Monthly Archives: January 2024

Lawsuit seeking January 6 emails from Abbott and Paxton can proceed

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of lawsuits out there against the state and/or the likes of Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton. I do my best to be aware of them and keep track of them, but inevitably some things get lost in … Continue reading →

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Paxton ordered to sit for deposition anyway

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bwa ha ha! A Travis County judge issued an order Friday for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit for a deposition on Feb. 1 in the lawsuit brought by four of his former employees. However, some of those plaintiffs … Continue reading →

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Is this the end of the DeLorean dream?

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe? Bexar County Commissioner’s Court pulled the plug Tuesday on an incentives package for DeLorean Motors Reimagined, an electric-vehicle startup that pledged to create 450 jobs if it got tax breaks to locate its headquarters in San Antonio. The commissioners … Continue reading →

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DOJ releases its Uvalde report

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s brutal. Officers had many opportunities as the 2022 school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was still unfolding to reassess their flawed response to the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the US Justice Department concludes in a … Continue reading →

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Mayor Whitmire wants to add Metro cops to HPD

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

On its face this makes sense. Mayor John Whitmire said he’s negotiating with Metro to combine its almost 400 public safety employees with Houston’s Police Department under Chief Troy Finner. The transit group’s police department, with a budget in 2024 … Continue reading →

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The Texas Freedom to Read Project

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. A group of Texas parents has a mission: Let their kids follow their curiosity in school libraries. The Texas Freedom to Read Project launched in December to counter the statewide surge in book challenges and removals in public … Continue reading →

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Interview with Claude Cummings

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our week of Harris County Tax Assessor candidates with Claude Cummings. Cummings serves as an Employment Development Manager with the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, where he connects individuals involved in the justice system with … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Fran Watson

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Paxton will no longer fight the whistleblower lawsuit

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Kind of stunning, definitely a stunt, and also his latest and most desperate ploy to avoid being deposed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his agency will stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit by four former top executives who … Continue reading →

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Interview with Desiree Broadnax

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

One more candidate for Harris County Tax Assessor whom you’ve met before, and that’s Desiree Broadnax. Broadnax is the manager of the Intake division at the District Attorney’s office, which means she has responsibility for all incoming case filings. She … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds injunction in book rating lawsuit

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a new Texas law that requires bookstores to rate books for sexual content and prohibits any deemed “sexually explicit” from the state’s public schools. A panel of three judges … Continue reading →

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HISD presents its longer-year calendar options

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

See if you have a preference. After months of speculation over potential changes to Houston ISD’s academic calendar, district officials are considering four options for 2024-25 that would each move up the first day of classes and increase the number … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of January 15

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance really hopes we’re not shivering in the dark this time as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Jerry Davis

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Our next familiar name in the primary for Harris County Tax Assessor belongs to Jerry Davis, who was a three-term Council member (plus a little bit more) and Mayor Pro Tem for District B. Davis is a businessman and past … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Brandi Croffie

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Texas Medical Board asked to clarify abortion exceptions

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If the Supreme Court won’t do it, then what else is there? Two attorneys have asked the Texas Medical Board to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws, following the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection last … Continue reading →

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Interview with Danielle Bess

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with the Tax Assessor candidates, and we come to a familiar name (as with SD15, there will be a couple of these), Danielle Bess, a native Houstonian, Navy veteran, and real estate professional. Her work has included affordable … Continue reading →

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We will have a joint primary this year

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This solves a problem we had only begun to realize we had. Harris County Republicans and Democrats plan to hold a joint election during the upcoming March primaries after years of the parties conducting separate contests, County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth … Continue reading →

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Feral peacocks

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I will admit that the headline of this story made me think it would be little more than a laugh, but it had me fully engaged. Kellie Donoghue proceeds with trepidation when she takes her four dogs for a walk. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Annette Ramirez

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This week we will focus on the primary for Harris County Tax Assessor, which is also an open office with the pending retirement of two-term incumbent Ann Harris Bennett. There are five candidates in the race, and I will have … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Troy Moore

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Apparently that challenge to the 2023 Constitutional amendment elections just went away

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering about this. Legal challenges that threatened to upend Texas voter-approved property tax cuts and increases to retired teachers’ pensions appear to have been squashed by a coordinated effort between the governor, the attorney general and the secretary … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for January 14

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This self-portrait of a young Philadelphia man called Robert Cornelius is believed to be the earliest American portrait photo still in existence. Basically, the first selfie. “For decades after its 1989 release, each of the hundreds of millions of standard … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 3 Comments

It’s official, Paxton will get deposed

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Attorney General Ken Paxton and his top aides will be forced to testify in a lawsuit accusing Paxton of violating the state’s whistleblower protection law after the Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency motion to block the … Continue reading →

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Whitmire’s approach to HISD

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on brand, I’ll say that. Mayor John Whitmire met Monday with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to reaffirm his support for Houston ISD’s appointed leadership, signaling a new approach from City Hall toward the state’s stewardship of the district … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas: Special year-end edition

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a special edition of my friend Ginger’s “Dispatches from Dallas” series. I very much hope Ginger will be back to providing regular editions soon. This is a quick wrap-up of the year-end news for 2023 from DFW and … Continue reading →

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Interview with Beto Cardenas

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Now we come to the end of our SD15 interview odyssey, stretching to its sixth day to accommodate this sizeable field. Beto Cardenas, who just put up a campaign launch video that features an endorsement from Rep. Sylvia Garcia that … Continue reading →

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We’re going to be electing what now?

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea about this. It sure wasn’t covered in the runup to this past election. In a state known for too many elections, there’s another one coming to Texas’ 50 largest counties. This May, voters in those most … Continue reading →

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Driverless trucks minus human “safety drivers” set to debut later this year

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I-45 will be where to find them. Driverless trucks with no humans on board will soon cruise Texas highways if three startup firms have their way despite objections from critics who say financial pressures, not safety, is behind the timetable. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Todd Litton

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Normally this is where I’d say we’re wrapping up the week, but there are six candidates in the Democratic primary for SD15, so there will be another interview tomorrow. For today, we have another familiar name, Todd Litton, who made … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Erica Hughes

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Paxton tries his whistleblower deposition luck with SCOTx

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This should be the end of the line, one way or another. Embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shield him from being deposed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former agency employees. … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, January 12 edition

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, an explosion rocked downtown Fort Worth; the late Eddie Bernice Johnson was honored; Ken Paxton was swatted; … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rep. Jarvis Johnson

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, who has served in HD139 since winning a special election to succeed the newly elected Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was on the Appropriations Committee this past session and was the Vice Chair of … Continue reading →

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