Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, July 12, 2024:
CenterPoint updates Public Utilities Commission on power restoration after Hurricane Beryl
The Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Texas utility companies, heard from CenterPoint and other Houston-area agencies yesterday about their efforts restore power to millions of Texans after Hurricane Beryl.
Houston Chronicle energy reporter Amanda Drane joins the Standard with an update.
The STAAR test’s AI grading sparks concern as one-third of students score zero on writing
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests Texas public school students online, with computer scoring. That includes its open-ended writing portion, and concern has risen over algorithmic grading – especially as nearly 35% of students scored a zero on the writing portion this spring, a significant increase from previous years.
Scott Marion, executive director of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, joins the Standard with more.
First ammunition vending machine in Texas debuts at local grocery store
A grocery store in Canyon Lake has become the first in the state with an ammunition vending machine. The machines from American Rounds have also been installed across Alabama and Oklahoma.
Texas Public Radio’s Kayla Padilla reports:
NASA volunteers complete over a year in Mars simulation at Johnson Space Center
People still haven’t been to Mars, but four NASA volunteers now know what it’s like to spend more than a year in a Mars simulation. They were sequestered in a unit at the Johnson Space Center and emerged from the 3D-printed world last week.
Suzanne Bell is lead for NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. The Standard spoke to her before the mission started last year and checks back in now that it’s complete.
Remembering iconic Texas actress Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall died in Blanco, Texas, on Thursday, just days after her 75th birthday. Born in Fort Worth, Duvall is best known for starring in “The Shining,” her fruitful collaborations with director Robert Altman and her series of children’s content. After 2002, she retired to a quieter life in the Texas Hill Country.
For more, we’re joined by Emma Lehman, creator and host of the Duvall-focused podcast Texas Twiggy.
New book ‘Inside the Well’ retells the 1987 rescue of Baby Jessica
On Oct. 16, 1987, the world watched as 18-month-old Jessica McClure was pinned inside a narrow well casing in Midland, Texas. Local emergency workers and oil drillers worked tirelessly to rescue Baby Jessica, and after more than two days, she was finally freed.
For most, the story ended there. But not for Lance Lunsford, who watched the rescue as a fourth-grader in Midland. He joins us now to discuss his new book, “Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica.”
The gang delivers another custom poem. Reach out to Texas Standard with your topic suggestions!
Texas Tribune political reporter James Barragán joins the Standard with a recap of the week that was in Texas politics.
All this, plus Alexandra Hart with the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
