Tag Archives: Chicago

Mayor Whitmire wants to get rid of ShotSpotter

Fine by me. Mayor John Whitmire revealed plans to scrap the city’s $3.5 million ShotSpotter program, positioning Houston as the latest city government to abandon the controversial gunshot detection technology after a brief experiment. “I think it is a gimmick,” … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Harris County libraries are now “book sanctuaries”

It’s great that they’re doing this, and terrible that they have to. As book bans and challenges occur across the state and nation, Harris County libraries have joined a movement dedicated to preserving people’s right to decide for themselves what … Continue reading

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Is ShotSpotter working?

This story would suggest the answer is No. Houston city leaders deployed the gunshot surveillance system ShotSpotter to strengthen police responses in neighborhoods where gunfire too often rings out. But three years into its deployment, crime statistics show the technology hasn’t made a … Continue reading

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Please get an mpox vaccine if you are at risk

Let’s avoid a summer surge. On the heels of a cluster of new mpox infections in Chicago this month, the CDC is urging at-risk populations to get fully vaccinated. One year ago Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control released its … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

ShotSpotter

I’m more skeptical than not, but there is a way to make me less so. Two years in, Houston’s ShotSpotter program has resulted in 5,450 alerts, 99 arrests and the seizure of 107 guns, but no real consensus on its … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No 2024 DNC for Houston

Not a surprise. The Democratic National Convention told Houston officials this week the city will not host Democrats’ national convention in 2024. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office confirmed Thursday that Houston no longer is in the running. The snub leaves New … Continue reading

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Houston vies for 2024 DNC

It would be nice, but I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends. Houston is vying to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention held the summer before the next presidential election, in which Texas … Continue reading

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We’re still not doing great with the Census

There’s still time, but we have a lot of work to do. Despite an extended deadline, local government cash infusions and grassroots campaigns to improve Houston’s 2020 census response rate, almost half of Houston households are still missing from the … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We’re still #4

We’ll probably be that for awhile. According to the new report from the Greater Houston Partnership, the domestic population growth for the Houston region has slowed down over the last eight years. The report, which is based on population estimates … Continue reading

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Whata lot of angst

I’ve lived in Texas a long time, but I wasn’t born here. As such, news like this doesn’t hit me the way it hits some other folks. Chicago-based BDT Capital Partners said Friday it’s agreed to acquire a majority stake … Continue reading

Posted in Bidness, Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

We could be #3!

In a decade or so! If current trends hold. Chicago, the only city among the nation’s 20 largest to see population loss in 2015, could be overtaken in a decade by Houston as the third-most-populous city if the trend continues, … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Lives Matter takes an interest in the Harris County DA race

This will be worth watching. Inspired by voters in Chicago and Cleveland who booted top prosecutors last week with candidates who pledged more accountability in police shootings, Houston-area Black Lives Matter activists have started a #ByeDevon social media campaign to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We’re (about to be) Number 3!

In population. By the year 2025. Suck it, Chicago! Hidden in the haze of the petrochemical plants and beyond the seemingly endless traffic jams, a Texas city has grown so large that it is poised to pass Chicago as the … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More on the partisan lines of the Uber fight

From Wonkblog, another interesting look at how the fight over the so-called “sharing economy”, in particular transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, is playing out nationally. In its short life, however, the sharing economy has seldom reflected a clear … Continue reading

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

Here comes the Uber and Lyft vote

Barring anything unexpected, today is the day that Houston City Council settles – for now, anyway – the Uber/Lyft issue. Houston is not the only place where transportation network companies are seeking to do business in Texas, of course. The … Continue reading

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

Two cities, one argument about airports

Turns out Houston isn’t the only city squabbling with United Airlines about airport expansions. There’s a similar fight going on in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has gotten tough with the teachers union and muscled the City Council. But will he … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments