Off the Kuff | Knowledge Is Good

Texas blog roundup for the week of December 2

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks all workers deserve paid time off during the holidays as we bring you this week’s roundup.

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Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Comments Off

LaCroix files in SD15

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Damian LaCroix

As of the Monday candidate filing update from the HCDP, Damian LaCroix has made official his primary challenge to Sen. John Whitmire in SD15. He announced his challenge in August, and what I said at that time still holds true for me as a voter in SD15 – I’m not interested in making a change unless it’s a clear upgrade, and so far I don’t see any evidence of that. I intend to interview both candidates for the primary, so we’ll all get a chance to learn more at that time.

Other than the District Attorney race and a rerun in CD07, this is the only other local Democratic primary action of which I am aware. There are of course several statewide primaries – Wendy Davis has an opponent, Kinky Friedman will square off against some guy named Jim Hogan for Ag Commissioner, and there are now four candidates for US Senate with the entries of David Alameel and a dentist from Odessa named HyeTae “Harry” Kim – but not that much in the legislative primary department. There are two open seats, HD50, where Celia Israel appears to have a clear path in March to try to succeed Mark Strama – she’s in a runoff for the special election right now – and HD23, where I have no idea who has filed to try to succeed Rep. Craig Eiland. Seriously, does anyone know anything about this one? There are several potential candidates, I just haven’t heard if any of them has actually filed or even announced. State Rep. Marisa Marquez of El Paso, who caught some (deserved) flak for backing Republican Dee Margo in his failed re-election bid against Rep. Joe Moody, has an opponent. She’s the only House incumbent I’m aware of who’s been challenged.

There are also two new Democratic House challengers on the scene – Laura Nicol in HD133, and Amy Perez in HD150. These are obviously two tough districts, but it’s good to see new faces and it’s especially good to see more Democratic women running for office.

There are still plenty of offices for which no one has filed as a Democrat. Texpatriate bemoans the lack of candidates in Tarrant County, despite its higher profile this year. In Harris County, there are three races to watch. One is County Judge, where Ed Emmett so far appears to be getting a free ride. I’m a believer in running everywhere, but it’s hard to get too worked up about that. Emmett does a good job, he has a ton of goodwill still from his performance during Hurricane Ike, and he’d be tough to beat. Given that this may be his last term, I’m fine with concentrating on other races, like DA and County Clerk. County Commissioner Precinct 2 is harder to swallow. Glorice McPherson has said she’s running against first term Commissioner Jack Morman, but she hasn’t filed yet and she’s unlikely to raise the kind of money needed to mount a serious challenge. Precinct 2 was very competitive in 2012, but that was under the old map, and we don’t know how it will perform in an off year, even one with as much promise as this one. Still, giving Morman a free ride, or just an easy ride, would be a big disappointment. Finally, as BOR notes, Rep. Harold Dutton still hasn’t filed in HD142. He’s the last holdout among Democratic legislative incumbents, and a last-minute retirement announcement is not out of the question. The deadline is December 9, and that’s sure to be a busy day. What are you hearing out there?

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Amy Perez, Celia Israel, Commissioners Court, Craig Eiland, Damian LaCroix, Democratic primary, Ed Emmett, Election 2014, Glorice McPherson, Harold Dutton, Harris County, Harris County Judge, HD133, HD142, HD150, HD23, HD50, HD77, Jack Morman, John Whitmire, Laura Nicol, Marisa Marquez, Mark Strama, SD15, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 4 Comments

Working to solve the food desert problem

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a success story on two levels.

A number of area grocery stores like Jim’s Super might not be around if it were not for a little-known local Vietnamese immigrant family.

John Vuong took over his first store in 1994, and his siblings, in-laws and he now operate 11 locations that are almost all in low-income, under-served areas.

With the help of a city of Houston initiative expected to launch soon, he hopes to open his first built-from-the-ground-up store next year.

It, too, would be in a low-income area, near Loop 610 South and Scott.

The idea of owning a new store thrills him, he said. His existing supermarkets are like “old used cars” in constant need of repair.

Councilman Stephen Costello, who is on the city’s grocery access task force, said approval of Vuong’s application has not been finalized, but he is confident it will be accepted and serve as the pilot for possible future projects in the Third and Fifth Wards, the East Side, South Side and Sunnyside.

For a family living in an area designated a “food desert,” where the only food source might be fast food or a convenience store, getting fresh meat, produce and other staples is a burden, especially if you have no car, said Allison Karpyn, director of research and evaluation at the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Food Trust, dedicated to bringing affordable nutritious food to more communities.

A food desert is defined as an area where there is no grocery store within a mile.

About 26 percent of Harris County residents lack access to healthy food, and the majority are in low-income areas, said Daphne Hernandez, assistant professor in the department of health and human performance at the University of Houston. That’s slightly higher than the national average.

[…]

Soon after he was elected to City Council in 2010, Costello attended a meeting on affordable housing in Sunnyside. He recalled, “A 75-year-old woman stood up and said she grew up there, ‘and to this day I still don’t have a grocery store in my neighborhood.’ ”

Costello contacted the Food Trust for ideas and learned the nonprofit was already studying Houston. It released a report that year highlighting the need for more supermarkets in the city’s lower-income areas and the connection between the absence of such stores and diet-related disease.

The Food Trust held meetings with city leaders, members of the supermarket industry, including Grocers Supply, and community development and children’s health experts. Grocers Supply recommended Vuong as the ideal person to open a new store, Arnold said.

Vuong is asking for a little more than $1 million from the city and will invest a minimum of $2.4 million of his own money.

The cost of the initial investment would be too high for him to undertake on his own. The economics wouldn’t make sense, said Lance Gilliam, a partner at WSG Real Estate Advisors who served on the task force, because grocery stores have such slim profit margins, especially those in low-income areas.

The city is reviewing Vuong’s application, and Costello anticipates the city, its Housing and Community Development Department and the Houston Housing Finance Corp. will greenlight the proposal by year’s end.

See here for some background, though unfortunately that Food Trust report on Houston appears to be offline now. John Vuong is a classic American success story on his own, as an immigrant from Vietnam who built a thriving grocery business in traditionally underserved parts of town. The fact that he is seeking to expand on that success, and that the city is willing to partner with him to help improve the availability of fresh food in low income neighborhoods adds an extra dimension to his success. I wish them all the best in this venture.

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Food, glorious food | Tagged food deserts, Food Trust, grocery stores, Houston, Houston City Council, Joseph Vuong, Stephen Costello | 3 Comments

Who watches the private police departments?

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not good.

A veteran state lawmaker said Monday he is outraged by televised images of Rice University police officers striking a suspected bicycle thief with batons and appalled the university can refuse to release details because it is a private institution.

“We need to make certain we stop police officers from being able to hide behind their private institution status,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. “Does stuff like this happen every day and they’re able to withhold it?”

Whitmire saw portions of a video, shot during an August arrest, when the excerpt was televised last week by KPRC-TV. The Houston Chronicle also has seen only the televised excerpt.

Whitmire said the Texas Rangers are investigating the university’s police department at his request and said he intends to seek to strengthen open records laws for more transparency.

[…]

The Rice police agency is under fire after officers hit 37-year-old Ivan Waller with batons while arresting him for stealing a “bait bike” that officers put out as part of a sting. Rice officials said in a statement that an internal review concluded the force was justified, but they did not release the full video or other information related to the arrest.

Texas law requires any government institution to release public information, such as salaries, mug shots of criminal suspects and personnel files. Because Rice is a private university, the police department is not required to release information such as the arrest video.

“Of course it was a beating,” said Whitmire, who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. “If (Rice administrators) don’t have zero tolerance for what I saw with my own eyes, I will deal with them in Austin.” He said he wants the officers seen in the video fired.

The KPRC report is here, with a followup here that includes reactions from Sen. Whitmire and State Rep. Garnet Coleman. There are many law enforcement agencies in Texas, including some highly specialized ones, and some that are under the auspices of private entities like Rice University. It should be clear that all law enforcement agencies should be subject to the same level of disclosure and transparency, but they’re not, and as usual we don’t think about it until something like this happens. The same rules should apply to anyone that has the authority to arrest someone and to use force to subdue them. I look forward to the bills Sen. Whitmire will file as a result of this, and I recommend Rice take him at his word.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Garnet Coleman, Houston, John Whitmire, open records, police, Rice University, Senate, The Lege | 6 Comments

Early voting begins today for Council and HCC runoffs

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the map. Note that only City of Houston locations are open, since the only runoffs are for City Council and HCC Trustee. Early voting runs from today through next Tuesday, December 10, from 7 AM to 7 PM each day except for Sunday the 8th, when it is from 1 to 6 PM. Odds are pretty good you won’t encounter any lines whenever you go to vote. Remember that precinct locations are likely to be heavily consolidated on Runoff Day itself, December 14, so voting early will avoid confusion for you.

All City of Houston voters will have at least two races on their ballot, the two At Large runoffs. There are also runoffs in Districts A, D, and I, plus the three HCC Trustee runoffs, in HCC 1, 3, and 5. I will say again, if you live in HCC 1 I strongly urge you to vote for Zeph Capo. Let’s limit the number of friends Dave Wilson has on the board.

Here are the interviews I conducted with the various runoff candidates:

At Large #2
CM Andrew Burks
David Robinson

At Large #3
Michael Kubosh
Roy Morales

District A
CM Helena Brown
Brenda Stardig

District D
Dwight Boykins
Georgia Provost

District I
Robert Gallegos
Graci Garces

HCC 1
Zeph Capo

Get out there and vote, y’all. A press release from the Harris County Clerk is beneath the fold, and Hair Balls has more.

Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged Adriana Tamez, Andrew Burks, At Large #2, At Large #3, David Robinson, District A, District D, District I, Dwight Boykins, early voting, Election 2013, Georgia Provost, Graci Garces, HCC, Herlinda Garcia, Houston, Houston City Council, Michael Kubosh, Phil Kunetka, Robert Gallegos, Robert Glaser, Roy Morales, runoff, Yolanda Navarro Flores, Zeph Capo | 4 Comments

Fort Worth and Tarrant County

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Between Wendy Davis’ campaign for Governor, and the campaign to succeed Wendy Davis in SD10, there’s going to be a lot of attention focused on Forth Worth in the next twelve months.

The two scenes capture the split political personality that has emerged this year in Tarrant County — both the largest reliably Republican county in Texas and ground zero of Democrats’ efforts to turn the state blue. The county, home of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas’ fifth- and seventh-largest cities, Fort Worth and Arlington, has become a focal point in the state’s political future.

“Houston, Dallas, Austin, El Paso, San Antonio — all of these are blue; they’re all Democratic areas,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University. “Fort Worth is the last holdout Republicans have of the big cities.”

For most of the 20th century, Democrats dominated politics across Texas. Amid the Reagan revolution of the 1980s, Republicans made inroads in Tarrant County and elsewhere. By the mid-1990s, the Republican Party held a majority of the county’s political offices and was well on its way to overtaking the political landscape statewide.

“I lived in Tarrant County when just about every judge was a Democrat, so for us to not have even one Democratic judge does not speak well to our efforts,” Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairwoman Deborah Peoples said.

[…]

In 2006, Democrats in neighboring Dallas County swept more than 40 local races, upending the county’s longstanding Republican leadership overnight. Tarrant County District Clerk Tom Wilder, a Republican who has been active in the local party for decades, said Dallas Republicans got complacent.

“They were just coasting off the top of the ticket, and they never built a base,” Wilder said. “We don’t have that problem in Tarrant County.”

Indeed, Tarrant County’s geography has played a role in the area’s Republican dominance. Whereas many conservatives in Dallas and Houston left the cities for suburbs in neighboring counties, Tarrant County has retained many of those voters in smaller suburban cities in its northeast quadrant, an area in which Tea Party groups have moved the Republican Party further to the right in recent years.

“It is an upper-middle-class, professional part of Tarrant County,” Riddlesperger said. “Demographically, they look like the Tea Party does nationally.”

Let’s be clear about why Tarrant County is more Republican than the other major urban counties in Texas. Look at how Tarrant County and Fort Worth stack up against their peers:


County    Population         City  Population  City %
=====================================================
El Paso      827,398      El Paso     672,538   81.3%
Bexar      1,785,704  San Antonio   1,382,951   77.4%
Travis     1,095,584       Austin     842,592   76.9%
Harris     4,253,700      Houston   2,160,821   50.8%
Dallas     2,453,843       Dallas   1,241,162   50.6%
Tarrant    1,880,153   Fort Worth     777,992   41.3%

If you assume that the cities are generally more Democratic than the surrounding suburbs, then it’s easy to see why Tarrant lags behind the other big urban counties. There’s a lot of suburb to move into that’s still in Tarrant County if you want to flee from Fort Worth. To say that Tarrant County is Texas politics writ small is to say that Democrats are going to need to do better in the suburbs to be in a position to win.

Another way of looking at it:


County    Anglo %
=================
El Paso     13.7%
Bexar       29.8%
Dallas      32.2%
Harris      32.2%
Travis      50.1%
Tarrant     50.7%

All figures from the Census webpage. Other than Travis County, which has the largest collection of Anglo Democrats in the state, counties that are majority Anglo tend to be majority Republican. I don’t know what the trend lines look like for Tarrant, but this will be something to keep an eye on.

Political observers have cited Tarrant County as a bellwether, arguing that if Democrats were to ever win the county again, it would be a sign that the state is poised to flip politically as well. But Republicans see nothing that will change Tarrant from red to blue in 2014. And Davis has been careful to frame her run as aimed at increasing Democratic turnout statewide and not specifically in her home county.

Nonetheless, her decision to base her campaign for governor in Fort Worth has energized Tarrant County Democrats. Battleground Texas, a Democratic group trying to make the state politically competitive again, has recently relocated some staff members to Fort Worth to coordinate better with Davis’s campaign.

[…]

Democrats do not plan to concede northeast Tarrant County to the Tea Party, Peoples said, though she acknowledged that area is probably the toughest to gain ground.

“Things are changing in northeast Tarrant County,” Peoples said. “They are changing much faster in the rest of the county.”

Dems don’t need to specifically flip Tarrant County to win statewide, but it’s unlikely they can win statewide if they don’t at least make gains in Tarrant County. It would be nice if there were some Democratic countywide candidates in Tarrant to help advance the ball, but that’s not looking so good right now. Be that as it may, in Tarrant and elsewhere Dems need to boost the Latino vote for sure, but they also need to do better among Anglo suburban voters, like the kind you find in Tarrant County. If Tarrant is a microcosm of Texas, it’s because it’s full of the kind of voters Dems need to do a better job of persuading.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged demography, Election 2014, Fort Worth, Governor, Tarrant County, Texas, Wendy Davis | 2 Comments

Will Texas wind up advancing the cause of same sex marriage?

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not voluntarily, of course, but it could happen.

One couple wants to get married, while the other just wants theirs recognized. A third couple wants a divorce, while the fourth wants theirs finalized. If all win their lawsuits, they could overturn the Texas ban on same-sex marriage.

A federal court in San Antonio will hear arguments next month from the attorneys representing the couples who want to live lawfully wedded. The Texas Supreme Court is considering the cases of the couples who want their out-of-state marriages legally dissolved.

They are challenging a constitutional ban on gay and lesbian marriages approved by 1.7 million Texas voters in 2005. At the time, only Massachusetts allowed gay marriage and conservatives hoped to pass a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Eight years later, 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages, and New Mexico is allowing marriages pending a decision by that state’s Supreme Court later this year. The U.S. Supreme Court has also struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, saying federal authorities cannot deny the rights of couples legally married under state law.

That led to the first encroachment on Texas law, when the Texas National Guard agreed last week to begin processing applications for military benefits filed by same-sex couples. Initially, the guard told service members to apply for benefits at federal facilities because Texas law banned them from recognizing same-sex marriages.

[…]

The two Texas couples suing to overturn the state constitutional amendment have filed their case in federal court in San Antonio. They claim Texas is denying them their constitutional rights by either refusing to let them get married, or to recognize their marriage from another state.

Abbott has promised to defend the Texas law, as he would any other state law. But in a legal opinion declaring domestic partner benefits unconstitutional in April, he acknowledged that U.S. Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriages could overturn Texas’ constitutional provision.

See here and here for the background. The referenced opinion by Abbott on domestic partner benefits, which cities have generally ignored or worked around, is here. I do think there’s some realization on the anti-equality side that they’re in a box, but they have no interest in doing anything about it. The fact that this bit of bigotry was enshrined in our state constitution pretty much guarantees that the only way to undo it will be via the courthouse, since there may never be a two-thirds majority of the Legislature to pass a joint resolution repealing what was passed in 2005. With all the activity in the courts these days, that could happen sooner than we think.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Constitution, divorce, DOMA, gay marriage, gay rights, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas | Comments Off

Probation and drug testing update

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds like good news.

Late last summer, the director of the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department resigned, and the Harris County District Attorney’s office said it would stop using the agency’s drug tests as evidence after revelations that its overburdened drug-testing program had led to the wrongful jailing of some probationers and people awaiting trial based on false positives.

Director Teresa May, appointed in February, is being praised for addressing those missteps and bringing a pioneering and transparent approach to the once embattled agency.

“She’s very open and I’m satisfied that, at least for right now, that those problems have been corrected,” said longtime state District Court Judge Denise Collins, who called for the department’s previous chief to step down last year.

Collins, a member of the committee that vetted and recommended May, said she “is so innovative and has such great perspective on the entire department because there are some changes that need to be made, and she has kept her word with what she said she was going to do.”

Since March, the department has cut its drug testing volume in half after May hired a consultant who found that many probationers had for years tested negative on hundreds of tests. The abnormally high test volume was a big part of the problems revealed last year, May said.

May, 52, came from Dallas County’s probation department, where she helped implement a model that significantly reduced the number of offenders who ended up behind bars after their probations were revoked. The result was a lower jail population and a savings of millions of dollars.

See here for the background. The model May helped implement in Dallas is basically a risk assessment model that differentiates between probationers that need close supervision and drug testing, and those that will do better with minimal disruption to their daily lives. The idea is to design it for success and not failure, as Sen. John Whitmire characterizes it, with “success” meaning fewer people being put in jail for probation violations. One of the reasons why we had such problems with jail overcrowding in the past is that it made more sense to pick jail time over probation because the terms of probation were so onerous, and so likely to wind up with you in the slammer anyway for a violation of those terms. Needless to say, this is something we want to avoid going forward. One key to this is getting the judges to buy into this, and that seems to be happening as well. Kudos to Ms. May for her work so far.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged drug testing, Harris County, Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, jail overcrowding, jails, John Whitmire, probation | 3 Comments

Still rocking at KACC

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this.

Alvin Community College’s little radio station that could is a welcome bright spot in an increasingly bleak terrestrial radio landscape.

With only 5,600 watts of power and a staff made up almost exclusively of students, 89.7 FM KACC plays an eclectic mix of rock ‘n’ roll that gives those of us nostalgic for the good old days of FM radio a good reason not to ditch the dial entirely.

Don’t tune in if you are looking for Top 40 hits or pop or any of the other formats that now seem to dominate FM radio. But if you’re looking for deep tracks off of rock albums from the 1960s to the present, I would recommend entering KACC into your station presets.

“We’ll play some Hendrix, but it’s not going to be Purple Haze,” station manager Mark Moss says. “We’ll get very deep in the library – ‘If 6 Was 9,’ ‘Castles Made Of Sand.’ We’ll play Lynyrd Skynyrd, but it’s ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew.’ It’s not going to be ‘Free Bird.’ ”

Moss is the sole employee of the station, which in effect makes him, as he puts it, “station manager, music director, program director, engineer, production director, janitor.”

He’s a veteran of FM rock radio and was on the air at Houston’s legendary rock station KLOL (which now plays Spanish Pop) before signing on at KACC in 1991.

Admittedly, a station like KACC, which is funded by the college and doesn’t have to chase advertising revenue, has an advantage over other stations on the dial. It can take risks, stretch the format a little, “have a little more fun with it,” Moss says.

But he is firmly convinced that commercial radio has lost it’s way and partly has itself to blame for losing listeners to satellite and the Internet.

1. I agree with everything the story says about KACC and the niche it fills in Houston’s radio wasteland. I also agree that the weak signal is a problem. Some days it’s just unlistenable, and there’s no pattern to it that I can see. Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, what the weather is like, or where I am in the city. Some days it’s clear, some days it’s static and interference from other low-wattage stations.

2. What I wrote four years ago about how to make a radio station that doesn’t suck still rings true to me today. The main difference is that now I see less risk in anyone trying it. Terrestrial radio is a declining business. There can’t be much downside in turning a low-performing station in a market like Houston into something more old school and less corporate. If it doesn’t catch on in a year or so, go ahead and turn it into whatever canned formula is the next hot thing. What does a Clear Channel have to lose by trying?

3. For the love of God, please someone volunteer to do a makeover on KACC’s laughably pathetic webpage. Throw up a WordPress template or borrow a design from somewhere else, just please create something that looks like it belongs in this century and not on a mothballed Geocities webpage. Sheesh.

Posted in Music | Tagged Houston, KACC, radio | 1 Comment

And then there were three Democrats running for the Senate

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This one has run for something before and spent a bunch of money doing it, though he was not very successful at it.

David Alameel

Democratic dental center mogul David Alameel has confirmed he will run for the seat held by Texas’ senior senator, joining at least six other hopefuls from both major parties. Alameel said he has mailed his filing forms to Austin.

“I don’t like what’s happening with our political system,” Alameel told The Texas Tribune on Friday. “I don’t like the detachment and apathy people have about about politics, and I would like the change the way they think.”

Alameel added that establishment politicians like Cornyn are “part of the problem.”

[…]

In the Democratic primary, Alameel faces El Paso lawyer Maxey Scherr and former GOP House candidate Michael Fjetland of Houston, who switched parties after the 2006 elections.

Alameel is no stranger to crowded primaries. In 2012 he ran for the newly created Congressional District 33 seat against 10 other Democrats. After spending more than $2.6 million on the race — most of it his own money — he finished fourth; state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, was the eventual winner and won the seat in November. In his failed bid, Alameel outspent every other Congressional candidate in the state.

Alameel won 10.93% of the vote in that 2012 primary for CD33, finishing behind three candidates that had previously won elections. He might be able to make better use of his money in this primary where his opponents will be about as well known as he is. It’s nice to have some of your own money for the general election, but unless he wants to spend about ten times as much as he did in 2012, it’s probably better to try and raise what you need from actual supporters. We’ll see if anyone else jumps into this race in the week or so remaining before the deadline.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged CD33, Congress, David Alameel, Democratic primary, Election 2012, Election 2014, John Cornyn, Maxey Scherr, Mike Fjetland, Senate, Texas | Comments Off

What happened to the hurricanes?

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This had been predicted to be one of the busier hurricane seasons of recent years. It turned out to be one of the quietest. What happened?

“A combination of conditions acted to offset several climate patterns that historically have produced active hurricane seasons,” explained Gerry Bell, NOAA’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster. “As a result, we did not see the large numbers of hurricanes that typically accompany these climate patterns.”

[…]

Prior to the beginning of this season, which started June 1, forecasters were expecting to see higher-than-normal water temperatures and lower-than-normal pressure in the deep tropics, where most tropical systems form. Forecasters also expected water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean would remain in the cool or neutral range through the season.

All of these factors tend to boost hurricane activity in the Atlantic.

And during this season all of these things happened. And yet, there were no big storms.

“It turns out that there is an additional parameter that was not generally considered when making seasonal predictions,” said Chris Hebert, a hurricane forecaster with ImpactWeather, a company based in Houston.

Hebert said earlier this year, after it became obvious that the Atlantic activity would be well below normal, he searched for other factors at play and discovered that moisture levels in the midlevel of the atmosphere, about 18,000 to 25,000 feet above the surface, were well below normal.

I forget who said it, but as someone once said, true scientific advancement comes not with “Eureka!” but with “That’s funny…” This was one of the latter experiences, and with it the science of hurricane forecasting has advanced. This is how it’s supposed to work. Failure is a great learning experience. SciGuy has more.

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, NOAA, Texas | 1 Comment

Bob Stein on the District I runoff

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll cut to the chase and just excerpt the conclusion of Rice poli sci prof Bob Stein’s analysis of the District I runoff between Graci Garces and Robert Gallegos.

The runoff election in District I should be highly competitive with the slight advantage to Garces. Gallegos must rely on turning out [Leticia] Ablaza’s supporters, who appear to be more likely to support his candidacy over Garces. Voter turnout in District I was only 9 percent, well below the citywide voter turnout at 18 percent. [Sen. Sylvia] Garcia’s support of Gallegos should be instrumental in providing Gallegos the resources needed to turn out Ablaza’s supporters for the runoff. [Rep. Carol] Alvarado’s support of Garces and her history of support in the district (she was District I city council member for six years) and Ablaza’s voters past support of Alvarado provides Garces a potential advantage.

He arrives at those conclusions via some heavier-duty math than what I usually bring, but don’t worry, it’s all summed up in graphs. Check it out. Via Campos.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged Carol Alvarado, District I, Election 2013, Graci Garces, Houston, Houston City Council, Leticia Ablaza, Robert Gallegos, runoff, Sylvia Garcia, turnout | 9 Comments

Time to ponder how the Hall of Fame voters will screw things up this year

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pinstripe Alley reviews this year’s Hall of Fame ballot and heaves a sigh.

If I was given a ballot and asked to name at most 10 players for induction, I would first complain that I can’t add more, then submit the following ballot:

[Greg] Maddux, [Frank] Thomas, [Mike] Mussina, [Tom] Glavine, [Barry] Bonds, [Roger] Clemens, [Craig] Biggio, [Jeff] Bagwell, [Mike] Piazza, [Tim] Raines

Seriously, how are voters supposed to cut that down? The BBWAA needs to eliminate the 10-player limit or at least extend it. Otherwise it’s only going to get more crowded next year as Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Gary Sheffield join the ballot. My ballot for this year wouldn’t be permitted to include the other worthy players I mentioned above, like [Curt] Schilling, Edgar [Martinez], [Larry] Walker, [Jeff] Kent, and [Alan] Trammell. I frankly don’t bear much ill will to [Mark] McGwire, [Sammy] Sosa, and [Rafael] Palmeiro, either. The bottom line is that the limit of 10 just doesn’t cut it anymore.

In the end, I can sadly see the possibility that only Maddux is chosen for induction. Voters have been weird about seemingly obvious candidates like Thomas before, and despite Biggio’s strong showing last year, the large ballot could complicate matters. Although there are other candidates better than Biggio, those are my predicted top three finishers. Please surprise me and induct more than one Hall of Famer, BBWAA. There are so many worthy candidates.

I can see an even worse possibility, that the writers once again ignore worthy candidates like Raines and Trammell, insult candidates that have no credible allegations of PED use against them like Biggio, Bagwell, and Piazza, and elevate clearly less worthy candidates like Jack Morris and Lee Smith instead. The ballot is indeed jammed with deserving candidates this year, with more to come next year, thanks to two consecutive years of inactivity fueled by ignorance and hypocrisy. Going out of their way to enshrine the undeserving at the expense of those who belong in the name of personal vendettas and bogus statistics would be the bitter cherry on top of the rancid sundae. So yeah, that’s what I expect to happen.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged Baseball, Hall of Fame, MLB, steroids | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for December 1

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling…

You may have to wait a few more years for that self-driving car you’ve been lusting after.

Do you want to see what a bunch of music stars who died young might look like today? If you do, there you go.

The odds are pretty good that you are not being persecuted.

“Christians haven’t been reading the Bible this way for 2,000 years, because for most of the last 2,000 years, most Christians weren’t reading the Bible at all.”

Why Neville Longbottom is the most important character in the Harry Potter books.

The city of Philadelphia has banned 3-D gun printing. Lawsuit will be filed in 3…2…

Any memo that includes the phrase “circling the hippocampian wagons of amygdalian resistance” is worth reading.

Dear Hallmark Channel: Nipple, breast, implant, pee pee. Neener neener neener!

No Animals Were Harmed. Except for all those times when they totally were harmed. And then it was all covered up.

“For every Bohr and Fermi, there are probably a half-dozen Fritz Reiches, and another half-dozen who just… vanish.”

Not really sure what happens when the decline in TV viewership makes the current business models untenable. I’m also not sure why anyone would prefer to watch video on a little smartphone or tablet instead of a decent-sized TV screen, but I suppose that just means I’m old.

Here’s an important update to the Rick Springfield Buttocks Assault case. You’re welcome, and remember you can’t get important news like this on the Hallmark Channel.

Kudos to The Gap for its response to a vandalized pro-diversity ad.

Now you too can eat like a Romney, which largely consists of food from cans and Jell-O. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

We’re Number One! In turkey fryer injuries.

“What exactly do Republicans have that they need to pass and that Democrats could accept? The Republican policy cupboard is pretty much empty.”

“Since 2010, when the [Affordable Care Act] was passed, real health spending per capita — that is, total spending adjusted for overall inflation and population growth — has risen less than a third as rapidly as its long-term average. Real spending per Medicare recipient hasn’t risen at all; real spending per Medicaid beneficiary has actually fallen slightly.”

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged linkdump | 2 Comments

How to assess the odds in HD134

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Sarah Davis

Texpatriate informs us that two-term Rep. Sarah Davis will be getting a primary challenger in HD134 – Bonnie Parker, who lost to Davis in the 2010 primary, and who will unsurprisingly be attacking Davis from the right. There are three things I know about HD134:

1. Democrats have been urgently searching for a candidate to run in HD134. On paper at least, it’s a swing district, the kind of district Dems must win if they want to have any hope of making serious inroads in the House.

2. However it looks on paper, realistically speaking Sarah Davis would be a heavy favorite to be re-elected. Ann Johnson was a strong and well-financed challenger in 2012, but Davis won with room to spare. The district was lean R prior to redistricting, and it’s slightly redder now. All this has made Democratic recruiting efforts difficult, to say the least. I know of one person who has said No to the HDCC; it is likely there have been others. Dems do now have a candidate in Alison Ruff, but I feel confident that they will continue to search around until the filing deadline.

3. The equation does change if Davis gets knocked off by a teabagger in the primary. Unlike most House districts, it is possible to be too conservative for HD134, as Martha Wong could attest. If we knew for a fact that Davis would get such a challenger, and we knew for a fact that said challenger would defeat her, I feel confident that there would already be an HDCC-backed candidate in the race.

So now that we know that Davis is being primaried, the next question is how likely is she to lose? I’m going to throw two sets of numbers out at you to help you decide. First is a look at how Republican State Rep candidates in Harris County did in their primaries in 2012.


Dist    Candidate   Vote %
==========================
127       Huberty   82.43%
126       Harless   82.06%
135        Elkins   77.28%
128       W Smith   76.28%
130      Fletcher   76.24%
150        Riddle   74.56%
141         Bunch   71.03%
132     Callegari   70.71%
137          Khan   66.85%
129       J Davis   64.67%
139       Brocato   66.83%
138         Bohac   66.17%
134       S Davis   66.10%
147         Faulk   60.50%
133        Murphy   56.66%
144        Pineda   49.25%
143      Weiskopf   48.91%
149      Williams   44.67%

“Vote %” is the candidate’s share of the total ballots cast, so undervotes are included. I did that to be able to compare unopposed candidates with those who were in contested races. Among incumbents, Davis had the lowest share of the vote of anyone except Jim Murphy, who unlike Davis had an opponent. Dan Huberty, Debbie Riddle, and John Davis all had opponents but still took a greater share of the vote than Sarah Davis did. What this suggests to me is that Sarah Davis is not as popular with the primary electorate in HD134 as her peers are in their districts.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that a teabag challenger would defeat Davis. So for some further information, I went looking to see how Ted Cruz did against David Dewhurst in the district in 2012. I pieced together the information from the primary and runoff canvasses. In the May primary, Dewhurst got a plurality of the vote, 49.78% to Cruz’s 40.80%; Dew missed a clear majority by 36 votes out of 16,105 cast. In the runoff, however, Cruz prevailed by a 53.09 to 46.91 mark, with 14,625 votes cast. This suggests that Davis could be vulnerable to a challenge from the right, though it’s not clear-cut. On the plus side for her, she’d likely be in better shape in a higher-turnout race, which this would probably be. On the minus side, all of the races that will get any attention will be from candidates that are trying to make Ted Cruz look like a treehugger. Honestly, if one of the statewide candidates doesn’t try to rip the still-beating heart from the chest of a rival candidate, I’ll consider it an upset.

So I still don’t know how to evaluate this race. If Davis is the nominee, any Democrat is a longshot at best. If she loses, I’d say Dems at least have a chance to defeat Parker, with a suitable nominee and enough resources. It remains to see if Alison Ruff can be that candidate, but that’s getting ahead of the story. It’s hard to recruit for a possibility, especially given that a win automatically makes you the top target in 2016. This is a race to watch, starting now until the filing deadline.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Alison Ruff, Bonnie Parker, David Dewhurst, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2014, Harris County, HD134, precinct analysis, primaries, Republican Party, runoff, Sarah Davis, Ted Cruz, Texas, The Lege | 3 Comments

The lost canopy

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very disappointing.

Metro officials on Thursday scaled back plans for an iconic downtown Houston transit hub where three rail lines will cross after board members grew frustrated with what they called inexcusable delays and cost overruns.

“This has been mismanaged from the get-go, and there cannot be situations where things are not budgeted fully,” Metropolitan Transit Authority board chairman Gilbert Garcia said during a board meeting. “This is precisely why we get criticism.”

Faced with a proposal to modify a design after investing time and money, board members instead chose the cheaper option of spending $1.05 million to build a basic canopy. That’s still $450,000 more than they budgeted for the hub, located between Capitol and Rusk along Main.

The block will be a major crossing of the Main Street Line, which opened in 2004, and the East and Southeast lines slated to open in late 2014. Because of its status as the transfer point from the rail lines, Metro officials wanted to brand the stop with a larger canopy and features that drew attention to the rail line as a special downtown asset.

“This is the kind of thing where if you look at successful transit systems, they are not bare-bones systems,” board member Christof Spieler said.

Metro officials solicited teams to propose iconic designs and assembled a jury to choose a preferred plan. The panel made its recommendation on schedule in February 2012, but Metro did not ratify the winner until September 2013, 18 months later than planned.

Interim CEO Tom Lambert said officials still were piecing together exactly how the station planning got off course. By the time officials started assessing the cost overruns and timing, Lambert said, they found themselves in a predicament.

“There was not enough time,” he said. “We cannot have a station without any cover.”

Clearly, someone dropped the ball, and no one noticed it lying there on the ground until it was too late. Not having it – having it replaced by a more mundane canopy – won’t break anything, but Spieler is right that successful transit systems have character to them. If you’ve ever used New York’s subway system, especially at certain stations, you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps it’s still possible to salvage something out of this – the firm that submitted the winning design is still committed to it and has been trying to rejig it to lower the cost – but that may require someone with deep pockets to step in and clean up the mess. Let’s hope Metro figures out what happened and makes sure it doesn’t happen again. The Highwayman and Swamplot have more.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Christof Spieler, downtown, Gilbert Garcia, Harrisburg line, Houston, light rail, Main Street line, Metro, Southeast line | 2 Comments

Bringing the NWSL to Houston

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I approve of this.

The Dynamo are in talks about securing an expansion franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League, which features U.S. national team stars Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach.

The eight-team NWSL played its inaugural season in 2013 with a commitment from the U.S., Canadian and Mexican women’s national soccer federations.

“We’re involved in the initial stages of this process and hope to learn more about the league and the opportunity over the next few weeks,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “I’m a firm believer in women’s athletics. I think there is a place in the sports landscape for professional women’s sports.”

[…]

The NWSL’s 22-game schedule, which consists of 11 home games and 11 road matches, lasts from April to August. Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, New Jersey and Rochester have teams in the league. Houston would be the league’s first franchise in the Southwest.

If the Dynamo finalize their quest to land an NWSL expansion club, that team would play at BBVA Compass Stadium and train at Houston Amateur Sports Park, just as the men’s club does.

Houston ought to be a good fit for the league, and I’m sure the Dynamo would like to add a few extra dates to BBVA Compass’ calendar. It currently looks like expansion is a no go for 2014, so don’t look for this next season. Maybe by the time this is all worked out the Dynamo (and the Rockets and the Astros) will be broadcast on a channel that’s available to all of Houston. We can dream, right?

Posted in Other sports | Tagged Dynamo, Dynamo Stadium, Houston, MLS, NWSL, soccer | Comments Off

Saturday video break: City of New Orleans

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Because Arlo Guthrie did in fact do more than one song:

I’ve even heard that one played on the radio a time or two. Like the Thursday video, this was recorded at Farm Aid, though in a different year. Hope you’re having a good weekend, Arlo Guthrie, wherever you are.

Posted in Music | Tagged videos | 2 Comments

Thanksgiving weekend voter ID update

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some statistics to throw some cold water on the claims that there were “no problems” with the voter ID law.

Still the only voter ID anyone should need

Delays at the polls this month due to glitches with voters’ identifications could signal a bigger problem to come next year, when many more turn out for state and county elections.

Thousands of voters had to sign affidavits or cast provisional ballots on Nov. 5 — the first statewide election held under the state’s new voter identification law — because their name on the voter rolls did not exactly match the name on their photo ID.

It took most only a short time, but election officials are concerned that a few minutes per voter to carefully check names and photos against voter registration cards, and then to have voters sign affidavits or fill out provisional paperwork, could snowball into longer waits and more frustration.

A review by The Dallas Morning News found that 1,365 provisional ballots were filed in the state’s 10 largest counties. In most of them, the number of provisional ballots cast more than doubled from 2011, the last similar election, to 2013.

Officials had no exact count for how many voters had to sign affidavits, but estimates are high. Among those who had to sign affidavits were the leading candidates for governor next year, Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis.

“If it made any kind of a line in an election with 6 percent [voter] turnout, you can definitely imagine with a 58 percent,” said Dallas County elections administrator Toni Pippins-Poole.

In Dallas County, 13,903 people signed affidavits affirming their identity.

[…]

Harris County, the state’s largest, had 704 voters fill out provisional ballots. Of those, 105 were cast because the voter failed to show an acceptable photo ID.

That’s not a huge number of provisional ballots, but it’s still an increase, which is what we would expect if voter ID were having a negative effect on people’s ability to vote. Just imagine what the effect would have been if the amendment that Wendy Davis proposed to allow affidavits for “substantially similar” names had not been accepted. Information about provisional votes have never been public on the County Clerk website, so it’s good to have this here. I’d love to know what the cause of the 599 other provisional votes was.

Meanwhile, Sondra Haltom of Empower the Vote Texas writes on BOR about some real-life people who were directly affected by the law.

Meet Peggy: she’s 90 years old and a registered voter. She can’t get an ID because she doesn’t have her citizenship documentation. She came to the U.S. with her parents thru Ellis Island. She is a naturalized citizen. She doesn’t have the money to get the required documents. She missed the deadline to apply for a mail ballot, so she didn’t get to vote in the November election.

Or what about Alberta? She was born in Wyoming. She has a copy of her Wyoming birth certificate. She was married in Washington State. She has lost her marriage license and has not been able to get one so far from Washington State. She lived in Colorado for a while and is still using her Colorado driver’s license, which will not expire until 2015. She has been living in Texas recently and is registered to vote in Texas. She voted here in the 2012 election. She wants to continue to vote but has been told she cannot vote in Texas unless she gets a copy of her marriage certificate which will link her current name to the name on her birth certificate so she can get an allowable Texas photo ID.

Or Evelyn – She has been trying to get a Texas personal id so she can vote and fly. She has a birth certificate, Social Security card, proof of residency and unexpired Driver’s license from another state, but DPS won’t issue an id without her marriage license. The county where she was married can’t find her marriage license.

There will be a lot more stories like that if this law is still in effect for the 2014 general election. The trial is set for September, but first the court has to deal with a motion to dismiss from the state, to which the plaintiffs and DOJ responded last week. The briefs and a detailed overview of the arguments are all there, so go check them out.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Dallas County, Empower The Vote Texas, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Justice Department, lawsuit, provisional ballots, Texas, voter ID, Wendy Davis | 7 Comments

Sriracha update

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

For the rooster sauce lovers in my audience, which I figure is most of you.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Tuesday ordered a Sriracha hot sauce plant in Irwindale be partially shut down in response to odor complaints from nearby residents.

Judge Robert H. O’Brien ruled in favor of the city and ordered sauce maker Huy Fong Foods to cease any kind of operations that could be causing the odors and make immediate changes that would help mitigate them.

The injunction does not stop the company operating or using the property entirely, or specify the types of actions that are required.

[…]

It is unclear what the ruling means for next year’s supply of Sriracha hot sauce. The factory harvests and grinds chilis for three months out of the year, and the grinding of this year’s chilis has been completed.

But the mixing and the bottling of the sauce occurs on an ongoing basis. [Irwindale City Attorney Fred] Galante said he did not know if the injunction applies to those aspects of production.

The city’s goal is not to stop the production of the sauce, Galante said.

“We’re going to try to keep having a conversation with Huy Fong and working out some collaborative way to test and make sure the odor problems are addressed,” he said.

The case could still go to trial, but Galante said that the city hopes the matter can be resolved out of court.

See here for the background. It’s not the Srirachapocalypse that some had feared, but you still might want to stock up a bit, just in case.

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged Huy Fong Foods, lawsuit, sriracha sauce | Comments Off

Friday random ten: Leftovers

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In the spirit of the weekend, ten songs about food.

1. Hotdogs and Hamburgers – John Mellencamp
2. Watermelon Time – Marcia Ball
3. Col. Josh’s Homestyle Barbecue – Asylum Street Spankers
4. Ode To The Lima Bean – Flying Fish Sailors
5. Corn Dogs – The Bobs
6. Tastes Like Chicken – Austin Lounge Lizards
7. Too Much Barbecue – Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows
8. Junk Food – Patty Larkin
9. Hot Soup – Lager Rhythms
10. Belle Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson

May your fridge and your belly be full.

Posted in Food, glorious food, Music | Tagged Friday random ten, Thanksgiving, theme lists | Comments Off

City settles longstanding litigation with strip clubs

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Mayor’s press release:

Recognizing Houston is a hub for human trafficking, the City and 16 area topless clubs have entered into a novel settlement agreement aimed at addressing this heinous crime, ending litigation dating back to 1997 when City Council imposed new regulations on sexually-oriented businesses.

“In the 16 years since City Council acted, no original clubs have closed and new clubs choosing to ignore our regulations have grown in number,” said Mayor Parker. “Establishing a working relationship with these 16 clubs will assist law enforcement in reducing criminal activity, help us combat human trafficking and, hopefully, allow us to focus police resources on the rogue clubs. This settlement allows us to address the problem head on in a meaningful way with funding and staff.”

The 16 clubs will annually contribute more than one million dollars to a Human Trafficking Abatement Fund. The funds will be used to create and staff a human trafficking unit within the Vice Division of the Houston Police Department. In addition to contributing monies, these clubs must institute and adhere to certain restrictions and policies to aid in combatting human trafficking. For example:

all private rooms and areas must be eliminated;

a club may not knowingly employ, hire or contract for the services of an entertainer or dancer who is accompanied by another person who speaks for her, holds her identification, collects her pay for “safekeeping” or appears to exercise control, force, or coercion over the person;

a club may not knowingly employ, hire or contract for the services of a person for whom a background check reveals a conviction within 60 months for a prostitution or drug offense;

any individual convicted of a drug or prostitution offense, public lewdness or indecent exposure at a participating club is prohibited from working at any club that is a party to the agreement;

any act of prostitution, public lewdness, indecent exposure or offense involving narcotics observed by or reported to a manager of a club will be reported to the City along with all remedial measures taken to ensure the activity is not repeated; and

all clubs will provide annual human trafficking awareness training and disseminate materials regarding human trafficking awareness.

In return, the City has agreed to allow these 16 clubs to continue operating at their same locations in much the same manner as they did prior to the 1997 ordinance. While topless entertainment and table dances will be allowed again, laws against public lewdness, prostitution, indecent exposure and narcotics offenses will continue to be strictly enforced. Arrests for these offenses are grounds for terminating a club from participating in this agreement.

This agreement applies only to these 16 grandfathered clubs. Any other club offering sexually-oriented entertainment must still comply with the 1997 ordinance and all other regulatory provisions.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize there was still litigation pending. My most recent update on this is from 2008, but I see that as of then the city was still “involved in a lawsuit in state district courts with the 11 clubs that appealed to the Supreme Court”, which had to do with “amortization,” or the amount of time the owners should get to recoup their investments before having to close or relocate. So there you have it. The Chron story fills in some more details.

Because they still do not concede to being sexually oriented businesses, the clubs do not have to adhere to the ordinance’s regulation that they must operate at least 1,500 feet from schools, day cares, parks and churches.

“They are not saying it,” Feldman said. “But they are agreeing to do all these things that actually are a greater obligation than they would have under the ordinance if they were a (sexually oriented business).”

Any club that breaks the terms of the agreement will be dropped from the settlement, and the other establishments will have to pick up the contribution to the abatement fund.

Feldman, who began crafting the settlement in the spring, said the concept originated from a lawsuit settlement between the city and prominent strip club Treasures. In 2012, the city and Harris County Attorney’s office sued Treasures’ owner, accusing the establishment of harboring prostitution, drugs, illegal weapons and sexual assaults.

A settlement was reached last December in which the club’s owner agreed to put $100,000 in a nuisance abatement fund to combat human trafficking as well as similar provisions with the current agreement.

“That in turn gave me the idea if we can create such a fund for the purpose of addressing enforcement activities within these clubs, why couldn’t we do something similar to address the broader issue of human trafficking?” said Feldman.

Feldman said the city would be open to speaking with any other clubs that would like to come under a similar agreement.

If the agreement works well for both entities, Feldman said the next step would be grafting similar terms as a permanent provision in the city’s sexually oriented business ordinance.

See here and here for the background on the Treasures lawsuits. I presume all this means that the strip clubs will not be playing in the county elections this year.

According to Melissa Darragh, the Mayor’s social media director, the agreement is supported by HPD, the strip clubs themselves, the Houston Area Women’s Center, YMCA International, and the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. You’re on your own to figure out which of the clubs are among the 16 that are now approved for you to attend, however. Hair Balls has more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Annise Parker, Houston, Houston Area Women's Center, Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition, HPD, human trafficking, lawsuit, strip clubs, YMCA International | 5 Comments

Recycle that cooking oil

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A public service announcement from the city.

The holidays are upon us and that means cooking turkeys, hams and other foods that either require cooking oils to prepare or that generate a surplus of grease when cooked.

Used cooking oils and greases, when disposed down the kitchen drain, cool, harden and clog the pipes. Diluting it in hot soapy water is NOT a solution. You can avoid possible clogged drains for the holidays by putting excess grease in a disposable container and put it in the trash or drop-off at a place that recycles and turns it into a usable product, such as biodiesel.

In conjunction with the City of Houston Solid Waste Department, the following locations are designated drop-off points residents can take used cooking oils/greases for recycling:

City of Houston Environmental Service Centers:

North: Environmental Service Center
5614 Neches Street
Houston 77026
Phone: 713.699.1114
Second Thursday of each month – 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

South: Environmental Service Center
11500 South Post Oak Road
Houston 77035
Phone: 713. 551.7355
Tuesdays and Wednesdays – 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Second Saturday of each month – 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

West: Westpark Consumer Recycling Center
5900 Westpark Drive
Houston 77057
Phone: 713.837.0311
Monday through Saturday – 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Private Service Center in the Heights Area:

Central: Houston Biodiesel
1138 West 20th Street
Houston 77008
Phone: 713.222.0832
Monday through Friday – 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
www.houstonbiodiesel.com

For information about Corral the Grease or ways to properly dispose of used cooking grease visit http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/utilities/corral_grease.html.

Good to know. Even if you can’t recycle, please don’t try to wash your used cooking oil down the drain. Your pipes will thank you.

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged cooking oil, Houston, recycling, Solid Waste Management Department | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving video break: Alice’s Restaurant

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Needs no introduction, does it?

That was at Farm Aid 2005. Still sounds great, too. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

Posted in Music | Tagged Thanksgiving, videos | Comments Off

Same sex couples win the right to register for benefits in the Texas National Guard

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

The Texas National Guard said late Tuesday it will immediately let same-sex couples register for benefits, ending a highly publicized standoff with the Pentagon.

Five Texas Guard facilities, including one in Houston, that had been off limits for same-sex couples seeking benefits will begin to enroll same-sex dependent spouses in benefits programs.

“We’re going to go back to business as usual,” said Lt. Col. Joanne MacGregor, a Texas Guard spokeswoman. “It will be full service.”

The decision means same-sex couples in the Guard can now obtain services ranging from access to base commissaries to medical care and housing allowances – all benefits granted to married heterosexual couples.

[…]

The Defense Department said it would issue benefits to same-sex spouses of the military as well as civilian workers after the Supreme Court ruled that part of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.

Gov. Rick Perry defied the Pentagon, saying Texas defines marriage as between a man and a woman. But [Defense Secretary Chuck] Hagel made it clear Oct. 31 that the Defense Department expected all 54 guard organizations to comply.

Texas cited its state constitution and Family Code in refusing Hagel’s demands. It told same-sex couples to file their paperwork at more than 20 active-duty installations and refused to let them to apply for benefits at guard facilities in Abilene, Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and the Rio Grande Valley.

Those facilities will handle the paperwork, including marriages certificates, starting Wednesday, said MacGregor.

The governor, who has led challenges to Washington over redistricting, abortion and its new voter ID law, insisted the state wouldn’t give in, and the phrasing of a news release Tuesday on the guard’s website didn’t suggest that Texas backed down.

“The Department of Defense has approved a new procedure for enrolling National Guard members and their dependents in benefits programs,” it stated. “The new procedure essentially recognizes the conflict between the Texas Constitution and DOD policy mandating the enrollment of same-gender dependent spouses in benefits programs.”

About damn time. It’s beyond shameful that this was even in question. It’s still somewhat unclear to me what led to this change – I’ve searched the Texas Military Forces and Texas Army National Guard webpages but can’t find the news release cited in the story. Either Rick Perry backed down, in which case I am not too proud to say that I would like to gloat about that, or Texas Military Forces decided on their own that they answered to the federal government ahead of the state government, in which case it seems to me that the potential for conflict has not been resolved.

No attorney general’s opinion has been issued on the matter, but the [Washington, D.C.-based American Military Partner Association] told [AG Greg] Abbott in a letter that Texas and other noncompliant states were undermining force readiness, and even precluding same-sex couples from involvement with Family Readiness Groups that are a link to troops in the war zone.

“This is undoubtedly damaging to morale, good order and discipline,” the group said.

Here’s the American Military Partner Association’s website. Abbott asked them for their view on this. It may be the case that he concluded the state’s position was a loser and that this helped tilt the scales. If that’s the case then kudos to him, but it doesn’t change my opinion that Wendy Davis needs to make an issue out of this. She can quite reasonably point out that she would not pick this kind of stupid and harmful fight as Governor but will instead do the right thing from the beginning. She ought to be running against Rick Perry as much as she is against Greg Abbott anyway. The fact that the state appears to have backed down is a point in her favor, if she would just claim it. Texas Leftist and Texpatriate have more.

Posted in National news | Tagged American Military Partner Association, Chuck Hagel, Defense Department, Election 2014, gay marriage, gay rights, Governor, Greg Abbott, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Military Forces, Texas National Guard, Wendy Davis | Comments Off

He’s baaaack

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Lloyd Oliver Tree

I was at HCDP headquarters on Monday night, participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Texas Democratic Women of Harris County along with my friends Perry and Neil. On the back wall of the main room is a big listing of all offices that will be on the ballot this year and the signatures of candidates that have filed for these offices. I took a look at it that night and heaved a sigh as I came across a familiar and unwanted name – Lloyd Oliver has filed to run for District Attorney again, thus pitting him against Kim Ogg in the March primary.

That was one of the subjects we discussed on the panel Monday night. I suppose the good news about Lloyd Oliver’s surprise victory in the 2012 primary is that now he’s at least slightly less obscure than he was before. Two years ago he was just a familiar name on the ballot. Now one would hope that more people realize that he’s a toxic black hole on the ballot. No good Democrat wants him on the November ballot. The HCDP’s well-intentioned but wrong effort to boot him from the ballot after his upset win means the party has no official reason to maintain its policy of neutrality in that race. They can, and should, openly support Kim Ogg for the nomination. Everyone else who cares about putting our best ticket forward also needs to get off the sidelines and spread the word. Everyone endorsed Zack Fertitta in 2012, but that’s not enough. Publicize those endorsements beyond your own membership – if you have a webpage or Facebook page, post them there – and highlight this race, the candidates, and the right choice of Kim Ogg. We cannot take anything for granted, because we know what can happen if we do. Texpatriate has more.

Other filing news of interest: Rita Lucido officially filed to challenge Sen. Joan Huffman in SD17. If you like the idea of more strong, pro-choice women in Texas government, you will very much want to check her out. I met Alison Ruff, who has filed for HD134, at the Monday event, and I look forward to hearing more from her. A fellow named Moiz Abbas has filed in HD135, and a fellow named Luis Lopez is set to file in HD132. As you know, those are the two Republican-held districts in which Dems gained ground in 2012 over 2008, and HD132 is now an open seat, so I’m particularly encouraged by that news. I don’t know much about either of these gentlemen right now, but I’m sure I will learn more as we go on. If you’re aware of other filings or soon-to-be-filings, leave a comment and let us know.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Democratic primary, District Attorney, Election 2012, Election 2014, Harris County, HD132, HD135, Kim Ogg, Lloyd Oliver, Luis Lopez, Moiz Abbas, Rita Lucido, SD17, Senate, The Lege, Zack Fertitta | 13 Comments

More on the Mayor’s payday lending ordinance

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron story on Mayor Parker’s proposed payday lending ordinance, which is described as having been toughened up from an earlier proposal:

Mayor Annise Parker

Consumer groups had called [City Attorney David] Feldman’s compromise proposal too weak; he said he preferred tougher restrictions but said those were unlikely to pass the Legislature, would invite a lawsuit, and could force lenders outside city limits, hurting borrowers’ access to credit.

That was the concern for members of the Freedmen’s Town Association who attended Friday’s news conference, one of whom grumbled, “Yes you are,” when Parker said, “We’re not trying to put payday lenders out of business.”

LoneStar Title Loans has given the Freedmen’s Town group almost $300,000 over the last six years, board member John Fenley said.

No one would use payday lenders if banks, nonprofits or churches would offer them low-interest loans, association volunteer Ayanna Mitchell said.

“When they run these industries out of the communities, where are they going to get the money from?” she said. “People are going to get the money they need whether they go to a title lender or they go around the corner and get it from somebody who’s not regulated at all, who, instead of taking your car, will do other things to you.”

I understand the concern about access to credit, but the solution isn’t payday lenders and their usury. The solution is making affordable financing more widely available in places and communities where it currently isn’t. That’s not something the city of Houston can do, but putting a tighter leash on payday lenders is. It’s a matter of consumer protection, and it’s about time we had it in Houston. Payday lenders have a deserved reputation for being predatory, and state laws regulating them, even after a bill was passed in the 2011 session, are notoriously lax. Frankly, if the industry doesn’t like what the cities are doing to curb their excesses and protect their residents, they should have worked with Sen. Wendy Davis, Rep. Tom Craddick, and other members of the Legislature that were trying to pass reasonable reforms instead of impeding and obstructing them every step of the way. I have no sympathy for them at all. The Observer and BOR have more.

Posted in Local politics | Tagged Annise Parker, David Feldman, Freedmen's Town Association, Houston, payday lenders, Texas, The Lege, Tom Craddick, Wendy Davis | 2 Comments

Bradford calls for review of HPD oversight

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

He’s right that something needs to be done to ensure that people feel confident in the system.

CM C.O. “Brad” Bradford

Houston City Councilman and former Police Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford said citizens have lost faith in the city’s oversight of the use of force by police officers, and it’s time for a discussion on how to restore confidence in the system.

Bradford was responding to a series of Houston Chronicle stories about the shooting of more than 100 civilians by the Houston Police Department from 2008 to 2012. More than a quarter of those shot were unarmed. All of those cases were reviewed by Harris County grand juries, and none have resulted in charges against officers.

“If citizens don’t trust (the oversight) or have faith in it, you’ve got to go to Plan B – whatever Plan B should be,” said Bradford, who was HPD chief from 1997 to 2004. “I think some process has to be established which improves the trust that citizens have in our process which reviews use of force.

“It’s not the review process that I think citizens have a concern with, it’s the understanding and the transparency of that review process,” he said.

[…]

Mayor Annise Parker supported the process used by HPD to investigate shootings but said she wanted to see the number of shootings decline.

“We do an excellent job of investigating, and I think we do an excellent job of learning from those shootings every time one happens to try and prevent them in the future,” Parker said. “I wish we could bring the number down, and we’re constantly working to bring that number down.”

McClelland, in a news conference Thursday, stressed that state law allows officers to use deadly force on a suspect, even if it turns out the person was unarmed.

“That’s unfortunate and it’s a tragedy, but it doesn’t mean it falls outside of the law or outside policy and training,” said McClelland.

The three articles in question are these:

Civilians caught in the line of fire

Christmas Day turns deadly

Grand jury’s role in police shootings draws scrutiny

Grits has an excerpt from the first story. The genesis of all this is Emily dePrang’s two-part story in the Texas Observer from the summer about the disciplinary process at HPD, Crimes Unpunished and The Horror Every Day. Start with those two, then read the Chron stories.

The latter Chron story, about the use of a shooting simulator by grand juries that investigate HPD shootings, a practice that was not widely known even among Criminal District Court judges, is provocative and yet another issue that needs to be aired during the District Attorney race. That story also notes that state law grants a lot of latitude to anyone, not just cops, who use deadly force in situations where they feel their lives or safety are at risk – “stand your ground” laws, in other words. Putting aside those concerns, the disciplinary process at HPD is in serious need of reform, and the Chron stories also raise questions about the level of firearm training HPD officers receive. I don’t know what “Plan B” looks like, either, but I agree with CM Bradford that we need to find a better way.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Annise Parker, Charles McClelland, Clarence Bradford, Devon Anderson, District Attorney, grand jury, Houston, HPD | Comments Off

Texas blog roundup for the week of November 25

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is thankful for many things, this week and every week, as we bring you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Comments Off

More on LVdP for Lite Guv

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly from Monday’s Lone Star Project news roundup email.

AP: Texas Democrats offering stark contrast.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte

Texas voters won’t have a hard time telling the difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates next year.

With the addition of San Antonio Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, attorney Sam Houston and party activist Steve Brown last week, the Democratic slate offers a vivid contrast to the Republican ticket, both in demographics and politics. And there are more announcements to come.

So far, Democrats are offering a diverse roster with most running unopposed on a strong progressive record, not unlike the so-called Dream Team in 2002. Republicans are more conservative than ever, with a ticket that is predominantly white and male.

The Democrats lost dramatically in 2002 and haven’t won a statewide elected office since 1994. But this year they are banking on delivering more supporters to the polls, while Republicans are relying on a dependable conservative base that has kept them in power for 20 years.

[…]

Democrats have a long way to go to win in 2014, but no one can say they’re not offering Texas voters a distinct choice.

Not sure what “more announcements to come” is referring to. The story also mentions AG candidate Same Houston.

NBCLatino Opinion: A Texas Latina throws her hat in the ring

We usually think of down ballot races benefiting from the top of the ticket, not the other way around. But in the case of Wendy Davis’ gubernatorial run, the only shot she has of winning is in getting Latino support, and if anyone can get that support it’s LVP as her lieutenant governor.

Senator Van de Putte is a Latina political leader with deep state ties and a national presence. Here in South Texas she has a finely tuned political infrastructure that will be crucial for the Davis ticket. As a co-chair of the 2008 Democratic National Convention and past president of both the National Conference of State Legislators and the National Hispanic Council of State Legislators LVP has a healthy rolodex to aid her fundraising efforts.

“LVdP will help boost Latino turnout in 2014” is one of two themes you see running through these stories, and it’s likely one you’ll see over and over again for the foreseeable future. I believe LVdP will have a positive effect on Latino turnout for the Dem ticket, and I agree that that is a necessary condition for victory, but no one with a realistic view of the situation believes it is sufficient. Wendy Davis et al will also need to do at least a little better among Anglo voters, which is why there is also a focus on suburban Anglo women.

Making that first theme more explicit, The Monitor: Van de Putte likely to boost Hispanic turnout for Dem. ticket

“I think she’s going to be a plus to the party, to the ticket,” said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. Cuellar’s district includes Starr and western Hidalgo counties as well as parts of Van de Putte’s state Senate district, which she has held since 1999.

Javier Villalobos, the Hidalgo County Republican party chair who’s said he would not seek another term, offered a verbal shrug when asked prior to the announcement what Van de Putte’s candidacy would mean for voters in the Valley.

“Actually what I think is going to drive the people to the polls is going to be the election for district attorney,” referencing the Democratic primary in March between incumbent Rene Guerra and former judge Ricardo Rodriguez. “Right here in the Valley, I really don’t think she’ll make it stronger or weaker.”

But another partisan opponent believed Van de Putte could change the race.

“Texas Sen. Leticia Van De Putte is a formidable candidate that presents long term challenges to the Texas GOP,” tweeted Aaron Peña, shortly after Saturday’s announcement. “Take note.” Peña is a former state representative from Edinburg who now chairs the Texas Hispanic Engagement Team for the Republican National Committee.

As a Latina — albeit without the benefit of a common Hispanic surname — Van de Putte could appeal more to Latino voters than whichever of the four leading Anglo males emerges from the Republican primary.

“She will be able to draw out the Hispanic vote,” state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said.

But again, Republicans said that claim might be exaggerated.

“Friends of mine who are Democrats don’t even know that Van de Putte is a Hispanic last name,” said Roman Perez, the vice president of the Republican Club of Brownsville. He added that even in the last election cycle, when Democrats nominated Linda Chavez-Thompson for the same spot, it didn’t significantly impact the race.

“Actually, I don’t think the name will make much of a difference,” Villalobos said. “She might have to spend more money down here, when otherwise she might not have to.”

Regardless of her name, Van de Putte represents the type of an experienced, centrist candidate Peña would like to see more of in his own party.

“Sen. Van de Putte is going to present challenges to a Republican Party that, in my opinion, is not moving fast enough to confront a changing Texas,” he said.

It’s adorable seeing Aaron Pena discover that his new Republican buddies aren’t exactly with him on the things he claims to value, isn’t it? I assure you, Aaron, no one could have predicted that. As far as the turnout predictions go, excitement and engaging voters are a big part of it, but so are getting the message out and good old GOTV efforts, both of which require a certain level of funding. The bit in the previous story about LVdP’s national connections and her potential to be able to raise the kind of funds she’ll need to operate a full-scale campaign is encouraging. I don’t know how much she might be able to raise between now and the January finance report, but I sure hope she’s burning up the phone lines.

For the other theme, we have Rangel: Van de Putte, Davis give Democrats best hope in years

[T]here is no question the Davis-Van de Putte ticket is the best hope Texas Democrats have had in 12 years. My Dallas Morning News colleague Wayne Slater hit the nail on the head with his assessment that Democrats seem to be assembling “Dream Ticket II.”

However, as Slater and other Austin watchers well know, Dream Ticket I was crushed in the 2002 election.

The three top Democrats running that year — Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez for governor, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk for U.S. senator and former state Comptroller John Sharp for lieutenant governor, a Hispanic, an African-American and an Anglo — and all Democrats running for statewide office, lost.

Gov. Rick Perry, running for his first four-year term, buried Sanchez with 58 percent of the vote while Texas Attorney General John Cornyn and Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, running for the first time for their current posts, beat Kirk and Sharp with 55 and 52 percent respectively.

What gives today’s Democrats hope Dream Ticket II will fare much better — and possibly win in 2014 — is Davis and Van de Putte have the charisma and passion their three 2002 predecessors, particularly Sanchez and Sharp, lacked.

Yep, the Dream Team, an irresistible analogy and comparison for this year that we likely won’t escape any time soon. Thankfully, Enrique Rangel provides the short answer why this year’s lineup is not like 2002’s.

We close with Burka: Leticia Van de Putte Enters the Race

I have a high regard for Van de Putte as a politician, who earned a spot on this year’s Ten Best legislators list. She is no ideologue. She’ll work with the other side — and did so during the regular session, when she joined forces with Rick Perry to push for more rigor in House Bill 5. She’ll be an asset to Wendy Davis on the Democratic ticket, and she’ll be a worthy opponent for whoever wins the Republican primary.

One of the problems for Democrats is that in counties with large Hispanic populations, particularly in South Texas, the primary is where the action is, not the general election. In the Rio Grande Valley, the races that motivate are those for local positions — city councils, school boards, and courthouse jobs. The elections frequently come down to a battle of one prominent family against another.

The turnout issue again, in a slightly different form. The ingredients are there, or at least can and should be there, to make it happen. We’ll likely have a pretty good idea of how it’s all coming together well before anyone casts a vote.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged David Dewhurst, Election 2002, Election 2014, fundraising, Governor, John Sharp, Latino voting, Leticia Van De Putte, Lite Gov, Sam Houston, Steve Brown, Texas, Tony Sanchez, turnout, Wendy Davis | 3 Comments

Fjetland files for Senate

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Democrats will have a contested primary for the right to run against Sen. John Cornyn next year.

Mike Fjetland

Michael Fjetland, a previous GOP House candidate, has filed as a Democrat to run for the Senate seat held by Texas Sen. John Cornyn.

Fjetland, 63, of Houston, said he is not satisfied with the work the state’s two senators have been doing and criticizes both Cornyn and Ted Cruz for “reckless actions.”

“Mr. Cornyn has been a career politician,” Fjetland said. “He voted for (President George W.) Bush tax cuts and two unpaid wars that helped generate the worst recession since the Great Depression.”

On his home page, Fjetland calls himself the “Anti-Cruz” and criticizes the young senator for leading the government into shutdown in a snit over people getting federal health care.

“Mr. Cruz and Cornyn have government-paid insurance,” Fjetland said. “They are basically opposed to ordinary Americans having the same thing.”

Between 2000 and 2006, Fjetland ran in GOP primaries against then-Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, but he later decided to change parties.

“I switched from the Republican Party to the Democrats because the GOP has become too extreme, especially since 2010 and the rise of the tea party,” Fjetland said. “It is even more extreme than it was a decade ago when I ran against Tom DeLay.”

Fjetland said the tea party and Republicans like DeLay drove him away from the Republican Party and led him to vote for President Barack Obama in 2008.

“I cannot be in the same party with people like Steve Stockman and Michelle Bachmann,” Fjetland declared. “The Democratic Party looks like America – very diverse, just like the good people I have met around the world.”

Fjetland’s webpage is here and his Facebook page is here. I noted his candidacy in passing on Monday. He joins Maxey Scherr in the race, though Scherr has not officially filed yet. I know Mike Fjetland, I interviewed him in 2004 when he ran as an independent against Tom DeLay. He’s a good guy and his heart is in the right place, but I don’t know how much traction he’ll get in the primary. This is a longshot race for either candidate, we’ll see if one of them can stand out as the better alternative.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged CD22, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2004, John Cornyn, Maxey Scherr, Mike Fjetland, Senate, Texas, Tom DeLay | 3 Comments

More on the jail’s new non-discrimination policy

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the new non-discrimination policy that was implemented at the Harris County Jail.

Crafted in the last 16 months with input from local and national LGBT community leaders and groups, it strictly prohibits “discrimination or harassment of any kind based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” and provides for the special handling of LGBT inmates to mitigate safety concerns. Included is a provision – required by the new federal standards – that transgender inmates be housed based, in part, on which gender they identify with rather than their physical anatomy, the sex they were assigned at birth or the one they used the last time they were incarcerated. Therefore, an inmate who is physically a man could be housed in the women’s unit or vice versa.

Geared particularly toward transgender inmates, the policy also requires all jail staff to address inmates by their “chosen name” and “proper pronoun” and says employees who violate the rules can be fired or face criminal charges or other penalties.

It also calls for all employees to go through training on the policy, including “refresher” training every two years. About 80 staffers will be certified as so-called “Gender Identification Specialists,” charged with interviewing inmates and helping decide where to house those who are LGBTI.

A “Gender Classification Committee,” according to the policy has the “final authority” in deciding how LGBTI inmates are housed.

[…]

The LGBT community and detention experts generally applaud the policy, but some say it could pose some problems in practice or that it does not go far enough to protect an inmate population the U.S. Justice Department described last year as “among those with the highest rates of sexual victimization.”

Harper Jean Tobin, director of policy at the Washington-based National Center for Transgender Equality, who worked on the policy with Garcia and his staff, said Harris County “is certainly to be commended for being out ahead in this regard.”

National PREA Resource Center Co-Director Michela Bowman, however, said there are benefits and dangers in creating a separate set of rules for LGBTI inmates based on the new standards, which also apply to other vulnerable populations.

Bowman said it could encourage rather than curb discrimination if not done carefully.

“We want to encourage efforts like this, certainly, but it’s very sensitive and you want to make sure that it’s done right,” Bowman said. “It seems to come from a well-intentioned place and it seems to be a clear effort to protect people, but there are just certain elements of it that make me scratch my head a little bit.”

See here for the background. Everyone quoted is positive about the policy overall, but some have concerns that this aspect or that might not work as planned. I suspect that has more to do with Harris County being out front with a policy that goes beyond the basic recommendations than anything else. Some parts of this will likely need to be refined once we see how they work in practice, and that’s okay. No one is screaming and pointing at a particular aspect of the policy saying “this will fail!”, we just don’t have any hard data to go by so we’re taking our best guesses as to how things play out. Down the line, as the bumps get smoothed out, Harris County can serve as a model for others to emulate. That’s a pretty darned good position to be in.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Adrian Garcia, gay rights, Harris County, Harris County Sheriff, jails, National Center for Transgender Equality, National PREA Resource Center, rape, transgender rights | Comments Off

Son Of Ortiz/Farenthold?

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe.

Solomon Ortiz, Jr

A grudge match could be brewing in South Texas.

On Tuesday, the Democrats’ top congressional strategist hinted that he’s been trying to recruit someone to challenge two-term Rep. Blake Farenthold, a tea party Republican from Corpus Christi.

Turns out, that person is Solomon Ortiz Jr., a former state representative and son of the longtime congressman, Solomon Ortiz Sr. — ousted by Farenthold in one of the closest and most surprising contests of 2010.

“I don’t know. I haven’t made a decision one way or another,” Ortiz Jr., said Wednesday evening, reached by cell phone.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, went out of his way Tuesday to fuel speculation that his party will make a run at Farenthold. But he was coy about who he’s been encouraging, and aides declined to name names.

Turns out, Ortiz Jr. put the secret in plain sight:

Great to visit with the DCCC in Washington today! Exciting stuff happening!

— Solomon Ortiz, Jr. (@solomonortizjr) November 13, 2013

I’ve been clamoring for a challenger to Farenthold, so this is music to my ears. There’s certainly an argument to be made for a fresh face against Farenthold, but there’s a lot to be said for having a familiar name go against him, too. It is a tough challenge, tougher than what the DCCC normally takes on – there just ain’t that many swing seats these days – but the good news is that Farenthold was an underperformer in 2012. A sufficiently financed challenger, with some name ID and a boost from Battleground Texas, could make a race of it. First, we need someone to file. We’ll see if the DCCC was able to sway Ortiz, Jr into the race.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Battleground Texas, Blake Farenthold, CD27, Congress, DCCC, Election 2014, Solomon Ortiz, Texas | Comments Off

Where the early vote was

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I thought that the high turnout we were seeing in Early Voting for this past election was not so much an indicator of high turnout but of a shift in voting behavior similar to what we had seen in even-year elections. That prediction was incorrect – final turnout was higher than I thought it would be, and the reason for that was it was still the case that a majority of the vote was to come on Election Day itself. However, it is the case that behavior is shifting, and a bigger share of the vote was cast early than in prior odd-year elections. Let’s take a closer look at the early vote numbers, beginning with how much of the vote was cast early in each of the City Council districts:


Dist   Total    Mail   Early   E Day  Mail%  Early%  EDay%
==========================================================
Hou  174,632  20,280  60,135  94,217  11.6%   34.4%  54.0%
A     13,532   2,347   4,513   6,672  17.3%   33.4%  49.3%
B     13,753   1,868   5,563   6,322  13.6%   40.4%  46.0%
C     32,466   3,107   9,791  19,568   9.6%   30.2%  60.3%
D     19,663   2,295   7,462  10,652  11.7%   37.9%  54.2%
E     18,702   1,788   6,920   9,994   9.6%   37.0%  53.4%
F      7,790     564   3,516   3,710   7.2%   45.1%  47.6%
G     27,286   3,879   8,215  15,192  14.2%   30.1%  55.7%
H     10,249   1,041   3,109   6,099  10.2%   30.3%  59.5%
I      9,538   1,133   3,110   5,295  11.9%   32.6%  55.5%
J      5,942     679   2,193   3,070  11.4%   36.9%  51.7%
K     15,461   1,479   5,563   8,419   9.6%   35.6%  54.5%


All  259,962  24,000  87,925 148,037   9.2%   33.8%  56.9%
Non   85,330   3,720  27,790  53,820   4.4%   32.6%  63.1%

“All” is all of Harris County. “Non” is Harris County minus Houston. As you can see, districts B, F, and A are the trendsetters in early voting, while Districts C, H, G, and J are behind the times. The city of Houston overall was more likely to vote early than Harris County, and much more likely to vote absentee than the non-Houston parts of the County. This makes sense because it’s usually candidates that drive absentee voting. Note that the four districts with multi-candidate races – A, B, D, and I – were all above average in absentee participation; District G was the other big performer there, and it was a contested race.

I don’t have any grand conclusions to draw from this, I was just curious about what the numbers looked like. I continue to believe that we will see a shift towards early voting in these elections – the level we saw this year was easily the high water mark for odd-year elections. Note that the higher early totals for the city, admittedly driven more by absentee ballots than by in person early voting, suggests that the Astrodome wasn’t a major component of early vote turnout. It was a modest driver of non-Houston turnout, as the city of Houston comprised 67.2% of all Harris County votes. That compares to 73.6% in 2011, 69.5% in 2009, and 63.6% in 2007. For those of you that had been playing the “guess the final level of turnout based on early voting” game, the right scenario among the ones I presented was 45% early plus high Houston turnout, which pegged it at about 170,000. More data to file away for 2015.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged absentee ballots, Astrodome, early voting, Election 2007, Election 2009, Election 2011, Election 2013, Harris County, Houston, turnout | 1 Comment

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