Monthly Archives: December 2010

You’re gonna miss it when it’s gone

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So long, stimulus dollars. You were nice while you lasted. Texas’ $16.4 billion share of federal stimulus money winds down next year, a fading boon that will affect Houston jobs and research from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to the … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 13

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on figgy pudding as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

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Moving on at Metro

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Frank Wilson is gone at Metro, and others are following him out the door. “A number of the senior appointees that Frank Wilson brought in are no longer here,” said George Greanias, Wilson’s successor, but he did not describe it … Continue reading →

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Expanded gambling: Still doomed

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Morning News does a little checking, and the math isn’t good for gambling fans. The Dallas Morning News, canvassing all lawmakers, found that expanded gambling lacks the votes, mostly because of objections to social ills and new tax … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Update on the next school finance lawsuit

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s coming, but schools are going to wait to see what the Lege does before proceeding with the inevitable. “School districts right now are in a state of shock,” [Austin litigator Buck] Wood said. “Things are much worse than even … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You need more than more miles to get more riders

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The new 28-mile Green Line in Dallas has begun full service, and it is expected to add about 30,000 daily boardings, bringing DART’s total rail ridership to about 90,000 per day. That’s for 72 miles of rail lines, which is … Continue reading →

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Two environmental issues for your attention

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Are you familiar with tar sands? The Sierra Club would like to acquaint you with them this Thursday, December 16, on its Houston Frontlines tour. Elected officials and community members will gather at Hartmann Community Center on Thursday, December 16th … Continue reading →

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What we have here is failure to communicate

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been pondering this Rick Casey column about the issues of communications and Council relations in Mayor Parker’s office. I don’t have much to add to it at this time. I’ve had some conversations with people in recent days that … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The cost of jailing parole violators

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We sure do spend a lot of money putting people in jail that don’t really need to be there. Each month, an average of 2,286 state parole violators are housed in Texas jails, a policy costing taxpayers at least $42 … Continue reading →

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The Sports Authority wants you to know it’s working hard for you

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like the Chron should send a bill for its standard advertising rates to the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority for running this op-ed by its chair, J. Kent Friedman. It’s one part victory lap for negotiating the Dynamo Stadium … Continue reading →

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No film commission incentives for you!

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. The Texas Film Commission has denied incentives for “Machete,” the controversial immigration-related feature film from Robert Rodriguez’s Austin-based Troublemaker Studios. In a brief, formal letter dated Dec. 1 and released Wednesday by Katherine Cesinger , a … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ritter switches

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans get their 100th member. State Rep. Allan Ritter of Nederland said Saturday that he will leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican, probably giving the GOP a two-thirds majority in the Texas House. He may not be … Continue reading →

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Some Garcia 2002 numbers

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I did an analysis of County Commissioner Precinct 2 for this year’s election, I said that I couldn’t include a comparison from 2002 because I didn’t have precinct-level data for that year. I got an email the other day … Continue reading →

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In which I become a bit player in a Metro lawsuit

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So I got an email on Friday from Chron reporter Mike Snyder, asking me if I had done an interview with former Metro Chair David Wolff. Apparently, there were some new documents filed in the lawsuit against Metro by its … Continue reading →

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Kuboshes told to butt out of ATS lawsuit

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t know judges issued rulings on Sundays, but I guess sometimes they do. Red-light camera opponents will not be allowed to help defend a November referendum in which voters rejected the devices, a federal judge ruled on Sunday, saying … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for December 12

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When we finally privatize all the roads, will we also privatize eminent domain? I thought libertarians didn’t like that. The case of the vanishing blonde is a great read. What Sullivan says. The decline and fall of John McCain. Almost … Continue reading →

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Federal court clears the way for greenhouse gas rules to be enforced in Texas

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, Texas is subject to the same laws as those other states. Who knew? A federal appeals court on Friday rejected pleas from Texas, some other states and industry allies to block nationwide rules on greenhouse gas emissions slated to … Continue reading →

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Early Census estimates

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

These are not official numbers but give a pretty good idea of what the final numbers will look like. Figures released Monday suggest the nation’s population is between 305.7 million and 312.8 million. The middle estimate of 308.5 million would … Continue reading →

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More single stream recycling

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I love seeing this program get expanded. The city is expanding by 30,000 the number of households that can participate in its single-stream recycling program, which soon is expected to reach more than one out of every four Houston homes. … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Random acts of culture

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Hallelujah Chorus, performed in the Philadelphia Mall: I’m nearly as impressed by the mall’s architecture as I am by the performance itself. I feel compelled to note, however, that the HC is technically an Easter song, not a Christmas … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The city vs ATS

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on the red light camera lawsuit in which the city is seeking guidance on how to go about terminating its contract with red light camera vendor ATS, and ATS is seeking to overturn the referendum. “We were … Continue reading →

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Metro tries again with Airport Direct service

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Metro will lower the fare and add more downtown stops for its Airport Direct service in an attempt to make it stop losing so much money. The 52-passenger bus currently averages two riders per trip from its passenger plaza at … Continue reading →

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Getting kids to try new foods

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following was co-written by my wife Tiffany Tyler, who is the chair of the board of the Central City Co-op and Carolyn Lambeth, the Director of Operations for Central City. It appeared on Monday as a guest post on … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Christmas favorites

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to take a brief break from the Top 500 Songs lists to dip into Christmas music, since it’s that time of year. I was inspired by this Statesman story in which a number of their features writers contributed … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The coming cuts to public education

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that public education is a huge part of the state’s budget, and in the absence of any willingness on the part of the Republicans to ensure that it’s properly funded, we know there will be cuts coming. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

It’s always tease, tease, tease

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I refer of course to the ongoing Waiting for KBH saga. Hutchison hasn’t said whether she’ll retire or seek re-election in 2012, but several prominent Texans — including Republicans such as former Secretary of State Roger Williams and Railroad Commissioners … Continue reading →

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More Texas v. EPA

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The stakes keep getting higher. The EPA has threatened dozens of Texas refiners and chemical and plastic makers with penalties if they don’t begin taking steps to bring their air pollution permits into compliance with federal law by late December. … Continue reading →

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LWV update

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email has been sent to League of Women Voters registration volunteers: To Our Voter Registration Volunteers: It is with great pleasure that I write to tell you that we shall after all be able to provide our usual … Continue reading →

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It’s getting cheaper to outsource inmates

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now how much would you pay to ship your excess inmates somewhere else? The county now can send an inmate to Louisiana for as low as $23 a day. Changes to the deal with the private Emerald Correctional Management also … Continue reading →

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Voluntary to become involuntary

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sure didn’t take long. By unanimous vote of City Council, the voluntary furloughs will become involuntary by the end of the year, with Mayor Parker deciding how many enforced unpaid days off are needed to help close the budget … Continue reading →

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Taxes and fees

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The last time a Republican-dominated Legislature got together to deal with a multi-billion dollar deficit, they found many ways to squeeze more money out of the citizenry through more and higher fees, though they later bragged about not raising taxes. … Continue reading →

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Pretrial services

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about one of the many ways the county’s budget shortfall is manifesting itself. With the blessing of the county attorney’s office, Harris County Pretrial Services has stopped supervising inmates let out of jail on bail, forcing bail bondsmen … Continue reading →

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What will KBH do about the DREAM Act?

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think there’s any question what she’ll do, but these stories get written anyway. Hutchison, R-Dallas, who has supported similar legislation in the past, is one of a half-dozen Republican lawmakers targeted by Democrats, Latino groups and organized labor, … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council shakeup

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Things are getting mighty interesting down at City Hall. Mayor Annise Parker has parted ways with two major conservatives on the Houston City Council, removing Councilman Mike Sullivan from his role overseeing redistricting and accepting the resignation of Councilwoman Anne … Continue reading →

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