|
|
 May 23, 2003 |
|
Find the text of the stories from our most recent show - May 23, 2003 - below ...
Inconsistent testimony heard in Olvera caseBY SHANNON YOUNG
...Jurors in a Houston courtroom heard inconsistent testimony in the trial of three Hispanic INS agents this week. The agents are accused of violating the civil rights of Serafin Olvera.
'Horse Slaughter' bill gains steam in SenateBY RENEE FELTZ
... A legislative proposal that's come to be called 'the Horse Slaughter bill' found a sponsor in the state senate this week. For weeks, the bill lacked a sponsor in the senate after passing the house.
Budget crisis hits kids waiting for adoptionBY ERIC THOMPSON
...Today in Austin the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services held its quarterly board meeting. Several points were slated for discussion, but due to the severe budget crisis, funding was the topic that dominated the meeting. In the past, the state has used private agencies to assist in finding adoptive homes for foster children. However, all of the funds allocated for fiscal 2003 have been exhausted and the survival of the program is in question. Reporting from Austin, Eric Thompson has more:
Oakland honors deceased Earth First! activistBY JACKSON ALLERS
... This week, the city of Oakland went from proclaiming Earth First! activist Judi Bari to be a terrorist to honoring her with her own official city day. [Before she died from breast cancer in 1999, Judi Bari argued against a smear campaign, led in part by Houston-based Maxxam corporation, labeling her a terrorist. Maxxam owns California based company Pacific Lumber... one of the logging operations engaged in clear cutting redwood and old growth forests.]
|
 |
Bill could expand state school board's censorship powersBY MIKE REED & PHARA CHARMCHI
...House Bill 1172 has been touted as an attempt to "portray America as a great nation, which has overcome its mistakes to emerge as the most free, democratic nation in the history of the world." However, an amendment to the bill would allow board members to make unlimited decisions about textbook content, rather than adhering to established criteria such as factual accuracy or state curriculum standards. Critics say that without objective criteria to guide them, board members' personal beliefs will largely influence both the selection of topics and content taught to Texas schoolchildren.
Abortion advocates dealt 'double whammy'BY KAREM SAID
...Abortion advocates were dealt a double whammy yesterday by the Texas Legislature. In addition to a budget rider that would cut all state funding for abortion providers, a bill was passed giving legal status to fetuses. Under the bill, an assailant who kills a pregnant woman would be charged with double homicide. Elizabeth Graham of Texas Right to Life claims the bill has nothing to do with abortion.
French ambassador tries to ease relationsBY CHARLES SNIDER & SYLVAIN RAMSHAW
...Today the French Ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, spoke to a wide group including the French Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Lee Brown and KPFT at a luncheon thrown downtown at the Four Seasons hotel. The ambassador graciously thanked the audience of about 350 people before commencing his speech entitled "Restoring Confidence Between France and the United States."
Bus tour will highlight plight of immigrantsBY SHANNON YOUNG
... As the death of 19 Latin American immigrants in Victoria focuses world attention on the practice of human smuggling along the U.S/Mexico border, Houston's immigrant community is organizing and building coalitions with labor groups to call for reforms to immigration laws. KPFT's Shannon Young files this report.
|
Web Editor Brandon Moeller, brandonmoeller@hotmail.com.
Web space provided by
