Texas Standard for July 26, 2022: More young people favor abortion access – but will they show up to vote?

Polling shows most young people favor abortion access in at least some circumstances. Will the issue be enough to get young adults to the polls? Also: We take a look at what may be conspicuous omissions in a House committee report on the school shooting in Uvalde. And: The Feds open a civil rights investigation into Houston’s response to complaints about illegal dumping.

Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardJuly 26, 2022 9:49 am,

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, July 26, 2022:

What the Texas House committee report on the Uvalde shooting doesn’t include

In the hours after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde in May, Gov. Greg Abbott praised the work of law enforcement, saying that without the police the massacre of 19 students and two teachers “could have been worse.” That narrative didn’t last long. A Texas House committee report on the shooting confirms many damning details about the police response. But James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, joins us to talk about what the report does not say. 

Right-wing group conducts ballot review in Tarrant County 

About 40 members of a right-wing group in North Texas are in the process of reviewing 300,000 ballots cast in Tarrant County in the 2020 GOP primary election. In a report by Votebeat Texas and the Texas Tribune, the group said they are making sure these election results are accurate. Natalia Contreras, who has been reporting on this for Votebeat, shares more.

What it’s like to work in Texas’ extreme heat  

Workers across the state say this summer’s heat feels far worse than previous years, leaving them finding new ways to cope with long hours outside. We’ll hear from Texans working in mail delivery, valet parking and construction on what they’ve been experiencing this year.  

Federal investigation into illegal dumping in Houston 

How the City of Houston responds to illegal dumping in its city limits is now subject to an environmental justice investigation through the U.S. Justice Department. The department plans to investigate how the city responds to requests for municipal services when it comes to illegal dumping – and whether that response discriminates against Black and Latino residents. Haya Panjwani reports for our sister station Houston Public Media. 

So Far from Care: The long road from Far West Texas to get an abortion

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, people across the country are traveling long distances to access legal abortion. But in far West Texas, that’s been the reality for years. Marfa Public Radio is highlighting stories from West Texans about their journeys to get an abortion. Today we hear a second installment, from Isabel, who traveled four hours to El Paso to get an abortion in 2016:

New book tells the stories of Hurricane Harvey victims 

This August marks five years since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas. And though this year has had a quiet start to hurricane season, millions of Texans understand the destruction those storms can bring, including flooding. In the new book “More City Than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas,” editors Lacy Johnson and Cheryl Beckett tell the story of how catastrophic flooding affects people in diverse ways.  

More young people favor abortion access – but will they show up to vote? 

For young adults who have only known a world with abortion access, the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade meant a major shift, upending what seemed like a long-settled issue. Polling shows most young people favor abortion access in at least some circumstances. But will the issue be enough to get young adults to the polls? It’s something Cayla Harris has explored for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. She joins us with more.  

All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.

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