The devastation was enormous: billions in damage, tens of thousands displaced. But will the anger over Hurricane Harvey impact the mid-terms? We’ll explore. Also, Texas families with children with special needs are finding it harder to access healthcare. It has to do with how and whether providers are getting paid. We’ll explain. And a state park in the Rio Grande Valley beloved by birdwatchers could close if a border wall goes up. What Texas Parks and Wildlife is doing about it. Plus those who tout ideas of racial purity often point back to a time when Europe was white, but a Texas researcher says that just wasn’t the case. And fossils aren’t just old bones. We’ll tell you all about ’em and where you can find ’em in the Lone Star State, today on the Texas Standard:
ice
Texas Standard: June 29, 2018
Should immigration and customs enforcement be dissolved? It’s not just democratic socialists asking, it’s some of the agents themselves, we’ll explore. Also grumblings south of the border as Mexico prepares to go to the polls and pick a new president. And polls point to a victory for a man described as a Trump of the Mexican left. We’ll have an update of these final hours before balloting begins. And Texas Senator Ted cruz accused Facebook’s CEO of liberal bias. Now reports say social media honchos have been huddling in secret with GOP leaders. We’ll hear what’s on their agenda. Plus the week in Texas politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 26, 2018
Critics call it the tent city at Tornillo, now set to be dismantled. Is it a sign of a policy change or strictly a business decision? We’ll explore. Also, you’ll get your kids back if you sign this paper to deport yourself. That’s the claim being made by some detainees and their attorneys at a detention center south of Houston. The Texas Tribune got the story, we’ll talk with one of the reporters. And a win for Texas before the Supreme Court and what it means for future legal claims over race discrimination. Also the populist, nationalist, politically incorrect candidate polls say is set to win Mexico’s election: and how he could change fortunes in Texas. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 9, 2018
For the first time in history a US president will meet with the leader of North Korea. Vindication of a strategy or something else? We’ll explore. Also, an accused pedophile has his conviction thrown out because a judge used electric shock to coerce testimony. What happens to the judge? Nothing, so far. So who’s policing the bench? And a new vision for computing as apple reaches out to visually impaired coders in Texas. Plus fangs for the memories: 60 years of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.That and the week in politics from the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Ice Scrapers
The weather in Texas set record lows this week. School districts and city offices shut down because of — what’s that? Is that ice? Why is there ice sticking on my windshield? That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: January 16, 2018
From San Antonio to Tyler, the capital city to Corsicana, schools, businesses and roadways closed thanks to Inga. Though Dallas mostly spared, much of the rest of the state to the east and the south dealing with or bracing for a thin layer of ice causing major disruption. We’ll check in with reporters across the affected region…Also, 2017: the deadliest year in immigrant detention centers in almost a decade. What’s happening and why? And separation anxiety: the law struggling with who gets the frozen embryos after a breakup. Plus the Texan writing a new chapter in the rise of the Black Panther. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 12, 2018
Texas violated federal law by denying countless kids access to special education services. The governor orders a plan to fix in 7 days, we’ll have details. Also, a tractor trailer truck with a dozen immigrants in the back, police in San Antonio charge the driver with human smuggling. Now the Lt. Governor asking if San Antonio police broke the law, we’ll hear why. And file under Big Gulp: what this week’s immigration raids on 7-11 stores tell us about the future of enforcement. And do smartphone makers have a duty to limit kids screen time? All that plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 28, 2017
A republican led race to wrap up a rare rewrite of the nations tax laws hits stumbling blocks in the senate. We’ll hear what provisions are causing problems on the hill and what the cuts could add up to in the political near term. Also, fears growing among many Texas businesses as NAFTA negotiators prepare for round six. And you’ve heard of sanctuary cities? Now hear this: some cities are asking for their police to be deputized into immigration enforcement. And the case that could be the biggest of the century for privacy rights, and why it matters for anyone with a smartphone. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 20, 2017
7.1 on the Richter Scale: a deadly earthquake in central Mexico on the anniversary of a historic temblor. We’ll take you to Mexico city this hour. Also, the military plane is designated for TX and it could be a shot in the arm for you know where, we’ll have the story. Plus Ken Paxton says president Obama tried to confer citizenship status on daca recipients: Politifact Texas looks into that claim. And they say that news is the first draft of history. Now comes an important second draft you might say, with an exploration of a Texas reshaped by Harvey. Our conversation with the editor in chief of Texas monthly. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 6, 2017
Marathon: more than a city in west Texas, a description of a drama unfolding at the capitol right now. Also the number of people apprehended at the border hits a 17 year low. History says they’re supposed to be on the rise. What’s up? Some answers from the front lines. And as fears escalate over deportation in Spanish speaking communities, some Texas businesses try adaptation: the new rules of engagement with customers. Also a spike in disability claims in rural America has researchers asking how ya gonna keep em down on the farm, or the ranch. And if internet companies are gonna share your info, what can you do to keep it to yourself? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 21, 2017
Were they targeting the Texas capitol after all? Sworn testimony claims immigration officials wanted retribution, we’ll explore. Also after grilling the FBI director on Russian ties to Donald Trump, congressman Joaquin Castro tells us whether he sees evidence of collusion. Also …She might be the youngest unofficial lobbyist in Texas: her mission: convincing lawmakers to change a law she believes, sends innocent people to death row. We’ll hear her story. And this month’s reading recommendation from the editor in chief of Kirkus: a book the author doesn’t doesn’t want you to love. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 13, 2017
Did Texas Republicans draw up districts intentionally to dilute minority voting strength? A federal court says yes: now what? It used to be known as the spinach capitol of the world. These days, it’s famous as the city where nearly every top official was charged with corruption. Crystal City: one year later. Also: it’s part of the lure of Texas: affordable homes. Maybe not so much anymore? A new warning from the Dallas Fed. Plus the top ten places for bibliophiles? A Texas road map for readers…all that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 13, 2017
Texas on ICE: for weeks they were unconfirmed reports, now evidence of immigration sweeps across Texas and 10 other states, we’ll have the latest. Also: mind the gap. Who’s gonna fill the hole between two competing spending plans, for Texas and what does it mean in real terms? And a price bubble in the middle of the Texas desert, set to pop? Plus how do you write about a war when the final chapter is far from over? Veterans of the War on Terror offer a rare insiders view. And a sweeping investigation of the state of human trafficking in the lone star state. All that and much more, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 23, 2017
Texas billionaire Ross Perot once warned of a giant sucking sound. Today: a stunning vindication? We’ll explore. Plus, what’s called school choice, set to explode as a front page issue this week. As lawmakers make it a top priority, how’s it supposed to work exactly? We’ll have a crash course. Also, what appears to be the first Texas showdown now set over so-called sanctuary cities. And a stunning shift by the Texas supreme court clears the way for a challenge to gay marriage. Why a nation with some of the toughest gun laws in the world may be having a change of heart. Those stories and a whole lot more, turn it up, cause it’s Texas Standard time:
Texas Winter Drivers
Texas dealt with another round of winter weather this week. Some of it in North Texas was genuinely serious. Some of it in Central Texas – not so much.
Sean Petrie with Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo writes this week about how the average Texan doesn’t have that much experience with icy roads.