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 sunny with a high near 96 and heat index values as high as 105. Clouds tonight, witht a low around 76.
NEISD approves compensation package
Classroom teachers will get raises of $1,000 to $5,000, depending on experience.
Most other employees will only get a 1% raise on the midpoint of their salary scale. For counselors, nurses, and librarians that comes out to $615.
A few hourly employee categories like instructional assistants and bus drivers will be getting targeted raises to make NEISD more competitive.
The new package largely aligns with the new school funding law, House Bill 2.
Rep. Joaquin Castro's name on Minnesota gunman's target list
San Antonio Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro says he was among dozens of potential targets of the alleged gunman who killed a state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota.
Minnesota's acting U.S. Attorney said in a press conference Monday that they discovered a hitlist of dozens of state and federal elected officials from Minnesota and other states.
El Paso Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar also said in a statement her name was on the list of targets.
The Minnesota shootings have been described as targeted political attacks.
Ethics panel rules on councilmembers with code violations
A San Antonio Ethics Review Board panel has found two councilmembers violated the city’s ethics code during the latest election cycle.
The panel found that District 1 Councilmember Sukh Kaur’s chief of staff improperly worked for her campaign without distinguishing himself from his official capacity as a city employee.
The panel also fined District 10 Councilmember Mark Whyte $2,500 for violating a section of the city code that prohibits city officials from using city facilities, personnel, equipment, supplies, or time for private purposes when he used images of city employees for campaign Facebook posts.
Both Kaur and Whyte have the opportunity to appeal the ruling to state district court.
Gov. Abbott signs property tax bills
Texas property owners are one step closer to receiving a trio of tax breaks after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bills into law on Monday:
- Senate Bill 4 raises the school district homestead exemption to $140,000
- Senate Bill 23 gives homeowning seniors and those with disabilities an extra exemption — up to $200,000
- House Bill 9 lifts the business personal property tax exemption to $125,000.
The two homestead exemption hikes must be approved by the voters as constitutional amendments this November before they can take effect.
SA hospital adopts non-opioid pain medication
A San Antonio hospital has become the first in the state to approve a new, non-opioid pain medication to treat post-surgical pain.
UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital have added suzetrigine to their approved list of inpatient medications.
Doctors say the medication could make a big difference in the opioid crisis, giving doctors — and patients — an effective alternative to potentially addictive opioid painkiller.
The FDA approved suzetrigine in January.
Nonprofits share results of accessibility survey
A group of nonprofits gathered information on how to amplify the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
800 people, including caregivers, teachers, and community members in Bexar County, responded to the survey.
Any Baby Can President and CEO Jenny Hixon said the survey revealed that families were not getting adequate or timely care from providers.
"47% reported waiting a year or more for a diagnosis," she said. "As we know with little kids, a year is a huge difference, and so having a child wait a year before they can get access, getting that diagnosis is a really big problem for our community."
Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider contributed to this report.
