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:
San Antonio
Texas Standard: September 20, 2022
A Texas sheriff opens a criminal investigation into the flying of nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. Florida’s governor under investigation for emulating the tactic of Texas’ governor, flying migrants out of state. We’ll take a closer look. Also, many in the town of Uvalde turning to politics after frustration with how elected leaders have handled the aftermath of the mass shooting there last May. We’ll have the Texas newsroom with details. And President Biden pushing for online privacy legislation. Guess who’s pushing back: a hint, she’s not a Republican. Plus UT’s Steven Vladeck on Texas’ social media law, and what comes next. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 16, 2022
A demographic shift decades in the making is finally here. So what’s it mean for the state’s future? New data from the census bureau shows there are now more Hispanic than white residents in Texas. We’ll talk it over with the state’s demographer. Plus the story of a novelty website purchased for one and a half billion dollars. We’ll hear from the author of a new book that charts the rise of Youtube. All that, and of course the week that was in Texas politics today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 14, 2022
Texas’ border security mission has cost more than four billion dollars and counting. Where’s all that money coming from? Operation Lone Star put 10,000 Texas National Guard troops along the state’s border with Mexico. Today we’ll help you make sense of how the state’s paying for it. Also a looming railroad strike could mean pain for people in the checkout line and Democrats at the polls. What’s the Biden administration doing to keep the trains running on time? And do people with low incomes get audited more than others? We’ll see how that claim holds up under scrutiny from Politifact. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 2, 2022
A vote about a change to the social studies curriculum in Texas public schools. Only it’s not the sort of vote some advocates wanted. Proposals to add teaching about Junetheenth, the murder of George Floyd and LGBTQ rights are on long term pause. We’ll hear the backstory. Also how what’s happening in San Antonio could give larger clues about how climate change is affecting Texas. And a perfect storm for animal shelters as more pets are abandoned, costs rising with inflation, and a shortage of vets and staffers have shelters scrambling. Plus the end of the bitcoin mining gold rush in Texas? The week in politics with the Texas tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 26, 2022
A Texas gun restriction for 18 to 20 year olds ruled unconstitutional. This, just 3 months after a young gunman’s deadly attack on a school in Uvalde. A judge in Fort Worth rules that Texas can’t ban 18 to 20 year olds from carrying handguns. We’ll hear more about what’s behind the decision and what comes next. Also beyond debt forgiveness: what can be done to bring down the cost of higher ed in the first place? And amid a water shortage in the Valley, one community moving to reclaim water for the future. Also a teacher shortage today, a crisis for the future? Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 24, 2022
Hours away from a new law that amounts to a near total ban on abortions in Texas and a new legal challenge to that law. As Texas’ version of a post Roe vs. Wade trigger law takes effect, reproductive rights groups are suing the state attorney general. We’ll hear about the strategy and the prospects. Also, 5 years after Hurricane Harvey there are ongoing attempts to buyout the homes of people living in land that repeatedly floods. So how’s that working out? We’ll hear the latest. Also actor and comedian Mo Amer on a new Netflix series some say is the first of its kind to really capture the feel of a modern Houston. Plus a Politifact check and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 2, 2022
7 years in prison: a Texan gets the longest sentence handed down so far in the prosecution of January 6th riots at the capitol. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a once in a decade rewrite of the state’s public school curriculum gets underway amid debates over how race and LGBTQ issues are addressed in the classroom. Also the planned demolition of Uvalde’s Robb Elementary school, and how the city plans to honor its namesake. Plus extreme heat and the disparate impact on communities in one of Texas’ largest cities. And the story of a Texas radio show that picked up where the progressive newspapers of the 60’s and 70’s left off. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 19, 2022
Outrage and demands for action as Uvalde’s school board meets with members of the community to hear concerns about school safety. Camille Phillips of Texas Public radio was at last nights school board meeting in Uvalde, we’ll hear details. Also the Texas Newsrooms Sergio Martínez-Beltrán talks with former Texas supreme Court justice Eva Guzman, one of the co-chairs of the Texas House panel which on Sunday released its report on the shooting. Also an unexpected botanical discovery in Big Bend. And why car repossession’s are up… Way up and what that could portend. Those stories and much 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:
Texas Standard: July 5, 2022
Abortion and gun Violence. How issues in focus for the nation could carry a lot of weight in Texas come November. We’ll take a close-up look at the implications. Also, LGBTQ Texans and their families leaving the Lone Star State? KERA’s Bret Jaspers has more. Plus the push for more changes to Texas voting rules. What pre-session rumblings suggest Republicans may propose. And the research that could lead to a rethink of the contentious relationship between ranchers and prairie dogs. Also the indigenous people fighting to save scores of native trees that shade San Antonio riverbanks. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 7, 2022
Record setting heat on tap for much of Texas. Will there be enough electricity to meet demand? And what about the rest of the summer? Coming up, the latest on heat warnings across Texas, and what it portends for the rest of the summer amid anxieties about whether the electrical grid can stand the strain. Also a federal judge moves to hold Texas’ foster care services in contempt as court monitors continue to find deficiencies in a system once declared unconstitutionally unsafe for children. Paul Flahive of Texas Public Radio with the latest. And what’s in a name? Some Mexico distillers say cultural appropriation. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 19, 2022
20 miles southwest of Abilene evacuation orders are issued as a dangerous heat fire consumes homes, we’ll have the latest. Also, migrants fill shelters in Ciudad Juarez waiting for a major change in U.S. immigration enforcement that could come as soon as Monday. And waves for wheat farmers: how a topsy turvy global market is hitting Texas’ breadbasket. Also tech companies in Texas and beyond, how they’re dealing with the great resignation. And the newly created U.S. Space Force reaches critical velocity…but to do what exactly? Those stories and more when today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 5, 2022
With the Supreme Court now widely expected to overturn Roe vs. Wade, new numbers of where Texans stand on the issue of Abortion. From abortion to border security, the state’s population growth and the economy, Texans weigh in on a range of issues that could have a profound effect at the polls come November. Jim Henson with the results of a new survey by the Texas Politics Project. Also, Texas’ attempt to treat gender-affirming care as “Child Abuse”. A new report examines the underlying scientific claims being made by officials leading the push. Plus, say cheese, Texas: why a place better known for its beef is challenging dominant states in the dairy business. All this and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 4, 2022
On today’s show we’ll explain the trigger law that would mostly ban abortion in Texas if Roe v. wade is overturned. Plus, have Texans had enough of highways? Some transportation activists are taking it to the streets. And are you familiar with Toadsuck? Don’t be offended, it’s the name of a place. Commentator W.F. Strong will tell you all about it. And we’ve got back to school book bans in San Antonio and of course the latest news from across the Lone Star State today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 27, 2022
In Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border security mission: a death among the ranks brings new scrutiny from lawmakers. Republican Representative James White talks with the Standard’s Laura Rice about the death of Texas Army National Guard Specialist Bishop Evans and the future of Operation Lone Star. Also as many families move to Texas, others are deciding they have to leave for the sake of their kids. This after new polices take effect aimed at parents of trans kids. Plus a stay issued in the case of Melissa Lucio, the mother originally set to be executed for the death of her two year old. What happens next? That and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 25, 2022
Border bottlenecks brought on by ramped up Texas inspections cost business billions. But a surprising potential longer-term effect, too. A new relationship between Texas and 4 border states in Mexico? Angela Kocherga has that story. Plus a new report reveals San Antonio’s south side, one of the nation’s hardest hit by the pandemic. Also an update on COVID-19 and kids in Texas. And what our neighbors to the east may be able to teach Texas as plans for a coastal Ike Dike get the green light. Also ChicanX utopias. What pop culture tells us about the politics of the possible. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 11, 2022
A woman charged with murder in Texas after an alleged self induced abortion has been released, but that’s far from the end of the story. Many fear the arrest and murder charge in Starr County could be a harbinger of what’s to come amid a rise in abortion restrictions and an expected ruling from the United States Supreme Court. We’ll hear more. Also the hype over hemp: what new data says about the legalization of the hemp industry in Texas and whether it has turned out to be as big an economic boon as advocates had hoped. And the race to save the stories behind a musical movement: reclaiming and preserving San Antonio’s Westside sound. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 4, 2022
The Biden administration is set to end a Trump era policy aimed at keeping migrants out of the US due to pandemic concerns. Also, what’s the difference between Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke? According to a new survey of potential Texas voters: about 2 points; the research director of the Texas Lyceum Poll on the Governor Abbott’s slim lead. And Richard Linklater on his new film celebrating growing up in Texas during the space age. These stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 1, 2022
The release of oil from the nation’s strategic reserves; an effort to lower gas prices but also turn up the heat on Texas oil and gas producers? Also, what’s believed to be a first of its kind conference for Texas’ nine historically Black colleges and universities set for Austin. And, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune. All this and more today on the Texas Standard: