Race underway to fill Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s seat
Texas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson announced her retirement late last year. Her decision comes after 40 years in public office, and nearly 30 years representing Texas’ 30th Congressional District, covering much of Dallas and Dallas County. Her retirement ignited a flurry of candidates to run in the heavily Democratic district. For more on the race, we’re joined by Abby Livingston, D.C. bureau chief for the Texas Tribune.
Advocates and jailers fear riot conditions as violence persists in Harris County
The most violent jail facilities in Texas are in Harris County, according to a Texas Public Radio analysis of public records from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. At one point last year, an inmate in a Harris County jail had a one in 10 chance of being assaulted. Texas Public Radio’s Paul Flahive has more.
How Texas’ electric grid has performed this winter
A storm system is expected to bring snow, sleet and rain to parts of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle today. After last year’s days-long blackout, recent winter weather forecasts have Texans more unsettled than years past. Can the grid’s performance this winter tell us anything about the risk of another blackout? Mose Buchele of KUT Austin reports.
Jan. 22 marked 49 years after the passing of Lyndon Baines Johnson, who died in Stonewall, Texas, not far from where he was born and raised. As historians reflect on the half-century since his death, few are likely to give much thought to his sense of humor. But commentator W.F. Strong says it’s worth remembering the effect of LBJ’s wit and how it could surface unexpectedly.
Could traffic tickets via text end the need for police stops?
Traffic stops are a staple of policing – although for many officers and citizens these encounters can be uneasy. One former San Antonio police officer is hoping to change that by eliminating the need to pull someone over for minor traffic violations. The solution? Getting tickets via text. Here to explain is Val Garcia, president and CEO of the Trusted Driver Program.
The importance of being Buster
Aside from being one of early cinema’s biggest stars, Buster Keaton was also one of its most innovative practitioners. His life, which began just before the dawn of the twentieth century and ended in the 1960s, intersected some of the most consequential developments in entertainment, law, journalism and politics. Dana Stevens, Texas native and film critic for Slate Magazine, places Keaton in context in the new book “Camera Man.” We’ll learn more today in this extended interview.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke said that seven out of 10 kids in the average Texas fourth grade class cannot read at grade level. Is that a fact? Joining us with a ruling is Nusaiba Mizan from PolitiFact Texas, based at the Austin American-Statesman.
All this plus the Texas News Roundup and Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
