Monthly Archives: March 2020

Coronavirus and the courts

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More things that will be shut down for the time being. Courts in the Houston region are announcing measures to reduce or suspend some operations in response to the new coronavirus outbreak and local declarations of emergency. Harris County’s court … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Alex Bunin, asylum, Brazoria County, coronavirus, Harris County, immigration, jails, Julia Maldonado, jury duty, Michael Gomez, quarantine, Robert Schaffer, Texas | 10 Comments

Texas Central hopes to start construction this year

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It would be best for them if they get going before the Lege can take any action against them. After an economic impact statement and safety rules are completed, the Texas High-Speed Train may begin construction before the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Federal Railroad Administration, high speed rail, Texas, Texas Central High-Speed Railway | 1 Comment

What should we do about the runoffs?

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

With coronavirus concerns now shutting down all kinds of public events and other large gatherings, it’s more than fair to wonder what the risks are of conducting the primary runoffs in the usual fashion. This post on Indivisible Houston suggests … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged absentee ballots, coronavirus, Democratic primary, Election 2020, Greg Abbott, primaries, Ron Wyden, runoff, special session, Texas, The Lege, turnout | 12 Comments

The Andrea Duhon situation

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

On Election Night, I wrote about the HCDE Postion 7 At Large primary result, in which Andrea Duhon, who is already serving on the Board in a different position, to which she was appointed following the resignation of Josh Flynn, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Andrea Duhon, Democratic primary, Election 2020, Harris County, HCDE, Josh Flynn | 2 Comments

You periodic reminder that every vote matters

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

2020 Republican primaries edition. One vote still separates second and third place in the GOP primary for Texas House District 47, but a revised total released Wednesday pushed Justin Berry ahead of Don Zimmerman for the final spot in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged absentee ballots, Don Zimmerman, Election 2020, HD47, Jennifer Fleck, Justin Berry, primaries, provisional ballots, recount, runoff, Texas, The Lege, Travis County | 2 Comments

Let’s not play ball

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not just yet, anyway. Major League Baseball has cancelled the remainder of its Spring Training games, also announcing that the start of the 2020 regular season will be delayed by at least two weeks due to the national emergency created … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged Baseball, coronavirus, MLB, Rob Manfred | 2 Comments

District B lawsuit drags on

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Double ugh. It could be another four to five months before voters in Houston’s District B can select a new city council member, extending a delay that has held up a runoff there since December. The Houston-based First Court of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019, Legal matters | Tagged Cynthia Bailey, District B, Election 2019, Election 2020, First Court of Appeals, Houston, Houston City Council, lawsuit, Renee Jefferson Smith, runoff, Tarsha Jackson | 1 Comment

Dallas County recount completed

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

No effect, as expected. A Dallas County recount turned up 9,149 ballots that were missed on Super Tuesday, but the new votes did not affect the outcome of any race. Through the recount — which was prompted by vote discrepancies … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Dallas County, Democratic primary, Election 2020, primaries, recount, Texas, Toni Pippins-Poole | Comments Off

Thus endeth this year’s Rodeo

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not a surprise. Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Wednesday the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will close due to concerns about coronavirus after a Montgomery County man with no recent travel history tested positive for COVID-19. The case is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged coronavirus, economy, Harris County, Harris County Public Health Authority, Houston, Houston First, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Lina Hidalgo, Montgomery County, Sylvester Turner | 25 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of March 9

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You can do a sufficient job of washing your hands in the time it will take you to read this week’s Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | 1 Comment

Let’s talk turnout

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few random bits and pieces about turnout from the primaries. On the one hand, I think it’s great that Dems got the turnout that we did, in Harris County and around the state. On the other hand, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged absentee ballots, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Bexar County, Brazoria County, Collin County, Dallas County, Democratic primary, Denton County, early voting, El Paso, Election 2008, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2014, Election 2016, Election 2018, Election 2020, Elizabeth Warren, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Hidalgo County, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Montgomery County, Pete Buttigieg, President, primaries, Tarrant County, Texas, Travis County, turnout, Williamson County | Comments Off

Dallas County recount to go forward

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s see what we get. A week out from Super Tuesday, a recount is moving forward in Dallas County. State district Judge Emily Tobowlowsky on Tuesday approved the county’s request to redo the tally of votes cast in the March … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Dallas County, Democratic primary, Election 2020, primaries, recount, Texas, Toni Pippins-Poole | 1 Comment

Eckhardt declares for SD14

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And now there are two. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt resigned from her position Tuesday ahead of a run for the open seat in the Democrat-leaning Texas Senate District 14. “I’m leaving the warmth and friendship of public service at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Adam Loewy, Eddie Rodriguez, Election 2020, Greg Casar, Jose Vela, Kirk Watson, Rudy Metayer, Sarah Eckhardt, SD14, Senate, special election, Texas | 1 Comment

Look out! Here come the lady judges!

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Everybody scream! In Democratic judicial primaries last Tuesday, Dayna beat David, Jane trounced Jim, and Colleen got more support than John, David and Brennen combined. Is that all there was to it? Men have dominated Texas courts for decades. Now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Bill McLeod, Darrell Jordan, Democratic primary, Election 2004, Election 2018, Election 2020, Election 2022, Election 2024, Elizabeth Warren, Harris County, judicial races, Kyle Carter, Michael Gomez, Mike Engelhart, RK Sandill, Robert Johnson, Robert Schaffer, Texas, Texas Commission on Judicial Selection | 3 Comments

Elisa Cardnell suspends campaign in CD02

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Monday morning, Elisa Cardnell, Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in Texas’s 2nd District, suspended her campaign. She released the following statement. “When we began this campaign no one thought this race was possible. Every rating … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged CD02, Congress, Dan Crenshaw, Democratic primary, Election 2020, Elisa Cardnell, runoff, Sima Ladjevardian, Texas | Comments Off

The other TEA takeover

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A preview of things to come, perhaps. The Texas Education Agency announced a new appointed board and a new superintendent Friday for a tiny East Texas school district with two schools that had failed to perform well for years. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, lawsuit, Mike Morath, Shepherd ISD, Texas, Texas Education Agency | 1 Comment

Dallas County needs a recount

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole discovered her office did not count about 10% of the ballots that voters cast on Super Tuesday. She is now asking a court to let her conduct a manual recount of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Dallas County, Democratic primary, Election 2020, primaries, recount, Secretary of State, Texas, Toni Pippins-Poole | 3 Comments

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez announces for SD14

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Others are sure to follow. State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, an Austin Democrat, announced Saturday that he is running for Texas Senate District 14. “It is truly an honor to even be running [for] the Senate,” Rodriguez said at B.D. Riley’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Adam Loewy, Celia Israel, Eddie Rodriguez, Election 2020, Greg Casar, HD51, Jose Vela, Kirk Watson, Rudy Metayer, Sarah Eckhardt, SD14, Senate, special election, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

Meet your bail reform overseers

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They’re where the buck will stop. A federal judge Tuesday approved the choice of a Duke University law professor to oversee Harris County’s historic bail reform agreement that governs what happens to thousands of people arrested on low-level offenses. Chief … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged bail, Brandon Garrett, Harris County, Houston, jails, lawsuit, Sandra Guerra Thompson | 4 Comments

Please fill out the Census

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, come on. If you’re a reader of this blog, you know damn well it’s your civic duty. Texas loses more than $2,300 per year for every person who doesn’t get counted in the U.S. Census, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged Bastrop County, Census, demography, Harris County, Houston, Lina Hidalgo, redistricting, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Weekend link dump for March 8

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“Did Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight Lower 2016’s Voter Turnout? A New Paper Says Yes.” “Now, as fears about the coronavirus spread, at least one historian is worried the Trump administration is failing to heed the lesson of one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged linkdump | Comments Off

DNC to target Texas

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. The Democratic National Committee [added] Texas to its list of 2020 targets just days before Super Tuesday, vowing to invest heavily in the state to help Democratic candidates up and down the ballot in the latest sign that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Congress, DCCC, DNC, DSCC, Election 2020, MJ Hegar, President, redistricting, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed over straight ticket voting ban

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of litigation lately. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Laredo, the Texas Democratic Party — joined by the chair of the Webb County Democratic Party and the Democratic campaign arms of the U.S. Senate and House — claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged DCCC, DSCC, lawsuit, straight ticket voting, TDP, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 5 Comments

It’s even harder to prosecute pot cases now

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Such a shame. What if lawmakers writing one of the most consequential laws to come out of last year’s legislative session, legalizing hemp in Texas, forgot to include a small, but crucial detail that could get your marijuana possession charges … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, That's our Lege | Tagged Brazos County, DPS, hemp, marijuana, TDCAA, Texas, The Lege, Tracy King | Comments Off

Calendar reform

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is an interesting idea. Feb. 29ths, like the one tacked to the end of [last] month, exist because Earth’s orbit and human calendars are slightly out of sync. The planet completes its 584-million-mile loop around the sun in … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha, Technology, science, and math | Tagged calendars, Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar, leap year | 1 Comment

Trautman apologizes for the long lines

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A very good start. Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman is taking “full responsibility” for the long lines and wait times that bogged down election night voting and forced some voters to wait more than six hours to cast their ballots. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Democratic primary, Diane Trautman, early voting, Election 2008, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2014, Election 2016, Election 2018, Election 2020, Harris County, Harris County Clerk, Texas, turnout | 6 Comments

Runoff roundup

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here, as best as I can determine, are the runoffs of interest for May: US Senate – MJ Hegar versus Royce West CD02 – Sima Ladjevardian versus Elisa Cardnell CD03 – Lulu Seikaly versus Sean McCaffity CD10 – Mike Siegel … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged 14th Court of Appeals, Akilah Bacy, Alexandra Smoots-Hogan, Anna Eastman, Bryan Slaron, Candace Valenzuela, Candance White, Carrie Isaac, CD02, CD03, CD07, CD10, CD17, CD21, CD22, CD23, CD24, CD31, Cheri Thomas, Cheryl Elliott Thornton, Chris Diaz, Christine Eady Mann, Chrysta Castaneda, Cody Vasut, Commissioners Court, Congress, Constable, Dan Flynn, David Jaramillo, Democratic primary, Dennis Bonnen, Diana Alexander, Don Zimmerman, Donna Imam, Eddie Lucio, Election 2020, Elisa Cardnell, Gina Ortiz Jones, Glenn Rogers, Harold Dutton, HD02, HD100, HD119, HD138, HD142, HD148, HD25, HD26, HD45, HD47, HD59, HD60, HD67, Jacey Jetton, Jasmine Crockett, JD Sheffield, Jenifer Pool, Jennifer Fleck, Jennifer Ramos, Jerry Davis, Jerry Garcia, Jon Francis, judicial races, Kathaleen Wall, Kent Wymore, Kim Olson, Kimberly McLeod, Lani Popp, Liz Campos, Lorenzo Sanchez, Lorraine Birabil, Lulu Seikaly, Matt Morgan, Michael Moore, Michelle Palmer, MJ Hegar, Penny Shaw, Pete Sessions, primaries, Railroad Commission, Raul Reyes, recount, Renee Swann, Rick Kennedy, Ro'Vin Garrett, Robert Alonzo, Robert Morrow, Rocio Hernandez, Roland Gutierrez, Royce West, runoff, Sara Stapleton-Barrera, Sarah DeMerchant, SBOE, SD11, SD19, SD27, Sean McCaffity, Senate, Shelby Slawson, Sima Ladjevardian, Sri Kulkarni, Suleman Lalani, Susan Criss, Tamika Craft, Teiva Bell, Texas, The Lege, Tom Adair, Tony Gonzales, Troy Nehls, Wendy Davis, Wesley Hunt, Xochil Peña Rodriguez | 2 Comments

HCDP statement on Natasha Ruiz

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Harris County Democratic Party has learned of an allegation that a candidate on the Harris County Democratic Party Primary ballot for Texas House District 142 may not have been a genuine candidate. HCDP has not been … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2020, Harold Dutton, HCDP, HD142, Jerry Davis, Natasha Ruiz, runoff, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

SXSW canceled

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster Friday in response to the new coronavirus and issued an order canceling South by Southwest for the first time in its 34-year history. The 10-day event was scheduled to begin next … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged Austin, coronavirus, South by Southwest, Steve Adler, Texas | 1 Comment

Legislative hearings on those long lines coming

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More scrutiny. After excessive voting lines on Super Tuesday forced Texans to wait for up to six hours to vote, state lawmakers are directing their attention toward challenges voters faced in trying to cast a ballot for the presidential primary … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Democratic primary, Diane Trautman, Election 2020, Harris County Clerk, MALC, primaries, Rafael Anchia, Texas, Texas Legislative Black Caucus, The Lege | 1 Comment

HD142 and the case of the mystery candidate

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? Long time Democratic State Representative Harold Dutton was forced into a runoff Tuesday night, but a ghost candidate may have helped make that happen. Dutton, who has long represented House District 142 in northeast Houston, already faced a formidable … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Bill White, Democratic primary, Election 2020, Gene Kelly, Harold Dutton, HD142, Hector Riveria, Jerry Davis, Jerry Garcia, Natasha Ruiz, Texas, The Lege | 3 Comments

Coronavirus comes to town

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It was just a matter of time. After months of fear, preparations and cancellations, the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has officially come to the Houston area. One day after a Fort Bend man in his 70s was “presumptively … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged CDC, China, coronavirus, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Harris County Department of Public Health and Environmental Services, Houston, Texas | Comments Off

We need to talk about those lines

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I wish we could talk about something else, but we have to do this. Dozens of Democratic voters were still waiting to cast ballots at midnight in Houston, turning Super Tuesday into a painful slog for some citizens amid questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Christian Menefee, Democratic primary, Diane Trautman, Election 2020, Harris County, Harris County Clerk, HCDP, Hervis Rogers, Lina Hidalgo, primaries, Rodney Ellis, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Organizing Project, turnout, Vince Ryan, voting centers | 20 Comments

It’s Hegar versus West for the Senate nomination

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The last undetermined race on the Dem side has an answer. MJ Hegar and Royce West are advancing to a runoff for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Hegar, the former Air Force helicopter pilot backed … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, Democratic primary, Election 2020, John Cornyn, MJ Hegar, Royce West, runoff, Senate, Texas | Comments Off

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