Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Thursday, September 10, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. We’ll have full posts for each story, including audio, a little later today.
Police Funding in Austin
Austin Mayor Steve Adler talks to the Standard about Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to have the Texas Department of Public Safety take over the Austin Police Department if the city’s police budget is reduced. See our interview earlier this week with Terry Keel, architect of the plan.
LGBTQ Issues and Texas Sex Education
Texas’ mostly Republican State Board of Education is revising the state’s sex education curriculum for the first time in 20 years. Despite pleas from LGBTQ advocates and educators, the board’s proposal this week shows no sign of addressing LGBTQ issues. The Standard talks to Texas Tribune reporter Aliyya Swaby about the board of education plan moving forward.
NPR & Harvard Health Poll, part 2
Yesterday we told you how people in Houston had far more trouble getting medical care and paying for it, according to new data from NPR and Harvard. Now, Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst tells us what the survey found out about the tremendous financial impact COVID-19 is having in Houston.
Disinformation in Online Games
Since 2016, the ways that social platforms like Facebook and Twitter can and do address political or medical disinformation have been contentious. But now, as online games like Animal Crossing and Fortnite become venues – not only for play, but for political expression – the companies hosting these online worlds face questions about how they will handle misleading statements or content produced by players. Tech expert Omar Gallaga talks to the Standard about this intersection of games and politics
Texas Wine and Grape Growers Get Political
Texas breweries, distilleries and wineries have been hit particularly hard by the economic fallout from COVID-19. That’s due, in part, to a series of declarations by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that put them in a similar category as bars, which are largely closed. The Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association is responding in a way it has never done before. They’ve created a political action committee.
Back to School Audio Portrait: Donald Peacock
San Antonio Compilation Album Supports the Local Food Bank
Live music has become one of the greatest cultural casualties of COVID-19. But as venues are shuttered and tours cancelled, a group of 18 musicians in San Antonio is trying to keep up their creative chops while helping their community. Texas Public Radio’s Dominic Anthony Walsh reports on a compilation album of local artists covering local artists.
Federal Anti-Racism Training
Every year, millions of American employees take mandatory racial sensitivity training. But President Trump wants it to stop for federal employees. Peniel Joseph, who holds the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, talks to the Standard about the president’s order.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
