Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Wednesday, June 5, 2024:
Does Colin Allred have a shot against Ted Cruz?
When Beto O’Rourke ran against Ted Cruz, it was the closest a Democrat came to winning statewide office in decades.
Now Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred is seeking Cruz’s Senate seat; could he pull off the upset? Texas Tribune reporter Matthew Choi joins the Standard with more.
Legislature looks to crack down on hemp products like Delta 8
Last week, the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs held a public hearing to examine products like Delta 8 and Delta 9, hemp products that produce an intoxicating high.
These products are legally sold in Texas, but Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports that could change in the coming legislative session.
Hidalgo County election overturned after being decided by handful of votes
Last fall, Edinburg City Council Member David White won re-election by just 10 votes. After Election Day, his challenger, Gerardo Lozano, contested the results – and this past week, White’s win was overturned when a judge ruled that several votes were placed illegally.
Dina Arévalo has been following the story for The Monitor in the Rio Grande Valley. She joins the show today.
The strangest little town name in Texas
Texas has had perhaps more than its share of unusual names of cities and towns: Cut and Shoot, Dime Box, Bug Tussle. But perhaps the strangest was Toadsuck, Texas.
While it doesn’t exist anymore, Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explores its brief, strange history.
Vigilante groups are repelling migrants at the border. What does law enforcement think about that?
Gov. Greg Abbott has sent thousands of Texas National Guard troops to South Texas as part of Operation Lone Star – but they’re not the only ones patrolling the border.
Texas Observer reporter Francesca D’Annunzio joins the Standard with a look at the vigilantes enforcing their rules along the U.S.-Mexico border.
‘When the Sea Came Alive’ offers oral history of D-Day
Thursday will mark 80 years since Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy. A new book explores the lesser told stories of D-Day, including the Black soldiers who fought against Nazi forces in World War II. Texas Public Radio’s Kayla Padilla has more:
Why does UT have such a good rowing program? (We’re all oars.)
Over the weekend, the University of Texas rowing team won its third national championship in four years – becoming the third school ever to achieve that kind of championship streak.
Why do UT rowers continue to come out on top? Madeline Davis Tully, associate editor of Rowing News and a former collegiate rowing coach, joins the Standard with more.
Housing for Austinites facing homelessness far behind what the city needs
It’s been about three years since Austin voters reinstated the city’s ban on camping in public spaces – and with it, city officials promised to invest in housing for its growing homeless population.
But even as the City of Austin has built more units and funded more rental assistance programs in recent years, its housing capacity has not been able to keep pace with those living unhoused. Austin American-Statesman reporter Serena Lin joins the Standard with more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
