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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

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What to Know: Some Bexar County officials, who were scheduled to attend a training on the Public Information Act, were caught booking high-dollar hotel rooms and meals, while skipping the training sessions. The info came to light through… the Public Information Act.

The TPPF Take: They really, really should have attended that training.

“There’s a special irony in the fact that the Public Information Act was used to bust local officials who were supposed to be attending a Texas Public Information Act seminar,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “This demonstrates again—as if we needed it—how important government transparency is to all Texans.”

Raising the Stakes

What to Know: Teachers throughout Texas are getting pay raises; how much depends on their districts.

The TPPF Take: Texas school districts should invest more in merit-based raises.

“Teacher pay in the Lone Star State is based on two things—the number of degrees a teacher holds and years of experience,” explains TPPF’s Austin Griesinger. “We should instead focus on rewarding—and retaining—our superstar teachers. Everyone wins, especially Texas students.”

Not As I Do

What to Know: Avid environmentalists Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are in trouble with their own movement for taking a private jet to Ibiza recently.

The TPPF Take: The wealthy have little to lose—not even their jet-setting lifestyles—from the drastic climate policies they call for. The rest of us, particularly the poor, do.

“New research shows that the Paris accords could push more than 3 million people into poverty,” says TPPF’s Katie Tahuahua. “Reliable, affordable energy has the power to lift people from poverty. Making that energy less accessible is a disservice to both the less fortunate and to the environment.”