Central Texas top stories for December 12, 2022. Early voting surge. Election day tomorrow. Austin Water director finalists. Homeless lives lost. School funding bill. Relief funds for water improvements.
homelessness
Texas Standard: September 1, 2022
Employees of Child Protective Services quitting over the state’s policy to investigate families providing gender affirming care to transgender teens. Reports say the agency charged with protecting children in Texas is on the brink of collapse, we’ll hear more. Also, a small voyage for a boat, a giant leap for the long leaky Battleship Texas. We’ll have more on plans to save an historic ship. And two of the most prominent pop stars in the world, both hailing from Texas, both deciding to remove an offensive word from their lyrics. One critic says it elevates the conversation about ableism. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
KUT Morning Newscast for August 10, 2022
Central Texas top stories for August 10, 2022. Monkeypox declared a health emergency in Travis County. Rent in Austin keeps climbing at historic rates. Austin ISD school board votes Thursday on a potential 2022 bond package. School bus driver and crossing guard shortages. Capital Metro updates guidelines for free rides to cooling centers. Williamson County budget update.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 29, 2022
Central Texas top stories for July 29, 2022. Austin ISD is shares school safety measures with parents and received an update on possible bond packages. West Nile Virus now present in Travis County. New management approved for Austin’s homeless shelter. $100M expansion coming to Southwestern University. Austin FC prepares to face Sporting Kansas City.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for July 28, 2022
Central Texas top stories for July 28, 2022. Wildfires in Central Texas. Jacob’s Well flow stops. Point in time counts resuming. San Marcos marijuana decriminalization. MoveOutATX begins. PanAm Park renaming postponed. Gas prices. 183 flyover closure.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 28, 2022
Central Texas top stories for July 28, 2022. The Austin City Council votes on new management for the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. Update on wildfires in Travis and Hays counties. Central Health is asking for accountability on Dell Medical School’s budget. A new public art installation in San Marcos honors the indigenous population.
Service providers raise concerns about the likely new manager of Austin’s homeless shelter
The city is set to approve a contract with a California-based nonprofit that faces a handful of lawsuits back home. Service providers say the city moved too quickly. KUT’s Andrew Weber reports.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 20, 2022
Central Texas top storied for July 20, 2022. Austin ISD’s Board of Trustees may delay their vote on 2022 bond package proposals. Several area school districts will require clear backpacks for the upcoming school year. Hays County Commissioners are considering hiring more school resource officers. Advocacy groups in Austin are pushing for more funding for inclement weather shelters in the city’s upcoming budget.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 19, 2022
Central Texas top stories for July 19, 2022. Record high temps today for Central Texas. Austin ends partnership with Front Steps, the nonprofit that manages the downtown shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Teacher vacancies are up across the state. Solar roofing company building a facility in Georgetown. Addressing light pollution in Texas.
Texas Standard: July 18, 2022
Systemic failures and poor decision-making cited in a damning report on the Uvalde school shooting. More on the Texas House committee’s 77 page report released this weekend. Also, Texas Democrats gather in Dallas; what’s the game plan for November? And more on record-setting heat expected all week in the Lone Star State. These stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 24, 2021
Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston. We’ll look at why it’s not getting any federal money for flood mitigation managed by the Texas General Land Office. Also, Texas uses gas taxes to help to maintain and build new roads. So how does it make up the loss in revenue from more people driving electric vehicles? Some say the potential answer sends the wrong message. Plus, PTAs in wealthy parts of one Texas school district have actually been paying staff salaries. Why the practice is ending and what could replace it. And there’s been a lot of back and forth about how the capital city makes room for people experiencing homelessness. Austin voters said one thing, now state lawmakers may add another. Where things stand now. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 17, 2020
Texas school districts learning lessons on how to deal with a statewide emergency. We’ll look at the logistics of teaching in a time of pandemic, and the role of the schools. It’s far from business as usual for the state’s schools. Top education officials say many could be closed through the end of the academic year. What this means for student advancement and support for kids from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Also what social distancing adds up to on the economic front for families, and how to talk to your kids about this time like no other. All of these stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 23, 2019
It’s a closely watched case involving bail reform in Harris County. Now, the state’s attorney general wants to weigh in – against the change. Plus, he’s the longest serving governor in Texas history, he’s run for president, he’s been serving as energy secretary and now he’s leaving the Trump administration. What’s next for Rick Perry? Fellow Texan and ABC political analyst Matthew Dowd has an idea or two for the outgoing secretary. Also, decoding the accent of a major film star from Katy. And an overdue honor for a hero from the Texas tower shooting. Those stories and more on today’s Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: April 15, 2019
Texas is now flaring off enough natural gas to power all of households in the Lone Star State. Can anything be done to harness the energy? We’ll take a look. Also, the Texas legislature is stuck: once again stalled on some key issues. Time to prepare for a special session, Ross Ramsey doesn’t seem too worried. We’ll ask with the co-founder of the Texas Tribune why not. And after several decades, the University of North Texas solves the case of the missing Hobbit… first edition, that is. Plus the battle of San Jacinto that wasn’t, at least not this year. That and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 14, 2018
Fighting fire with…Texans. Crews from the Lone Star State travel west to help Californians battling historic blazes on several fronts. Also, some believe it could be both a watershed moment in the so-called drug war and a cultural moment – as the drug kingpin known as El Chapo heads to trial. Plus, are citizen militias really headed to the border to meet a migrant caravan? Politifact checks it out. And spoiler alert: it won’t be the Amarillo Jerky after all. The Panhandle city picks a name for its minor league ball club… and not everyone’s a fan. All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.
KUT Weekend – October 5, 2018
Beto O’Rourke’s talking about racial injustice — and black voters are listening. How court decision could affect Austin’s revamping of its laws around homelessness. What ever happened to Austin’s long-running Aqua Fest?
Texas Standard: November 20, 2017
As millions of Texans hit the highways for the start of holiday season, new signs that the bell may be tolling for toll roads. But with costs and complaints and traffic all up, are we nearing a tipping point when it comes to Texas’ free market philosophy for transportation? We’ll explore. And in a small Texas town turned upside down by a church shooting, Thanksgiving arrives early. Also, the homeless often get more attention this time of year, now the spotlight turns to what some say are laws that keep people homeless. And with miles of pipeline connecting oilfields to Corpus Christi, a plan to pipe something back west, and maybe around the world, too. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Home and Homelessness
This month’s episode explores what it means to be displaced or without a home. Our new roundtable participants ask: How do we define “home”? Is it a house? Is it family, a sense of community? Is it a place or a feeling? The discussants share their perspectives, from the practical concerns of living on the streets of Austin, to the role of creative production in dealing with homelessness, to challenging notions of displacement and transience as unnatural. Ultimately, the discussion turns toward the ways in which our perceptions of home and homelessness influence our views on immigration, the need for refuge, and national identity.