Texas Standard For June 4, 2021

It is being described as one of the most important elections in Mexico’s history and the implications for Texas could be enormous. We’ll have more on the stakes for Texas as voters go to the polls this weekend in Mexico. And: A major energy pipeline as a target for hackers? Foreseeable. But why was a slaughterhouse hit by a cyberattack, and what are the lessons for Texas? We’ll take a closer look. Also: The lone Black freshman representative in the Texas House on lessons learned from the just-concluded session, and what comes next. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardJune 4, 2021 10:32 am

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, June 4, 2021.

Mexico Midterm Elections

Mexico holds midterm elections Sunday, and voters are electing hundreds of mayors and 15 governors. The state of Chihuahua shares the largest stretch of border with Texas. KTEP’s Angela Kocherga reports on what’s at stake.

Food Supply Chain Security

A company that serves as the backbone of the nation’s energy infrastructure?  Easy to see how it might be in the cross-hairs of cyberattackers. But a cyberattack on a company that slaughters cattle? Not so much – until you think about the food supply chain. And the lessons for Texas here could be significant. Joining us is Gregory Pompelli, director of the Cross Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense Center at Texas A&M University.

Lege HIV Funding

Thousands of low-income Texans living with HIV are in limbo, worried they may lose access to life-saving medication. That’s because the state-administered Texas HIV medication program is dealing with a major budget deficit. State lawmakers just awarded the program millions of dollars. But Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst says even with those funds, budget cuts remain a possibility.

Racial Justice Progress Museums

Last summer, amid a reckoning over racial justice, museums in Texas and across the country vowed to do more. A year on, how much has changed? KERA’s Miguel Perez reports.

Rep. Crockett on Looking Back at the Legislative Session

We’ve spent much of this past week dissecting the final outcomes of the 87th Texas Legislature – what passed and what didn’t – and less time asking about what the experience was for the lawmakers themselves. A profile in The Texas Tribune inspired us to change that. The story by Marissa Martinez highlights the Legislature’s only Black freshman: Democratic Dallas Rep. Jasmine Crockett. She says she filed more bills than any other newcomer in the Lege – but not a single one for which she was the main author became law. Instead, she assumed a defensive posture throughout most the culturally conservative session. We’ll hear from her today.

Kathy Valentine on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Graduating College

It’s been a big year for Texas’ own Kathy Valentine, bassist for The Go-Go’s. Last summer, she released a much-lauded memoir, and a long-awaited documentary on the Go-Gos was released too. Now, Valentine’s getting ready to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside her Go-Gos bandmates. Kathy Valentine joins us now to talk about all this and more.

Typewriter Rodeo: ‘Re-Socializing’

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.

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