This is TPR’s roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today’s weather: It’s going to be mostly sunny for a high near 97 and a heat index of 100. Highs will remain in the mid to upper 90s over the next few days.
Floods made worse by climate change
Climate scientists believe the flooding disaster in Kerr County and the Hill Country was made worse by climate change.
Author and climate scientist Kate Marvel told TPR’s The Source that a warming atmosphere holds more water and creates more serious flood events.
“What happened in the Texas flood was kind of a perfect illustration of when all these climate consequences come together, and it is so painful to watch us scientists be right,” Marvel said. “I wish that we weren’t.”
She said people need to take action now to reduce carbon emissions before runaway climate change wrecks the planet.
The July 4th flash flood that hit Kerr County and community along the upper Guadalupe River is one of the worst natural disasters to hit modern Texas. The sudden downpour of so much rain prompts the question—Did Climate Change play a role? Author and climate scientist Kate Marvel takes a look.
SNAP benefits can be used to buy hot meals following flooding
Texas is increasing the number of people who can buy hot meals with SNAP benefits as a response to the deadly floods in the Hill Country and Central Texas.
Usually, SNAP recipients can’t use the Lone Star Card to buy hot or ready to eat food. Texas received permission last week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand SNAP benefits to include hot meals in seven counties affected by flooding like Kerr and Bandera.
That number has now gone up to 33 counties across the state.
The temporary SNAP expansion will last until August 14th. It does not change SNAP eligibility
Judson ISD contracts outside consultant
Judson Independent School District is paying an outside consultant $1,500 a day plus expenses to help the school board understand its budget and reduce its deficit.
Expenses for the consultant add up to at least $30,000 dollars and counting since June, according to a contract obtained by TPR through an open records request.
The consultant’s pay comes out to about $400 more a day than Judson pays its superintendent.
Judson Board President Monica Ryan hired the consultant. The board minority voted against hiring her because they wanted to keep financial decisions in-house and save money.
The consultant was hired to help the school board understand the budget and cut costs.
Robert Roberson gets new execution date
A Texas judge has officially set a new Oct. 16 execution for Robert Roberson, the death row inmate sentenced in a shaken baby case for the death of his infant daughter over 20 years ago.
The shaken baby syndrome diagnosis has been widely criticized as junk science. Roberson’s legal team made that argument to the state’s highest criminal court, in an appeal that’s still pending.
Judge Austin Reeve Jackson said Roberson’s pending appeal is not enough to stop his death.
His attorneys say they’ll seek to delay the execution until the courts can review additional evidence.
After a roughly 20-minute hearing, Judge Austin Reeve Jackson rejected arguments by Roberson’s attorney that his execution should be further delayed because of a pending appeal to the state’s highest criminal court.
Seguin population booms
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of the City of Seguin grew to around 40,000 this year, a nearly 32% increase from 2020.
Seguin grew by more than 7% in 2024 alone, making it the third fastest growing city in the Austin-San Antonio Mega Region. Only Hutto and Leander, both closer to Austin, grew faster.
Josh Schneuker, the executive director of the Seguin Economic Development Corporation, said a lot of the city’s newcomers are from San Antonio and Austin.
He said Seguin has a strong local job base and offers lower median home prices than San Antonio or Austin.
Robert Earl Keen releases benefit concert lineup
Kerrville musician Robert Earl Keen is putting on a concert to benefit those who lost everything in the Hill Country 4th of July Flood.
Keen had been slated to perform a concert in the city’s Louise Hays Park on July 4. Now, proceeds from the “Robert Earl Keen and Friends: Applause for the Cause” concert will go to the Community Foundation of the Hill Country.
Artists featured in the concert include Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson, Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Terry Allen, Ray Wiley Hubbard, and Hayes Carl.
The benefit concert takes place Aug. 28 at the Whitewater Amphitheater between Canyon Lake and New Braunfels.
Kerrville has been reeling for most of the last two weeks from record flooding and from the loss of life that accompanied it. People from across the state…
Great Job Marian Navarro & the Team @ Texas Public Radio Source link for sharing this story.
