Monthly Archives: March 2022

Of course the Census undercounted people of color

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This was the Trump administration’s goal from the beginning. The 2020 census continued a longstanding trend of undercounting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, while overcounting people who identified as white and not Latino, according to estimates from a report the U.S. … Continue reading →

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Turns out it’s not great debuting a transit service in a pandemic

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What are you gonna do? The future of Houston transportation is not moving many people, even as traffic rebounds to pre-pandemic levels and ridership returns to many Metropolitan Transit Authority lines. The Silver Line, billed as a viable alternative to … Continue reading →

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Meet the new judge of County Civil Court at Law #4

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So far, this is the only public announcement I have seen: . Immensely proud of Miryea Ayala, who tonight was appointed as the new judge for the Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4! She’s been a great colleague … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for March 13

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“First we had CDOs, then mortgage-backed CDOs, then synthetic CDOs, and then the financial system collapsed. Now, as a way to cure the financial boredom of the past decade, we’re moving toward NFT-based CDOs.” “Put simply, no one forced Jerry … Continue reading →

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More data about mail ballot rejections

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Keep it coming. Thousands of Texans who attempted to vote by mail in the March primary were disenfranchised in the state’s first election conducted under a new Republican voting law. The state’s largest counties saw a significant spike in the … Continue reading →

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Texas sues to keep federal funds that would be denied for bullying trans kids

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The utter gall, it’s breathtaking. Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report transgender children receiving gender-affirming health care as potential child abuse. Texas Attorney … Continue reading →

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No charges against Deshaun Watson

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good for him, I guess. A Harris County grand jury on Friday declined to indict Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, choosing not to criminally charge him in nine alleged instances of sexual assault or harassment during various private massage appointments, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More on Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very moving stuff. Donna Casasanta picked through the brush in an overgrown patch of woods in northeast Harris County, looking. The 80-year-old mother had spent 40 years wondering. She had traveled 980 miles, driven with her grown children for three … Continue reading →

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Statewide injunction issued against Abbott/Paxton witch hunt

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news to end the week. State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled Friday that providing gender-affirming care is not a reason for the state to investigate a family for child abuse, and halted all such investigations. The statewide … Continue reading →

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SCOTx puts the last nail in the federal lawsuit against SB8

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The fix was in from the beginning. The Texas Supreme Court dealt a final blow to abortion providers’ federal challenge to the state’s latest abortion restrictions Friday. The court ruled that state medical licensing officials do not have authority to … Continue reading →

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The rejected mail ballots of Bexar County

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Bexar County rejected mail-in ballots at roughly ten times the rate it did before the passage of the state’s new voting law last year. Before Senate Bill 1 took effect, with its … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And we’re back to yellow again

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope it lasts. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday lowered the county’s COVID threat level to yellow, signaling a controlled level of cases following the decline of the omicron wave. The yellow level means COVID poses a “moderate … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton repays the Briggle family for their hospitality

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What a scumbag he is. When the case worker asked to inspect the house, Amber and Adam Briggle first led her to the kitchen. They opened the cabinets to show they were full of food. They moved on to the … Continue reading →

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State Bar sues Sidney Powell for professional misconduct

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Busy times at the State Bar of Texas. The State Bar of Texas has filed a disciplinary suit against former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell alleging that she committed professional misconduct when she filed multiple lawsuits seeking to invalidate the … Continue reading →

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It’s officially Garza and Jaworski in the AG runoff

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Glad that’s settled. Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt suspended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for Texas attorney general on Thursday, clearing the way for top vote-getter Rochelle Garza to face Joe Jaworski in a May runoff election. More than … Continue reading →

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MLB ends its lockout

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One small bit of good news. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached a tentative agreement on a new collective-bargaining agreement Thursday, ending the league’s 99-day lockout of the players and salvaging a 162-game season, sources familiar with … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Final 2022 primary vote totals from those counties of interest

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

At the end of early voting, I posted some totals from various counties around the state. I noted at the time it was an imprecise comparison since I included final 2018 turnout numbers as the comparison point for 2022 and … Continue reading →

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Appeals court denies Paxton appeal of gender affirming care order

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager in a ruling Wednesday, rejecting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed. The ruling will allow a lower court to hold … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And more people are travelling for abortions

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The number of abortions performed in Texas has declined greatly since the passage of SB8. But the number of Texans seeking abortions has remained the same, which is what abortion advocates have always said would be the case. The number … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of March 7

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Ukraine as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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State Bar complaint against Paxton to proceed

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Nice, but I’m still not expecting there to be consequences for him. I will be delighted to be wrong about that. A Texas State Bar complaint against Attorney General Ken Paxton is moving forward and will be heard by either … Continue reading →

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

Longoria to resign as Election Administrator

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ultimately for the best. Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria submitted her resignation Tuesday, about an hour and half after Judge Lina Hidalgo announced she intended to replace her following last week’s bungled primary contests. Longoria said her resignation would … Continue reading →

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HUD finds the GLO’s process to screw Houston out of Harvey funds “discriminatory”

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Now get us the funds we deserve. In a decision that could redirect millions of dollars in flood relief to Houston, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found the Texas General Land Office discriminated against minority residents … Continue reading →

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Students against banning books

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. For high school senior Gabrielle Izu, Texas’ public school book bans feel personal. The books Texas is targeting — mainly novels that focus on discussions of race, sexual orientation and gender identity … Continue reading →

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Four file for the HCC special election

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was the filing deadline. On Saturday, May 7, 2022, Houston Community College System (“HCC”) will hold a special election to fill a vacancy for the HCC Board of Trustees position in geographic district II for the unexpired term through … Continue reading →

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One of Abbott’s billionaire patrons just sued Beto

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

OMG, this is amazing. The former CEO of one of the nation’s biggest pipeline companies and a major donor to Gov. Greg Abbott is suing Democrat Beto O’Rourke for defamation, slander, and libel for talking about his company’s role in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Harris County GOP sues Isabel Longoria

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a lawsuit kind of day. The Harris County Republican Party filed a lawsuit Monday against the county’s elections administrator, Isabel Longoria, for what they call the “worst elections fiasco in Texas history.” The lawsuit was filed after Longoria’s office … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Have van, will travel to register voters

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Tayhlor Coleman keeps a framed Texas voter roll from 1867 in the van she calls home to remind her why she chose to live there in the first place. Names from her family tree appear here and there throughout … Continue reading →

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Metro electric bus update

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some new details here. Within the next year or so, you’ll see electric-powered buses buzzing around Bayou City. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) recently awarded a $22 million contract to Saint-Eustache, Canada-based Nova Bus for the production … Continue reading →

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There were mail ballots not included in the count on Election Day

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oof, this is bad. Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria’s office on Saturday announced that they have identified approximately 10,000 mail-in ballots that were not added to the original count on Election Night. The county said that approximately 6,000 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

CCA will take up the question of where Paxton’s securities trial should be

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Time for an OG Paxton scandal update. The state’s top appeals court on Wednesday agreed to take up the question of where Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should be tried for alleged securities fraud, a small victory for prosecutors pursuing … Continue reading →

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Create your own power grid

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Two words: Solar panels. For nearly eight hours one day in late January, the power to Sam Bryan’s house blinked off after a transformer near his greater Third Ward lot blew a fuse. The same transformer has long had issues, … Continue reading →

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Sure, go ahead, test ivermectin

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Just keep your expectations very low. Texas universities, including Texas Tech’s Health Science Center in El Paso, are now recruiting subjects for a nationwide study to test the effects of unproven repurposed drugs against non-severe COVID cases. Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for March 6

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“The West has promised tougher sanctions are coming, but experts warn these will almost certainly trigger a Russian retaliation against America and its allies, which could escalate into cyber attacks on Western financial institutions and energy infrastructure.” “In 1871, Congress … Continue reading →

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