Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, June 19, 2023:
What’s next after Abbott vetoes 76 bills from regular session?
Gov. Greg Abbott had until midnight last night to veto bills from the regular session. He ended up vetoing 76 in all – 30 on Sunday alone. The large number of vetoes comes after the governor exhorted lawmakers to agree on property tax relief legislation. Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, talks to the Texas Standard about the vetoes, and what might happen next.
How issues related to disability services and rights fared at the Capitol
Advocates for people with disabilities brought a number of requests to the 2023 legislative session, including pay raises for personal attendants and changes to the way schools restrain some disabled students. Results this session were mixed, advocates say. The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin has more.
The Biden administration says it will allow tens of thousands of Afghans – who helped American interests during the war in Afghanistan – to remain in the United States. They were allowed to come to the U.S. two years ago under a program that’s scheduled to expire this summer. Texas Public Radio’s Carson Frame reports for the American Homefront Project that extending the program is creating some challenges.
Celebrating Juneteenth in East Austin
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when a Union officer reached Galveston and announced that slavery in Texas was abolished. Since then, there have been celebrations great and small all across the state to commemorate emancipation. The Standard’s Sean Saldana attended one at an East Austin library.
What a ransomware attack means for the City of Dallas
Hackers targeted the City of Dallas last month, holding its data for ransom. The attack affected city services like the 311 phone system, municipal courts and water bill payments – and it’s not the first time a Texas government has been hit with ransomware. Kevin Krause has reported on the Dallas attack, and others, for the Dallas Morning News.
Author Tracey Rose Peyton talks ‘Night Wherever We Go’
Juneteenth marks a critical day in history for Texas and the United States. On the shores of Galveston came an order informing the more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas that they were freed. Tracey Rose Peyton portrays the injustices of the time before emancipation through the eyes of six enslaved women in her debut novel “Night Wherever We Go.”
People have long traveled to Mexico for medical purposes. But in recent years, tainted or mislabeled pills have become a bigger problem. The Los Angeles Times investigated the spread of tainted drugs and the pharmacies that sell them. Keri Blakinger, one of the reporters who worked on the story for the LA Times, spoke to the Texas Standard about her findings.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Michael Marks with the Talk of Texas.
