It was set up to be an electrical island independent from a national power network. Cold comfort for millions of Texans right now. With a winter storm leading to rolling blackouts leaving more than 4 million Texans in the cold, the nonprofit deigned to manage the state’s power grid finds itself getting sudden national notoriety, as angry Texans demand answers. What is ERCOT, and who’s really at the switch behind this current power crisis? As the Lone Star State anticipates a thaw, things heat up between electricity providers and lawmakers now calling for investigations. The latest on the winter storm and its many ripple effects today on the Texas Standard:
Gas
Texas Standard: February 8, 2021
As the White House prepares for new directives in border enforcement, Texas democratic lawmakers push for immigrant rights changes.Coming up, our conversation with Texas representative Mary Gonzales on how democrats in the Texas legislature plan to press colleagues over immigration rights. Also in a part of Texas that’s long complained of air pollution and a lack of official response, communities are banding together to get things done. We’ll have a report from Houston. And oil demand still down, so way are gasoline prices on the rise? Plus a new Juneteenth mural that promises to be more than just a work of art. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 3, 2021
New executive orders on asylum seekers and family separation policies at the border get a lukewarm reception from advocates for change. President Biden orders an official review of the remain in Mexico policies. Some are asking why not just change the policy? Also COVID-19 and the double squeeze on nonprofits. More demand for their services, but less money to provide those services… We’ll explore. And the governor’s call for legislation to further restrict abortion access in Texas. Are republican lawmakers hoping for a fight in the high court? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 28, 2021
As the governor announces a plan to get more COVID-19 vaccines to rural Texas, a major urban county could be reaching a vaccination milestone. El Paso is fast approaching vaccination levels of 10 percent, though it’s a trade off that could leave many in areas hardest hit by the virus without being vaccinated. That story coming up. Also, the impediments to getting vaccines to people in more rural parts of the Lone Star State. Speaking of: president Biden under growing pressure to do more at the federal level to reach out to help rural communities nationwide. And is tech trendsetter Elon Musk getting into the Texas gas biz? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 20, 2021
The beginning of a new chapter and a new era. With change coming to Washington, what are the implications closer to home? On this presidential inauguration day, what are the priorities for the 46th chief executive of the united states and what do they add up to for Texas? Coming up, we’ll hear from Texas experts, scholars and reporters on subjects ranging from what to expect when it comes to changes to environmental policy, immigration and asylum, the economy including the trillion dollar student loan debt crisis, dealing with the ongoing pandemic, and much more on a special edition of the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 18, 2021
Is there a doctor in the House? At least one COVID-19 case reported among Texas lawmakers and what that may mean for getting back to business at the Texas capitol, we’ll have the latest. Also, President elect Joe Biden says one of the first things he’ll do after inauguration is rejoin the Paris Climate accords but new research from Texas A&M suggests one of the targets for temperature limits is already on track to being exceeded. Game over? Not quite. We’ll hear why and what comes next. And federal officials approve new standards of health care in a crisis for people with disabilities. So what changes in Texas? Also, amid a new reckoning on race, remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 13, 2021
The Texas legislature has gaveled into session with a new house speaker and big news on the budget front. We’ll hear more on what’s happening at the Texas capitol. Plus from the nations capitol, a conversation with a U.S. congressman from the Rio Grande Valley on the realities ahead on the presidential impeachment front. And with the muting of the president on social media…a new conversation about the future of big tech and free speech. Also, the completion of an historic sculpture in Galveston more than a hundred years in the making. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 11, 2021
From pandemic to political upheaval, a budget shortfall and beyond, what promises to be a Texas legislative session like few in recent memory. We’ll have more on tomorrow’s start of the Lone Star legislative session. Also, after the storming of the U.S. Capitol, the role of Texas’ junior senator under growing scrutiny amid calls for his resignation. And a new strain of the COVID virus found in Texas, what it means for doctors and for Texans at large. And did air pollution make Hurricane Harvey worse than it would have been otherwise? New findings from Texas based researchers. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 9, 2020
And we have a winner. What changes for Texas in a Biden- Harris administration, and how quickly? With the presidential contest now called, attention turns to fixing what’s broken and moving forward. We’ll have some projections from a veteran politics watcher and professor. Also, the states top law enforcement official facing a mushrooming scandal and new questions about how much longer he can hang on as Attorney General. And digging a little deeper into the Latina turnout in so-called battleground states. Plus, not your parents biodiesel: as oil prices fall, attention, turns to renewable diesels. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 26, 2020
Coronavirus case numbers exploding in El Paso. We’ll look at how the city is trying to treat patients as hospitals reach capacity. Also, just over a week left to Election Day and it’s far from just the Presidential race on the ballot. We’ll highlight one sheriff’s race that’s heating up. Plus, transitioning from oil is something even the oil companies are thinking about. We’ll learn today why hydrogen might be a clean, but not so simple, option. And remembering Jerry Jeff Walker. Texas troubadour, Cosmic Cowboy, and misbehaving musician. Those stories plus a local debate over masks, a spooky anthology and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 5, 2020
A one page letter signed by seven of the attorney general’s top aides ask for an investigation of the Texas attorney general. We’ll hear more about the complain, and how Paxton and other top Texas officials are responding. Also, the president and other top republicans urging supporters to be poll watchers. Just who can become a poll watcher, what does that involve, and what are the limits to their activities? And the hispanic republican from Nixon to Trump plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 28, 2020
With almost two weeks to go before the first ballots are cast in Texas for the general election, a court decision that could change the rules for voters. A federal court tosses new rules against straight ticket voting and the state attorney general plans an appeal. We’ll hear what the impact could be for Texas voters. Also, Governor Abbott’s not on the ballot, but in a special election set for tomorrow his pandemic policies are front and center, exposing a deepening rift among republicans. And a rare voice on radio marks a golden anniversary: the Texas-based In Black America and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 21, 2020
She was a fearless voice of dissent and change, and left a lasting mark on history. What comes next with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg? President Trump has promised to announce her replacement as soon as this week. We’ll explore the Texas nexus of a story with enormous implications on the home front and beyond. Also the high tech fight between the U.S. and China over TikTok and why the stakes for Texas may be higher than some realize. Plus a relief for families with loved ones in eldercare centers, but a recipe for disaster? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 24, 2020
As Marco and Laura bear down on the Gulf Coast, the governor issues disaster declarations. Our conversation with the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service covering Houston and Galveston on possible evacuations plus impacts already to the energy sector. Also, the the grand old party’s turn: how Texas Republicans are gearing up for the national convention this week. And remaking the political maps of Texas. What lessons can be learned from the past? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 6, 2020
Republicans versus Republican. Five conservative lawmakers are suing the Governor, over contracts for Coronavirus tracking. At issue: a nearly 300 million dollar deal for contact tracing that five state lawmakers say should have been vetted by the legislature, but wasn’t. Also, remember that border wall that dominated the last general election. Three miles of private wall built by Trump supporters is already coming down and mother nature’s playing a role. Plus the fight over facial recognition heats up. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 30, 2020
The complicated formula for funding schools in Texas now adds 5 letters and two numbers: COVID-19. How should we fund schools while in the midst of a global pandemic? The push and pull, we’ll have more. We also learn about the movement born out of the murder of Fort Hood soldier Vannesa Guillen: NoMás. What it means to say No More. And have you heard about “hygiene theater”? Does it make us safer? We’ll find out. And we take a look at the growing pains of oil production in Texas, an industry much touted by the president during his visit yesterday. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 14, 2020
New York City: once considered the national epicenter in the fight against COVID-19, now health experts fear a Texas city has taken its place. Hospitals in Houston struggling to deal with the pandemic on a scale similar to that of New York City in late spring. Our conversation with New York Times reporter Dr.Sherri Fink. Also, a warning from climatologists about a coming drought that could reshape Texas for the long term. And getting schooled by Selena: a Texas University launches a first of its kind course. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 13, 2020
5 years after the death of Sandra Bland, how much has and hasn’t changed? A conversation with two top Texas lawmakers on the changes to criminal justice in Texas since the death of Sandra Bland and what more needs to be done. Also, how Texas colleges and universities are trying to address changes in student visa rules. And as organizers push for greater Latino representation at the polls, a parallel initiative to preserve the history of one of the groups that led the push. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 29, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds an important decision in a case concerning access to abortions, closely watched in the Lone Star State. We’ll have the latest. Also, amid a pandemic, the start of early voting statewide in primary runoff elections. What’s been called a dry run for November. And a second look at a string of police shootings in Houston that predate the killing of George Floyd, and what they could mean for the future of police transparency. Plus Texas researchers develop a sensor to distinguish between symptoms of the flu and COVID-19. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 24, 2020
The U.S. city on track to be the hardest hit by COVID-19? A dire warning from one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts. We need to proceed to red alert: so says Dr.Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine who warns face masks may not be enough to prevent the Houston region from rivaling what we’re seeing now in Brazil. Also a downturn like no other: what job losses in the oil industry may tell us about the future of the Texas economy. Plus a broader forecast from Texas economist Angelos Angelou and much more today on the Texas Standard: