A lifting of mask mandates and a 100% reopening of business effective a week from today. But many warn this is too much, too soon. Coming up details of the governor’s rollback of regulations on masks and occupancy levels in businesses. Plus reaction from the mayor of San Antonio and from listeners reaching out to us on social media at Texas Standard. Also, 50 Texas scientists pen an open letter to lawmakers urging them to think of the winter storm as a warning about climate change and what Texas needs to do to get ready. Plus a new documentary on regional cuisine digs deep into what it means to be Truly Texas Mexican. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Weather
Texas Standard: March 2, 2021
President Biden faces an early policy test for his administration, and at the heart of it is what’s happening right now at the border. The homeland security director calls for patience as the Biden administration tries to undo the Trump administration’s legacy on immigration. We’ll hear how Mr. Biden is trying to move forward on issues concern asylum seekers and what to do about unaccompanied minors. Also new research offers more detail on a little discussed chapter of history: an underground railroad running south through Texas to Mexico. And why the NBA’s betting big on a new generation of trading cards. All of that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 15, 2021
As the temperatures fall, along with precipitation, millions of Texans stranded or worse by winter weather. Coming up, conversations with reporters from across Texas on how Texans are weathering conditions that have brought large parts of the state to a standstill. Also, missing out on the vaccine but getting something else instead: scammed. A report from Houston. Plus a major disconnect with rural Texas: concerns that a lack of broadband is leaving some Texas towns far behind. And new efforts to reunite families separated by U.S. immigration policies. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 12, 2021
It’s freezing out there. We’ll get a look at weather conditions across the state and what’s to come. We’ll also check in on how the state is weathering extended economic challenges posed by COVID-19. We’ll hear from the state’s top budget official. And the energy industry plays a part in that economic outlook. New proposals aim to tax some polluting practices. Plus a lesson in Texas border history that you might not be familiar with. And we’ll also wrap up the week in Texas politics and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 6, 2020
A police shooting in a small north Texas town over the weekend now. A 22 year old police officer charged with the murder of Jonathan Price. We’ll have more. Also, another sort of Supreme Court battle, this one happening at the polls in Texas. We’ll explore. And it wasn’t so much the wind, but the rain–a researcher sounding the alarm over hurricanes that stall, a new normal? Plus the case of the missing students, during a pandemic. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 11, 2020
A prescription for Coronavirus relief? Congress hasn’t come up with it, and there’s a major political price that could be paid in Texas, too. Less than two months till election day and the message from constituents: we need relief from the economic effects of the pandemic. Politicians on both sides of the aisle say they get it, so where’s the relief package? We’ll explore. Also what’s in a name: the push to identify heatwaves as we do hurricanes. And American gothic reimagined in a Texas of today. The week in politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 6, 2020
Republicans versus Republican. Five conservative lawmakers are suing the Governor, over contracts for Coronavirus tracking. At issue: a nearly 300 million dollar deal for contact tracing that five state lawmakers say should have been vetted by the legislature, but wasn’t. Also, remember that border wall that dominated the last general election. Three miles of private wall built by Trump supporters is already coming down and mother nature’s playing a role. Plus the fight over facial recognition heats up. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Autumnal Elegy
It took its time to get here — but that fall feeling is now in full swing. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Soup Weather
A cold front has cooled much of Texas — at least temporarily. One way to celebrate the fall temperatures is with a bowl of soup. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Outdoor Summer Weddings
Did you get married outdoors in the Texas heat? Have you attended an outdoor wedding in the Texas summer months? This Typewriter Rodeo poem is for you.
Summer Living
The heat is still on for much of Texas. For those of us with indoor jobs or school, it can be surprising how warm it remains even late in the day. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: August 16, 2019
Governor Greg Abbott faces questions about his response to the mass shooting in El Paso. But is he going far enough? He’s facing calls to bring lawmakers back to Austin for a special session in the aftermath of the El Paso shooting. We’ll hear his response from last night’s town hall in Tyler, broadcast statewide and go deeper on his proposed domestic terrorism task force. Also, the wildfire threat in Texas and concerns it’s getting worse. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
Remembering The Summers Of My Youth
Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, I’ve been thinking about the long summers of my youth. We had longer summers then. It’s not just an idealized memory. Schools would dismiss us in late May and we wouldn’t return until September 2nd or so, generally the day following Labor Day.
What I remember distinctly about those summers of more than 50 years ago, is that I was a free range kid. My mom opened the gate in the morning for me and my brothers and we’d wander out into the great pastures of our neighborhood and entire town – yes, it was a small town – unsupervised. We’d roam all over with all the other kids, also free range, and play games and sometimes watch TV at other kids’ houses until we were chased out by a stern mom who’d tell us to “get- on-outside and play.”
I say we were unsupervised, but not really. The whole town had its arms around us and made sure we behaved, and were safe.
About noon we’d meander back home and have dinner. That is what we called lunch then. The noon meal was dinner. Then we’d have a nap, with cicadas humming loudly, and go back out until supper time, about seven. We’d eat supper quickly so we could get back out to our friends where we’d play until well after dark, enjoying games like “kick-the-can” and “red light.”
The grown-ups were out there with us, sitting in lawn chairs, making homemade ice cream, listening to baseball games on small transistor radios and gazing up into the stars, marveling at the tech-savvy age they lived in, where they could see NASA satellites passing over.
Yes, as kids, we were quite free. I remember one day me and my brothers were on our bikes with backpacks on, ready to head out and my father said, “Where are you boys going?”
We said, “To the lake.”
He said, “To that one five miles east of town?”
“Yes, sir,” we said.
“That one out there on the FM road with all the 18 wheeler traffic?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That one you have to cross the rattlesnake field to get to?”
“Yes, sir,” we admitted.
“All right. Just be back by dark or your momma will worry,” he said.
I like that my Dad would never admit to worrying himself. He just worried about my mom worrying.
He was also big on the idea that boyhood shaped and toughened the man that the boy would become.
Once I asked him for a ride over to my friend Gonzalo’s house.
He said, “It’s only a mile over there. Walk. It’ll do you good.”
I said, “But it’s about 100 degrees right now.”
He said, “Wear a hat.”
Summers sure are different for kids now. The world is no doubt more dangerous now than it was then.
But no matter the reasons I’m grateful for the boyhood I had, rather than these modern ones, with kids so often cooped up inside with high tech games. To be honest, though, I do have a tiny bit of cross-generational tech envy in me. I know that when I was 15 I would have loved to have had an Xbox. Still, I know for sure that I wouldn’t trade my free-range summers for all the terabytes of RAM in the world.
Cicadas
They are a sound of summer for many Texans and they were the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Slow Down Summer
It is already almost August?! Didn’t summer just begin?! That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Theatre In The Park
Summer theatre, despite the heat, is a tradition in many parts of Texas. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Falling
Summer storms can be quick and devastating. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Take This Dog For A Walk
It’s hot. Texas hot. But Fido doesn’t seem to care. That’s the inspiration of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: May 9, 2019
A showdown between congress and the executive branch over the Mueller report. Many calling it a constitutional crisis. But is it, really? In the fight over control of the Mueller report, it may come down to the courts to decide whether the executive branch can justifiably assert executive privilege and stop congress from getting an unredacted copy. We’ll explore what’s at stake for the separation of powers. Also, a new report spots a growing trend: the upwardly mobile mexican migrant, we’ll take a look. And the budget premium smartphone: an oxymoron? Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Springtime & Shaving
The days are getting warmer and the attire is getting shorter. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.