Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, Sept. 5, 2025:
What lawmakers accomplished in Texas’ second special legislative session
The second special legislative session came to an end this week, with state lawmakers wrapping up work on a slew of new measures around quorum-breaking, the STAAR test and the response to the July 4 Hill Country floods.
Andrew Schneider, who covers the statehouse for Houston Public Media, and Brandon Rottinghaus, a politics professor at the University of Houston, join the Standard to give us a rundown on what passed – and what didn’t.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton named sole finalist for Texas Tech chancellor
The Texas Tech University board of regents unanimously confirmed Houston Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton as the sole finalist for chancellor of the Lubbock-based University system.
KTTZ’s Brad Burt has more:
Findings show state oil and gas regulator rarely turns down permit for flaring
As the state’s oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission of Texas issues all kinds of different permits. That includes permission to burn off excess natural gas that’s produced during drilling, in a process called flaring. Another procedure, called venting, just releases the gas into the air without burning.
Flaring and venting pollute the air, and they can be a major nuisance for neighbors. Nonetheless, according to an analysis from Inside Climate News and ProPublica, the railroad commission hardly ever turns down a flaring permit.
Martha Pskowski, a reporter for Inside Climate News, joins Texas Standard with the details.
Has redistricting put red Collin County in play for Democrats?
Collin County may well become one of the nation’s most contested political battlegrounds after Texas Republicans redrew congressional maps.
Democrats say they’re gaining a foothold in what has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. But KERA’s Caroline Love reports that they also worry that redistricting could knock them off that path.
Austin’s Antone’s celebrates 50 years of the blues with special box set
The year 1975 marked the rise of a vibrant blues scene in Austin. And to this day, Antone’s remains – still billing itself as Austin’s home of the blues. To celebrate, the folks at Antone’s are out with a new box set – “Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues” – that features impossibly rare live cuts, long-lost tracks and even a few new recordings.
Zach Ernst is the longtime music booker for Antone’s, and Jacob Sciba is a sound engineer at Arlyn Studios. The two join us to talk about the project.
The gang delivers another custom poem. Reach out to Texas Standard with your topic suggestions!
Texas Tribune politics editor Jasper Scherer joins the Standard with a recap of the week that was in Texas politics.
