Texas Standard for Oct. 4, 2022: The legacy of Latino activist Ramsey Muñiz

Civil rights activist Ramsey Muñiz, the first Hispanic on a Texas general election gubernatorial ballot, died this weekend at 79. He ran twice in the early 1970s as a nominee of the since-disbanded La Raza Unida party, and his legacy took a turn soon after, when he was arrested on drug charges and spent nearly 30 years in prison (charges Muñiz insisted were part of a conspiracy against him). Also: A former warden at a private immigration detention center and his brother are accused in connection with a shooting of migrants in the West Texas borderlands. And: An award-winning writer turns to ghost stories just in time for Halloween.

Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardOctober 4, 2022 9:14 am,

Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022:

The latest on the shooting of migrants in West Texas

Mike Sheppard, a now-former detention center warden in Hudspeth County, and his brother Mark Sheppard were arrested last week for allegedly shooting and killing a migrant and wounding another person. Marfa Public Radio’s Travis Bubenik has the latest details.

A look at the race for Texas attorney general

Republican Ken Paxton is fighting for a third term as Texas attorney general, facing off against Democrat Rochelle Garza. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider says an array of national issues, as well as Paxton’s long-running legal troubles, could contribute to the outcome of the race.

Houston is seeing its second surge in RSV cases this year

Houston is entering yet another spike in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases in children. Houston Public Media’s Sara Willa Ernst reports that pediatricians are noting how strange it is to see two surges in a single year:

Team from San Antonio Zoo gathers at Hill Country ranch to rebuild ‘horny toad’ population

The horned lizard looks like a tiny holdover from the days of the dinosaur. But horned lizards aren’t extinct, and a team from the San Antonio Zoo is working to ensure they never are. The campaign recently took researchers to a ranch; Texas Public Radio’s Jack Morgan traveled with them.

Cryptocurrency miners line up to come to Texas, and rural counties are welcoming them

Eager to bring new jobs to their towns and boost their tax base, rural Texas counties are courting companies that produce cryptocurrencies Mitchell Ferman, who covers energy and the economy for the Texas Tribune, joins us with the story.

This Texas author’s new collection of stories will send shivers down your spine 👻

When you think about a ghost story, what’s the one thing you remember? The ghost itself, or the feeling of uneasiness you’re left with? It’s that haunting feeling that Texas author Adam Soto has tapped into in his latest book: a collection of ghost stories called “Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep.” Just in time for spooky season, Soto is here to talk with us about it. 

The legacy of Latino activist Ramsey Muñiz

Civil rights activist Ramsey Muñiz, the first Hispanic on a Texas general election gubernatorial ballot, died this weekend at 79. He ran twice in the early 1970s as a nominee of the since-disbanded La Raza Unida party, and his legacy took a turn soon after, when he was arrested on drug charges and spent nearly 30 years in prison (charges Muñiz insisted were part of a conspiracy against him). Emilio Zamora, history professor at the University of Texas-Austin, joins us to discuss his legacy.

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

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