Texas Standard For December 21, 2020

We have a winner in a hotly contested state senate election. Can it tell us anything about the Texas Republican Party? We’ll explore. And: Some health care providers across Texas have now received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Next up should be nursing home patients and staff – we’ll look at how one provider is feeling about it all. Also: UT-Austin is changing the way it determines who gets into a certain program – how an algorithm can show bias. Plus: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit to overturn some election results was a failure – on all but one front. We’ll explain. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardDecember 21, 2020 9:22 am

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard.

Texas Senate District 30 Results  

KERA’s Bret Jaspers breaks down the special election between Rep. Drew Springer and Shelley Luther.

Vaccine Distribution In Nursing Homes

Dr. Michael Krol is an assistant professor at UT-Austin’s Dell Medical School and he’s the medical director for a handful of nursing homes in the Austin area.

Holiday Stress Eating

While generalities often fall short, it’s still probably safe to say it’s been a stressful year for everyone. For many of those with eating disorders, it’s made symptoms worse. And upcoming holiday meals are causing even more anxiety. Houston Public Media’s Cristobella Durrette looked into ways people can cope.

UT’s Admissions Algorithm

The University of Texas at Austin’s computer science Ph.D. program used to use an algorithm to determine admissions. Although that may seem appropriate for a computer science degree, admissions by algorithm has come under fire. Lilah Burke, a reporter for Inside Higher Ed, tells us why, and how UT has responded.

Ken Paxton’s Wins

When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a last-minute lawsuit this month to overturn the presidential election in four swing states it was roundly criticized, even by Republicans. But even though the lawsuit went nowhere – the Supreme Court refused to hear it – doesn’t mean it was a complete loss for Paxton. Carlos Sanchez wrote about that for The Atlantic.

Keeping Latin American Classical Music Alive

The Austin Baroque Orchestra has a special performance coming up: a concert at Mission Concepción in San Antonio. We’ll hear from the orchestra’s founder and artistic director, Billy Traylor, about playing in the space and keeping classical music of Latin America alive.

Dallas Symphony Still Performing During COVID-19

The Dallas Symphony is one of the few professional orchestras in the country during the pandemic to perform its season before a live audience. KERA North Texas’ Bill Zeeble checked in with musicians and management during this unusual season.

Winter Texans In The RGV

This time of year a type of migration usually happens for the Rio Grande Valley. In a normal year about 100,000 “Winter Texans” descend on the Valley to escape the cold weather of the Midwest. But this year these mostly retirement-age individuals fall into the high-risk population for COVID-19. And with South Texas already seeing a high numbers of cases, this could be a concerning mix. For more we turn to Morgan O’Hanlon who wrote about this for Texas Monthly.

All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Michael Marks with the talk of Texas.

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