Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, Oct. 2, 2023:
What to expect this Supreme Court term
The last few years have seen momentous Supreme Court decisions that changed significant aspects of American life, including abortion access, affirmative action policies and more. This term, which starts today, the court plans to take up several key issues with similarly wide-reaching potential.
Tara Grove, the Vinson & Elkins Chair in Law at UT-Austin, joins the Standard with more.
Houston city controller race likely hinges on name recognition, partisanship
Early voting in Texas municipal elections starts three weeks from today. Arguably the most important race on the ballot for Houston voters after the mayor’s race is the one for city controller.
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider looks at who is running for the post often described as the city’s chief financial officer.
Closing 19 schools will leave San Antonio ISD with a big task: Finding uses for the empty buildings
San Antonio ISD’s school consolidations will leave behind 19 empty buildings, if the trustees approve the plan in November.
The district must also figure out how to use those buildings in other ways – but there are concerns those plans may fall through. Texas Public Radio’s Camille Phillips reports:
The peso’s been on a winning streak for 18 months. Why?
Since the Fed started raising interest rates last year, currencies in Argentina, Turkey, China and many other countries have become weaker compared to the U.S. dollar. The same thing cannot be said about Mexico. Over the past year and a half, the Mexican peso has appreciated 20% relative to the American dollar.
Dallas Federal Reserve financial sector adviser Pon Sagnanert joins the Standard with the story.
What’s next for Austin’s homelessness efforts?
Austin has spent millions of dollars on sheltering people experiencing homelessness in the last few months.
It’s a much-needed investment, but as KUT’s Andrew Weber reports, people serving unhoused people living in Austin say they want better communication about these decisions – and they wonder what’s coming next.
We’re tracking Texas cryptids all October
They’re not real – or at least, science hasn’t confirmed their existence. But when it comes to mythical creatures, Texas has more than its share. Texas Standard is sharing a special series this month called “Tracking Texas Cryptids” where we’re doing just that.
Lyle Blackburn, a cryptozoologist, Texas bigfoot aficionado, author and podcast host, joins the Standard to kick things off.
A new school will train U.S. troops to fight a growing threat: small weaponized drones
The fighting in Ukraine has underscored how small drones are changing the nature of warfare. In the U.S., the Pentagon is preparing for the threat posed by the rapidly evolving weapons. And it’s opening a “university” this month to train troops to defend against them.
Jay Price reports for the American Homefront Project.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
