Monthly Archives: August 2021

It doesn’t matter what the polls say about the voter suppression bill

Here’s another poll to demonstrate why. A new survey from Rice University underscores the deepening partisan chasm over provisions in the controversial GOP priority elections bill. For example, 46 percent of Harris County Republicans polled who participated in the county’s … Continue reading

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The “heartbeat” bill is about to become law

There’s nothing standing in the way. A Texas law that would ban abortions after as early as six weeks is poised to take effect Wednesday, after a federal appellate court’s rulings stymied efforts to block the law. On Friday night, … Continue reading

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

It’s fine

Some things never change. The Texas House Democrats who bolted for roughly six weeks to stop the Legislature from passing new laws would have racked up about $20,000 each in fines under a rule change proposed to stop such quorum … Continue reading

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Here come those electric buses

Here comes the commitment to buy them, anyway. Local transit officials no longer are blowing hot air about the emissions coming out of Metro buses. Board members Thursday approved a plan for all new Metropolitan Transit Authority buses to produce … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What about City Council and redistricting?

Of interest: . NEW: Except for #DistrictD, all the #CouncilDistricts held by minorities need to add people to equalize population in #Houston’s #political jurisdictions. #redistricting @MarcCommentary @jcortina @PabloMPinto @houtopia @ReneeCrossTX @UHPoliticalSci @MarkPJonesTX @bjrottinghaus — hectordeleon (@hdl_perspective) 9:54 PM – 21 … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Readin’ and writin’ and gettin’ COVID

Welcome back to school, kids. Positive COVID-19 cases among Texas public school students rose by more than 9,000 last week, the highest number ever recorded in a seven-day period, state data shows. As of Aug. 22, there were 14,033 reports … Continue reading

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Matthew Dowd

Not sure what to make of this. A little more than a week after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Matthew Dowd announced he was leaving his job as chief political analyst with ABC News after thirteen years with … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for August 29

“The dinosaur-killing asteroid took a back road to Earth.” An interview with Jim DeRogatis, the reporter who’s been telling us all what a sleazeball R. Kelly is for the last 20 years. More about now-former Jeopardy! host Mike Richards and … Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

More injunctions against the mask mandate bans

Keep ’em coming. Concluding that Gov. Greg Abbott exceeded his authority by banning mask mandates in Texas, an Austin judge ruled Friday that school districts in Travis County can enforce face coverings as a COVID-19 precaution. State District Judge Catherine … Continue reading

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

Other things the Lege has been up to

A brief roundup, to clear some tabs… Bad Bail Bill 2.0 moves forward. A sweeping revision of the process for releasing accused criminals on bail won initial approval from the Texas House on Friday night, nearly three months after the … Continue reading

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It’s the quick intensification of the hurricanes for me

New things to keep you up at night. It’s a nightmare scenario that keeps forecasters up at night: A tropical cyclone strengthens quickly over a 24-hour period. It happened last year close to home with Hurricane Laura, which evolved from Category 1 … Continue reading

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Driverless Lyft service coming to Austin

We’ll see what the demand is. People in Austin who use the ride-hailing service Lyft will have the option of selecting a self-driving car starting in 2022. But, at least initially, two humans will sit in the front as “test … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Voter suppression bill passes the House

It was always to be, it was just a matter of when. After months of drama and political resistance, the curtain has lowered on Democratic attempts to stave off a far-reaching rewrite of the state’s voting laws coveted by Republicans … Continue reading

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Abbott admits he can’t enforce his mask mandate ban

So what are we even doing here? Just make your mandate and move on. Gov. Greg Abbott has been embroiled in court battles with Texas cities, counties and public schools that have defied his ban on local mask mandates. But … Continue reading

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January 6 committee seeks answers from Paxton

Good. Play hardball and do not let him get away with anything. The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has requested communications between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Trump White House officials in the … Continue reading

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Metro moving forward on new BRT line

As they should. Even with fewer riders hopping aboard and a more dour financial outlook, Metro officials say the agency is full steam ahead on a host of projects aimed at adding buses to scores of routes and neighborhoods. That … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bexar mask mandate put on hold again

SCOTx has entered the chat, again. The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked San Antonio and Bexar County’s mask mandate, marking the latest update in a flurry of court battles over mask requirements statewide. The decision comes after an appellate … Continue reading

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The financial incentive

At this point, whatever works. A week after public health officials in Texas’ most populous county started handing out $100 cash cards to locals getting their first COVID-19 shot, the number of daily vaccinations has shot up to six times … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The real reason (that we already know) why Greg Abbott hates mask mandates

He’s pandering to the base. I mean, duh! When Texas had its first big surge of COVID hospitalizations, Gov. Greg Abbott responded by shutting down bars and mandating masks. As the second surge hit, Abbott put in place an automatic … Continue reading

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Perry the pitchman

How can we miss you if you won’t go away? Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Monday jumped into the middle of the debate over mask mandates in public schools by trying to sell state officials on a product from … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Dallas County gets its injunction

Another big win. A district court judge has sided with Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in his dispute with Gov. Greg Abbott over the county’s mask mandate, allowing the mandate to stay in place. Judge Tonya Parker issued a temporary … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Greg Abbott remains COVID’s best friend

It’s hard to even know what to say. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced an executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates regardless of a vaccine’s approval status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He also said he was adding … Continue reading

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More on the Paxton self-exoneration report

More and more ridiculous. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office refuses to release the names of the authors or the taxpayer cost of the internal report published Tuesday that concluded that whistleblowers’ accusations that Paxton broke the law were unfounded. … Continue reading

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Texas blog roundup for the week of August 23

The Texas Progressive Alliance is not happy there’s a quorum at the Legislature but is resigned to move on to the next stage of the fight as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Back to SCOTx for the mask mandate ban

Brace yourselves. Following an unfavorable outcome at an appellate court, Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Texas Supreme Court to block the mask mandate in San Antonio and Bexar County. A Bexar County district judge issued a temporary order on Aug. 16 allowing … Continue reading

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

Stop investigating yourself, you’ll go blind

There’s not enough snark on the Internet for this. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office on Tuesday released an internal report that found that Paxton did not accept bribes and did not misuse his office to benefit his friend and … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More teenagers are getting vaccinated

Good, but not enough in itself. As a third COVID wave coincides with the back-to-school season, more Texas teenagers are getting the vaccine — but health experts say they need to see shots increase in even larger numbers to protect … Continue reading

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More fourplexes

I am in favor of this. Houston is mulling changes to its planning rules that could encourage a broader variety of housing types, such as triplexes and fourplexes, that developers and the city say could create more affordable options and … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A look ahead to Commissioners Court redistricting

As we know, the Census redistricting data is out, and that means a whole lot of map-drawing is in our future. The main focus on this will be in Austin where the Congressional and legislative maps are re-drawn, but those … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

HISD starts its year

Good luck, kids. You too, parents. For the second straight year, Houston ISD is set to welcome back nearly 200,000 students in the midst of a pandemic. The similarities between last year and Monday’s reopening end there, however. HISD entered … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The approval and the mandates

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the FDA has given its final approval to the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19. That should mean a lot of good things, but among them it should mean broader vaccine mandates are now in … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Voter suppression bill passes out of House committee

Here we go again. A Texas House committee on Monday advanced the GOP-backed voting restrictions bill that first prompted Democrats to stall legislative work during a weekslong quorum break. The 9-5 party-line vote on the revived legislation, Senate Bill 1, is … Continue reading

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The bail bill and the quorum

Now that there’s a quorum (or a “quorum”, if you prefer) in the State House again, bills other than the voter suppression bill are getting hearings and will be moved forward for votes. Nearly all of them are terrible, and … Continue reading

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The status of the mask mandate lawsuits

The Chron does a roundup. Texas courtrooms have become a busy place this August, with Attorney General Ken Paxton battling school districts, cities, counties and nonprofits to defend Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local mask mandates aimed at preventing the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments