Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022:
COIVD boosters: Dr. Peter Hotez on what’s available and who’s eligible
Omicron-specific COVID boosters are now available. We’ll take a closer look at the new boosters and the state of COVID with Dr. Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and co-director of Texas’ Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.
Mexico hedges its bets on trade through Texas
Mexico’s foreign minister visited New Mexico this week, announcing funding for new commercial lanes and other improvements to a border crossing there. The goal: bolster supply chains, but also provide cargo trucks another option outside Texas. KTEP’s Angela Kocherga explain:
Everything you wanted to know about burner phones (but were afraid to ask)
Burner phones: They aren’t just for spies and TV villains. Having a mobile phone that isn’t traceable to you, connected to your job, or Big Tech, is an increasingly attractive option for privacy-conscious folks. Our tech expert Omar Gallaga recently wrote about burners for Wired and offers this look.
State telemedicine program allows Texas children to see therapists at schools
Between the pandemic and school shootings, the mental health of students is a big issue recently. In Texas, lawmakers have pushed to provide more telemedicine options. KUT’s Seema Mathur takes us to a school in Round Rock ISD to see how it works.
Ann Richards’ time in the governor’s office, as told by her chief of staff
Gov. Ann Richards left an outsized mark on the state of Texas. As Richards’ chief of staff, Mary Beth Rogers had a front row seat – and a hand in much of what was happening. After writing books about Texas women, including a notable biography of Barbara Jordan, Rogers’ latest book is a much more personal reflection: a memoir titled “Hope and Hard Truth: A Life in Texas Politics.” We’ll learn more today.
Abortion rights advocates face few options to restoring the option in Texas
“Buoyed by the success of their counterparts in Kansas, Texas activists are determined to use November’s midterm elections to kick-start the restoration of abortion rights,” Gromer Jeffers writes for The Dallas Morning News. However, a Kansas-style referendum seems off the table – and few other options exist. Jeffers joins with more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
