butterflies, health insurance for Texas musicians and the evolution of the copyright. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard: