Central Texas top stories for December 17, 2024. Hays CISD is considering a nearly one-billion-dollar bond. Travis County officials are encouraging county residents to apply for the annual Expunction Expo. The Longhorns will host an opening round game at DKR Memorial Stadium this Saturday. APD is increasing traffic and DWI enforcement through January first.
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How some donated land became a bounty for a small town’s students
Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says the Gruver Farm Scholarship Foundation has already made a multi-generational impact.
Proposed school curriculum with Bible stories nears vote
A possible government shutdown looming with an Oct. 1 deadline. With the backdrop of elections, how might this story unfold? UT-Austin political science professor Sean Theriault talks about a perennial issue of government funding and where its headed.
Bible stories in the classroom? The Texas Education Agency is getting a lot of feedback and blowback over a new curriculum.
Mando Rayo of the Tacos of Texas podcast introduces us to a James Beard award winner in the Rio Grande Valley named the best chef in Texas.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, a look at some of the artists shaping the sounds of Texas.
Also, the week in politics, Typewriter Rodeo and more.
Can you trust polls saying Texas could turn blue?
As immigration returns to center stage in American politics, a curious reversal in messaging in one of the state’s most closely watched races.
It’s happened before: polls show a statewide race tightening up, hopes rising among Texas Democrats, only to be dashed on Election Day. Do you trust polls that suggest Texas turning blue? A guide for optimists and pessimists.
The latest on a lawsuit brought by inmates and their supporters over intense heat in Texas prisons.
And the dedication of a new national historic site to help explain an era when Texas created separate schools for Hispanic children.
What Texas Democrats can look forward to as the DNC kicks off
Texas has the third-largest delegation at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll hear more about the four-day political spectacle getting underway in Chicago and what it could mean for the Lone Star State and the presidential race.
Conservative activists, led by the Houston-based group True the Vote, are submitting lists of names to county election officials all over Texas, claiming the listed people are illegally registered to vote.
More and more school districts in Texas taking cellphone bans seriously as students return to class.
Also: Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a special type of self-watering soil that can actually pull water from the air and slowly release nutrients to plants.
Bighorn sheep being released in Franklin Mountains outside El Paso
The Santa Fe community is seeking answers and accountability for the 2018 school shooting as the accused shooter’s parents appear in court this week.
Houston police admit systemic failure in the processes that led to 264,000 cases being dismissed over eight years.
On the anniversary of the 1966 UT Tower shooting, a man who helped a fellow student that day shares a letter he’s kept for decades.
Bighorn sheep are returning to the El Paso area. A look at the challenges of re-establishing the herds.
And: What is a museum? We’re diving into the answer as we kick off a new series exploring the state.
Investigation finds worker deaths from trench collapses were often preventable
President Biden is in Austin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act – and is expected to deliver a speech that could have big implications for the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The surprise arrests in Texas of two leaders of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel were a major victory for the feds, but now there are hints that the backstory involves a double cross. One of the state’s top experts on Mexico’s drug cartels explains.
A new survey finds that two-thirds of Texans support Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher plan.
And: A new investigation from NPR, Texas Public Radio and public radio program 1A finds more than 250 preventable deaths in trench accidents.
Massive disruption worldwide blamed on latest Microsoft update from Austin-based CrowdStrike
A massive disruption that knocked businesses and services offline worldwide – grounding planes, keeping bank customers from accessing their balances and more – was blamed on the latest Microsoft update from Austin-based cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
The Justice Department has sued the Texas-based nonprofit Southwest Key Programs, alleging sexual abuse of migrant children in their care.
A new study sounds an alarm over the safety of tampons after finding found toxic metals, including arsenic and lead, in over a dozen popular brands. We’ll hear from the lead researcher.
Also: the week in politics with The Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.
Meet Emma, the AI assistant answering the phones at Amarillo City Hall
Just in time for high summer, a surge in COVID cases? What officials are saying about a new subvariant.
It could be a very wet 72 hours of so for much of Southeast Texas and beyond as meteorologists focus on what could be the first big storm of hurricane season coming together in the Gulf of Mexico.
In Amarillo, phones at City Hall are answered by Emma – a first-of-its-kind virtual assistant powered by AI, built specifically for the city.
Why some analysts are pumping the brakes on predictions of a looming oil glut thanks to electric vehicles.
And: why some Texas Democrats say schools could be key to their success in November.
Students could soon be taught Bible stories in public schools
You check in with your ID, find an empty booth and cast your ballot in secret. But have Texas voter transparency laws challenged that privacy?
Depending on where you live in Texas you might pay taxes to a local hospital system. Understanding how that works.
Storm chasers have enormous followings on social media, many copycats and, increasingly, even people riding along. It’s a growing industry of sorts, but is it a good idea?
A new docuseries coming to HBO, “Ren Faire,” follows what happens when the man who has presided over the Texas Renaissance Festival for 50 years retires.
And: A push for classical studies in Texas classrooms could also include more conversations about the Bible.
Questions over how to remember an East Texas manhunt
SpaceX successfully conducted a test launch of its massive Starship rocket from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica this morning. We’ll hear from Gaige Davila of Texas Public Radio live from Brownsville.
The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to ban TikTok, citing security concerns related to the Chinese-owned platform’s control of Americans’ data. The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin has been following the story, including where Texans in Congress stand.
And: Why a courthouse renovation is East Texas is dividing a community.
How Mexico supplanted China as the nation’s top trade partner
A shooting at one of the most famous megachurches in Texas, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, leaves one dead and a child in critical condition. We’ll have the latest.
For most of the past few decades, the title of “top trading partner to the U.S.” has belonged to China – but the U.S. Census Bureau reports that last year, the United States’ biggest trading partner was Mexico.
Civil rights groups have filed a federal complaint against Bonham ISD alleging disciplinary discrimination against Black and disabled students.
The latest on a mysterious listeria outbreak.
And Russian propagandists twisting the narrative over border standoff between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Standoff between Texas and the feds continues over Rio Grande access
Tensions between Texas and the federal government intensify over Border Patrol access.
On the day after the release of the findings of a federal investigation into the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, what we’re learning and what it could mean for accountability.
With the intensification of winter weather this week, how advocates for people experiencing homelessness are trying to shelter and care for Texans left out in the cold.
A sneak peek at the Super Bowl prospects for the Houston Texans, facing a big playoff challenge this weekend.
And we’ll have the week in politics with Matthew Watkins of the Texas Tribune.
Justice Department report on Uvalde shooting finds ‘critical failures’ in police response
After a review of thousands of videos and other evidence, the Justice Department has released its report on the Uvalde school shooting, finding “critical failures” by law enforcement before, during and after the attack.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down much of a new Texas law that sought to restrict which books are available in school libraries.
Texas may soon be a hub for hydrogen fueling. The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin has more.
CinéWilde, which bills itself as the state’s only monthly LGBTQ film series, turns 10.
And: Remembering award-winning science fiction author Howard Waldrop.
Community colleges get a funding boost, but with some changes
Gov. Greg Abbott received a $6 million campaign contribution from an out-of-state mega donor and school voucher advocate. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of the Texas Newsroom shares more.
The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has the latest on what appear to be endorsement wars among top Texas Republicans.
There’s a new funding formula for community colleges. What could the change add up to?
And commentator W.F. Strong reflects on influencers – both intentional and accidental.
As arctic front looms, how is the electric grid looking?
As Texas braces for a true blast of wintry weather, how much should we be worried about the power grid holding up? Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin is monitoring the power grid and joins us with the latest.
Federal funding cuts for special education could hit Texas hard.
Many Texans who are eligible for Medicaid aren’t signed up. Will Bostwick shares more on his reporting for Texas Monthly.
And: Remembering a musical British invasion of Texas more than a decade after the Beatles.
Is this the end of efforts to keep Fairfield Lake State Park public?
For the first time in modern memory, the Texas House is set to take up a school voucher-like plan.
How do you put a price tag on a state park? We’ll hear more about the challenges facing Texas Parks and Wildlife as it tries to reclaim parkland purchased by developers.
In a dramatic U-turn this week, China’s president appears to be trying to warm up to the U.S. Some clues as to why might be found in a new report from the Dallas Federal Reserve.
Also: What some forecasters are calling a “super El Niño” is coming soon to Texas.
Why is Texas’ Railroad Commission wading into school textbook policy?
New Texas schoolbooks are raising concerns about the long-term implications for attitudes about climate change.
The state-appointed board now running Houston’s independent school district is dealing with more than what’s happening in the classroom, but also struggling to regain trust.
Apple weighs in on a push to give consumers the right to repair their gadgets. What that means for a growing “right to repair” consumer movement.
Plus, plans to build a major energy plant on the Texas coast on hold after a court rules Texas regulators should have applied stricter emissions standards.
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The Texas discovery of a new, dog-sized dinosaur
After months of stalemate, are the Texas House and Senate finally making progress on school spending?
For millions of years, the bones of a tiny dinosaur lay undisturbed in what are now the shores of Lake Grapevine. We’ll learn about a new species.
El Paso residents are concerned about the growing number of high-speed chases in their city.
And: Are city parks set to decline? A new law could make it tougher for urban areas to procure parkland.
Emmitt Smith’s latest move is fighting opioid overdoses
Texas governor Greg Abbott’s prediction a school voucher bill would pass now looks unlikely as the latest special session winds down.
Legendary running back and three-time Super Bowl champ Emmitt Smith teams up with NARCAN to reduce opioid deaths.
How Texans cross into neighboring New Mexico for abortions. We’ll have a special report.
A Texas town’s long-lost photos go on display. What residents hope to learn about their past.
And how a notorious monster has helped generations of parents get children to behave – especially at bedtime. Kristin Cabrera explains the Cucuy.