Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023.
Why is Texas’ Railroad Commission wading into school textbook policy?
The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on Friday on a list of science textbooks from third-party vendors.
Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, whose board oversees state oil and gas regulation, urged elected education officials to teach the importance of fossil fuels. However, several education and science groups say that watering down the proposed climate change curriculum would not serve students. Austin American-Statesman reporter Keri Heath joins the Standard with more.
A closer look at the unelected Houston ISD board of managers
The Houston Independent School District’s state-appointed board of managers has been considering long-term goals for students. Meanwhile, they’re fighting an uphill battle for public trust, as many question whether an unelected board can truly be accountable to the community.
Houston Public Media’s Rebecca Noel reports.
Get weird at this cool art space in Lubbock
The Weird Space is an interactive, permanent art installation in Lubbock.
Get a tour of it on the show today.
Apple gets behind California’s ‘right to repair’ law
“Right to repair” advocates say it should be possible to fix our tech gadgets, like phones and computers, rather than throw them away or relying exclusively on the company that made them.
The Standard’s tech expert Omar Gallaga is here to tell us how a long shot consumer movement has been picking up speed.
A liquified natural gas export terminal in southeast Texas has been put on hold
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality didn’t apply consistent emissions standards when approving Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur LNG project. Sempra says construction will continue under existing permits.
Lone Star Legal Aid attorney Amy Dinn, whose group helped bring the suit, joins the Standard with her take.
New novel explores family life in the borderlands
“All That Rises” follows the story of two families living next door to each other in El Paso, and how they deal with the secrets, lies and border politics that blur every boundary between them.
Joining the Standard to tell us more is author Alma García.
Mistrial declared in Austin cop’s murder charge
In 2020 an Austin Police officer named Christopher Taylor shot and killed Mike Ramos, who was unarmed. Taylor faced a murder charge for the shooting, but a jury couldn’t decide whether he was guilty.
After a mistrial, what happens now? KUT reporter Andrew Weber joins the Standard with answers.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
