Monthly Archives: August 2014

Just a reminder that “more gambling” does not necessarily mean “more revenue”

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If Atlantic City can go bust… The winning streak has run cold for Atlantic City, N.J. Earlier this week, the upscale Revel Casino Hotel announced it will close, bringing the total number of casinos in the city expected to close … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Crazy

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I believe this is the mother of all “Same Name, Different Song” songs in my collection. First up, the immortal Patsy Cline: If that doesn’t get you right in the feels, then you must not have any. Now here’s Gnarls … Continue reading →

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Ogg challenges Anderson’s handling of Ryan Chandler investigation

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This gets a little complicated, so stay with me. A county prosecutor who was engaged to fired Houston homicide detective Sgt. Ryan Chandler emailed him an office database search of all his cases as he was under investigation for possible … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS halts Virginia same-sex marriages for now

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone’s waiting for them to tackle the bigger question. The Supreme Court on Wednesday stopped Virginia officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, putting on hold a lower court ruling that said the unions could start on Thursday. The … Continue reading →

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Ninety years later, we could still use an Equal Rights Amendment

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Drafted by a suffragette in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment has been stirring up controversy ever since. Many opponents considered it dead when a 10-year ratification push failed in 1982, yet its … Continue reading →

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Two environmental stories

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news, and some bad news. The bad news: We have an oyster shortage. Add an oyster shortage in Texas Gulf Coast to the problems exacerbated by the state’s years-long drought. But Texas’ dry spell isn’t the only reason … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten – M’s the word

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another letter with a lot of names that go with it. 1. It’s Hard To Be Humble – Mac Davis 2. Galway Farmer – Maggie Drennon 3. Oxygen – Maia Mitchell 4. Fixer Upper – Maia Wilson (from “Frozen”) 5. … Continue reading →

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Perry will pay for his own defense

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wise decision, something our Governor is not known for. Gov. Rick Perry, who has been using taxpayer dollars to pay his defense lawyers, will tap campaign funds from now on to compensate the attorneys who are fighting his felony indictments, … Continue reading →

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Parker proposes new firefighter pension plan

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about this. With the city of Houston facing huge and rising pension costs, Mayor Annise Parker on Thursday unveiled a proposal to put new firefighters in a separate, less generous plan that would do away with expensive automatic … Continue reading →

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Bringing commuter rail into downtown

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From The Highwayman: As has been reported, the Gulf Coast Rail District is studying the best possible routes for commuter rail in the Houston area, and one of the biggest challenges is bringing the trains into downtown. From the looks … Continue reading →

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RIP, Randy Ertman

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve lived in Houston long enough, this story will bring back a flood of memories and emotions. Randy Ertman, a house painter who became a blunt-spoken, combative advocate for crime victims’ rights after his daughter and another teen were … Continue reading →

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And we (finally) circle back to food trucks

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve done HERO, we’ve done vehicles for hire, what other high profile issues are there out there? Oh yeah, food trucks. I’d almost forgotten they were still an agenda item, but they’re back and they should be getting a vote … Continue reading →

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Financing the high speed rail line

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A long story in the Trib about Texas Central High-Speed Railway and its ambitious Dallas to Houston rail line. It’s a good primer if you haven’t been paying close attention to the story and want to cover all the basics. … Continue reading →

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An outsider’s view of the Ashby Highrise

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Governing.com. It contains the Z word, so you might want to shield the eyes of innocent children and Joel Kotkin. Whatever views one may hold about a city without zoning, it’s hard to deny that Houston has done pretty … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of August 18

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Ferguson in their quest for peace and justice as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Possibly the last thing I’m going to say about the Perry indictment for now

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Certainly not the last thing I’ll ever say, since there’s a vast amount of the story left to be told, and I reserve the right to change my mind. But for now, since the indictment came down on Friday there’s … Continue reading →

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The debate over handling drug cases in the DA race

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

An update from the Chron. Incumbent Devon Anderson and challenger Kim Ogg have somewhat similar thoughts on dealing with misdemeanor marijuana possession, but are on polar opposites when it comes to trace amounts of crack cocaine, a perennial debate in … Continue reading →

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Transforming the GRB Convention Center

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think I’d realized that there was a renovation of the George R. Brown Convention Center in the works, but after reading this story, I’m excited about it. By late next year, people strolling the George R. Brown Convention … Continue reading →

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Once again, voter fraud by impersonation just doesn’t exist

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Washington Post: Election fraud happens. But ID laws are not aimed at the fraud you’ll actually hear about. Most current ID laws (Wisconsin is a rare exception) aren’t designed to stop fraud with absentee ballots (indeed, laws requiring … Continue reading →

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Greg Enos turns his spotlight to Gary Polland

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be good. There can be no doubt: Gary Polland is a smart, successful lawyer who knows how to make a lot of money from the practice of law. Polland is politically powerful and able to influence and … Continue reading →

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Look behind the scenes

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s another angle to consider the Perry indictment saga, which is that the indictment isn’t so much about what Rick Perry said publicly regarding Rosemary Lehmberg and the Public Integrity Unit but what he was saying behind the scenes. Erica … Continue reading →

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San Antonio will take its time on Uber and Lyft

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As was the case in Houston, San Antonio City Council is in no rush to take action on updating their vehicles for hire ordinances to deal with Uber and Lyft. After an emotional and colorful Citizens to be Heard session, … Continue reading →

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Judge affirms Wilson residency verdict

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. The Harris County Attorney’s office, which has been challenging [Dave] Wilson’s residency for months, asked state District Judge Mike Engelhart to throw out last month’s jury ruling, arguing that Wilson was breaking the law by claiming two residences. … Continue reading →

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On Mike McCrum and Pa Ferguson

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There were two stories from Sunday about special prosecutor Mike McCrum that were worth flagging. First, here’s the Express News with an angle that I think has been underappreciated. People who know McCrum said he is not the type to … Continue reading →

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Hillary and Julian

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The other Texas political story from last week that had tongues wagging and social media buzzing. Why yes, since you asked, the Secretary did have dinner with the Clintons at their house, Julián Castro’s press secretary allowed. Did they have … Continue reading →

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Just don’t call it “Medicaid expansion”

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the public policy that dare not have its name spoken, at least by Republican legislators. State lawmakers renewed efforts Thursday to find a “Texas solution” to expand health-insurance coverage for low-income residents without accepting the Medicaid expansion in President … Continue reading →

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Vape ’em if you’ve got ’em

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

E-cigarettes are not affected by the city of Houston’s smoking ban. For now, anyway. When city officials announced a sweeping ban on smoking in public parks last month, many in Houston’s growing ranks of electronic cigarette users worried the new … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for August 17

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

“Late last year, scientists unveiled the complete genome of a female Neanderthal whose 130,000-year-old toe bone had been found in a cave in Siberia. As it turned out, her sequence of some 3 billion DNA letters was not all that … Continue reading →

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HERO repeal petition lawsuit set for January

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There will be no HERO repeal referendum on the ballot this year, but depending on how the trial (and likely appeal) goes, there could be one next year. Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance dropped their request for a temporary … Continue reading →

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More on the Perry indictment

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Just some more thoughts and links relating to the big story that turned a relatively quiet Friday into one of the busiest news day of the year so far. Let’s start with a reality check from Harold Cook. First of … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder: Medicaid expansion is still a great deal

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But only if you do it. We learned late last week that the decision by 24 states to reject Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion comes as a startling cost — $423.6 billion in lost federal funds from 2013 to 2022, according to … Continue reading →

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From the files of privatization failures

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A story from last week. State officials have decided to slow the rollout of a controversial overhaul of the foster-care system after the private contractor running a pilot program abruptly pulled out Friday. Judge John Specia, commissioner of the state … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Cool For Cats

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Is it really a cover when the lead singer of a band re-does one of that band’s songs as a solo artist? Here’s Squeeze, with Chris Difford at the wheel, doing “Cool For Cats”: Sometimes solo artists completely change the … Continue reading →

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Perry indicted

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. A grand jury indicted Gov. Rick Perry on Friday on charges of abuse of power and coercion as part of an ethics inquiry into his veto of funding for the state’s public integrity unit. The inquiry began last summer … Continue reading →

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