Central Texas top stories for December 10, 2024. Today is the last day of early voting in the local runoff elections. Texas is struggling to get people out of jails and into mental health treatment. Eanes ISD is considering combining two elementary schools to save money. San Marcos are looking to combine the city’s bus routes with those serving Texas State University. Cold shelters in Austin will open today.
Schools
KUT Morning Newscast for July 25, 2024
Central Texas top stories for July 25, 2024. This week’s rain is helping fill Lake Travis. Capital Metro is launching a new Pickup Zone in northeast Austin. Hays County officials are reporting the first human case of West Nile virus. Lake Travis ISD won’t allow the use of cellphones for Pre-K through eighth grade students. The Oakwood Cemetery Chapel is offering a free workshop on how to become community organizers.
Why are so many Central Texas school districts in a budget deficit?
The Austin ISD school board is expected to vote tonight to approve a budget for the next fiscal year. Like other districts throughout Central Texas, AISD is going to be millions of dollars in the hole, despite already identifying millions in spending cuts. KUT’s Becky Fogel reports on how so many districts ended up in the same budget deficit boat.
KUT Morning Newscast for February 7, 2023
Central Texas top stories for February 7, 2023. Austin Energy is still restoring power. Family without power. School storm damage. Some trees fell more than others. Pflugerville ISD potential school closures. Hays CISD fentanyl education.
‘In the line of fire’: Central Texas teachers share safety concerns as students head back to school
Teachers are returning to classrooms next week, less than three months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. KUT asked three teachers in Central Texas to share how they’re feeling about school safety.
Texas Standard: July 28, 2022
18 billion in pandemic aid for Texas schools, a huge amount of money. So why has less than a third been spent? We’ll explore. Also with back to school just around the corner, many districts struggling to find and retain teachers. Will promises of a four day workweek do the trick? We’ll hear what educators and parents make of that approach. And five years after Hurricane Harvey, what researchers are finding out about a less obvious impact: the exposure to chemicals. Plus thousands of miles of new roads in Texas displacing hundreds of homes and businesses, but repeated findings of no environmental impact. A red flag? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 4, 2021
Back to school? How’s that going to work with Texas now a top state for the spread of a new COVID variant. That and more on today’s Texas Standard.
Rates of COVID infection are back up near pandemic highs in Texas and younger and unvaccinated people appear to be more vulnerable to the Delta variant. And schools are scrambling to get ready. We’ll talk with reporters in Dallas and El Paso and get the latest.
Also, Governor Abbott’s executive order restricting the transportation of migrants is dealt a blow by a federal judge. And what is it that makes Texas gymnast Simone Biles the greatest of all time. Those stories and more.
Texas Standard: July 28, 2021
New CDC guidelines on masks in schools this fall. Now one of Texas’ biggest teachers groups is sounding an alarm. The Texas state teachers association calling on Governor Abbott to drop his order against mask mandates as school districts prepare for a return to the classrooms and the Delta COVID-19 variant drives up cases and hospitalizations statewide. We’ll have the latest. Also the relationship between vaccination rates, media literacy, and what can be done to improve both. And an auspicious anniversary for the state’s top law enforcement official. A Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 29, 2021
From guns to immigration, green jobs and more, an historic speech by President Biden with big implications for Texas and the nation. Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News with more on the President’s speech to congress. Also a supreme court case on how far public schools can go in trying to control off-campus speech by students. And the outgoing mayor of Fort Worth on policing, the pandemic, and changes to the city she’s governed for the past decade. Plus upsetting the Apple cart: facebook pushing back big time over a new feature on iPhones. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 11, 2020
Half of Houstonians rent their homes but the city hasn’t passed protections against eviction in this current economic situation. We’ll take a closer look. Plus- to play ball or not. The field of college sports is starting to look very different as we near the start of seasons. And another uncertain future? American agriculture. Actually, the future looks certainly dire unless there are some changes. Then there’s school reopening. We’ll hear from a former U.S. Secretary of Education about why we have to try and how to do it safer. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 30, 2020
The complicated formula for funding schools in Texas now adds 5 letters and two numbers: COVID-19. How should we fund schools while in the midst of a global pandemic? The push and pull, we’ll have more. We also learn about the movement born out of the murder of Fort Hood soldier Vannesa Guillen: NoMás. What it means to say No More. And have you heard about “hygiene theater”? Does it make us safer? We’ll find out. And we take a look at the growing pains of oil production in Texas, an industry much touted by the president during his visit yesterday. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 4, 2019
How well do you think democracy is working in America? Texans weigh in and talk about about what poses the biggest threat to democracy. We’ll have details from the just released annual survey of political attitudes in the Lone Star State, the Texas Lyceum Poll. Also, what we’re learning about how the Permian Basin shooter obtained his weapon and how that’s putting Texas lawmakers in a politically precarious position. Plus is the U.S. not only the top oil and gas producer but tops in cutting emissions, too? A Politifact check and more when today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 21, 2019
A major rule change for migrant families in detention just announced which some say could mean families held in detention indefinitely. We’ll have details. Other stories were tracking, a new spring in the step of Texas Democrats. A closer look at a possible shift in the political psychology of the Lone Star State. Also, water borne toxins blamed for the deaths of 4 dogs in the Austin area, but the same algae blooms linked to those deaths can be found across Texas. Practical tips on keeping pets safe and cool around the water. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 23, 2018
Setting records statewide as early voting gets underway across Texas. Meanwhile President Trump turns up the volume on immigration as a migrant caravan from Central America makes its way through Mexico to the U.S. border. We’ll have the latest. Also, watch what you wear before you head out to the polls. Why that favorite shirt or cap could land you in trouble with the law. And tornado alley winding its way eastward? Climate experts track a surprising long term weather pattern. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 20, 2017
What’s most important to Texas? Harvey relief? A deal for DACA? What about just keeping the government going through the holidays? Deadlines and decisions on the Standard.
In a moment we’ll talk with editors in three Texas cities to hear what Texans are telling them about what D.C. needs to get done by this weekend. And why.
Remember how schoolteacehrs used to pin a note to your shirt so parents would get the message? The state’s just done that to hundreds of students. The message: you’ve been hacked.
Plus the Texan who taught the Beatles how to blow it. Delbert McClinton on the real story on that intro to Love Me Do. All that and a whole lot more.
Texas Standard: November 2, 2017
One small step for a sports franchise, one giant leap for for Harvey Hit Houston. Baseball, we have a world champion. We’ll have the view from their hometown. Plus, they are prescribed to combat some of the toughest diseases out there, but are they really necessary? A new report spells out a kickback scheme: not for patient health, but for under the table profit. And if you can’t get kids to the great outdoors, bring the great outdoors to the kids? A test at a school in East Dallas. And what’s old, outdated and red hot in high tech? With holiday shopping season looming the answer may be serious business, we’ll explore. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
12th & Chicon: AISD’s Achievement Gap
As the Austin Independent School District deals with declining enrollment and decisions about facilities and campuses, many wonder if students across the district are getting the same quality of education. AISD school board member Ted Gordon, who represents District 1 in East and Northeast Austin, joined KUT’s Jennifer Stayton to discuss achievement gaps and possible solutions in the district.
Why We Make Rules
We might take rules for granted. For example, we all know that 55 mph means 62 mph, and that crosswalks are for leisure time–just kidding. But, seriously, do we ever wonder why we make rules in the first place?
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke, talk about why we make rules, and why it’s important to talk about it.
Texas Standard: April 8, 2016
Texas tops the national news on the April 8th the latest: a shoot at a military base in San Antonio. Also- the latest on a shooting incident at Lackland air force base…also
a cellphone video of a 12 year old slammed to the ground by school police stirs debate over the line between maintaining order and abuse of power. And Many happy returns? As taxpaying texans prepare to gloat on the 15th, we ask whether we might be more in line with the other 49 than we think. And this weeks inspiring basketball championship story you might have missed out on…Those stories and much more on todays Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 22, 2016
In the brawl for the Republican nomination in Iowa- influential conservative intellectuals come out swinging against the man standing in the way of Ted Cruz. But will any of this matter for the U-S Senator from Texas? Plus the latest Texas jobs report shows unemployment ticking slightly higher. But if you’re a woman over 50, there are big obstacles to getting a job. And the history behind the The Texas Rangers killing hundreds of Mexican-Americans in the early 20th century. Those stories and lots more on todays Texas Standard: