Monthly Archives: August 2010

Interview with State Rep. Ellen Cohen

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Ellen Cohen was elected to the House in 2006 after an 18-year stint as the President and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC) in a high-profile and hard-fought race that tipped the partisan balance of the Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Brandon Dudley

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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

There’s supporters, and then there’s “supporters”

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is about “supporters and opponents” of the “Heights” Wal-Mart debuting their webpages. See if you can spot the problem with this: The opponents, led by a group of concerned citizens who began organizing around a Facebook website … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

This ain’t your daddy’s Plano any more

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Demographic change comes to Texas’ iconic suburb. Recent controversy over whether and where to build a large homeless housing complex is the latest evidence of Plano’s two faces. The nonprofit Samaritan Inn of McKinney last week withdrew a zoning request … Continue reading →

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

More on the new school lunches

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron published a Sunday story about the changes to school lunches that we can expect this year. Among the items debuting on Houston-area school lunch menus this academic year: yams, Brussels sprouts, acorn squash, edamame and bok choy. Sushi, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Red light camera petitions certified

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They made it just under the wire. A petition to ban red light cameras in Houston has been certified by the city secretary, making it all but certain that voters will decide in November whether the 70 devices at intersections … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

More judicial Q&As

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As was the case with the primary, David Jennings of Big Jolly Politics is doing a similar set of judicial Q&As for Republican candidates, most of whom are the incumbents in these races. You can see the Q&A responses he … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Katie Kennedy

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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At long last, the DeLay trial gets underway

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You know what today is? It’s Tom DeLay Sees The Inside Of A Courtroom Day, that’s what day it is. Yes, I know, he’s out of trouble with the feds – this is about the state charges that have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

His calendar is wide open

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Let me briefly sum up Elise Hu’s story about the sparseness of Governor Perry’s calendar: Either he’s lying about how much he actually works, or he does an awful lot of stuff that he doesn’t want the public to know … Continue reading →

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The charter schools make their case

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Specifically, David Dunn, the executive director of the Texas Charter School Association, makes the case for public funds for charter school facilities in this op-ed from the weekend. One of the major obstacles to critical education reform in Texas is … Continue reading →

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A preview of tomorrow’s paper

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Look for the following ad in Tuesday’s newspaper: Click on it to see a larger version, and to visit the latest site that the Back to Basics PAC has worked up. I confess, I’m still rather partial to the chicken … Continue reading →

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

Public meeting regarding Koehler Street Development

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Public Meeting Regarding Koehler Street Development Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Rep. Armando Walle

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Armando Walle is finishing his first term representing HD140 in northeast Harris County. Walle won a contested primary in 2008 against Craddick D Kevin Bailey, which helped contribute to the downfall of the former Speaker. At 32 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

San Antonio smoking ban passes

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

By a slightly larger margin than expected. The City Council on Thursday approved a fortified smoke-free ordinance aimed at protecting public health, despite pleas from frustrated bar and restaurant owners who said that the ban would hurt their business. The … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Smartphones in the schools

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense to me. While most [San Antonio] area school districts maintain policies that ban students from using cell phones on campus, a few districts are breaking the mold and beginning to admit smart phones into … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What your kids have to look forward to in the cafeteria this year

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day of school for HISD and other districts around the state. Among other things, this means a whole bunch of kids will be eating school food at least some of the time again. For HISD at … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The KTRU rally

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Press, which has largely owned this story, reports from today’s rally to save KTRU. Early this afternoon, protesters met at Valhalla, Rice’s on-campus pub, to make signs and t-shirts for the protest before marching as a group to … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Weekend link dump for August 22

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

School days, school days, dear old golden rule days… Help The Lunch Tray help hungry kids. Hurley! The AJGLU-3000 is humming along. This ain’t your daddy’s burger joint. Tales from the MLB draft deadline. I have a real hard time … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | 1 Comment

CultureMap previews the Wal-Mart

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting stuff here. Restaurants and stores on Heights Boulevard, along with new pathways and landscaping on the boulevard’s esplanade, will be part of Ainbinder Company’s Walmart-anchored retail development in the Inner Loop of Houston, the developer of the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bye-bye, IBM

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Better luck next time. The Department of Information Resources appears to be giving up on IBM — once and for all. The agency isn’t formally terminating its contract with the information technology and business consulting giant, which was supposed to … Continue reading →

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Regent Square update

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I drive down Allen Parkway several times a week, and I’ve been wondering when the Regent Square site, which has been vacant since the old Allen House was demolished in October of 2007, will begin construction. Ralph Bivins provides an … Continue reading →

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

Saturday video break: For excitement, and emotion

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

School starts Monday in these parts. In honor of that, here’s a little Schoolhouse Rock: We have one of the Schoolhouse Rock DVD sets. I need to play it for Olivia, I think she might be old enough to appreciate … Continue reading →

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KTRU rally

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For those who are into that sort of thing. Join us in a peaceful, non-violent protest to Save KTRU this Sunday, 2:00 pm at Rice University, in the Academic quad in front of the statue of William Marsh Rice. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Double-Dip Driver

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed this the other day. State Rep. Joe Driver of Garland, who rails against the evils of runaway government spending, admitted Monday that he has pocketed thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for travel expenses that his … Continue reading →

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Chron opines on Renew Houston

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pretty fair take on it. Given Houston’s history of flooded streets, businesses and homes over the past decade, the Chronicle agrees with the aims of Renew Houston, the organization of engineers that is backing the proposition. What … Continue reading →

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Market Square reopening next week

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Market Square Park downtown, which began a renovation in February, will reopen next weekend. The Market Square Park downtown will officially reopen on Aug. 28, with performances by the John Evans Band and singer-songwriter Andrew Karnavas. The renovated park — … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Grade one

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Olivia starts first grade on Monday. I wanted to find ten songs with the word “First” in them to honor the occasion, but I didn’t have even half that. So, next best thing, ten songs with the word “One”, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Interview with Silvia Mintz

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Our third candidate this week is one of the more interesting people you’ll meet this cycle. Silvia Mintz came to the US from Guatemala when she was 17. She worked as a janitor and a nanny, learned English, and eventually … Continue reading →

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

The summer of Wal-Mart continues

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As long as I’m mentioning new signs, here’s another that’s popped up recently: Pardon the flash; I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t have a chance to go back and take another shot. The Stop Heights Wal-Mart … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Birdwell will be on the ballot

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Fifth Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel from that court ruled against the Democrats and said it won’t consider rehearing the case because of pending election deadlines: We conclude relators have not shown they are entitled to … Continue reading →

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Clemens indicted on perjury charges

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not a good day for the Rocket. A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about using steroids and growth hormone. Clemens faces charges of obstruction of Congress, making … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Election called to fill HISD open seat

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston ISD trustees unanimously opted today to let voters choose the next school board representative of the city’s east side. A special election will be held Nov. 2 to serve the remainder of former Trustee Diana Davila’s term, which … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Vivian King

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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