Central Texas top stories for November 29, 2024. The City of Austin this year awarded $3,000 grants to dozens of local groups that are working to address food insecurity and climate challenges, hear from one of the organizations that is helping people by bicycle. Did you know you could get your vegetables for free at a garden close to I-35? Folks at Texas Parks and Wildlife want to make fishing more accessible in Austin. The University of Texas and Texas A&M will face each other in a very expected football match.
Garden
How to prepare for the fall/winter gardening season in Texas
What effect is Texas’ booming population having on how the state’s moving politically? Some signs as we approach November.
A Texas company faces federal allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy pushing up rents across the U.S.
Want to grow a veggie garden this fall? An expert shares tips for choosing plants, protecting from freezes & more.
Two astronauts are stranded in space until next year, way beyond initial plans for their mission. A former astronaut weighs in on what’s happened and what comes next.
And: Remembering groundbreaking DJ Steve Crosno, who helped make El Paso’s music culture the rich scene it is today.
Green Thumbs
A little rain (or a lot) and some warmer weather in parts of Texas mean the ground has sprung back to life. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates and investigates the human efforts to cultivate the earth.
Farmland
Texas is both rural and urban. Culturally rich and agriculturally rich. This Typewriter Rodeo poem celebrates farms and gardens of all shapes and sizes. It came by request from Texas Standard listener Finnegan.
Giant Cacti
This poem is about a plant — not a person. But in the wake of the sudden passing of an enormous political and historical figure, it’s easy to see parallels. A cactus was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem — but it’s lasting presence is similar to the seven decade reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Texas Standard: July 21, 2022
Thousands of acres across Texas ablaze as firefighters struggle to save lives and property amid record breaking heat and drought conditions. We’ll have the latest. Other stories were covering, a new study finds a generation of Texas kids affected by pandemic lockdowns and social isolation. What experts are saying about the mental health impact on adolescents. Also the latest on Texan basketball star Britney Griner, now being held in Russia. What the Biden administration is doing to secure her release and where her trial on drug charges stands right now. Plus what horticulture experts say Texans should do to weather the heatwave and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Pups
From the pandemic to the winter freeze to the political divisions and societal reckonings, it’s been a challenging period on so many fronts. The inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo is the promise that something can grow from what looks long past hope.
A Pandemic Garden
Many people have reconnected or developed new connections with nature during the pandemic. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: July 22, 2020
The state’s largest school district has plans to start the year online and could extend that a little more. Houston ISD’s interim superintendent joins us to talk about the weight of planning this school year. We’ll also hear from teachers who are frankly afraid for themselves and their families, but also love being in the classroom. And a Texas law expert joins us to parse out exactly what’s going on with federal agents arresting people in Portland. Plus a harrowing story about COVID-19 and Texas ICE detention centers. That and more today on the Texas Standard:
The Thieves of Delight
The last crops of the season are being plucked from gardens across Texas — at least if human gardeners can get to them before the other creatures! That’s the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Weeds
The nemesis of every gardener was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: June 22, 2018
Texas plastic bag bans get sacked in a unanimous ruling by the Texas Supreme Court. We’ll take a look at the ruling, the reasoning and the impact. And: Warehousing migrants is big business, and right now business is good for those companies. Manny Fernandez of The New York Times joins us. Plus: The president’s proposed a sixth military branch, the space force. Though its not quite ready for liftoff. Science fiction or defense necessity? Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard: