Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Monday, August 31, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard.
Harris County Mail-In Ballot Applications Controversy
Harris County commissioners voted to send mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters. But the state’s election director says they can’t do it. Houston Chronicle reporter Zach Despart talks to the Standard about the impasse.
Families Of Odessa Shooting Victims Sue Over Guns
A year ago, a man drove through Odessa, firing an assault-style rifle, eventually killing seven people and injuring more than 20. Families of two of the victims are now suing an individual who is believed to have sold the gun to the shooter and a company that manufactures gun parts. Marfa Public Radio’s Mitch Borden reports on how residents of the West Texas city are dealing with their memories of that day.
Ike Dike
Hurricane Laura was the latest warning to the Houston area. A slightly different path would have caused massive destruction in the region. As Houston Public Media’s Jen Rice reports, local officials are now pleading for action on the long-delayed “Ike Dike” project to help protect against storm surge.
One of the many themes touted by the GOP during last week’s Republican National Convention included the message of diversity among the party. So how is that playing out in Texas? Tom Benning, a Washington-based reporter for The Dallas Morning News talks to the Standard.
Last week, NBA teams sat out in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The protest spread to almost every professional sports team in the country. Daron K. Roberts, the founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation at the University of Texas talks to the Standard about this historic movement in the sports world.
‘The 24th’ Recalls A Forgotten Incident Of Racial Violence
In 1917, as World War I raged across the Atlantic Ocean, the Army’s 24th Infantry, a Black regiment, arrived in Houston to guard an Army encampment that was under construction. For months, the soldiers faced open harassment and hostility until it became too much. A rumor spread that one of their fellow soldiers had been killed, and that a mob of white Houstonians was coming to the camp. Over 100 soldiers took their weapons, and went into town. By morning, 15 white Houstonians and four Black soldiers would be killed in the violence that ensued. It’s a tragedy captured in a new film called ‘The 24th.’
Teacher Placed On Leave For Virtual Classroom Graphics
A high school teacher in the Rio Grande Valley is using disciplinary action against her to push for more discussion about race and identity in the classroom. Texas Public Radio’s Camille Phillips reports the teacher was placed on leave after parents complained about a graphic she planned to use during remote learning that showed support for Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ students.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
