The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Famed Texan, billionaire and two-time independent candidate for U.S. president, Ross Perot has died at the age of 89. The Dallas Morning News reports Perot had been battling leukemia since February. Born in Texarkana, Perot was a pioneer of the computer services industry, founding the company Electronic Data Systems in 1962.
In a 2015 interview with the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, Perot talked about his love for the state and his hometown.
“I was Texas-born and Texas-bred and Texarkana raised and when I die, I’ll be Texas dead. So, I just want you to know I’m a true Texan, love Texas,” Perot said.
Perot will also be remembered as a prolific philanthropist.
Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress will visit the Rio Grande Valley later this week.
Reynaldo Leanos Jr. with Texas Public Radio has this preview:
Vice President Pence tweeted that he’ll be traveling to McAllen on Friday. He’ll be joined by the Second Lady and a bipartisan delegation made up of members of the Judiciary Committee.
On Friday, @SecondLady & I will travel to the U.S./ Mexico border at McAllen, TX with a bipartisan delegation of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate passed bipartisan humanitarian relief – but much more must be done to SECURE our border & end this crisis!
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 8, 2019
They’re expected to meet with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The announcement of the visit comes about a week after federal inspectors found dangerous overcrowding and prolonged detention at Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande Valley. The Inspector General report cited a senior manager who described the situation at one of the facilities as a ticking time bomb.
Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castro’s campaign says it’s reached a key milestone to qualify for the fall primary debates.
The former Housing and Urban Development secretary hit 130,000 donors. That’s one of the requirements Democratic candidates must meet to qualify for presidential primary debates in September and October.
Hey, y’all, I have great news! This morning we hit a key requirement to qualify for the fall debates: 130,000 of you have made a donation to my campaign. Thank you, I’m honored to have your support! Let’s keep up the great momentum! pic.twitter.com/ybULwTL0bi
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) July 8, 2019
The other requirement is that contenders need to get 2% support in four polls.
The Texas Tribune reports former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke is also expected to meet the donor threshold, since 100-thousand people contributed to his campaign within the first 24 hours of its launch. His campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment from Texas Standard on the number of donors he has at this point.
An event in Fort Hood this week aims to help veterans, current military, and their spouses transition into civilian careers.
Heidi Miller is with sponsors RecruitMilitary. Miller is a veteran, herself, and says deciding what to do after serving was hard.
“Well, the first challenge I had, is I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up or when I transitioned,” Miller says. “So that was the first issue, next was how my skill sets really translated into the civilian sector.”
As of May, veteran unemployment was at an all-time low of 2.7%, but Miller thinks underemployment is still an issue. Plus, she points out military spouses have a very high unemployment rate at over 25%.
“I think that a lot of the reason for that is it’s hard to really establish that continuity to build that professional portfolio when you’re constantly moving and finding that new position over and over again,” Miller says.
RecruitMilitary has also partnered with Google to create a job search tool to help military spouses and veterans find positions that best fit their skill sets. More than 300 people are registered to attend the Fort Hood Veterans Job Fair Thursday afternoon. Over 60 employers will be there too.
