Teaching is a tough job. The pandemic made it far worse.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused nearly 70% of Texas public school teachers to consider quitting their jobs, according to a new survey from the American Federation of Teachers. Texas teachers were nearing a breaking point even before COVID-19, says AFT president Zeph Capo, but the past two years brought chaos to Texas’ public school system. Zeph Capo joins us today with more.
Frontier, Spirit and the future of low-cost airlines
Frontier Airlines has announced plans to buy competitor Spirit Airlines for $3 billion. If regulators allow the deal to go through, it will merge the country’s main low-cost carriers. Joining us with the story is Kyle Arnold, aviation reporter for the Dallas Morning News.
Texas looking to raise natural gas prices for debt repayment
State oil-and-gas regulators have taken another step toward raising natural gas bills in order to pay off billions of dollar in debt from last year’s winter storm. As KUT’s Mose Buchele reports, the price of natural gas skyrocketed during the storm leaving ratepayers on the hook for billions.
An early battle in the war over LGBTQ books in schools
The argument over books discussing human sexuality may seem like it’s erupted in recent months. But in one county just south of Fort Worth, the fight has spanned years, spilling over into new political battle grounds. As reporter Jeremy Schwartz writes for ProPublica and the Texas Tribune, the story in Hood County could foreshadow what happens throughout the rest of the state. He joins us today.
Big industry brought big filmmaking power to Dallas
Dallas is home to a thriving film production community. A new online exhibit finds that’s because Big D has long been home to big industry. “Mavericks and (M)ad Men: The Industrial Film Legacy of Dallas” is the new offering from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. We’ll talk to its curator, Katharine Austin.
Veteran volunteers begin the largest effort ever to locate the site of the Battle of Medina
The 1813 Battle of Medina was one of the largest and bloodiest battles in Texas history. Yet little is known about it, including the actual location of the battle. It posed an army of around 1400 Tejanos, Anglo American and Native American volunteers against about 1900 Spanish army regulars. Almost all the Texans were killed. Now, the largest organized effort to locate the battle site has begun. Texas Public Radio’s Jerry Clayton has the story.
Looking back at Queen Elizabeth’s 1991 visit to Texas
February 2022 marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th year on the British throne. During that reign, an extraordinary amount of history has been written. Commentator W.F. Strong feels the Lone Star State might deserve an honorable mention in those pages. He recalls the queen’s 1991 visit to Texas.
Chip Roy’s ‘Pants on Fire’ vaccine claim
Central Texas Rep. Chip Roy tweeted that Pfizer was “shameful” for “using the force of government and the culture of fear to jab children under 5 – with zero basis in science.” Nusaiba Mizan debunks the claim as part of the PolitiFact Texas team, based at the Austin American-Statesman.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
