Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, July 19, 2021.
On Friday, a federal Judge in Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – more commonly known as DACA – is illegal, and ordered that no new applications into the program be accepted. For more on the ruling, Texas Standard talks to Uriel García, the El Paso-based immigration reporter for The Texas Tribune.
Children Hospitalized with COVID
“Younger, sicker, faster.” That’s the description being used in some parts of the country as the U-S deals once again with rising COVID cases – some connected to the Delta variant. But the national news outlets have been focused on Missouri and Arkansas. So what’s the picture in Texas? And when we say younger — are we really talking kids? Texas Standard talks to Dr. Jim Versalovic, the pathologist-in-chief and interim pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Blue Origin’s Manned Space Flight Preview
Van Horn, Texas, population 2,000, is preparing for it’s moment in the national spotlight. Tomorrow, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to board a rocket at a launch site just north of the far west Texas town with his brother and two other passengers on a flight to the edge of space. KTEP’s Angela Kocherga.
Oklahoma Casinos Competing for North Texans
This year at the Texas Legislature, members of the casino industry lobbied lawmakers to loosen the state’s rules on gambling. Casinos are illegal in Texas, except for those run by some Native American tribes. The lobbying effort didn’t do much to change that. If you want to try your luck at the tables, you’ll still have to go to a state where it’s legal to do so — like, say, Oklahoma. Texans are essential to the sooner state’s casino industry — and the casinos themselves are spending big money to make sure they keep coming. Alexandra Skores, business reporter for The Dallas Morning News, talks to the Standard.
Past Walkouts by GOP in Oregon
The walkout by Democratic lawmakers in the Texas Legislature has now morphed into more of a sit-out. The Dems who went to Washington D.C. to prevent a quorum in the state house plan to remain there until the end of the special session. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to just keep calling them until the Lege passes the Republicans’ voting bill. For observers in Oregon, the situation must appear like a kind of bizzaro world – familiar, but somehow warped. Texas Standard talks to Dirk VanderHart, who covers politics and government for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Etiquette is a little different at the Wyly Theater in Dallas right now. As Miguel Perez of KERA reports, a new play there will have you feeling like you’re sitting ringside at a wrestling match.
There’s another ongoing, complex cross border issue that many of us don’t hear about at all – and it’s happening in the Gulf of Mexico. NPR Southwest Correspondent John Burnett reports Mexican fishermen sneak into U.S. waters to catch high-priced red snapper. It’s a pricey problem affecting Texas fisherman. And there’s evidence the Mexican cartel is involved.
Tarrant County’s Controversial Immigration Program
In 2020, Tarrant County officials opted to renew the 287g immigration program. By doing so, deputies in the Tarrant County Jail can flag undocumented inmates for federal deportation. It’s a program used by 26 Texas jails but one that is not without its critics, who say it results in racial profiling. As KERA’s Miranda Suarez reports, there has been local opposition to the program … and critics say there’s not a lot of transparency about the county’s effort.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Michael Marks with the talk of Texas.
