Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023:
A giant tourism investment is coming to North Texas
Universal Parks & Resorts has announced plans to build a massive new theme park and hotel in Frisco. The entertainment development will be located on nearly 100 acres of land along the Dallas North Tollway in the $10 billion Fields Development. The Dallas Morning News’ Alexandra Skores joins us with more.
Will Laredo become a global trade hub?
Laredo has long been the dominant land port between the U.S. and Mexico. Now it’s poised to become even more vital, as U.S. companies wary of supply chain issues shift production from Asia to Mexico. Daniel Covarrubias, director of the Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, shares the details.
Small towns fear internet funding won’t be fairly distributed
2022’s federal infrastructure bill funded a once–in–a–century investment in internet infrastructure, especially in rural areas. To decide where the money should go, the Federal Communications Commission mapped current broadband access – but many say those maps are flawed, and there wasn’t much time to fix them. Texas Public Radio’s Paul Flahive says many areas worry they will be left out:
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, he’s slashed moderation, allowed users previously banned for hate speech to return and banned some journalists critical of him. Some have responded by swearing off social media altogether, while others have tried Twitter alternatives like Mastodon, Post and Hive. How should you decide whether it’s time to ditch Twitter for good? Tech expert Omar Gallaga shares some tips.
Texans are asking lots of questions about the safety of gas stoves
Nearly half of Texas cooks with gas. Some swear by it and wouldn’t dream of cooking on an electric stovetop. But new research about gas stoves and health could lead to the federal government having its say about the future of gas. Bloomberg reporter Ari Natter has the details.
‘Myth America’ whittles down the tall tales that define the U.S.
A new book called “Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past” takes a hard look at some of the tall tales that have taken root in this country. Co-editor and Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer joins us with more.
How Texas and Florida shape the future of the right
Two states are at the forefront of right-wing policy and rhetoric: Texas and Florida. Luisita Lopez Torregrosa makes the argument in the Texas Observer and joins us with more today.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
