Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Tuesday, December 1, 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.
State of the Texas Economy
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the nation’s economy hard. And Texas is no different. Oil prices are down because no one is traveling. The hospitality industry – hotels, bars and restaurants – are in freefall because more people are staying in their homes to keep infections down. There’s one bright spot. Sales tax revenue is up. Turns out that we may be staying in our homes but we haven’t stopped shopping. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar talks to the Standard about his update to the Legislative Budget Board this week.
COVID After-Effects
In Houston, there’s a clinic for people who “used” to have COVID-19. It was needed because some people still have symptoms months after their initial infection. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst explains how the health impacts of COVID-19 may linger after the pandemic is over.
Sunset Commission Law Enforcement Report
A scathing state government report says the agency which certifies police officers in Texas isn’t doing a great job. The report released on Monday by the Texas legislature’s Sunset Advisory Committee states the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement has failed to adequately train officers and keep bad officers out of the law enforcement job pipeline. Houston Chronicle reporter St. John Barned-Smith talks to the Standard about the report.
Puga Farmworker Rights Advocate’s Death
A longtime advocate for farmworkers’ rights died over the weekend in South Texas. The 92-year-old Genoveva Puga, was forced to go to court to receive compensation for her son’s 1977 death from equipment malfunction while working for the Donna Fruit Company. Her advocacy paved the way for farmworkers to qualify for worker’s compensation.
Women with Silver Wings
For more than 25 years, Katherine Sharp Landdeck has followed the story of the women pilots of World War II. Landdeck, a pilot and a history professor at Texas Women’s University in Denton, recently released a book with the personal stories of “The Women With Silver Wings.” Landdeck talks to the Standard.
Pandemic Fatigue
COVID-19 cases are spiking across North Texas. Health officials say much of the increase is linked to small gatherings, as people get tired of social distancing. But as KERA’s Syeda Hasan reports, safety measures are especially important in the face of “pandemic fatigue.”
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Michael Marks with the talk of Texas.
