The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Airports in Texas’s largest cities continue to see higher rates of customer satisfaction, according to a report from J.D. Power and Associates out this week. It’s based on responses from 40,000 people who traveled through 64 North American airports over the last year.
Among 19 “mega airports” Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ranks fifth, while Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport is seventh.
Of the 24 large airports in the study, Dallas’ Love Field, Austin’s Austin-Bergstrom International and Houston’s William P. Hobby all made the top 10.
San Antonio International Airport ranks 14th among 21 medium-sized airports. Mike Taylor with J.D. Power says the San Antonio airport provides a good example of how to improve the airport experience for travelers because it makes them feel like they’re in that city.
“So getting a sense of place to the airport really adds to the satisfaction, and that extends to the food, beverage and retail, because people are looking for experiences they can only get in San Antonio, or in Austin or in Dallas,” Taylor says.
Taylor says travelers J.D Power surveyed spend, on average, 56 minutes in the airport once they get through security, and are looking for unique experiences while they wait for their flights.
The Fort Bend County Republican Party has apologized for a newspaper ad aimed at Hindu voters. But the controversy could have lasting consequences, as Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports.
“The ad ran in the India Herald ahead of a festival honoring Ganesha – an aspect of the divine depicted with the head of an elephant. The ad concluded with the appeal, ‘Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours.’ Rishi Bhutada is a board member of the Hindu American Foundation and a Fort Bend County resident. He says the ad provoked outrage in the county’s Hindu community, ‘not only for the fact that it equated worship of Lord Ganesha to choosing a political party, but also because it implied that Hindus worship animals as gods, and it’s a very common misconception that can lead to bullying; … about one in three Hindu students in the United States report being bullied.’ The Hindu American Foundation is planning a get-out-the-vote campaign. Several South Asian candidates are on the ballot in Fort Bend.”
Houston Texans Coach Bill O’Brien had harsh words and little patience for an East Texas school superintendent who made a racist comment about quarterback Deshaun Watson. Lynn Redden heads Onalaska Independent School District in Piney Woods.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Redden posted a comment on the Chron.com Facebook page Monday that said “you can’t count on a black quarterback.” The Facebook post was promoting a story about the Texans’ recent loss. O’Brien was asked about the comment at a press conference earlier this week.
“I really don’t want to waste a lot of time responding to outdated, inaccurate, ignorant, idiotic statements. I’ll just let Deshaun’s proven success on the field, his character off the field speak for itself,” O’Brien said during the press conference.
Bill O’Brien blasts racist comments made by Onalaska ISD superintendent Lynn Redden about @deshaunwatson: pic.twitter.com/Y4PC9NJRBr
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 19, 2018
Redden told Chron.com he “totally regrets” the comment.
In a statement posted on its website, Onalaska ISD said the district “does not condone negative comments or actions against any race.” It added that the district will take appropriate measures to address the situation quickly.
