A $2 billion school budget that still bakes in a deficit is a flashing warning light, not a rounding error. We start with the Texas education finance squeeze, looking at HISD’s projected shortfall, Cy-Fair ISD’s $80.9 million gap, and the familiar pattern of districts leaning toward tax increases and one-time patches while families keep asking the same question: where is the money going, and what are we getting for it? That leads straight into school choice and why enrollment declines, academic results, and basic stewardship have become inseparable in the public debate.

Then we zoom out to state policy fights that don’t stay inside state lines. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joins a coalition challenging California’s Plastics Act, arguing it raises costs and exports California regulation nationwide. I also wrestle with the tougher angle: if we want state sovereignty, how do we stay logically consistent when different states regulate what comes in and out? From there, we hit Houston’s financial headlines as S&P Global Ratings revises the city’s outlook from negative to stable, plus what that does and does not mean for the city’s long-term fiscal reality.

Hour two brings in Charles Blaine from Urban Reform for a sharp local recap, including the Fort Bend County interim judge showdown, Harris County’s new flood control director, and Lina Hidalgo’s World Cup ticket spending story. We close with a federal judge blocking USDA SNAP waivers that restricted junk food purchases, the Make America Healthy Again argument over welfare incentives, a disturbing indictment involving a Houston police officer, and the SBOE fight over removing key Revolutionary War battles from social studies standards.

************************************************
Listen every day to our strong conservative programs on Patriot Talk 920 AM. Tune-in on your radio in Houston to KYST 920 AM or download our app by visiting 920app.com or search for "Patriot Talk 920" from your app store!