Texas Standard

After protests over the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia, NYU and elsewhere, students at the University of Texas follow suit and were met by police in riot gear who arrested dozens. UT history and politics professor Jeremi Suri talks about what happened on campus yesterday and the lessons from an earlier wave of student protests nationwide.
A new report from state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon shows we’re looking at hotter temperatures, more extreme droughts and growing wildfire dangers.
And: A closer look at what comes next for TikTok after President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid package that includes a measure to ban the app if China-based parent company ByteDance fails to divest from it within a year.

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A pilot program for guaranteed income in Harris County is put on hold by the Texas Supreme Court.
Could residents of Corpus Christi become the first in the state to drink treated seawater from the tap? Some say a desalination plan’s needed to meet growing water demand, but many locals say the downsides are too serious to swallow.
The northern Panhandle is recovering from the devastation brought by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, caused by a downed electric pole belonging to Xcel Energy. Now, Xcel is the target of multiple lawsuits from people who lost assets during the blaze.
Also, efforts to get people living in flood zones out of harm’s way – could Harris County’s approach teach the federal government a thing or two?

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A court says the foster care system in Texas is failing many vulnerable children. Why that’s especially true for trans kids.
A practically forgotten burial ground for Indigenous people in West Texas now has a proper memorial.
How a shortage of shipyard workers is contributing to delays for the Navy.
We’ll talk to author Jonny Garza Villa, whose new book “Canto Contigo” features a love story set to mariachi music.
Also: Why do so many bluebonnets pop up next to Texas highways?

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Texas is changing, and so is the world. If we squint to try to look at the future job landscape, what do we see? There are more than 15 million working Texans right now, but while the state boasts steady growth and “record high levels” for jobs and the labor force, there are always unknowns on the horizon.
Among them: tech advancements and the impacts of climate change. So how will the jobs of tomorrow look different? We’re exploring all that and more today in The Future of Work in Texas.

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Get ready to cast your ballots. Local elections are scheduled in Texas for May 4, with early voting beginning on Monday. Katya Ehresman, voting rights coordinator at Common Cause Texas, gives us the lowdown.
What a trial run of a four-day workweek in the UK tells us about how well such a shift might work.
Don Louis, a Texan who once hoped to score big in the NFL, has moved the goalposts – now aiming for the country music charts.
Plus: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

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Landowners in southeast Texas say they should be able to sue the state over their flooded property, and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees. People in Winnie, Texas, say their land only started to flood after the state rebuilt part of nearby Interstate 10. Now, they can seek compensation for the damages.
Live music seems more expensive, but are musicians getting paid more? Not really. We’ll talk to someone trying to change that.
And the attorney general crusades against a media outlet on behalf of Elon Musk.

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A federal judge says Texas’ foster care system is still broken – and has fined the state $100,00 per day.
The new book “City Limits” examines the effort to rethink urban highways in Texas and traces a history of racism and inequality in three of the state’s’ largest cities. We’ll hear from author and journalist Megan Kimble.
Over the past two decades, developers in Austin have built hundreds of windowless bedrooms. But now some elected officials want them banned.
And: The next generation of mechanics is getting ready to work on the next generation of cars.

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Are protest organizers responsible if a participant breaks the law? A court decision could have a chilling effect.
A new report on maternal health shows Black Texans are much more likely to die after giving birth than their white counterparts.
What layoffs at Tesla mean for jobs in Texas and the EV car market.
The Houston Dash celebrates a decade of women’s pro soccer. How the team and the league have grown over the years.
And: We’ll talk to comedian Jeff Hiller, who’s returning to his home state of Texas for the Moontower Comedy Festival.

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Rising temperatures in the forecast this week. Will blackouts come with them? ERCOT, the state’s electric grid operator, says the power might go out this week.
Did a doctor in Houston keep patients from receiving organ transplants? His own hospital is investigating.
And becoming a psychologist is expensive, but Texas is trying to make it cheaper. Could it make mental health care more accessible too?

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Corpus Christi at the intersection of a clash between dueling demands – one for water, another for energy alternatives.
Dallas City Council votes to expand historical preservation efforts, with a specific outreach to communities of color.
If you’re looking for an apartment in Texas, do you know what you’ll really be paying each month? A warning to renters about the rise of so-called junk fees.
A Houston print shop, long popular with musicians, now the center of a labor dispute. Raul Alonzo with that, plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more.

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