Monthly Archives: November 2009

WiFi on buses

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds interesting. Beginning today, VIA Metropolitan Transit bus riders who power up their portable electronic devices — such as laptop computers or Wi-Fi-enabled cell phones — might notice an Internet signal coming from within the bus. VIA has started … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on WiFi on buses

Grits on the Whitmire/Bradley hearing

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

When I posted a roundup of reporting and commentary on the Senate hearing chaired by State Sen. John Whitmire to inquire with John Bradley about the status of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Scott Henson hadn’t yet posted his thoughts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Veterans Day

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I just want to pause for a moment to join Bill White, Stace Medellin, and many others in honoring those who served our country in the armed forces today. A number of members of my family served in World War … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Veterans Day

Precinct analysis: The top 50

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Martha has a nice look at the 50 precincts inside the city of Houston in which the most votes were cast, and how each of the four contenders for Mayor did in them. I’ve copied the data into this Google … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lone Star Rail

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked a number of times in this space about the possibility of building a commuter rail line between Houston and Galveston, possibly connecting to another line that would run out Highway 290 to College Station. That effort is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

State sales tax revenues plummet

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here. Sales tax and natural gas tax collections fell more than $1 billion short of projections in the 2009 fiscal year, according to a state comptroller’s report, fueling questions about the financial heartburn that may be ahead for … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

New digs for Central City Co-Op

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Central City Co-Op, Houston’s premier organic produce co-op, has moved to a new location in Montrose. Central City Co-op moved this week to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, where the growing organic market’s members have renovated a space for their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on New digs for Central City Co-Op

Texas blog roundup for the week of November 9

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a happy Election Day last week, and is already looking forward to the next one. Click on for this week’s highlights.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of November 9

The Whitmire/Bradley hearing

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As noted, today was the day for the Senate hearing chaired by State Sen. John Whitmire to inquire with John Bradley about the status of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The main data point to note is that Bradley says … Continue reading →

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

Brown for Parker, Holm for Khan

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, Peter Brown endorsed Annise Parker for Mayor in the runoff. In a news conference on the steps of City Hall, Brown today announced that he would be casting his vote for Parker in the runoff election December 12 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Peter Brown has an announcement, too

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We are about to find out who Peter Brown is backing in the Mayor’s race. From the press release he sent out last night at 10:30: MEDIA ADVISORY: PETER BROWN ANNOUNCES ENDORSEMENT IN MAYORAL RUNOFF Peter Brown will host a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: City Council At Large races

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Moving on to the At Large City Council races. I’m going to look at each of them here. First up, At Large #1: Dist Cook Litt Alls Cost Derr Rodr Perk Batt ============================================================ A 1,521 1,629 397 4,806 4,144 2,087 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Meet John Bradley

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So today is the day that Sen. John Whitmire gets to grill Williamson County DA John Bradley, the new Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, about his plans for the Commission and the status of the Willingham case. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Restorative justice

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Let me commend this Bill King op-ed, about the plight of ex-cons in Texas and the efforts of the Restorative Justice Ministry Network to try and help them re-integrate into society, to you. It’s well worth reading. The issue, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Restorative justice

Grier starts the fight against dropouts

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

New HISD Superintendent Terry Grier hits the ground running. As his first major initiative as Houston ISD chief, Grier is launching a credit-recovery program similar to ones he headed up in San Diego and Greensboro, N.C. Houston ISD’s new program … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Khan has an announcement

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member and candidate for Controller MJ Khan has an announcement to make tomorrow. From his press release: Who: Councilman M.J. Khan, Candidate for Houston City Controller What: Press Conference on a major announcement from the M.J. Khan for City … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Hampton for CCA

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news from Grits. Keith Hampton, a veteran appellate lawyer and chair of the legislative committee for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, has announced his candidacy for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, lining up to run against … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Hampton for CCA

Precinct analysis: The City Controller race

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here are my numbers. As before, for maps, go see what Greg‘s got. Dist Green Khan Holm ============================= A 4,685 6,750 7,125 B 7,483 3,329 1,362 C 7,356 7,494 6,332 D 13,410 4,673 3,047 E 5,133 7,684 6,633 F 2,403 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Precinct analysis: The City Controller race

Six answers for six questions

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I asked six questions about how the runoff elections might go, and David Ortez took a crack at answering them. Go read what he has to say.

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Ashby developers appeal to City Council

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

According to Nancy Sarnoff, the Buckhead folks have appealed to City Council to allow their original vision to go forward. They’ve already lost an appeal of that with the city’s General Appeals Board, and as it’s the Mayor who sets … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Streetcar-mania

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Streetcars may be coming to a street near you in many cities. What links Boise, Cincinnati and Charlotte — and Salt Lake City, Dallas, Atlanta and Kansas City, where streetcar tracks abandoned in 1953 still poke through the city’s weathered … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Bill White: Still running for Senate

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Tribune stirs up a persistent rumor that likely won’t go away till after the filing deadline. Or, you know, proves to be true. The rumor is that Bill White is contemplating a jump into the Governor’s race. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for November 8

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Only 34 more shopping days till the runoff elections… The map that changed the world. It’s been called “America’s birth certificate”. Don’t tell Lou Dobbs it was made in Germany. The reason that I zap commercials is so that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for November 8

Let’s hear more from the candidates

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mustafa Tameez has a simple request for the two remaining Mayoral candidates. In the immediate aftermath of this election, it’s a good time to look back and ask how much we’ve really learned about the candidates and how they propose … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s hear more from the candidates

Precinct analysis: The Mayorals by Council district

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got some preliminary precinct data from the County Clerk’s office, and have been doing my usual spreadsheet action on it to get a handle of how the vote went this past Tuesday. What follows below is a look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Bradley speaks

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the hang-em-high Williamson County District Attorney who was appointed to chair the Texas Forensic Science Commission by Governor Perry in August, tries to reassure us that there will be no Perry-saving monkey business on the Commission. He has … Continue reading →

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

Raise a glass to Luling and Friendswood

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The ballot proposition to allow alcohol sales in Luling passed easily. The measure passed with 340 votes in favor and 118 against, with two ballots yet to be certified. The referendum was added to the ballot after a petition was … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who you calling “Democrat”?

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Kinky Friedman wants us to believe he’s one of us. Friedman, who is running in the 2010 Democratic primary after finishing fourth out of four major candidates in the 2006 governor’s race with a little more than 12 percent of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sessions gets primary challenger

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The irony here is pretty rich. Corporate accountant David Smith will announce next week that he’s challenging incumbent Pete Sessions in the March Republican primary. Smith, active in the conservative tea party movement, says Sessions has not followed the conservative … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sessions gets primary challenger

Saturday video break: Lateral!

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve shown this before, but in honor of the college alumni weekend I’m not attending, here’s the greatest highlight ever from our athletic department: I’ve watched that video a bunch of times from a couple of different angles, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lawsuit filed over dog scent evidence

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Three men have filed a federal lawsuit against Fort Bend Deputy Keith Pikett and his use of “evidence” gathered by scent dogs, which they say led to them being falsely accused of and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

UH to raise admissions standards

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That was the idea, or at least one of them, behind the push for more Tier 1 schools – to take some pressure off of UT and A&M by providing more places for kids in the top ten percent of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commuter rail and transit-oriented development

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a peek of things that may be to come, courtesy of Dallas. The A-train commuter railway is more than a year away from rolling into Lewisville, but plans are already in the works for the city’s first transit-oriented development. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hopson switches, Agosto drops out

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Two pieces of news for the 2010 cycle, one good and one not good. For the latter first, State Rep. Chuck Hopson, who won a very tight race for re-election in 2008, has announced that he will run in 2010 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments