Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Inside the wildfire response in North Texas
State wildfire fighting crews have been responding to numerous fires across Texas this week. Some of the largest fires in North Texas have burned thousands of acres, destroying property and homes in their paths. Wes Moorehead, associate director of forest resource protection and the fire chief at Texas A&M Forest Service, joins with an overview.
Early pandemic isolation took a big toll on youth mental health
While lockdowns early in the pandemic were necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a new study posits that keeping young people out of schools meant an unprecedented mental health strain for them – one with potentially long-term negative outcomes. Jeff Temple, vice dean for research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston’s School of Nursing and the director of the Center for Violence Prevention, shares the findings.
Will Texas have enough teachers when school starts again?
In big cities across the country, teachers are almost always in demand. Amid the so-called Great Resignation, that appears truer than ever. Until school starts in August, it’s impossible to know how many teachers Texas will need. But KERA’s Bill Zeeble met a few instructors in Dallas who expect more of their colleagues will not be back in class.
How to make music on your iPad
If you play a musical instrument, sing, or write songs, you might have thought about recording those tunes. But how? If you have an Apple iPad, making and enhancing music recordings is a lot easier than you might think. Our tech expert, Omar Gallaga recently wrote for Wired about how to use an iPad to lay down some tracks, and joins us to tell us about it.
Gardening tips during a Texas heat wave
Summer is always a challenging time for gardening in Texas, but a record heat wave and drought have made it especially difficult to keep plants alive and green. Last week’s scattered showers helped revive some scorched floral and vegetable gardens, but the unforgiving temperatures are far from over. Michael Arnold, professor of landscape horticulture and director of The Gardens at Texas A&M, has some tips for gardeners during a drought – and what you can do to save your plants.
Float Fest returns this summer
The bounce back to some pre-pandemic normalcy continues with the return of music festivals – including one on ranc hlands where battles for Texas independence were once fought. The weekend of July 23 and 24 is bracing for an invasion of musicians and concertgoers, as bands and artists like Vampire Weekend, Chance the Rapper and Deadmaus play Float Fest in Gonzalez. Fest founder Marcus Federman joins us to talk about the upcoming festival.
Brittney Griner’s trial continues
As women’s basketball star Brittney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia drags on, families of Americans considered “wrongfully detained” by other countries are pressuring the Biden administration to take stronger action. President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order aimed at deterring and punishing countries deemed to wrongfully imprison Americans. Meanwhile, Griner’s trial in Russia continues with her next court date set for the end of the month. Jim Heintz, an Associated Press reporter based in Moscow, joins with the latest.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
