50 years ago today, what many people mark as the start of the modern environmental movement. What is the state of the Earth today? During a time of global pandemic, a pause to reflect on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Also, testing for Coronavirus ramping up in the most populous counties, whats holding back…
Texas Standard: April 8, 2020
If you’re a nonessential worker and you’re out for a drive, what happens if you get pulled over? The realities of police work during a pandemic. Today, our conversation with the chief of police of the Texas Capitol City on enforcement of stay at home orders, and how police are dialing back some of what…
Tags: APD, Austin Police Department, Bear, Brian Manley, Check, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Equipment, Fact, Houston, Hunt, Personal, Police Chief, Politifact, PPE, Protective, SB4, Stories From Texas, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: February 12, 2020
Iowa? Check. New Hampshire? Check. Brace yourself for Super Tuesday where Texas is sure to shine, we’ll have all the details. Also Food safety, food labels, small producers and big producers. A roundtable with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And what’s the meaning of a warrant forgiveness? We’ll explore. Plus how artificial intelligence is inspiring…
Tags: 2020, Caucus, Check, Democrat, Democratic, diversity, Fact, Flores Mexicanas Exhibit, Food safety, forgiveness, Fort Worth, New Hampshire, Plant, Politifact, Presidential Election, Stories From Texas, texas, Valentine, W.F. Strong, Warrant
Texas Standard: January 22, 2020
Just ahead of Super Tuesday, voter registration hits an all time high in Texas. We’ll look at what the new record setting numbers add up to. Other stories we’re tracking: governor Abbott’s decision to stop accepting refugees, widely panned by big city mayors and major newspaper editorial boards. We’ll hear why its playing out in…
Tags: Check, Democrat, Fact, grocery, Indigenous, myths, Politifact, Primary, Puerto Rico, Ranch, Registration, Republican, Stories From Texas, texas, Voters, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: January 17, 2020
As the senate takes up impeachment, it takes up something else in the spirit of bipartisanship with major implications for Texas, we’ll hear all about it. Also, Texas among the states becoming magnets for people from Puerto Rico. As the territory hits population lows, who’s left? And remembering a moment that made Barbara Jordan a…
Tags: Alamo Drafthouse, Barbara Jordan, Dead in the Desert, film, House, Houston, immigration, Labor, Migrant, movies, poetry, politics, Puerto Rico, restaurant, Senate, Stories From Texas, Stuck on VHS, Trade, USMCA, VHS, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: December 11, 2019
The house moves closer to impeachment, but any closer to the removal of the commander in chief? We’ll do a breakdown of the next steps in the process. As members of the house prepare to vote on the removal of a president, they also hand him a political victory on trade. One that will have…
Tags: #Surveillance, allergy, Asylum, Canada, Check, Democrat, Donald Trump, Dr. Gorgas, Fact, food, immigration, Impeachment, incarceration, Jail, Mexico, Politifact, President, Prison, Republican, Stories From Texas, Trade, United States, USMCA, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: October 30, 2019
It’s not pay for play, but college athletes won’t have to turn away endorsement dollars. A shakeup in the big buck business of college sports? We’ll have the story. Also a shortage of water at an ice detention center. What we know about conditions and what we don’t…and why. And the latest numbers on Texas…
Tags: AR-15, Beto O’Rourke, Check, children, college, Compensation, Democrat, Dr. John Zerwas, Fact, Fort Bend, Fort Worth, Ghosts of Jefferson, guns, Inclusion Director, Insurance, NCAA, Pay, players, Politifact, Republican, Sam Houston, Sierra Blanca, Special Election, Stories From Texas, W.F. Strong, Water
Texas Standard: October 2, 2019
Guilty. A jury has convicted a former Dallas Police officer of murdering her neighbor in his own apartment. We’ll have reaction and a look ahead to sentencing. Also, Texas State University under scrutiny for under-reporting sexual assaults on campus. We’ll take a look at what happened and why. Meanwhile, the state’s first black city is…
Tags: Amber Guyger, Athlete, Books, Check, college, Constables, Dallas, Fact, Fort Worth, Gina Hinojosa, higher education, Library, Officer, Police, Politifact, Public, Reading, Sexual Assault, sports, Stories From Texas, Texas State, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: August 21, 2019
A major rule change for migrant families in detention just announced which some say could mean families held in detention indefinitely. We’ll have details. Other stories were tracking, a new spring in the step of Texas Democrats. A closer look at a possible shift in the political psychology of the Lone Star State. Also, water…
Tags: Blue-Green Algae, Border, Dan Patrick, death, Detention, education, El Paso, immigration, Infant, Ingersoll, Migrant, Political, Politifact, Prayer, Psychological, pyschology, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Schools, Shooting, Stories From Texas, texas, Vaccine, W.F. Strong
Remembering The Summers Of My Youth
Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, I’ve been thinking about the long summers of my youth. We had longer summers then. It’s not just an idealized memory. Schools would dismiss us in late May and we wouldn’t return until September 2nd or so, generally the day following Labor Day. What I remember…
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written by Laura Rice Comments Off on Remembering The Summers Of My Youth
Tags: boyhood, Childhood, enjoy, Generation, History, kid, memory, Rattlesnake, school, Stories From Texas, summer, texas, Weather, WF Strong, youth
Texas Standard: August 7, 2019
A presidential visit to El Paso and a rejoinder from a Texas representative: no thank you Mr. President, we don’t want to hear from you. We’ll have more on Mr. Trump’s visit to El Paso and our conversation with Texas state representative from El Paso, César Blanco. Also the latest from a city still in…
Tags: 8chan, César Blanco, Check, Donald Trump, El Paso, Fact, Free Range, gun, Hemp, illness, Industrial Hemp, Law, marijuana, Mass, Mental, Politifact, protest, Redistricting, Shooting, Stories From Texas, Violence, W.F. Strong
Texas Standard: July 24, 2019
Have you been living in the U.S. for at least 2 years? Can you prove it on demand? We’ll look at what new rules on expedited deportation could mean for Texas. Also, as Washington focuses on the Mueller report, many in Texas talking about the 18 year old Dallas born U.S. citizen, detained by border…
Tags: Border, Cancer, Check, Cooking, Dallas, Deport, Deportation, Detained, Detainee, Fact, Food Stamp, Gunsmoke, I.C.E., immigration, Lone, Operation, Patrol, Politifact, Psychosis, Rural, STAR, Stories From Texas, W.F. Strong
Gunsmoke & Texas
By W. F. Strong Ever heard of the Gunsmoke Rule? It was created several years ago by TV ratings guru Bill Gorman. He noticed that sports cable channel shows like ESPN’s “First Take” were being beaten by Gunsmoke reruns. In fact, Newsday found in a sample a few years ago that all but seven of…
Tags: Bill Gorman, CBS, cowboy, Gunsmoke, Gunsmoke Rule, James Arness, John Wayne, Matt Dillon, Ratings, Stories From Texas, television, texas, TV, TV Land, Western, WF Strong, William Conrad
Texas Standard: July 10, 2019
The Trump Administration’s so-called Remain in Mexico program expands to include Laredo. We’ll take a closer look at the impact. Also at the border, Texas National Guard troops are being deployed to help. But what are they doing exactly? We’ll explore. And remembering Ross Perot: the legacy of the self-made Texas billionaire. Plus, a Hemp…
Tags: austin, Border, Cannabis, Dyslexic, education, Fact, farming, Hemp, Homeless, immigration, National Guard, Politifact, Ross Perot, school, Stories From Texas, W.F. Strong
On Mother’s Day: Remembering Nonnie
On Mother’s Day, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother, too, because she was also my mother. She was, and this remains true for many kids today, my second mother. She lived with us and was my back-up mom – my safety net of sanity when life got crazy. She was a grand-mother. Her…
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written by Laura Rice Comments Off on On Mother’s Day: Remembering Nonnie
Tags: grandma, grandmother, Hair, Mom, mother, Mother's Day, novel, Stories From Texas, Storytelling, texas, WF Strong, writing
The Lady In Blue
One of the most important figures in Texas’ religious history never set foot in Texas at all. She never in her life traveled beyond her tiny village in Spain, yet she stirred religious fervor from the Concho River to the headwaters of the Rio Grande. Our story begins in 1602 when Maria was born in…
Tags: bilocation, canon, Catholic, Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Tarazona, Jumano, Lady in Blue, legend, Maria de Ágredas, Maria de Jesus, nun, Saint, Spain, Stories From Texas, story, texas, West Texas, WF Strong
What Siri Can’t Tell You
The navigation apps so accessible in our cars and on our phones are to me, magical. Siri, Google Maps and the like save us collectively from hundreds of thousands of lost hours each day by saving us from, well, being lost. Siri also may have saved a few relationships by sparing couples from arguing about…
Tags: App, Apple Maps, cell phone, directions, Google Maps, Map, navigation, navigation app, Siri, Smart Phone, Stories From Texas, Technology, texas, WF Strong
What’s In A Name – The Rio Grande Valley
When some people first arrive in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas they often ask, “Where are the mountains?” It’s natural. Generally a valley is between mountains or at least hills. But the Rio Grande Valley is most accurately a delta region, as level as Lubbock. The highest roadway point is the 80-foot summit…
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written by Laura Rice Comments Off on What’s In A Name – The Rio Grande Valley
Tags: #Brownsville, Border, Edinburg, Harlingen, History, Mexico, RGV, Rio Grande Valley, Stories From Texas, story, Storytelling, Texan, texas, Texas Standard, Weslaco, WF Strong
Texas Standard: February 6, 2019
The State of the State and the State of the Union: after speeches by Governor Abbott and President Trump, what happens next? Governor Abbott issues what he calls emergency items for Texas lawmakers and President Trump calls for unity but presses for a hard line on the border, we’ll take a closer look. Also a…
Tags: age, Border, Check, children, Cost of Living, Documents, Donald Trump, economy, Fact, Foster, governor, Gregg Abbott, HISD, Houston, Identification, Labor, Mexico, Minimum, Minimum Wage, Politifact, President, school, State of the State, State of the Union, Stories From Texas, texas, Unidentified, W.F. Strong, Wage
Ranch Words In Urban Life
The other day I was trying to pull out on U.S. Route 281, and the traffic was so steady that I had to wait about three minutes for an opening. As I was waiting, my father’s voice came into my head and said, “Somebody left the gate open down there.” Dad’s been gone 30 years…
Tags: country, Farm, linguistics, phrases, Ranch, Rural, sayings, Stories From Texas, texas, urban, WF Strong, words