Texas Standard

From Texas Standard:

Earlier this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported an increase of Mexican nationals crossing the border into the U.S. between March and May, raising concerns of COVID-19 spread into the United States. The concern prompted a collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and the government of Mexico to expel migrants through repatriation flights to Mexico City.

From The Texas Tribune:

Texas State Health Services is spending over $6 million to partner with social media influencers and enhance awareness of COVID-19. 

From Texas Standard:

For many students, starting a new school year completely online is an adjustment. For students experiencing homelessness, that adjustment will likely be even greater. And now, some homeless advocates worry that more students will experience homelessness and challenges with their education because of economic hardship resulting from the pandemic.

From Texas Standard:

While some families in quarantine are spending more time together than ever before, those in the Child Protective Services, or CPS system must deal with even stricter physical separation. Since the beginning of lockdown this spring, courts across Texas have required video visitation between biological parents and children in foster care.

From Texas Standard:

The nonprofit Circle of Blue recently launched its reporting project “Water, Texas,” a series about the challenges Texas faces in managing its most vital natural resource.

The organization’s senior editor and chief correspondent, Keith Schneider, told Texas Standard that his reporting in “Water, Texas,” focused on the tension between Texas' economic and environmental interests.

From Texas Standard:

On Aug. 3, Texas reported 5,839 new COVID-19 cases. But that doesn't mean all positive cases are reflected in the state's tally.

From Texas Standard:

Democrats running for Congress in Texas are raking in some of the biggest fundraising hauls in years compared to their Republican opponents, according to new campaign finance analysis from The Texas Tribune. The survey found that Texas Democrats have a $7.5 million advantage over Republicans in House races. But how much will the extra cash really matter for Democrats come November?

From Texas Standard:

Across the country, small packets of seeds have been showing up, unsolicited, in people’s mailboxes and at their front doors. The origin of the packages – where they came from, who sent them and why – is unclear.

From Texas Standard:

Texas ranks low when it comes to participation rates in the 2020 census – 40th in the nation. So far, only 57% of Texans have returned their census forms.

Demographer Lila Valencia from the Texas Demographic Center told Texas Standard on Thursday that could lead to an undercount of the population, which could mean a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding over the next 10 years.

From Texas Standard:

Less than three weeks ago, Texas was set to unveil its public-school reopening plan for the fall. That announcement was stalled after coronavirus cases and hospitalizations started to soar in the state.

But on Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency finally released its back-to-school guidelines, which included recommendations for preventing the spread of the coronavirus on campuses.

Lee esta historia en español. 

From Texas Standard:

Aubrey Matson, a 19-year-old college student, doesn't consider herself "anti-vaccine." But the pandemic hasn’t made her 100% in favor of them, either. She’s concerned that a fast-tracked COVID-19 vaccine could be dangerous.

From Texas Standard:

Though quickly communicating positive COVID-19 test results can be an important way to limit the spread of the virus, Texans and their doctors don't always learn results within the recommended three-to-four days.

Houston Public Media Senior Producer Davis Land found himself at the center of such a story. He recently got tested before visiting some friends.

From Texas Standard:

Student athletes at the University of Texas at Austin are asking the university to change some of its practices and traditions in the wake of national protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

From Texas Standard:

The pandemic has had an outsized affect on Texas prisons. Almost 4,000 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, and 43 people in the system have died – that includes prison staff and inmates.

But Dallas Morning News investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy recently reported that thousands of prisoners who have been approved for parole can't leave lockup, and they're concerned for their health.

From Texas Standard:

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and many Texans have been enjoying the holiday weekend at parks and beaches. But the COVID-19 pandemic presses on, with cases still rising in Texas, and public gatherings only increase the likelihood that that trend will continue.

From Texas Standard:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is facing bipartisan criticism for hastily awarding a nearly $300 million contract to a little-known North Texas company to lead the state's contact-tracing program in the fight against the coronavirus.

From Texas Standard:

Potter County, where Amarillo is located, has seen an outsized proportion of COVID-19 cases. Though the latest numbers show counties with most cases are also the most populous, Potter County ranks just below them at sixth even though it's the 38th most populous county.

From Texas Standard:

Texas is requiring day care providers to decrease class sizes and follow sanitization guidelines as they open up to serve more than just essential workers. For the last several months, many child care centers have been caring for a fraction of those that they usually serve.

From Texas Standard:

Even as much of American life has been on pause over the past few months, a plan to move radioactive nuclear waste to West Texas continues forward, with the support of the federal government. The proposal for a facility at a remote part of the Texas-New Mexico border has been up in the air for years, but a new federal report says it should be approved because environmental risks are low.

Read this story in English.

En el episodio de esta semana de "Ask a Doctor" (Pregúntale al Doctor), el médico del Centro de la Salud de la Universidad de Texas en San Antonio Fred Campbell responde a las preguntas más urgentes de los oyentes del Texas Standard sobre el coronavirus.

From Texas Standard:

A couple of months ago, 30 dead rabbits were found near Fort Bliss.

That's when Ken Waldrup, who works for the Texas Department of State Health Services, as a regional zoonosis control veterinarian in El Paso, where Fort Bliss is located, got a call.

From Texas Standard:

Since the coronavirus outbreak began in Texas, state and local officials have had to make difficult decisions to protect Texans' health and safety. Some of those decisions have had dire economic consequences.

From Texas Standard:

Most Texans have likely experienced some hardship because of the pandemic. But it's hit some harder than others, including those who've actually had COVID-19.

Ray Benson is a guitar player, singer and frontman for the band Asleep at the Wheel, and he has recovered from the disease. He told Texas Standard host David Brown on Thursday that it took a toll, but he's feeling better.

From Texas Standard:

With so many Texans out of work because of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, food banks are the state’s newest first responders. And the soaring demand is pushing Texas food banks to the limit as they, too, wait for sorely needed state and federal aid to arrive.

From Texas Standard:

With springtime well underway and summer on the horizon, many Texans would typically be planning weekend road trips or even longer vacations within the Lone Star State. But most tourist attractions and beaches are closed for vacationers because of the pandemic.

From Texas Standard:

Trees are scarce in the Texas Panhandle. Big trees are even scarcer.

The region is droughty and windy. Blizzards and hail are common. Adequate soil is hard to come by. So, for some, the few tall trees that survive are precious.

From Texas Standard:

The coronavirus pandemic has become a catalyst for the rapid expulsion of people crossing into the United States illegally at the southern border. Under emergency immigration measures put in place by the Trump administration, U.S. Border Patrol agents have been sending migrants back into Mexico at a rapid clip, according to The Washington Post.

From Texas Standard:

Rural hospitals in Texas face many challenges to staying in business, even when they aren't having to manage the effects of a pandemic.

Three such hospitals are doing whatever they can to prepare for a potential surge of patients as the coronavirus spreads across Texas.

From Texas Standard:

The coronavirus pandemic comes at a time when the access to information is greater than ever before. But that also brings greater risk of misinformation. To combat that, Texas Standard is collaborating with Dr. Fred Campbell, an internal medicine physician and associate professor of medicine at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, to answer listener questions about the coronavirus and their health.

From Texas Standard:

An effective COVID-19 vaccine could help stop or at least slow the spread of the new coronaviru, which the World Health Organization has deemed a pandemic.

Maria Elena Bottazzi co-directs the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. She told Texas Standard Friday that there are several prototype vaccines for COVID-19, including one at her institution. But all of them would still have to go through clinical testing before being used on the public.