Monthly Archives: January 2018

Judicial Q&A: Tracy Good

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawsuit filed over Dallas County bail practices

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on, I say. On the heels of a federal ruling slamming Harris County for its bail practices, civil rights lawyers have now set their sights on a county with a similar system: Dallas. Six indigent misdemeanor and felony … Continue reading →

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Looks like the House just totally solved its sexual harassment problem

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They went and got themselves a new training video. Woo hoo! [I]t’s a 40-minute video that seems unlikely to change the toxic atmosphere at the statehouse any time soon. The training is a video of a PowerPoint presentation with a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Fran Watson

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As I might have mentioned once or twice before, there are a lot of contested primaries this year. In a less active year, I’d publish interviews from the same race in a given week. This year, between the large number … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Audrie Lawton

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

HISD faces major changes

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is a very big story, but a key component to it is not discussed here. Houston ISD officials said Saturday the district will need to cut about $200 million from its 2018-19 budget to bring spending in line with … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tahir Javed

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

So who is this guy in CD29? He’s an outsider in the 29th congressional district. He’s not Latino. He’s never lived in the congressional district he is running in until now. And he’s never run for office in his life. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Weekend link dump for January 21

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

“President Trump’s approval rating fell across a wide swath of demographic groups over his first year in office, including among those seen as important to his base, like white voters, evangelical Christians and those who live in rural areas.” There’s … Continue reading →

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More on the national wave of female candidates

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As the second Women’s March was taking place yesterday, there were stories in two national publications about the plethora of women running for office this year. Here’s TIME Magazine: Erin Zwiener returned to Texas to settle down. At 32, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

So is there a residency standard now?

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is curious. State Rep. Dan Huberty’s only primary challenger was on Friday declared ineligible to run to represent House District 127. In a summary judgment, Harris County District Court Judge Bill Burke declared Reginald C. Grant Jr. did not … Continue reading →

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Extra school days may be coming

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Darn that crazy weather. School districts across greater Houston are working to determine if they need to add extra days to their academic calendars or extra minutes to their school days to make up two days missed this week due … Continue reading →

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County court judges ordered to testify in bail bond lawsuit

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This seems like a big deal. Lawyers behind the civil rights case that upended the bail system for low-level offenses in Harris County have asked a federal judge to consider sanctioning sitting county judges, citing grave concerns that the county … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 27 Comments

The Karolyi Ranch

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. Once viewed as a beacon of “dreams, desire and dedication” for a generation of young women, now symbolic of years of abuse and betrayal, the Karolyi Ranch north of Houston will no longer serve as the national training … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Friday random ten – Come, come now, part 2

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Keep it coming. 1. Come Go With Me – Georgetown Chimes 2. Come In, Sit Down – Jiggernaut 3. Come On (Part III) – Stevie Ray Vaughan 4. Come On Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners 5. Come On With Me … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Lucia Bates

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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No Amazon HQ2 for Houston

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Never really expected that we’d be a top contender, to be honest. Amazon ruled out Houston as a candidate for its $5 billion second headquarters on Thursday, delivering a blow to local leaders who had hoped to lure the Seattle … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

HuffPo on Gina Ortiz Jones

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I do love national stories about our Congressional candidates. Gina Ortiz Jones thought she could work for President Donald Trump. When he won the presidency in November 2016, Jones, a career civil servant who served in the Air Force in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fast out of the gate

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing that has no doubt been affected by the tons of candidates running for office this year: The Chron’s endorsement process, which got off to a necessarily early start yesterday as they recommended candidates in a couple of open-seat … Continue reading →

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Interview with Silky Malik

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of our journey through CD02. There are as noted five candidates in the Democratic primary, but candidate HP Parvizian did not reply to my email asking to schedule an interview. If that happens … Continue reading →

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for Harvey aid

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Your Republican Congress, ladies and gentlemen. Republican lawmakers were hammering out a stop-gap deal Wednesday to avert a weekend government shutdown of the federal government this weekend, setting aside a long-sought disaster aid package for the victims of Hurricane Harvey … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, National news | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Republicans “against” Dan Patrick

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe reports on a “loose coalition” of business and education interests who are seeking to clip Dan Patrick’s wings. [FBSID Board President Kristin] Tassin is now running for a seat in the state Senate, and she is just one … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of January 15

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks a house of cards built by a hyperactive six-year-old is more stable than Donald Trump as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Todd Litton

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

CD02 hasn’t drawn quite as much attention as CD07 has – it has fewer Democratic candidates, and the district is more Republican-leaning – but one thing it had in common with CD07 was a Democratic challenger that had outraised the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Margaret Poissant

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS will not hear Texas partisan gerrymandering appeal

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not really a big deal. Texas, for now, will not join the list of states fighting in court over the limits of partisan gerrymandering. As it considers cases out of other states over whether extreme practices of partisan gerrymandering can … Continue reading →

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Who’s to blame for the special education limits

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege gets a finger pointed at it. After a federal report blasted Texas for failing kids with disabilities, educators and public education advocates are pointing the finger directly at state legislators who, they argue, first suggested capping special education … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Interview with Ali Khorasani

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s day two of CD02, the soon-to-be-former district of Rep. Ted Poe. Today’s candidate, Ali Khorasani represents a couple of themes we have seen in this year’s crop of contenders: He’s under 40, and he’s a scientist. A graduate of … Continue reading →

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Finance reports start coming in

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And once again, CD07 is the big story. The winner in the money chase so far is nonprofit executive Alex Triantaphyllis, who raised over $255,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing his total raised for the election to over … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court hears bag ban arguments

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hoping for the best, but not really expecting it. In the case Laredo Merchants Association v. The City of Laredo, lawyers spent almost an hour arguing whether Laredo’s 2015 ban was illegal under state law. If the Republican-led court rules … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

County will try to repair criminal court building

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. After twice closing the 20-story downtown criminal courthouse due to flood damage since it was completed in 2000, Harris County leaders are planning to repair the shuttered building so the next time it floods it can … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with J. Darnell Jones

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Today we move into CD02, which has been since 2004 the home of Rep. Ted Poe. Like Harris County overall it moved in a Democratic direction in 2016, though it was still Republican overall. It’s on the radar this year … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Judicial Q&A: Brennen Dunn

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dan Patrick wants SAPD Chief arrested

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday asked the state’s attorney general to determine if the chief of the San Antonio Police Department violated the state’s immigration-enforcement law during a human smuggling incident. Late last month, San … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Two upcoming candidate forums

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars, Part I, for the CD2 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum. CD2 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum Hosted by Humble Area Democrats, Kingwood Area Democrats, Spring Democratic Club, and Democracy for Houston Tuesday, January 23 at 6 PM – 9 … Continue reading →

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