Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, September 20, 2021.
Today, Texas starts its special legislative session of the year. And as KERA’s Haya Panjwani reports, while a few other items are on the agenda, redistricting takes center stage.
Start of Redistricting Special Session
Redistricting is the main draw this special session, and Republicans will dominate the process. Is the majority party’s map drawing destined for lawsuits? Sherri Greenberg is a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a former Democratic state representative. She joins us today with her perspective.
Winter Storm Investigation
This week, federal officials are expected to share some details of an investigation into the deadly power blackout that hit Texas last February. But as Mose Buchele of KUT Austin reports, those waiting for a more complete picture of what happened will have to wait a bit longer.
Texas SB 8 and Company Branding
We’ve seen big Texas businesses come off the sidelines on recent, controversial political matters: new voting restrictions and legislation targeting transgender people, to name a few. Which makes it all the more curious that many major companies have stayed silent on Texas’ sweeping new abortion ban. But Emmy Liederman writes for ADWEEK that Texas’ new law is a call to action for brands and ad agencies.
Earlier this year, amid a rise in the number of visible homeless encampments in the Texas capital city, the Legislature approved a statewide ban on camping in public spaces. Though the much smaller city of Lubbock hasn’t seen a similar rise in such encampments, it is wrestling with a controversy over a newly created nonprofit’s plan to establish a homeless transition center. As Texas Tech Public Media’s Sarah Self-Walbrick reports, existing homeless service providers say it’s a solution without a problem.
Many peoples’ paths cross through Texas. Some who were born here – or simply passed through – come to be better known elsewhere. Take, for example, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. You might not know the first woman to sit on the nation’s highest court was born in El Paso and went to school there as a child. O’Connor’s early life and influence on the court are the subject of the latest “American Experience” installment on PBS. Michelle Ferrari wrote and directed it, and she joins us today,
The 11th annual Texas Tribune Festival kicks off today. The fest takes place virtually for the second year in a row, due to concerns about COVID, but that doesn’t mean there won’t still be plenty to do. Here to give us the details is co-founder and CEO of The Texas Tribune, Evan Smith.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.