Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, January 14, 2022.
How long can public schools stay open under omicron?
During this current COVID surge, most public schools have tried to stay open. But as the omicron variant spreads like wildfire, districts are being forced to cancel classes and bus service. How long can Texas schools operate this way? Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, joins us today with more.
School districts ask parents to fill in as substitute teachers
Many teachers across Texas are sick or quarantining, meaning schools are scrambling to find substitutes. Claire McInerny with KUT reports that some Texas schools are getting creative.
Regulators hope infrastructure map helps prevent future blackouts
The Public Utility Commission of Texas receives a progress report today on mapping the state’s energy infrastructure – everything from natural gas wells to power plants to transmission lines. As KUT Austin’s Mose Buchele reports, officials say they need the map to prevent future blackouts, like the ones that happened in severe winter storms last year.
A judge declared Abbott’s border plan unconstitutional. What’s next?
Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security plan, dubbed Operation Lone Star, faces a court challenge that could determine its future. A Travis County district judge has ruled that the state’s immigration enforcement under Operation Lone Star plan violates the U.S. Constitution. Tony Plohetski, investigative reporter for the Austin-American Statesman and KVUE News, brings us the latest.
Ken Paxton accused of open records violation
Here’s another development among the numerous legal troubles involving Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: a district attorney is preparing to sue Paxton over a law the AG is supposed to enforce himself. At issue? A joint complaint from the editors of Texas’ biggest newspapers, claiming Paxton has withheld records reporters had requested under the Texas Public Information Act: emails and text messages from last January in Washington D.C., when Paxton spoke at the Trump rally preceding the January 6 insurrection. For more we’re joined by Lauren McGaughy, investigative reporter for The Dallas Morning News.
Before ‘Yellowstone,’ there was ‘1883’
Been watching “Yellowstone?” You’re not alone. The western series has proved so popular it’s spawned a spinoff. A prequel, “1883,” streaming on Paramount+, follows the ancestors of the Dutton family as they make the dangerous journey west. Actor Eric Nelsen plays the cowboy Ennis on “1883,” and he joins us today.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas, and your Friday favorites: Typewriter Rodeo and the Texas Tribune’s James Barragán with the week in Texas politics!
