Monthly Archives: May 2009

McLeroy confirmation lives again

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, the Senate declined to act on the confirmation of Don McLeroy as the chair of the State Board of Education, as Nomination Committee Chair Mike Jackson decided there weren’t enough votes to confirm him. That may not … Continue reading →

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Gearing up for the voter ID showdown

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

SB362 was not on the calendar today, but it is expected to be brought to the House floor before the Tuesday deadline for approving Senate bills, perhaps as early as tomorrow. House Dems had a press conference today, accidentally pre-empting … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Yolanda backs Maverick

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yolanda Navarro Flores, who finished third in the District H special election on May 9, has endorsed Maverick Welsh for the runoff. From the email the Welsh campaign sent out: “Maverick Welsh will be a great city council member. He … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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What, me secede?

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Shorter Rick Perry: “I never actually used the word ‘secede’.” Fine, whatever. The judge grants your motion to dismiss on the technicality. But we all know that you’ve raised your national profile while gaining ground in the polls, because the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 2 Comments

What, me secede?

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Shorter Rick Perry: “I never actually used the word ‘secede’.” Fine, whatever. The judge grants your motion to dismiss on the technicality. But we all know that you’ve raised your national profile while gaining ground in the polls, because the … Continue reading →

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Injunction issued against auto warranty robocallers

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! A federal judge has issued two temporary restraining orders designed to stop what officials describe as a wave of deceptive “robo-calls” warning people their auto warranties are expiring and offering to sell them new service plans. … Continue reading →

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Outside agitation

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got to agree with Stace here: Why should anyone in Houston care what some outfit that’s based in Spring thinks about anything related to Houston politics or policies? Last I checked, the citizens of Spring don’t vote in Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Ogden stem cell rider removed from budget

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Sen. Steve Ogden just announced that his rider banning use of state funds for embryonic stem cell research will not appear in the new state budget. “We really couldn’t come to a consensus” so the bill will be silent … Continue reading →

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RIP, statewide smoking ban

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I thought it still had a chance after it finally passed out of committee in the Senate, but the statewide smoking ban is officially dead. [State Sen. Rodney] Ellis held a press conference to announce the death of the statewide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More on Radnofsky for AG

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Barbara Radnofsky talks to Gardner Selby about her intent to run for Attorney General in 2010. Radnofsky said Thursday she’s going to run next year for attorney general, starting with an Austin fund-raiser Tuesday featuring nine Democratic state representatives (all … Continue reading →

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The squiggle

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that the new soccer stadium is likely to happen, even though Commissioners Court continues to take its sweet time about it. We know that the new light rail lines, including the Southeast and Harrisburg lines, are … Continue reading →

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Falkenblog

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the blogosphere, Lisa Falkenberg. I think you’ll find the medium gives you a lot of freedom as a writer – if nothing else, each entry needn’t be the same length. Experiment a little, engage some of us old … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of May 18

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We are approaching the end of May, and that can mean only one thing: Everyone is trying to remember how to pronounce sine die. The members of the Texas Progressive Alliance will reveal that information sometime after June 1, but … Continue reading →

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You there! Put down the Internet and slowly back away!

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hair Balls tries to make sense of a Senate criminal justice bill that is currently in committee in the House. [The bill,] authored by Republican State Senator Florence Shapiro of Plano seems remarkably straightforward: It prohibits registered sex offenders from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Senate TxDOT sunset bill is not the House TxDOT sunset bill

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the massive House sunset bill for TxDOT, HB300, contained a boatload of amendments that greatly altered the original bill, including one that would make TxDOT a 15-member elected commission and one that would have outlawed red light … Continue reading →

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Whatever Ricky wants

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too early to say how much of Rick Perry’s self-proclaimed agenda will get enacted this session, as much of it hinges on the budget reconciliation process as well as on legislation that hasn’t been taken up by one chamber … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The fees not paid

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The battle over the dueling strip club bills in the Lege this session has mostly been over how much revenue each would collect. But the state has to actually collect that revenue for any of that to be relevant. Dozens … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Two for Timothy Cole

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday, the House concurred with Senate amendments to HB1736, the Timothy Cole Act that increases compensation to those that have been wrongly convicted. I had said on Monday that it had passed both chambers at that time, but I … Continue reading →

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Campaign finance bill passes the House

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve had plenty of harsh things to say about House Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith this session, but he’s always been one of the good guys on campaign finance reform. Texas could start regulating how political parties use corporate and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 17

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Clearly, I miss out by not reading “Slylock Fox” every Sunday. While I’m somewhat relieved to learn that John Edwards’ staffers had a plan to scuttle his nomination in the event it was needed, I’m thinking that maybe they should … Continue reading →

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More on Gene Green and climate change

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a followup story on the eventually successful negotiations among members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the cap-and-trade bill. Climate change legislation moving through Congress would give refiners free permits to emit greenhouse gases under a compromise … Continue reading →

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Threatened by opera

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t normally think of opera as being particularly controversial or threatening, at least not in this day and age, but apparently it can be. The organizers of the second annual Opera Vista Festival suspected one of their featured operas … Continue reading →

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Grading the Houston Mayoral campaign websites

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

David Ortez casts a critical eye at the campaign websites of the Mayoral hopefuls, and grades them out on things like design, content, and social networking. It’s an interesting exercise, and one for which an aesthetic imbecile such as myself … Continue reading →

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Roundabout

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I drive through the Washinton on Westcott roundabout every now and then, and find it to be a more pleasant and efficient experience than waiting at a light or playing the “which one of us goes next?” game that you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Kuempel out of coma

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, is now out of a medically induced coma and his body temperature has been raised to normal, said his friend Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth. “I saw him last night, and he looked a … Continue reading →

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Brown and Locke spar over education

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

At a Mayoral forum on Thursday, Gene Locke and Peter Brown get into it over the school system. Gene Locke, the former city attorney, targeted Councilman Peter Brown’s recent statement to the Chronicle that Houstonians should consider forming an urban … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Another win for CHIP

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news on the CHIP front. The Texas House today gave final approval to a measure that would expand the Children’s Heath Insurance Program by allowing certain families who earn more than the current income limit to pay to join … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Villafranca loses in Farmers Branch

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in March, I noted that businesswoman Elizabeth Villafranca, one of the leading voices in Farmers Branch against its anti-immigrant xenophobia, was running for City Council there. Alas, she did not win. Among other municipal races from Saturday, a leading … Continue reading →

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Travis Elementary closes for a week

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Travis Elementary is our neighborhood school, where Olivia will be in the fall for kindergarten. They’ve had a lot of kids absent this week, enough to close the school through Memorial Day. The number of Travis Elementary School students diagnosed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A response from TAASA to the rape kits story

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

When I posted about that recent Click2Houston story regarding the sexual assault victim who was billed by the hospital for the rape kit, I wondered if this was a screwup or standard procedure. Well, here’s a response to the story … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Friday random ten: Couldn’t stand getting metaphysical

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Time for your weekly dose of random music. Ready, set… 1. Banish Misfourtune/Rabbit’s Moon – Paisley Close 2. My Manda – The Mollys 3. Couldn’t Stand The Weather – Stevie Ray Vaughan 4. Let’s Get Metaphysical – David Gilmour 5. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Voting right on climate change, take two

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yo, Democrats. You were given a mandate this past November. Please act like it. Democratic leaders pushing to cap greenhouse gas emissions were working Wednesday to appease key lawmakers who want to ease the financial burden that the climate change … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Poker bill dies

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last night at midnight was the first major deadline in the House. Any bill that had not been passed on second reading was officially dead for the session, though some may get reincarnated as amendments to already-approved bills. About three … Continue reading →

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More unemployment funds available

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The bad news is that Texas’ rate of unemployment continues to rise. The good news is that this means more federal funds for unemployment insurance are available, and these come with no conditions on them. Texas now qualifies, thanks to … Continue reading →

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