Monthly Archives: May 2023

Another Dallas ransomware update

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

More specific info, but still a lot we don’t know. Dallas’ top information technology official says the city hasn’t found any signs yet that personal information from employees or residents have been leaked after a cyberattack last week. Bill Zielinski, … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

FDA approves RSV vaccine

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. After a 60-year scientific quest, the world has its first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV – and more are on the way. On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Arexvy, made by GSK, … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of May 8

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance had a brief craving for tea and crumpets over the weekend but it seems to have passed in favor of the weekly roundup.

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Slaton expelled

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A fitting end to his disgraceful tenure. The Texas House unanimously voted to expel Bryan Slaton on Tuesday, one day after the Royse City Republican submitted his resignation after an internal investigation determined that he had sex with a 19-year-old … Continue reading →

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House to vote on doomed casino gambling bill

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

You do you, but remember that we’re living in Dan Patrick’s world, and he’s not going to let this happen. After weeks of uncertainty, legislation authorizing casino gambling in Texas was cleared to come to a vote of the full … Continue reading →

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Dallas ransomware update

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As of the weekend, things still weren’t great. A ransomware attack from a prolific group called Royal has caused outages for many of Dallas’ systems for the past three days. Websites remained down and first responders continued to rely on … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Slaton resigns

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. Rep. Bryan Slaton resigned from the Texas House on Monday after an investigation determined that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff, providing her with enough alcohol before their encounter that she felt dizzy and … Continue reading →

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Reactions to Allen

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s nothing I can say about the weekend massacre in Allen that hasn’t been said many times by many people. My heart is broken for the victims and their families, and my rage is ever-stoked by the sheer indifference exhibited … Continue reading →

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We ask again if the HISD Board should bother doing anything right now

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I think the answer is still mostly No, but there’s some nuance to that. The Houston Independent School District board met Thursday to discuss potential cuts to the district’s $2.2 billion budget as it faces a growing a growing deficit and a … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A tale of two Propositions A

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I usually write my own sentence or two to introduce the article I’m linking to and commenting on, but honestly I can’t do any better than the lede of this story. Proposition A, the wide-ranging police reform measure also known … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed against FAA over SpaceX launch and explosion

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I can only imagine how Elno feels right now. Conservation groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration [last] Monday, challenging its approval of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk’s SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in South Texas without … Continue reading →

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

The sore loser election contest lawsuits have been delayed

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This obituary of local Republican activist and professional election denier/vote suppressor Alan Vera was far too kind to him – Votebeat did a better job of accurately capturing his “achievements” – but it did contain one useful piece of information, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 7

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“Whatever the outcome is, the drastic step is a warning sign for what may be in store in the coming years. For decades, a series regular on a TV show has been the holy grail for rank-and-file working actors because … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

An example of how a pro-abortion rights campaign could go

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This was from last week, and I’ve been thinking about it since. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, one of the five women suing Texas for abortion access blamed the state’s Republican senators for her near-death experience … Continue reading →

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House Investigations committee recommends expelling Rep. Slaton

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. A House committee has recommended the expulsion of Republican state Rep. Bryan Slaton after finding that he engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate, then acted to thwart an investigation into the matter. In a speech from the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A ride down the West 11th bike trail

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been riding the West 11th bike trail since it opened, mostly to go to some of my favorite lunch places. It’s been great, modulo the occasional hazards like trash/recycling bins out for collection and delivery trucks or construction vehicles … Continue reading →

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

Feds rebuke hospitals that didn’t do emergency abortions

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Relevant to our interests. Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found. … Continue reading →

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The I-45 project will be old enough to vote before it is finished

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t that nice? Often called a once-in-a-generation project, the planned $9.7 billion-plus rebuild of I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, including a total reconstruction of the downtown freeway system, is expected to take a generation to build. A … Continue reading →

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

More HISD departures

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be a very different district when we get it back. Three more senior staff members at Houston ISD are departing their high-ranking posts at the district as the Texas Education Agency prepares to appoint new leaders to govern the … Continue reading →

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And here we go with the list of potential successors to Rep. Allred

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Right on time. Contenders are emerging to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who announced Wednesday that he’s running for Senate against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. Allred, a former NFL player, is in his third term representing the 32nd Congressional … Continue reading →

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House Committee on General Investigations has its hearing

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

And honestly, that’s about all we know. State Rep. Bryan Slaton, the Royse City Republican accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, declined Thursday to discuss his attendance at a closed-door hearing of a House investigative panel that … Continue reading →

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City of Dallas hit by ransomware attack

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A bad day for them. The city of Dallas said Wednesday afternoon they found a number of their servers compromised with ransomware. The city’s security monitoring tools notified the Security Operations Center of the ransomware attack, the city said, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dispatches from Dallas, May 5 edition

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in DFW-area news, some big stories: Colin Allred is running against Ted Cruz, the City of Dallas is under a ransomware attack, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Allred confirms he is in for Senate

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, announced Wednesday he is challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for reelection. The third-term congressman made the announcement in a three-minute video posted on social media. The video touted Allred’s life story and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

One more thing about abortion and polling

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just wanted to add one thing to my earlier post about abortion as a political/campaign issue in Texas in 2023-24. In addition to the question of support for or opposition to abortion, most polls also ask questions about what issues … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

No federal action to un-screw Houston on Harvey relief funds

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, anyway. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. The federal government is punting for now on enforcing a finding that Texas discriminated against communities of color when it stiffed Houston in distributing flood mitigation funds stemming from Hurricane Harvey. The Department … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of May 1

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes you all a sturdy maypole and an inexhaustible supply of ribbons as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Countersuit in the “wrongful death” abortion saga

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wild. A man who is suing his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her get an abortion may have known about her plans and done nothing to stop her, according to a new legal filing. Marcus Silva brought a wrongful-death lawsuit … Continue reading →

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A “who not to vote for” guide in Katy ISD

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For your information. The Katy ISD school board race has taken a sharp political turn as some candidates vying for the nonpartisan position accepted Republican party endorsements and appeared on flyers that attacked their opponents as “far left” supporters of … Continue reading →

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How the May election is being run in Harris County

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Fresh off last November’s midterm elections, Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum has implemented operational upgrades to the county’s system and vote collection process for presiding judges working at polling locations. These changes have been in full swing … Continue reading →

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Allred reportedly set to announce a challenge to Cruz

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, well, well. Democratic Rep. Colin Allred is planning to announce a run against Sen. Ted Cruz as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with his plans. A former NFL player-turned-civil rights attorney, Allred has been quietly … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

House investigations committee sets a hearing

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Put it on your calendar. The Texas House Committee on General Investigating unanimously agreed on Monday that a lawmaker may have been involved in inappropriate workplace conduct and set a due process hearing into the matter for Thursday. The committee … Continue reading →

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Spring Branch ISD versus “James and the Giant Peach”

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Note: The following is a guest post, written by my friend Diana Martinez Alexander. I occasionally run guest posts, some of which I solicit and some of which are sent to me. Southlake. Garland. Frisco. Now Spring Branch is pushing … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What does abortion as a political issue really look like in Texas now?

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about what the likely Biden/Trump rematch looks like in Texas, I said that abortion really wasn’t tested here as a political issue in 2022. I said I’d like to see it be a real focus for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments