At the top of today's Texas Standard, we're getting a Texas perspective of the FBI raid on former President Trump's Florida home. It's a story I produced for the Texas Standard – as were most of the top stories you've heard on the program over the past five years. It's been a big part of my job to keep up with politics and breaking news.

Now, after five years as a producer and reporter for the Texas Standard, Friday marks my last day with the program. It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve my home state in this capacity. I’ve developed a passion for covering Texas issues and communities while here at the Texas Standard and in my past ten years in broadcasting.

Along with the politics and breaking news, I’ve embedded myself in communities all around the state. I've covered illegal dumping woes in West Texas, how a tiny Central Texas community grappled with the loss of a historic church, wildfire concerns in the Hill Country, and how leaders in small-town East Texas are trying to counter brain-drain.

The strength of our local and statewide newsrooms is vitally important. I am fortunate to have worked with a team that values bringing voices from all over Texas into its broadcast: from Carthage to Houston, Webb County to Travis County. Connecting Texans with other Texans has been the best part of the job.

As for my future, I’m headed off to the halls of academia. I’ll be teaching journalism at my undergraduate alma mater, Texas State University in San Marcos, while I also finish up my Master’s degree at UT-Austin. I’ll also be a faculty advisor for Texas State's student-led radio station, KTSW. I’m looking forward to working with aspiring journalists and media professionals. I hope they also develop a passion for covering their local communities and statewide issues.

Thanks for reading, and for listening.

- Jill Ament

What Texans should know about the Senate’s bill to fight climate change

The Inflation Reduction Act, which will be considered by the House this week, includes a fee on emissions of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

Qualified immunity limits police accountability when suspects or inmates are at risk for suicide, experts say

There’s little legal recourse against dangerous or negligent police practices that put mentally ill citizens at risk of suicide.

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ pays tribute to Black queer roots of house and disco music

“House music and dance music is a very euphoric experience because it is a liberation from so many of the societal stressors that we experience on an everyday basis.”

Houston cuisine is so unique, a former NYC restaurant columnist singing its praises

Now working for the Houston Chronicle, columnist Bao Ong has a lot to say about his new city’s food.

Uvalde CISD adds virtual learning option for families reeling from mass shooting (Texas Public Radio)
Dallas ISD ex-superintendent may still run for office while taking on education consulting gigs (KERA News)
Texas Republicans rally around Trump after FBI search of former president’s Florida estate (Texas Newsroom)
Pearland Little Leaguers headed to Little League World Series (Houston Public Media)

A faded postcard of an open road with a Texas Standard sticker, It reads: Tour the 254! A trek through Texas' 254 counties.

The Talk of Texas is running down the state’s entire 254 counties – Anderson to Zavala – with points of interest pulled from the Texas Standard archives.

Is there a can't-miss attraction in your area? Drop us a line and let us know.

Borden County

Founded: 1876

County seat: Gail

Population: 631 (That’s the smallest of all the counties surveyed so far, and our first count in the triple-digits!)

Blowing in the wind: You might not expect rural Borden County to be the seat of a far-reaching debate over Texas tax incentives. But as we highlighted last year, a private wind farm project in in Borden County illustrated several issues with the state’s Chapter 313 tax incentives. These agreements, named for the relevant portion of state tax code, give projects breaks on taxes they’d ordinarily pay to the school district. But when those breaks expire and the schools start receiving their full due, those projects’ impact on the tax rolls are often overstated – in the case of Borden ISD wildly so. The wind farm there originally estimated to be worth $100 million of taxable value came in at only $22 million. As we recently reported, the Chapter 313 incentives program is set to end, leading to a deluge of recent applications.

Cheers! Borden is one of just five remaining dry counties [PDF] in Texas, where no alcohol sales are allowed. So maybe it shouldn’t surprise that the drink of choice is something a little softer. The county and its seat are named for Gail Borden Jr., the creator of sweetened condensed milk and namesake of Borden Dairy Company. While a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has soured things somewhat for the company, it’s still in business amid a reorganization.

One last thing: Small Texas counties are no stranger to ghost towns, but check out this write-up and photo of Borden County’s former town of Mesquite, where today, “all that remains … are a Church of Christ and the abandoned schoolhouse.”

- Tori Baltierra

We recently spoke with Baltierra, who handles lead vocals in a band with her sisters called The Tiarras. The sisters are an award-winning, Latina band breaking boundaries and empowering others through a unique, eclectic style of music.

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