Monthly Archives: August 2010

Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned there were pro-preservation ordinance signs out there, so I thought I’d show what they look like: The link is to http://www.preservehouston.org/, the Houston Historic Districts Coalition. It’s a busy little website, especially in contrast to the Responsible Historic … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

DART reverses course, will keep building

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, Dallas Area Rapid Transit presented a 20-year financial plan that said it could no longer afford to build several new light rail lines that it had intended to do. Now it’s got an updated projection that says … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of August 16

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is enjoying its last week before school starts as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

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Meet the HISD hopefuls

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The people who are hoping to be appointed to the open HISD Trustee seat made their appearance at Furr High School and made their pitch. Trustees are slated to discuss their options Thursday and must make a decision by next … Continue reading →

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Term limits referendum not adopted by Council

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bit of a surprise. The Houston City Council today surprised Mayor Annise Parker and rejected a proposal to change the terms to which city officials are elected from three, two-year terms to two, four-year terms. The seven … Continue reading →

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Reactions to the KTRU sale

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Unsurprisingly, the Rice community is not happy. “We are totally opposed to the sale,” said Joey Yang, a junior at Rice and program director of the station, which relies upon student and community volunteers for its eclectic music programming. “This … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Rick Molina

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is Rick Molina, who is running in HD144 against freshman Rep. Ken Legler. Molina is an attorney and a longtime resident of Pasadena. He’s also a graduate of Rice University, which always counts for a little extra credit … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Bruce Kessler

Posted on August 18, 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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Sometimes the headline tells you all you need to know

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Joe Barton celebrates Waxahachie clinic, which is expanding with stimulus he opposed. Actually, this one does have a bit more to it than that: “There were two pieces of legislation that helped bring this about,” Joseph Gallegos, senior vice … Continue reading →

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The Mayor and the smoking ban

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who did not campaign on expanding that city’s smoking ban but is now the leading proponent of it. He’s likely to get it passed on Thursday with a 6-5 vote, though a … Continue reading →

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Where in the Constitution is that?

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m reading this story about the just-passed federal legislation that would provide some $850 million in extra funds for public school districts in Texas to help prevent layoffs and whatnot, conditional on Texas agreeing to actually use the money on … Continue reading →

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

UH buys KTRU

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve never been a regular listener of KTRU, but as a Rice partisan and someone who thinks radio in general is too bland, this is a bit of a shock. The University of Houston is planning to buy the radio … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Kathy Vossler

Posted on August 17, 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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The preservationists make their case

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ramona Davis of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has a long and detailed op-ed in the Sunday paper that makes the case for the new preservation ordinance currently working its way through Council. Here’s a sample of the bullet points: … Continue reading →

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From the “You get what you pay for” department

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Cut the budget enough at your flagship state university, and the quality of that university may suffer. Who knew? The president of the University of Texas at Austin warned Thursday that expected state budget cuts would put the school further … Continue reading →

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Is it worth it to just tinker at the edges?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mostly feel the same way as the Chron about term limits and the proposal from the Term Limits Commission to alter them. [T]he logic in limiting city officials to three two-year terms, with the necessity for virtually nonstop campaigning … Continue reading →

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Feds clear DeLay

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be honest, I’d forgotten there was an ongoing federal investigation of him by this point. It had been so long since I’d seen any news about it. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, today said he … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Keller’s appeal denied by Supremes

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. The Texas Supreme Court this morning denied Judge Sharon Keller’s request to throw out last month’s public rebuke for her role in a botched 2007 death row appeal. Later today, Keller’s lawyers are expected to file a separate … Continue reading →

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Interview with Joe Montemayor

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We turn our attention this week to some of the Democratic candidates who are running in Republican-held districts. First up is Joe Montemayor, who ran for HD127 in 2008 against Joe Crabb and is running for it again this year … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The revised red light camera study

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, when I wrote about the anti-red light camera folks turning in their petition signatures, I noted that the Chron story referenced an update to the January 2009 study about the effect of cameras on the collision rate at … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Is that really the argument you want to make?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

SD22 special election winner and GOP nominee for November Bill Birdwell filed his response to the lawsuit that challenged his residency on Friday, and, well, color me puzzled. “It has been Texas law for over 40 years that a person’s … Continue reading →

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

Sales tax revenues inch up

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s better than the alternative, but still nothing to write home about. Sales tax receipts in July were up 2.2 percent compared to the same time the previous year, [Comptroller Susan] Combs said. Revenue increased $1.69 billion from July 2009, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for August 15

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Fareed Zakaria is a mensch. No, you shouldn’t start a non-profit. “CSI: Paris”. Ted Olson still has a lot to atone for, given his role in the “Bush v. Gore” decision, but he’s working on it. Oh, and his counterpart … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

San Antonio smoking ordinance heads for a vote

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The revised San Antonio smoking ordinance has made it out of Council committee and will be voted on, in some form, next week. The proposal originally sought to ban indoor smoking, ending the exemptions for bars, pool halls, comedy clubs, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Abbott declines to offer transgender marriage opinion

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember this, from back in May? The El Paso County attorney wants the state’s top lawyer to tell her whether she can issue a marriage certificate to a woman and a biological male who had a sex change operation to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How much better is the fundraising picture for Democrats in Texas?

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

By one important measure, it’s a lot better. The financial success of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White has revealed a new generation of wealthy contributors who are stepping forward to back Texas Democratic candidates. White’s campaign has been able to … Continue reading →

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

Saturday video break: Playing with the speed of time

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I love OK Go videos. From the description: “The fastest we go is 172,800x, compressing 24 hours of real time into a blazing 1/2 second. The slowest is 1/32x speed, stretching a mere 1/2 second of real time into a … Continue reading →

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There’s playing chicken, and there’s being chicken

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Quite the suitable choice of words here. Suggesting his opponent has something to hide, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday he will not budge on his refusal to debate unless Democrat Bill White releases more income tax returns. The Republican governor … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Trustees still dithering about replacing Davila

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no action from the HISD Board of Trustees regarding Diana Davila’s open seat. Trustee Larry Marshall called for holding an election in November but his motion failed 3-5, mostly along racial lines. The board plans to screen possible appointees … Continue reading →

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

Dynamo “Your Name Here” Stadium

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In a conversation with the Chron, Tim Leiweke, the president of Dynamo co-owner AEG, discusses the next big item on their to-do list: The naming rights is the next task at hand and it will be a hot priority, but … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM: IBM responds

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In July, the state gave IBM thirty days to respond to various charges relating to its ability to fulfill outsourcing contract obligations. IBM has now given its response. In a letter released [last] Friday, IBM executive Cynthia McLean defended the … Continue reading →

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“Laugh at me, will they? Well, they laughed at Bozo the Clown, too!”

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I still can’t believe that this whole “terrorist babies” thing wasn’t originally a story in The Onion. All I can say is that Debbie Riddle and Louie Gohmert, bless their hearts, are doing their very best to make The Onion’s … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: 25 and up

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the third and final entry in my numeric theme list, here are ten more songs with numbers in the title, starting with the number 25: 1. When I’m 25 or 64 – Jonathan Coulton 2. Section 29 – The … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Interview with State Rep. Jessica Farrar

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Jessica Farrar has represented me in the Lege since I moved into the Heights in 1997; she was first elected in 1994, and is now the longest-serving Latina in the House. I have always admired her progressive values … Continue reading →

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