THC

House Speaker Dade Phelan bows out of leadership reelection bid

Facing a challenge from fellow Republicans, Dade Phelan says he’s dropping his bid for re-election as Texas House speaker.
Texas has some of the most expensive insurance in the nation, forcing homeowners to pay more for less coverage.
Desert bighorn sheep return to the Franklin Mountains of El Paso, a major milestone in restoring the species.
While the area around the UT Austin Tower buzzes with activity, a quieter sanctuary to the north – the Turtle Pond – offers a break from the hustle. The Texas Standard’s Laura Rice takes us to this peaceful pocket and explores how it’s evolving amid campus changes.

Texas Standard: August 27, 2021

It was the story of the summer in Texas Politics. Now proposals at the center of a legislative walkout appear set to become law. The Texas House, where a quorum was broken over Democratic opposition to a voting bill, has just passed its version of that voting bill. Was the walkout all for nought? We’ll hear more. Also at a healthcare hub in west Texas, ER wait-times climb to 20 hours. We’ll have the latest as we continue to track the spread of the Delta COVID variant. And 100 miles in a hundred degrees. What would you call it? How the hotter than Hell bicycle race is rolling into its 40th year. Plus the week in politics and more when today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: August 29, 2019

And then there were 10: Houston sets the stage for the third round of Democratic presidential debates. We’ll look at how this time things will be different. Other stories we’re tracking: the path of hurricane Dorian as it bears down on the U.S. mainland, a storm that promised to put the new governor of Puerto Rico to the test. Also a new effort by Texas to test for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. And the future of the space industry in Texas after another launch this week. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: July 5, 2019

Texas’ fraught relationship with everything cannabis just took a new turn. The new hemp law that’s left law enforcement agencies scratching their heads, we’ll have details. Also, some of Texas’ fastest growing cities have public schools where the population is shrinking: “The Charter Effect”. We’ll explore. And from the days of the California Gold Rush to today, the Midland area remains crucial to those seeking fortune. Plus, nurdles and the woman in a kayak who’s fighting to rid Lavaca Bay of these plastics. And should your relationship with your gun change as you age? We’ll take a look at that and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: May 28, 2019

The 86th session of the Texas legislature is history, but is it one for the history books? We’ll take a look at the highs and lows, the winners and losers and more on a special edition of the Texas Standard. At a time of bitterness and division in national politics, a funny thing happened on the way to the Texas legislature in January: the three most powerful figures in Texas politics resolved to get things done without playing to the political extremes. From property tax and school finance reform, mental health care and beyond…we’ll look at who won who lost and how it affects all of us on our special edition of the Standard: