Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, March 17, 2023:
Legislature considers bills affecting LGBTQ Texans
In Texas, state lawmakers have so far filed more than 90 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation this session, with many of the bills targeting trans youth access to gender-affirming care, according to Equality Texas’s legislative bill tracker. Legislators in Austin discussed several of these bills this week. Elena Rivera, the health care reporter at KERA in Dallas, has been following this issue and joins us on the Standard today.
The latest on contraceptive legislation
With Texas laws now making almost all abortions illegal, some lawmakers are focusing on improving contraceptive options. Texas Public Radio’s Carolina Cuellar reports, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are supporting bills that could increase – or decrease – access to contraceptives and sex ed.
Rural hospitals end in-patient services
Since January, at least three rural Texas hospitals have closed in-patient services and are only offering emergency care, according to a tracking project by researchers at the University of North Carolina. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst says this is after the rollout of a federal program designed for small hospitals at imminent risk of closure:
How the Houston school district takeover will impact teachers
Houston ISD is the biggest school district in the state, and it employs more than 11,000 teachers. For more on how the state’s takeover of the district will affect them, we’re speaking with Ovidia Molina, a middle school teacher from Alief ISD and president of the Texas State Teachers Association, the largest association of teachers in the state.
Oil money and the Craddick family
The oil and gas industry influences much of Texas, including its elected officials. And sometimes money from the energy sector goes into the pockets of those who are responsible for overseeing the industry. Russell Gold took a deep dive into one such instance for Texas Monthly: how longtime House member and former Speaker Tom Craddick and his daughter, Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, have benefited personally during their time in government. We’ll hear from Gold today about his story.
For almost five years, the West Texas town of Toyah has also been under a boil-water notice. Whether or not the water’s safe to drink has become a polarizing battle: In a place where everyone knows each other – and many are related – the issue has torn the community apart. Marfa Public Radio partnered with Inside Climate News to tell the story, and today, we begin a three-part series looking into what’s happening in Toyah, with Marfa Public Radio’s Mitch Borden.
The gang delivers another custom poem. Get in touch with your own topic suggestions!
Texas Tribune political reporter James Barragán stops by with a recap of the week that was.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Shelly Brisbin with the Talk of Texas.
