Daily Archives: January 19, 2011

LSG on the budget

The Legislative Study Group, chaired by Rep. Garnet Coleman, now has an analysis of the Pitts budget outline, which you can read here. The main point to remember: How We Got Here: Built-In Budget Shortfall Comes from the 2006 Tax … Continue reading

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The Pitts budget

Here it is, and if it is a shock to you, you haven’t been paying attention. The House’s starting-point budget proposal would provide for a total budget of $156.4 billion in state and federal money, a decrease of $31.1 billion, … Continue reading

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The first fantasy map

Behold, what Houston City Council districts could possibly look like in a few months. There are, as Greg discusses, plusses and minuses to the approach he took, as well as real-world roadblocks and political considerations that may trump theoretical optimization. … Continue reading

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The fate of the two-thirds rule

Today’s the day we find out what rules the Senate will use. A lot of people seem to think that despite Dan Patrick’s best efforts, the two thirds rule will stay mostly, if not entirely, intact. The Statesman editorialized in … Continue reading

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More on the magnet schools report

I guess it’s just as well that I never made it all the way through that audit on HISD’s magnet schools, because it seems that neither Superintendent Terry Grier nor the Board of Trustees are all that wedded to it. … Continue reading

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HFD news

Couple of big stories relating to the Houston Fire Department in the news this week. First, the EEOC makes a ruling: The Houston Fire Department’s failure to properly address discrimination complaints by a female firefighter and subsequent retaliation subjected her … Continue reading

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