Search Results for: text to 911

Despite it all, voter registration keeps increasing

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You love to see it. Not even the worst pandemic to hit Texas in a century was enough to stem the surge in voter registrations that has remade the state’s electorate over the past four years. Just since March, Texas … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sherrie Matula of Sisters United Alliance

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sherrie Matula is a longtime Democratic activist (she was a founder of the BAAD Women club) and two-time candidate (for HD129 in 2008, and for HCDE in Precinct 2 in 2016, which she lost by 0.2 percentage points), but that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Of course there’s a lawsuit against Abbott’s mask order

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And of course it involves the usual suspects. The day Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate that face masks be worn in most public places across Texas went into effect, a GOP activist and group of conservatives filed a lawsuit in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dutton’s colleagues ask for investigation of Natasha Ruiz

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, look, it’s actual election news! Nearly the entire Harris County Democratic legislative delegation has asked the county attorney and district attorney to open a criminal investigation into the candidacy of a Texas House candidate whose existence was called into … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Nuro set to roll out

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come. Self-driving delivery vehicles that carry no humans will hit Houston roads next month. Nuro, a San Francisco technology company, is planning to deploy its next-generation autonomous delivery vehicles in Houston after receiving federal approval. … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More heat on Abbott over his anti-refugee action

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Keep it up. “This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue. It’s not an immigrant versus native-born issue … it is not a religious versus secular issue,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo during a press conference with elected … Continue reading →

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Our slowing population growth

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Texas remains one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., but a report published by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank showed a significant reduction in the number of people moving to Texas since 2015. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 24

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance does not want to be lied into any more wars as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Royce again

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The “Royce West for Senate” thing is officially a thing. State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, met this week with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as he nears a decision on whether to run for U.S. Senate — a … Continue reading →

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Kim Olson looking at CD24

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m down with this. While retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson, a Democrat who lost the 2018 general election for state agriculture secretary by a respectable 51-46 margin, has shown some interest in challenging GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Tribune’s … Continue reading →

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The first targets for 2020

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already agreed that the 2020 election season has begun, so a little attack advertising over the shutdown seems like a good play National Democrats have five Texas Republican congressmen in their crosshairs as they begin the 2020 election cycle … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: 2018 vs the rest of the decade

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

When I posted about the Q2 Congressional finance reports, I said I would try to put the totals in some more context at a later time. This is where I do that. Take a look at this table: Dist 2012 … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 27

Posted on May 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

“But I think these attention-grabbing silly questions are also damaging, and that they reflect a harmful, shallow, and ultimately off-putting approach to the Bible itself.” The appeal of MLB in general and the Yankees in particular in South Korea. “Everyone … Continue reading →

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The Stockman trial gets weird

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, with Steve Stockman you have to expect some weird crap, but I didn’t see this coming. The American Phoenix Foundation — a now-defunct conservative activist groupknown for attempting undercover stings of lawmakers and lobbyists — planted an intern in … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting, Day 6: The fifteenth county

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sunday is the shortest and least busy day of early voting, and it is the transition to Week 2, when all the days are 12 hours long and numbers start to go way up. Here’s what this Sunday looked like. … Continue reading →

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Backup 2018 Legislative

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

2018 Harris County Legislative Candidate Information This page is for candidates in contested Democratic primaries for legislative office in Harris County Note: If your group has made endorsements in these races and you do not see them listed below, send … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Humble ISD

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been meaning to go back to the Humble ISD election in May, where two Project LIFT candidates were running against incumbent members, to see what I could learn. The canvass reports are up on the Harris County Clerk website, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Who stands with Trump?

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly wonders if any Texas newspaper will endorse Donald Trump. Between the three newspapers with the largest circulations in Texas—the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the San Antonio Express-News—there have been exactly two endorsements of a Democratic presidential nominee in the … Continue reading →

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It’ll be 2020 before you know it

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Census is coming to town. The U.S. Census Bureau kicked off a Census test in Harris County on Monday, surveying 225,000 households as part of its preparation for the 2020 review, the first of its kind to rely primarily … Continue reading →

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Would you like to sit in armed or unarmed?

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Houstonia: Imagine it’s a Saturday afternoon. You stop into Whataburger to pick up lunch with your kids in tow, the only thing on your mind remembering which kid doesn’t want ketchup on his burger, which kid only wants ketchup … Continue reading →

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On cellphones and school zones

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I need to talk about this. Six years ago, state lawmakers hoping to protect students banned drivers from texting and talking on hand-held cellphones in school zones. The ban, however, has never been enforced in Houston. City and … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Ambulances and ERs

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting story about the overuse of ambulances in Houston and how the city is trying to deal with it. But in truth little works in a system that has been broken for years. Over the past generation, patients began … Continue reading →

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Once again to SCOTUS for Texas and the EPA

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Plus ca change, and all that. Texas again went head-to-head with the Environmental Protection Agency before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, this time challenging federal limits on the emission of pollutants like mercury, acid gases and other toxic metals … Continue reading →

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Bill to outlaw non-discrimination ordinances filed

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From The Observer: A Fort Bend County Republican has introduced a bill that would bar cities from adopting or enforcing non-discrimination ordinances that include protected classes not contained in state law. Texas law doesn’t include sexual orientation or gender identity … Continue reading →

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Sameena Karmally

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Sameena Karmally, whose race against Jodie Laubenbeg is important not for if she wins or loses but for what she represents. If Democrats are going to turn Texas purple, they need to do a lot of work at the … Continue reading →

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Marriage equality’s legal winning streak may be on the line this week

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s not even the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that might bring a halt, however temporary, to the march of progress. Marriage equality has had a very good run in the federal courts ever since the Supreme Court declared … Continue reading →

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A closer look at Mayoral campaign finances

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I said I’d get to a closer look at the Mayoral campaign finance reports later, after I had a chance to read all the way through them. That time is now, so let’s have our look. Mayor Parker’s finance report. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

City wins Renew/Rebuild Houston lawsuit appeal

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our story so far: After the Renew Houston proposition was passed in 2010, the usual suspects led by Paul Bettencourt filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the result on the grounds that they believed the voters were too stupid to … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for October 9

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Only 22 shopping days till Halloween. Why the Kindle Fire tablet is priced so low. The concept of “civil discourse” is meaningless without context. The alarm clock some of us have and the rest of us need. Now this is … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for August 7

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Congressional Republicans love dirty fuels more than they claim to revere the military. It’s easier to negotiate with North Korea these days than it is with Congressional Republicans. I want this woman to be my lawyer. Great, now I have … Continue reading →

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The state of the state

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Is strong, according to Rick Perry. So strong, in fact, that we’re going to kick the legs out of social services, because clearly we don’t need them. When the state faced a budget crisis in 2003, Gov. Rick Perry’s office … Continue reading →

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Two environmental issues for your attention

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Are you familiar with tar sands? The Sierra Club would like to acquaint you with them this Thursday, December 16, on its Houston Frontlines tour. Elected officials and community members will gather at Hartmann Community Center on Thursday, December 16th … Continue reading →

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It’s always something

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good news for Metro. The “forensic accounting review” by UHY Advisors examined all business expense reports submitted to Metro by its chief executive, Frank Wilson, and chief of staff, Joanne Wright. Both joined Metro in May 2004; Wilson previously was … Continue reading →

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

Parker’s first ad

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And Annise Parker wins the race to be the first candidate not named Peter Brown to air a TV ad in the Mayor’s race. Here it is: And my reaction is…eh. That’s more about me than anything else, as public … Continue reading →

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