Monthly Archives: April 2022

The dark side of redistricting litigation

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is taking a big swing in defense of its gerrymanders, and if they connect it’s going to be devastating. Beyond the immediate legal fight over whether Texas lawmakers again discriminated against voters of color when drawing … Continue reading →

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

Paxton accused of creating a hostile workplace for LGBTQ employees at the AG’s office

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

. However, the portion of the letter that detailed the lawyer’s allegations of political taint was redacted by the AG’s office, which provided the letter to us under the Public Information Act. We still hope to see that. — Chuck … Continue reading →

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

State wants feds to un-pause I-45

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. State highway officials held fast to their plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 in Houston on Thursday, offering a litany of benefits the project will bring and pressing federal officials to lift a 12-month-and-counting pause on development. … Continue reading →

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

Carlos Beltrán speaks about sign stealing

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Carlos Beltrán, the venerated designated hitter painted by Major League Baseball as a ringleader of Houston’s electronic sign-stealing scheme during the 2017 season, said this week he “wished somebody would’ve said something” and stopped the trashcan banging scheme. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Texas drone law ruled unconstitutional

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I love coming across a story like this and then realizing it’s an update to something I had blogged about a couple of years ago. A Texas law that limits the use of remotely piloted drones to capture images is … Continue reading →

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

More on the HISD budget plan

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Trustees make first contact with the Superintendent’s plans. More than a month after Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II unveiled a strategic plan aimed at making the district more equitable, trustees still have unanswered questions about how to pay for it and concerns about whether … Continue reading →

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

Yankees still fighting to keep that MLB letter under wraps

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, it can’t hurt to ask. The New York Yankees plan to continue to fight the unsealing of a letter from MLB detailing alleged sign-stealing by the organization. The Athletic, citing a source with knowledge of the team’s plans, reported … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for April 3

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Pope Francis’ Response to Ukraine Has Tapped Into One of Catholicism’s Deepest Conspiracy Theories“. Gotta say, as a deeply cultural Catholic, I only knew the very top level of this one. “There is not a huge gap in the ideological … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Texas Lyceum: Abbott 42, Beto 40

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad. On Friday Texas Lyceum released its annual statewide poll, a major survey on the top issues facing Texans and their opinion on Texas leaders. The biggest attention-grabbing news from the poll is just how close things are at … Continue reading →

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

The I-45 project gets a wee bit more expensive

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Eh, what’s another $750 million? Typically, $750 million is the total cost for a major highway project, one that would take years to spend that kind of money. In the case of TxDOT’s plans for a mammoth rebuild of Interstate … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declines to save Chick-fil-A

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But they didn’t kill off the possibility of it being saved, either. Conservative activists suing the City of San Antonio alleging it violated the Texas “Save Chick-fil-a” law have not presented evidence of a violation, the Texas State Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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

More on the oligarch suing Beto

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the Observer; I’m picking it up after the initial statements by Beto that got Kelcy Warren’s undies in such a wad: Free-speech advocates and many legal scholars have long decried these sort frivolous lawsuits—known as SLAPPs, or Strategic Lawsuits … Continue reading →

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

Paid parental leave for city employees

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a thing that should have happened a long time ago. City of Houston employees soon could be eligible for up to three months of paid parental leave under a policy change expected to reach City Council next week. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Here comes BA.2 in Houston

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But don’t panic, it’s just a change in the virus composition, not an increase in viral load. Houston is seeing an uptick in the number of BA.2 cases, with genome sequencing and wastewater testing picking up higher levels this week compared to … Continue reading →

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January 2022 campaign finance reports: HCC

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: City of Houston, HISD If HISD campaign finance reports are less sexy than city of Houston finance reports, then HCC finance reports are like HISD finance reports wearing thermal underwear. Nevertheless, we persist. Monica Flores Richart – Dist 1 … Continue reading →

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Chron story on City Council redistricting

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more info now. As Houston begins to redraw its City Council map for the 2023 elections, two districts representing western portions of the city, including Montrose, the Heights, River Oaks, and Uptown, among other neighborhoods, have out-sized populations that … Continue reading →

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Filemon officially resigns

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Feh. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela will formally resign from Congress late Thursday in a move that officially kicks off what’s expected to be a scramble to replace him in a special election. Vela, D-Brownsville, previously announced his intention to step … Continue reading →

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

Who wants to have their dinner delivered by a robot?

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your chance. Heads up, Houston: the robots are coming. Coco, the Los Angeles-based business that offers a remotely piloted delivery service, has hit the streets of Houston with its food-delivery bots as part of its expansion to targeted markets. … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments