Here are the stories on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023:
The long push for using public dollars to pay for private schools
“Education savings accounts” are again on the agenda for a special legislative session. Sometimes described as school vouchers, these accounts would direct state funds to private schools. Some of the language being used by Republicans during this political push – phrases like “school choice” – were a big part of the push in the 1990s to legalize charter schools.
KERA North Texas reporter Bill Zeeble joins the Standard with more on the history behind the push.
Rural lawmakers oppose Abbott’s school vouchers plan
Texas lawmakers are back in Austin for the third special legislative session of the year. This is due in part to the Republican majority being unable to pass one Gov. Greg Abbott’s key policy proposals: school vouchers, which Abbott refers to as education savings accounts.
The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán reports rural lawmakers have become the biggest obstacle for the measure to pass.
Sophisticated F-35 fighter jets struggle with maintenance issues
A F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, produced in Fort Worth by Lockheed Martin, costs tens of millions to manufacture, with thousands upon thousands of individual component parts to assemble.
That doesn’t amount to much if the plane doesn’t fly, though: A new federal accountability report showed that F-35s are only mission-ready about 55% of the time.
Fort Worth Report business reporter Seth Bodine joins the Standard with more.
After a fight, federal officials recognize disabled people as a ‘health disparity population’
The National Institutes of Health says it will put more resources toward addressing health care disparities among people with disabilities, and in a reversal, adding the designation of people with disabilities as a health disparity population.
Bonnielin Swenor, director of the Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center, joins the Standard with more.
Hispanic Heritage Month music spotlight
This Hispanic Heritage Month, Austin’s KUTX is highlighting artists and venues that have helped shape the Austin music scene.
From sister station KUT, Jerry Quijano profiles musician Carrie Rodriguez.
How moms use the legend of La Llorona to keep their kids in line
La Llorona – the crying woman – is a Mexican legend that is at least 500 years old. It no doubt arrived in Texas with the earliest Mexican settlers, and La Llorona has haunted our rivers, lakes and streams ever since, particularly in the border regions.
Commentator W.F. Strong shares one version of the story.
There’s a democratic crisis going on right now in Guatemala
In Guatemala, a populist candidate named Bernardo Arévalo won more than 60% of the vote in the country’s final round of presidential elections. Arévalo was then accused of fraud, and his political party was legally suspended. In response, his supporters have formed blockades on streets and highways throughout the country.
El Paso Times reporter Lauren Villagran joins the Standard with more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
