Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Wednesday, June 22, 2022:
Hear from a Texas senator on the special committee investigating Uvalde
An “abject failure:” That’s how Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw described police response to the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. McCraw’s remarks came at Tuesday’s inaugural meeting of a Texas Senate committee meeting looking into the Uvalde shooting and police response. Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt sits on the committee and joins us with his thoughts today.
Texas mayors call for special session on gun reform
A bipartisan group of mayors from 13 major Texas cities is calling on state leaders to convene a special legislative session to address mass shootings, including certain gun reforms. In a publicly signed statement, the mayors say they “cannot sit idly by” until the next mass shooting. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, one of the city leaders calling for a special session, joins us.
The Dallas city manager’s job is safe – for now
After much public scrutiny, it looks like Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax’s job is safe for now. With an update to a story we brought you yesterday, KERA’s Alejandra Martinez offers the latest regarding Broadnax and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
Heatwave brings critters into Texas homes
Local pest control companies report that complaints about all sorts of critters showing up inside and outside homes have picked up with the recent heat wave. Texas Public Radio’s Brian Kirkpatrick has had his own run-ins with some interesting creatures, and he explains that there are several reasons why they’re walking, crawling and slithering toward your home.
The right-to-repair fight includes wheelchairs too
If you use a power wheelchair, keeping it in good working order – or getting it repaired when something goes wrong – can be a big challenge. But a new kind of law could provide more options for wheelchair users in at least one state. Markian Hawryluk, senior Colorado correspondent for Kaiser Health News, joins us to discuss the right-to-repair.
Texas State alumna debuts children’s book dedicated to San Marcos
Kelly Stone loved San Marcos from the day she visited Texas State University for cheerleader camp in the ’90s. She was inspired to write her new book, “Goodnight San Marcos,” after visiting New Orleans and buying a “Goodnight NOLA” children’s book for her kids.
Largest migrant caravan runs into issues with Mexican officials – and Greg Abbott
Last week, Mexico granted federal humanitarian travel permits to 15,000 U.S.-bound migrants, a group described as having formed the largest migrant caravan in Mexican history. Many migrants reportedly planned to cross the border illegally into Del Rio and Eagle Pass. But now few, if any, have made it to the U.S./Mexico border since police in the Mexican state of Coahuila began blocking, detaining and even deporting migrants under the Mexican state’s “Operation Mirror.” Senior national security fellow Todd Bensman wrote about this for the Center for Immigration Studies and joins us with more.
Fact-check: Ted Cruz blames Green New Deal backers for high electricity costs
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said that legislators backing the Green New Deal are to blame for rising electricity costs. Is that a fact? Nusaiba Mizan looked into this claim for Politifact Texas, based at the Austin American-Statesman. She joins us to help decipher the facts.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
