Monthly Archives: November 2008

The counting is over

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

All of the ballots in Harris County have now been counted, and the results of all the races remain the same. Before Thursday, for instance, Democratic challenger Josefina Muniz Rendon was ahead of Republican state District Judge Elizabeth Ray by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on The counting is over

Help a blogger out

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

David Mauro, one of the BOR bloggers, is in the running for a $10,000 blogging scholarship. He’s in second place, but currently trails the leader by about 3000 votes. David is both the only Texan and the only progressive political … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Help a blogger out

Dynamo Stadium and Commissioners Court

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Commissioners Court, which is the last remaining obstacle to a deal to build a Dynamo Stadium downtown, remains lukewarm to the concept. Harris County officials still showed little enthusiasm for the proposed Dynamo stadium Wednesday as supporters tried … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 2 Comments

Precinct data: Coming attractions

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I have a draft canvass of precinct data for Harris County, and have been happily slicing and dicing it to see what secrets I can tease out. There’s all kind of fascinating stuff in there – right now my biggest … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 8 Comments

Travis County Attorney investigating Dewhurst

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in September, Texans for Public Justice filed a complaint with the Travis County Attorney’s office, which handles misdemeanor criminal cases, including those involving state officials, alleging that Dewhurst was insufficiently forthcoming about his trust fund in his financial disclosure … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on Travis County Attorney investigating Dewhurst

A hippie bohemian setback

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, noes! The dream isn’t dead, but it is on hold for the time being. After months of delays related to the credit crunch, the upscale Sonoma condo and retail project planned in Rice Village has officially hit the skids. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on A hippie bohemian setback

Bye-bye, bubbles

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Well, so much for that. It began with the best of intentions: A grand plan to blanket the city with a wireless ”cloud” would provide cheap Internet access to the masses. When that project failed last year, as it did … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Bye-bye, bubbles

You can’t keep a tough grandma down

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

While I would not claim that robocalling is a wise way to enhance one’s name ID, it helps if the script is the least bit clever, and if the name you’re trying to enhance is one that people would recognize, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Bye-bye, AGDs

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

City Council has followed through on its plan to ban so-called Attention Getting Devices, or AGDs. The ban will not go into effect until January 2010. But scenic advocates cheered the decision, saying the prohibition is a necessary step to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 8 Comments

RIP, Mac the elephant

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Very sad. Mac, a mischievous, young Asian elephant who had become one of the Houston Zoo’s most popular animals, became ill and died Sunday. He was 2. He entertained visitors with his ability to dance, produce music on wind pipes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Where – and when – the vote was

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I have finally received precinct data from Harris County. It’s going to take me a little while to work through it to start getting some answers about how the votes were distributed – Matt Stiles, who got his draft canvass … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Where – and when – the vote was

Democrats sue Bettencourt over provisional ballots

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Texas Democratic Party officials are asking a federal judge in Houston to block what they call illegal moves by Harris County voter registrar Paul Bettencourt as the last few votes are added to the totals from the Nov. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 2 Comments

One more for the Dynamo Stadium bandwagon

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Jerome Solomon picks up the Dynamo Stadium ball. We are wise to be skeptical of claims about sports stadiums spurring economic development — these stadiums seem to spur more growth of the owners’ bank accounts than anything — … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on One more for the Dynamo Stadium bandwagon

Recount in HD105

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Democratic challenger Bob Romano, the trailing candidate in the exceedingly close HD105 race, has asked for a recount. Democrat Bob Romano said this afternoon he will ask for a recount in his bid to unseat Republican State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Domestic Partner benefits at UT

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It had not occurred to me that the University of Texas did not offer domestic partner benefits to its faculty and staff. I’ve worked for one large corporation or another for years that has had them as a matter of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

Craddick still has his fans

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Tom Craddick’s most loyal lieutenants are still loyal to him. Several House Republicans issued a press statement Monday reaffirming their support for Speaker Tom Craddick’s re-election. The list includes 13 Craddick supporters – leaving the Midland Republican short by 63. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

When will it be Texas’ turn?

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The LA Times looks at the national coalition Barack Obama built in winning the Presidency and considers the next obvious target for expansion of the political battleground. Texas, the nation’s second-most-populous state and home to 34 electoral votes, was not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment

Republicans hold HD105

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The 29-vote lead that Rep. Linda Harper-Brown had in her re-election effort in Irving’s HD105 got a little smaller but did not go away. Republicans held their one-seat advantage in the Texas House late Monday as incumbent Linda Harper-Brown maintained … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Republicans hold HD105

Still looking for more Final Fours

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in January, a Houston delegation set out to lure more NCAA Men’s Final Four events to our fair city. They’re still working on it now. Local organizers behind Houston’s bid to bring another Final Four to Reliant Stadium will … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on Still looking for more Final Fours

It’ll be 2010 before you know it

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Alan Bernstein notes that it’s never too early to announce your intentions for the next election. Democrat Jerry Simoneaux Jr. says he thought about running this year for the Harris County Probate Court No. 1 bench, but stepped aside when … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged | Comments Off on It’ll be 2010 before you know it

Texas blog roundup for the week of November 10

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Is it just me, or is anyone else still a bit amazed that this election is actually over? Pending the SD17 runoff, of course. And “amazed” may be in a good way or in a not-so-good way, as you see … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Happy pre-filing day!

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like last week’s election is just a distant memory now, doesn’t it? Well, buckle up, because the 2009 Texas legislative session is officially underway as today is the first day for pre-filing bills to be introduced in the spring. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Happy pre-filing day!

Houston versus the AGDs

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, I mentioned that City Council was looking at extending the billboard ban to include so-called Attention-Getting Devices, or AGDs. These are your giant inflatable gorillas and whatnot that businesses display to lure in customers. City Council may take … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

So was there an HGLBT endorsement backlash?

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in August, a couple of sitting Republican judges, Mike Miller Mark Davidson and Sharolyn Wood, broke with recent history and became the first GOP judicial candidates in some time to seek the endorsement of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 6 Comments

That horse is dead. Please stop beating it.

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Clearly, we have not had enough stories about what a terrible thing the Democratic near-sweep of the local judiciary was. A bit like the weather, partisan judicial races seem to be something many people complain about but few do anything … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 4 Comments

Three more names for District H

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Since I posted over the weekend about Karen Derr’s intended candidacy for the soon-to-be-vacant District H City Council seat, I have heard of a couple more people who are expressing interest as well. They are: – Ed Gonzalez, the current … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Republican recriminations

Posted on November 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Gary Polland used to be the chair of the Harris County GOP. He’s not too happy with the result from Tuesday and he’s letting everyone know it. The Harris County GOP under Chairman Jared Woodfill failed because it had the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for November 9

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Glory, glory, hallelujah! A beautiful election result, a beautiful weekend, and a beautiful list of links to peruse. Save the Mexico City water monster! In case you missed the official end of the Opus comic strip. Autobiography fail. I have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Only provisional ballots left to go

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

At this point, all the early and Election Day votes have been counted, and only provisional ballots remain. In the closest of the 27 countywide judicial elections, Republican state district Judge Elizabeth Ray trailed Democratic challenger Josefina Muniz Rendon by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Only provisional ballots left to go

Don’t text and drive in Austin

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Austin is looking at enacting a ban on texting while driving. The City of Austin’s public safety task force approved a resolution Monday that could lead to a ban on texting while driving and a requirement that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

Time for Bell v. Huffman

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The runoff between Chris Bell and Joan Huffman for the open SD17 seat is underway. “We are very generous in our funding of public education,” Republican Joan Huffman said. “We just do a really bad job of spending that money … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The next special election

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

With the election of City Council Member Adrian Garcia to the office of Harris County Sheriff (woo hoo! yippie! hot diggity dog!), we will soon have an open seat in Council. That means that there will be a May election … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged | Comments Off on The next special election

Lloyd Kelley update

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I meant to blog about this Rick Casey column in which he provided an update to the Lloyd Kelley/Ibarra brothers saga but didn’t get to it last week. Two weeks ago I reported that Kelley had withheld another $200,000 or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: Don’t cross the streams, but do cross the genres

Posted on November 7, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

And with the election behind us, we have a new crop of Genius-generated playlists in front of us for Friday random ten fun. First up is a list based on “Fall Behind Me” by The Donnas, and it’s notable in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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