Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023:
Austin ISD agrees to Texas’ alternative plan to monitor its special education department
The Texas Education Agency now has the green light to move forward with plans to appoint a monitor to oversee the Austin school district’s progress as it works on state-mandated improvements to special education services.
Here to tell us more about what this means for the school district is Becky Fogel, who covers education for our home station KUT.
How a UT professor is helping the CDC plan for the next pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, there were quick comparisons to the Spanish Flu a century earlier. But we may not have nearly that long to prepare for the next large-scale outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is already making plans to put together the first nationwide outbreak response and disease modeling network. And they’re getting some help from a Texas team.
Professor Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the Center for Pandemic Decision Science at UT, joins the Standard to tell us more.
Central Texas nurses rally for a contract with Ascension Seton
This summer, nurses at a hospital in Austin held the first strike at an acute care setting in the state’s history. Yesterday, they rallied to try to finalize a contract with Ascension Seton Medical Center.
KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports:
Houston could keep bus riders safer by cooling their stops – but will it?
An investigation by Houston Public Media found people relying on public transportation encountered dangerously hot temperatures at the city’s bus shelters.
Reporters Sara Willa Ernst and Katie Watkins took their findings, along with some potential solutions, to elected officials and bus riders to get their response.
Texas leads the nation in oil production – and in the number of oilfield deaths
For the first time, a federal study has tracked the number and causes of deaths among workers in the energy extraction industry. Texas, which leads the nation in energy production, also reported the largest number fatalities over a five-year period.
Carlos Nogueras is a Permian Basin reporter for the Texas Tribune. Carlos. He joins the Standard with more.
Let’s talk about bugs!
Wizzie Brown is a program specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and our go-to insect expert. Something bugging you? Send the Standard your insect questions, and we’ll pass them along.
Lydia Mendoza was a pioneer of Tejano music
The first star of recorded Tejano music didn’t get her big break overnight. Lydia Mendoza hurdled over many obstacles to earn the title of the “Meadowlark of the Border.”
As part of our focus on Hispanic Heritage Month, Dacia Garcia with the Voces Oral History Center shares her story.
Remember net neutrality? It’s back.
With the FCC at full strength for the first time during the Biden administration, the commission’s chair has announced that net neutrality rules would once again be put into effect. Net neutrality first became FCC policy in 2015, before it was dismantled during the Trump administration.
For more on what we can expect from a return to net neutrality rules, the Standard turns to resident tech expert Omar Gallaga.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
