Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, July 16, 2021.
Phelan Revokes Joe Moody’s Leadership Role – Latest
Arrest threats, a House Democrat being stripped of his leadership position, and offers of free plane trips back from D.C.: It’s just another day at the Texas Capitol. Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, joins us with the latest.
State House and Senate Democrats weren’t the only Texan officials in D.C. yesterday. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez appeared before a U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs answering questions about his approach to taking charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was the first time Gonzalez publicly addressed how he plans to lead ICE since he was nominated to the position months ago.
Tens of thousands of evictions across Texas that have been on pause could resume in the coming weeks. That’s because the federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of this month. As Houston Public Media’s Jen Rice reports, renters, landlords, and housing advocates there are preparing for a sudden rush at eviction courts.
When the president of Haiti was assassinated on July 7 and massive protests erupted in Cuba the following weekend, people began to ask the question: what sort of foreign policy situation might the Biden administration be looking at right now? Joining us to talk about the Caribbran is Benjamin Hebblethwaite. He teaches Caribbean studies at the University of Florida and specializes in Haiti and Jamaica.
It’s something many Texans are all too familiar with: traffic on the state’s highways. The typical solution is to add more lanes or entire new highways. Most Texans know some portion of I-35 is perpetually under construction. But there’s evidence all this expansion just leads to even more congestion down the road. Texas Observer executive editor Megan Kimble says instead of expansion, we ought to consider tearing highways down.
Texas Shrimp Season Opens
The commercial shrimp season in Texas waters opened this week. Texas Public Radio’s Jerry Clayton has more.
Preserving Austin’s Mexican-American Cemeteries
A Mexican-American cemetery in Del Valle, southeast of Austin, is overrun with foliage and debris. From the outside, it appears abandoned. But members of the community and a team of researchers at UT Austin want to revitalize it. KUT’s Marisa Charpentier has the story.
The Week in Politics with The Texas Tribune
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
