Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023:
Dust storms and dirt worsen air quality throughout Texas
A dust storm blew through the Texas high plains last week, and winds then carried that dust due east to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, dirtying cars and dropping air quality on Monday. Space City Weather managing editor Matt Lanza has more, including whether the worst has passed.
Proposed cuts to election administrators spark Mexican protests
Widespread protests have greeted Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s plan to cut funding for election oversight – a move critics say seeks to undermine the country’s electoral system. University of Texas government professor Kenneth Greene shares more.
Bill making illegal voting a felony advancing in Texas Senate
A bill that would increase the penalty for illegal voting – making it a second-degree felony – is making its way through the Texas Legislature. The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán reports the Senate Committee on State Affairs has passed the bill:
A new U.S. Census Bureau survey revealed roughly four out of five Houstonians are stressed out about recent price increases. Houston Public Media reporter Andrew Schneider looks at whether Houston still deserves its reputation as one of the most affordable large cities in the country.
Rare Disease Day raises awareness of illnesses with a big impact
David Vetter, born in Houston in 1971, had Severe Combined Immune Deficiency, which meant any exposure to harmful germs could be deadly. Vetter died at age 12. Today is Rare Disease Day, and its purpose is to draw attention to these conditions. Immune Deficiency Foundation president and CEO Jorey Berry joins us with more.
He didn’t set out to write a country album. Angel White just wanted to write great songs.
Dallas singer-songwriter Angel White takes inspiration from many places for his debut album: his father’s eclectic music taste, busking in Dallas’ Deep Ellum; the open spaces of his family’s horse farm in Cleburne; and Texas cowboy culture. We’ll hear more from him today.
Plano ISD cosmetology program offers students a glimpse of a changing industry
For lots of folks, caring for our appearance is essential, and we’re loyal to the stylists who perfect our look. But when it comes to pay, Texas has the most cosmetologists and the lowest average compensation. As KERA’s Toluwani Osibamowo reports, new cosmetology students in North Texas will enter an industry that’s going through changes.
Crime syndicate compromises Texas DPS site to steal driver’s license data
The Texas Department of Public Safety says a criminal enterprise found a security loophole in the state’s driver’s license renewal portal that they used to get the state to send them driver’s license information for thousands of people, particularly Asian Texans. Texas Tribune reporter Karen Brooks Harper has more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
