Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Since the start of the pandemic, Texas’ foster care system has experienced a placement crisis that’s left up to 400 children without permanent places to live. Gov. Greg Abbott recently agreed to create a panel to address this dilemma. Edward McKinley, state politics reporter for the Houston Chronicle, joins us today with more about the creation of this foster care panel.
A Republican state representative from Fort Worth is asking Texas school districts to inventory books about race and sexuality. Matt Krause, who’s running in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general – is investigating 850 titles, including a book about anti-racism that a parent complained about in Southlake’s Carroll ISD. But as KERA’s Miranda Suarez reports, the author of that book says kids are more than ready to learn about race – and that conversation should happen in school.
Military Vaccine Deadlines
Deadlines for the first members of the active duty military to get fully vaccinated are almost here. Air Force troops must have their shots by November 2; the rest must follow suit by the Army’s cutoff date, December 15. Texas Public Radio’s Carson Frame reports on the vaccination effort and its pitfalls.
3D Printed Housing Development
Today, you can buy or make 3-D printed versions of everything from toys to furniture. But what if you could print a house? That’s what a developer in the Austin area has in mind. And those plans go way beyond a single 3-D printed home: they’re working on an entire community of them. Our tech expert Omar Gallaga is here to tell us about it.
TTexas County Jails on the Brink
For 18 months COVID-19 has turned Texas county jails into petri dishes of disease. Now, many of these already struggling facilities are now near the breaking point. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on overtime for jails across the state as counties struggle to hire new employees as people leave the profession in droves. Texas Public Radio’s Paul Flahive reports.
West Dallas has gone through a lot of changes in recent years. Some of that change has been at the expense of the Black and brown folks who live there. Raul Reyes Jr. leads an organization aimed at making sure new development benefits the entire community. He shared his story with Shardae White as part of NPR’s Next Generation Radio project.
Fairs and rodeos are a rite of the fall season in Texas. Williamson County held its inaugural fair and rodeo over the weekend. KUT Austin’s Allyson Ortegon spent a day visiting the grounds and taking in all the sights and sounds.
Tackling Poverty in Fort Worth, part 2
This week we’re following up on an ambitious anti-poverty program, started in 2015 by Catholic Charities Fort Worth. The end goal? Moving people out of poverty, permanently. In part two of KERA’s One Crisis Away series “Tackling Poverty: A Case Study in Fort Worth,”contributor Kavitha Cardoza explains why, despite receiving unheard-of assistance, half the original clients dropped out in the first year. (A note to listeners: this story discusses suicide.)
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
