A verse in the Bible that talks about how each day has enough trouble of its own.Yet all week we’ve been revisiting the troubles of the past – more specifically, the troubles of 20 years ago. We started by taking a look at the impact of of September 11, 2001. We also looked at a tragedy closer to home – the Queen Isabella causeway collapse along the south Texas coast. Those are two major ones, but there were many other events in 2001 where Texas played center-stage. Former governor of Texas George W. Bush was sworn in as president that January two decades ago – and the U.S. only departed from Afghanistan this month. Remember the Texas Seven ? They were recaptured 20 years ago in Colorado after escaping their maximum-security prison in Karnes, Texas. Andrea Yates and the horrific drowning of her five children – that also fell 20 years ago in Harris County. And echoing our current tropical storm season, Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston in 2001. After tropical storm Nicholas hit Houston and Galveston this week, I am reminded that storms are one of the forces that continue to shape the Texas story. But we survive because it's in our nature. We push through. We persevere. We put one foot in front of the other – and nowhere is that more evident than our long slog through the pandemic. The latest there is among the stories we’ve chosen to share with you this week. Thank you for persevering with us. Until next time.

- Joy Diaz
@KUTjoydiaz

Work safe, Texas. Texas Work Comp Insurance

UT Law Professor: Courts More Likely To Uphold Vax Mandates Than You Think

“Governments are allowed to decide that having a particular slice of the population vaccinated is worth the incursion on individual rights.”

Losing Access To Abortion Care Puts Women At Greater Risk Of Living In Poverty

Could Texas’ new restrictive abortion law increase a woman’s risk of experiencing poverty? Nonprofit news organization The 19th reports that a new study says yes.

As More And Stronger Storms Hit The Gulf, Risks To Old Oil And Gas Infrastructure Grow

There’s a process for decommissioning old oil platforms and pipelines, but the federal agencies in charge are understaffed.

Killeen Mayor Urges Vaccinations To ‘Save The Lives Of Your Neighbor’

The COVID-19 vaccination rate in Bell County, home to Killeen and Fort Hood, is about 32% – significantly lower than nearby counties.

Austin’s Had A Record Number Of Murders This Year, But The Murder Rate Is Still Lower Than In The 1980s (KUT Austin)
Senate Bill 6 Signed Into Law, Cash-Bail Opponents Question It's Impact On Public Safety (Texas Public Radio)
Feds Approve West Texas Nuke Waste Plan, Despite State Law Blocking It (Marfa Public Radio)

For the past couple of weeks, you may have heard our seven-part series on worker heat deaths. The project is a collaborative effort of Columbia Journalism Investigations, NPR and The Texas Newsroom. The series explores how more than four dozen workers in Texas have succumbed to heat since 2010. The state’s tally of 53 deaths during that period has nearly doubled in the past decade – and many experts we spoke with say this number is an undercount. Many of those who died were workers of color, a fact that mirrors a national trend. We also found that workplace regulators have a difficult time holding companies accountable and making sure violations stick. Sara Ernst of Houston Public Media and I couldn’t have written the radio stories without everyone involved pulling and analyzing data, requesting and reading documents, looking up court records and making hundreds of phone calls. We even did good ole’ shoe leather reporting, knocking on doors and waiting on sources who ignored our calls to come out of their offices. After months of reporting, it finally came together. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the series yet, you can here.

- Stella M. Chávez
@stellamchavez

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