Texas Standard for June 28, 2022: Mesquite’s proposed city code could price out new homebuyers

In Mesquite, just east of Dallas, the City Council is considering a significant change to its city code: requiring all new homes to be at least 2,000 square feet. Also: Latest updates after the bodies of at least 50 people, all suspected migrants, were found in an abandoned tractor trailer in San Antonio. Also: How the fall of Roe factors into Texas politics, specifically the race for governor.

All this and much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardJune 28, 2022 9:55 am,

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, June 28, 2022:

50 people found dead in hot tractor-trailer in San Antonio

The bodies of at least 50 people – all believed to be migrants – were found dead in a tractor-trailer Monday in San Antonio. Officials said the truck had no air conditioning and was abandoned on the outskirts of the city in triple-degree temperatures. Sixteen survivors, including children, were taken to area hospitals suffering from heat exhaustion; Federal Homeland Security agents are in charge of the investigation. Texas Public Radio’s Joey Palacios, who was on the scene in San Antonio on Monday, joins us for more.

Texas governor race tightens as conservatives back Roe v. Wade reversal

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is reverberating in Texas’ marquee race in November’s midterm election. The decision is surely one that will rally Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s conservative base. But as recent polling indicates, the Texas governor’s race is tightening – could this landmark ruling, as well as the state’s other moves to restrict abortion, backfire on current state leaders? Edward McKinley, a state government reporter in the Houston Chronicle’s Austin bureau, shares more.

Mesquite’s proposed city code could price out new homebuyers

In Mesquite, just east of Dallas, the City Council is considering a significant change to its city code: requiring all new homes built in the city to be at least 2,000 square feet. Francesca D’Annunnzio, a freelance reporter who covers the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, tells us more about how the proposed change could price out people out of the city.

Supreme Court’s abortion decision on minds at RGV Pride celebration

As June comes to a close, Pride Month celebrations continue across the state. On South Padre Island, the Rio Grande Valley’s LGTBQ community celebrated over the weekend. Texas Public Radio’s Gaige Davila reports the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was on everyone’s minds, but that didn’t deter them from appreciating each other.

Protecting online privacy post-Roe

From period trackers to Google searches, there’s increasing worry among abortion-rights advocates about how digital footprints can be used to build a case against those seeking abortions in states where it’s outlawed. Indeed, the implications for both medical and online privacy are far-reaching, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on digital rights. Corynne McSherry, legal director for the foundation, tells us how privacy is impacted post-Roe.

24/7 livestream seeks to define Texas music

What is Texas music? There’s probably no other state with such a rich diversity of musical stars, styles and nascent talent as the Lone Star State. A first-of-its-kind, 24/7 livestream dedicated to music that’s made here and played here touches on nearly every genre imaginable, yet firmly rooted in Texas terra firma. Matt Reilly, program director for KUTX 98.9 and creator of the Texas Music Experience, shares more.

The future of truancy reform in Texas public schools

Many discussions following last month’s mass shooting in Uvalde have surrounded mental health and behavioral reforms in public schools — based on the knowledge that the shooter had a history of absenteeism in his middle and high school career. In 2015, Texas decriminalized truancy in public schools, but now truancy reform advocates worry the state could roll back those policies. Talia Richman, who has been reporting on this for the Dallas Morning News’ Education Lab, joins us.

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

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