Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023:
House Speaker Dade Phelan under pressure ahead of special session
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has faced increasing pressure to resign in the weeks since the impeachment trial of attorney general Ken Paxton, who was acquitted on charges brought by the House.
Those tensions between Phelan and other lawmakers will likely have an impact during an upcoming special session slated to start on Oct. 9. Dallas Morning News state politics reporter Aarón Torres joins the Standard with more.
Fall is finally here. What does that mean for Texas’ drought?
About 24 million Texans are living through some level of drought right now, with nearly 40% of the state experiencing drought at its most severe levels, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
John Nielsen-Gammon has been staying on top of it all as Texas state climatologist. He joins the Standard with the latest.
Resources in El Paso are overwhelmed as thousands of migrants arrive
El Paso is struggling to provide enough shelter for the huge number of migrants arriving there each day. The mayor says as many as 2,000 people a night need a place to stay, and the city is scrambling to keep people from sleeping on the streets.
KTEP’s Angela Kocherga reports from El Paso:
Remembering Eduardo Mata, a pioneer in classical music
This Hispanic Heritage Month we’re highlighting some Texans worth knowing more about. One is the Mexican director who took the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to a new level.
For the Voces Oral History Cener, Elisabeth Jimenez has his story.
A 911 call for help doesn’t always require an ambulance. But these paramedics respond.
When someone calls 9-1-1, they don’t always need an ambulance. That’s why a new paramedic program in Austin aims to meet people where they are – and prevent those expensive rides to the emergency room. KUT’s Luz Moreno-Lozano reports.
Historic Texas Memorial Museum reopens with a new name
For those who knew the Texas Memorial Museum on UT Austin’s campus, word of its closure last March hit hard. It had been known for some time that the museum – almost 90 years old and something of a hidden treasure – was struggling. But the team there wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
Now their dedication has paid off. Carolyn Connerat, managing director of the reopened and newly named Texas Science and Natural History Museum, joins the Standard with the story.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces push for removal from office
An intra party battle between the most conservative wing of the House GOP and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has reached a fever pitch in the wake of a narrowly missed government shutdown.
Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University and fellow at the school’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, joins the Standard to discuss the removal bid and where Texans stand on all this.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
