Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

July 2025 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s mid-to-late July, and you know what that means: It’s campaign finance report season! We’ve got a lot to cover, as there’s more angles and intrigue than usual, certainly a lot more than there was three months ago. I’ll start … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 18 edition

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: one of our state senators is going for AG; more about the sale of the DMN to … Continue reading →

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Hands Off Our Districts protest tomorrow

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Dear Democrats, friends and neighbors, We’re asking everyone who believes in fair representation to join us this Saturday at 10:00 AM for the Day of Protest, “Hands Off Our Districts.” In solidarity with community leaders, elected officials, and precinct chairs across Harris County, … Continue reading →

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Re-redistricting watch: El Paso in focus

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a big surprise. President Donald Trump’s request that Texas Republicans seek to create five new congressional seats for the GOP in an upcoming special legislation could involve redrawing boundaries in El Paso, a website focused on Congress says. Diluting … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Flores

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We have more than one Democrat running for Governor. I first met Ben Flores last fall, at his small pig farm on the outskirts of Bay City, a working-class town about half an hour north of Matagorda Bay. The cybersecurity … Continue reading →

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Enron is still out there doing…something

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I admire the commitment to the bit. Beyond that, you’re on your own. The company that took over the defunct Enron brand, led by a “Birds Aren’t Real” cofounder, held a mostly satirical quarterly earnings call Thursday afternoon but gave … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 14

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes peace and comfort for all those affected by the Hill Country floods as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The long haul of recovery

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We only really have a best guess as to how many people are still missing from the Hill Country floods. More than 10 days after catastrophic July Fourth floods along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, the official death toll … Continue reading →

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Nathan Johnson officially announces for AG

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He should be a good candidate. State Sen. Nathan Johnson is running for Texas attorney general, the three-term Dallas Democrat announced Tuesday. He told The Texas Tribune that, if elected, he would look to restore “faith and confidence” in an … Continue reading →

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So what’s Colossal Biosciences up to now?

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Always be finding new species to say you’re going to de-extinct. A species of huge, flightless bird that once inhabited New Zealand disappeared around 600 years ago, shortly after human settlers first arrived on the country’s two main islands. Now, a Texas-based biotech company … Continue reading →

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What the medical marijuana industry wants from the special session

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

To protect their interests, of course. Texas’ medical marijuana dispensaries entered into this year’s legislative session with a two-prong strategy to expand: to loosen the state’s rules on their industry that has made the program largely inaccessible to those who … Continue reading →

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Just how intimate are those emails?

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The mind reels. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t want to reveal months of communications with Elon Musk or representatives from the tech mogul’s companies, arguing in part that they are of a private nature, not of public interest and potentially embarrassing. Musk had an … Continue reading →

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RIP, David Adickes

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A giant has passed. David Adickes, the painter and sculptor responsible for some of Texas’s most popular public art, died on Sunday at the age of 98. His eight-decade career took him from a modest childhood in Huntsville to the … Continue reading →

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There’s still flooding in the Hill Country

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It keeps raining. Emergency crews suspended their search for victims of catastrophic flooding in Central Texas on Sunday morning amid new warnings that additional rain would again cause waterways to surge. It was the first time a new round of … Continue reading →

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Paxton divorce filings sealed

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. A state district court judge in Collin County agreed Friday to seal all records relating to divorce proceedings between Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. Angela Paxton, according to reports by The Dallas Morning News and … Continue reading →

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Ogg’s contempt hearing delayed by special session

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

You can run, but you can’t hide. A hearing to determine whether former district attorney Kim Ogg should be held in contempt of a court order is likely to be on hold until after Gov. Greg Abbott’s special legislative session … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for July 13

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“So on July 4, 2025, we can celebrate the imperfect start of our national enterprise, despite the dark turn it has taken. As we do so—and as we contend with the discouraging and disturbing developments of the moment—we ought to … Continue reading →

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Why does Greg Abbott hate FEMA?

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, FEMA loves Texas, so… Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to request federal assistance last week after devastating floods hit the Texas Hill Country. But the Republican governor is simultaneously helping the Trump administration find ways to “wean off” … Continue reading →

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This session’s fight over casinos was mostly billionaire-on-billionaire violence

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A good read from Texas Monthly about how Miriam Adelson tried to throw a bunch of money around and hire every lobbyist in the state to get casino gambling on the ballot, only to run into a different billionaire throwing … Continue reading →

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Still more microtransit

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Now in the Near Northside. METRO’s free, on-demand electric shuttle service has expanded to Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood, with service there launching Monday. The “Community Connector” initiative launched as a pilot program in the Third Ward in 2023. It has … Continue reading →

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Opening look at the re-redistricting effort

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’re coming for our districts. More than one million Houstonians could have new congressional representation as early as next year under Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to redraw the state’s political maps. Abbott has ordered the Texas Legislature into a special … Continue reading →

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No more backup power mandates for senior living places

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That’s our Legislature, y’all. In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, thousands of seniors across the Houston region were stuck in buildings without power or air-conditioning, often left to fend for themselves in the sweltering summer heat. The suffering galvanized Houston-area Democrats to once again fight for what had repeatedly failed: … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 12 edition

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: an attack on an ICE facility near Fort Worth; what’s being done about flooding and emergencies in … Continue reading →

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Hill Country flood roundup

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just some articles of interest, no real thread. Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains That Led to Devastating Texas Flood Climate scientists said the torrential downpours on July 4 exemplify the devastating outcomes of weather intensified by a warming atmosphere. … Continue reading →

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Measles update: There’s good news and there’s bad news

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. Texas health officials on Tuesday said the county at the center of the state’s measles outbreak is no longer classified as an outbreak county. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported no new cases of measles … Continue reading →

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Paxtons getting divorced

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Whoa. State Sen. Angela Paxton announced Thursday she has filed for divorce from her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, said in a post … Continue reading →

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So now the Lege will get involved

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As I said yesterday, I don’t know if Greg Abbott would have called a special session to address the great tragedy happening in the Hill Country if one hadn’t already been on the calendar for other reasons. He didn’t call … Continue reading →

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Abbott adds redistricting and wingnut priorities to special session agenda

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And also some flooding stuff, which was clearly top of mind for him. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday unveiled a jam-packed agenda for the upcoming special legislative session, calling on lawmakers to redraw Texas’ congressional maps and address several unfinished … Continue reading →

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The opening lineup in At Large #4

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Three and counting, with more surely to come. Letitia Plummer’s bid for Harris County judge means her at-large seat on Houston City Council is now open. The Houston City Council will soon decide when to hold an election to fill … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 7

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. — That … Continue reading →

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The flood warning history of Kerr County

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried for awhile to get some funding for a flood warning system. They’ve failed every time. Nearly a decade before catastrophic flash flooding killed at least 75 people in Kerr County, including 27 children, several local officials were hard … Continue reading →

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CM Plummer formally announces for Harris County Judge

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Houston’s worst-kept secret is a secret no more. Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer plans to resign her position to run in the Democratic primary for Harris County judge, she told the Houston Chronicle in an exclusive interview. The seat … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit keeps SB4 block in place

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of good news. A Texas law that would deputize state and local police to question and arrest people they suspect of being in the country illegally was blocked once again. The law would also authorize local judges to … Continue reading →

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On the value of disaster warnings

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to know where to start with this. For the last three days, state Rep. Wes Virdell has been out with first responders in Kerr County as they searched for victims and survivors from the devastating floods that swept … Continue reading →

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