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KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

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Railroad Commission approves South Texas coal mine expansion

In the first Republican debate of the new presidential election season, an issue top of mind for Texans – border policy – takes center stage.

The Texas Department of Transportation is giving a final green light to a highway expansion in downtown Austin that would add at least four lanes and get rid of the road’s existing upper decks.

There’s pushback on solar development in rural northeast Texas.

Energy regulators greenlit a 12,000-acre expansion of a South Texas coal mine on Tuesday, despite locals’ environmental concerns.

And with strays being turned away by many animal shelters, a first-time cat owner – the Standard’s Sean Saldaña – reflects on his first month with his new pet.

Carbon capture is coming to the King Ranch

High winds, unrelenting heat and lots of dry vegetation are feeding a Stage 4 wildfire warning across the state.

As heat remains a major story in Texas, the electric grid has managed to hold out in a summer of record highs.

New technology advances mean that geothermal energy may soon become a bigger part of the nation’s energy generation mix.

Some recent major rulings on gun laws and where we stand in Texas.

And the Energy Department is financing two carbon capture projects, including one at the famed King Ranch in Kleberg County.

Could Texas connect to other electric grids?

A Texas redistricting challenge is being described as an important test of the Voting Rights Act.

Federal regulators are considering a rule that would force Texas to connect to other electric grids.

With Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial set to begin in the state Senate soon, attorneys for the suspended attorney general have asked for the case to be dismissed, citing the “prior-term doctrine.”

Understanding the new “right to farm” protections going into effect next month – and why they should matter to city dwellers, too.

Also, remembering Texas saxophonist Arnett Cobb.

Everything you always wanted to know about the Texas energy grid

Texas senators met yesterday to talk about two divisive issues: property taxes and the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. So where do things stand?

Can Texas’ power grid withstand the heat? We’ll get detailed on supply and demand.

A new book from journalist Dan Solomon, ‘The Fight for Midnight,’ reimagines Wendy Davis’ 2013 abortion filibuster as YA fiction.

And a new law protecting trap-neuter-release programs for cats will soon go into effect – but some say there’s a problem no one considered.

East Texas county lacks power during summer heat wave

Weekend storms knocked out power to tens of thousands in East Texas, amid dangerously hot temperatures and few options for cooling down. We’ll have the latest.

LGBTQ+ teens in Katy, outside Houston, are creating community in the midst of a culture war.

In San Antonio we’ll meet people who are building new lives after escaping the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Some North Texas neighbors found a solution to their fireworks problem – in church.

Plus, ever seen a ‘robot ump’? More changes ahead to Major League Baseball are already underway at AAA stadiums, including one in Central Texas.

Summer heat is here – and so is the strain on Texas’ electric grid

Although Ken Paxton’s already impeached, Texas House investigators continue gathering evidence against the now-suspended attorney general. More scrutiny over the finances of Paxton and his wife, a Texas senator.

Temperatures are hitting triple digits across much of Texas. Can the power grid take the heat?

Tech expert Omar Gallaga on why the release of Diablo IV is more than a game for the video game industry.

And a new podcast, “Sugar Land” premieres this week, exploring a grim discovery that’s reshaping history in a city once called the sweetest place in Texas.

How UT scientists are using AI to read thoughts

What happens to a Republican-led plan to provide taxpayer money for private education if the Texas Senate and House can’t reach agreement in less than two weeks? The governor’s promising he’ll keep the Legislature in session.

The latest on bills aimed at banning access to gender-affirming care for young people.

Mind-reading technology? We’ll talk with a UT researcher at the forefront of the tech using artificial intelligence to interpret brain activity.

Also: Finding the best burgers in Texas.

Marfa art exhibit honors the railroad’s Chinese laborers

Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Texas, but the worst of the freezing rain may be behind us. Mose Buchele of the Disconnect podcast and KUT Austin joins us with more on the power situation.

A new poll suggests a disconnect between the headlines and what Texans really think of the state’s public schools.

Our focus on the push to cut property taxes in the Texas Legislature turns to how schools are funded in Texas.

And an effort to turn attention to a largely forgotten story of how Chinese labor helped to build West Texas.

KUT Morning Newscast for January 25, 2023

Central Texas top stories for January 25, 2023. Travis County supportive housing. New power plant in Central Texas. Eanes ISD Fentanyl awareness. Hays CISD school repairs. UT Basketball. Austin FC academy first pro.

The most powerful Republican in Texas may not even live here

With new immigration rules and promises in increase enforcement, Joe Biden makes his first visit to the border as president. Angela Kocherga of KTEP joins us with more on president Biden’s visit to El Paso and the proposals he’s making to slow the numbers of migrants entering the U.S. without documentation. Also, as lawmakers in Texas get ready to gavel in a new session, the unprecedented pot of gold that has all concerned making out their wish lists. And could tens of thousands of central Texans lose access to one of the region’s biggest health care providers? Plus Horned Frog fever with tonight’s college football championship. All those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:

KUT Morning Newscast for December 20, 2022

Central Texas top stories for December 20, 2022. Power grid ready for low temperatures. Cold weekend ahead. Austin ISD budget. Williamson County healthcare cost offset.

Corpus Christi designated a World War II Heritage City

A date that will live in infamy, and a new designation for Corpus Christi as a World War II heritage city. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re covering: as the thoughts of many Texans turn to winter preparedness, concerns grow over the power grid and staffing problems for the agency that oversees it. Also a Politifact check of a claim about gun homicides. And remembering a Lubbock-born Texas iconoclast who transformed the creative landscape. Michael Hall of Texas Monthly looks back on the words and music of Jo Carol Pierce who passed away last week. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

TCU makes history with College Football Playoff selection

After a little more than a year in office, the Texas Secretary of State is stepping down. We’ll look at why, and what it means for Texas. Other stories we’re tracking: how a Texan who may be mulling a presidential run in 2024 could, win or lose, shake up politics in Texas in a big way and why. Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News explains. Also the murder trial of a former Fort Worth police officer gets underway after lengthy delays. We’ll hear more. And the rise and fall of crypto and its impact on the Texas power grid. Plus, TCU: Cinderella no more as the Horned Frogs land in the college football playoffs. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:

Here’s how you can help discover new galaxies

A record setting state surplus. So how do Texas lawmakers plan to use it? With just 40 days to go before the Texas legislature gets back to work, education and energy at the top of the list of priorities for the most powerful figure in the Texas senate. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune helps unpack the latest. Also high drama in an El Paso courtroom where the top prosecutor in the case against the accused Wal-Mart mass shooter is a no show and the judge threatening possible arrest of the DA. And a shout out for amateur skywatchers to help Texas researchers find galaxies. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 26, 2022

Abortion, gun laws and much more. What might be on the agenda as Texas lawmakers prepare to reconvene? Some of the political patterns emerging for Texas in the aftermath of the Texas Tribune festival. Political writer Patrick Svitek ties some of the strands together. Also eyes on the skies, as Hurricane Ian enters the gulf what it could mean for the energy cap of the world. You know the one. And speaking of energy, guess which state has the most blackouts? We’ll shed some light on that. Also not for the down and out, we’ll meet the man who literally wrote the book on the Texas dive bar. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 21, 2022

A resource center in San Antonio now in the spotlight. It’s the focus of a national controversy over transporting migrants out of state. At least three migrants from Venezuela file suit against Florida’s governor and other top officials alleging false promises designed to lure them to travel from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard. We’ll have details. Also after a hurricane strike’s Puerto Rico, a privatized power grid leaves more than a million without electricity. Echoes of Texas’ own power grid issues? We’ll explore. And as the U.S. moves to over the counter hearing aids, privacy advocates are raising concerns. We’ll hear why plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: August 11, 2022

Multiple sources tell The Texas Tribune Governor Greg Abbott is exerting unprecedented control over who will lead the state’s power grid. Locked in a potentially tight reelection race and facing criticism over the grid’s 2021 collapse, we hear how the governor has put a stranglehold on the search for the operator’s CEO search. Plus the Biden Administration announced earlier this week it’s ending the controversial “Remain in Mexico,” program. What it means for migrants awaiting asylum hearings. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: August 5, 2022

Monkeypox declared a public health emergency nationwide. We’ll talk with the state epidemiologist about what Texans need to know. Other stories we’re covering: after the Dobbs decision, more than 100 military installations in states where abortion is now banned. What this means for service members seeking abortion care. And as temps hover in the triple digits across much of Texas, the new season of a podcast examines whether the power grid can stand the strain. Mose Buchele, host of the disconnect, joins us. And a Texas based band garnering international attention for its Texas-themed tales of a “Bummer Year”. A conversation with the frontman of the band Good Looks and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: July 11, 2022

How hot is it? Hot enough for ERCOT to ask the state to dial back its power use at temperatures climb back into the triple digits. We’ll have the latest. Also a recent pipe burst in Odessa left the city’s hundred thousand plus residents without water for days. Now comes a warning for lots of small to midsized cities about a ticking time bomb of aging pipes and underground stressors. We’ll hear more. Also a new effort aimed at tracking drug overdoses, most of which go non-reported. And a comeback for the Guadalupe bass. And Texas versus Volkswagen: how the carmakers novel defense could put millions of dollars at stake. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

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