Tag Archives: Dallas

Dispatches from Dallas, May 26 edition

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in DFW-area news, another smorgasbord, including the ongoing effects of the ransomware attacks, runoff elections, the aftermath of the Allen mall shooting, … Continue reading →

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Some dough for downtown

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It would be nice. With just days left in this year’s regular session of the Texas Legislature, Houston-area lawmakers are fighting for a measure that would likely provide several billion dollars to expand the George R. Brown Convention Center and … Continue reading →

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Dallas data leak threatened by ransomware attackers

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. An online blog post by a group claiming responsibility for Dallas’ ransomware attack says a leak of employees’ personal information and other data stored by the municipal government will happen soon. In the post Friday, Royal noted the … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Meet Mike Miles

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing profiles the man who seems poised to be the imposed Superintendent of the taken-over HISD. A hard-charging education leader devoted to shaking up the status quo in struggling school districts appears poised to become the superintendent of Houston … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, May 19 edition

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in DFW-area news, we have a smorgasbord: follow-up on the Allen mall shooting, election cleanup, more on Thomas and Crow, MUD shenanigans, … Continue reading →

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Does the TEA already have a new Superintendent in mind?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Turner thinks so, and wants the TEA to be more up front about its intentions. Pressure is mounting on the Texas Education Agency to name the superintendent who will soon oversee the Houston Independent School District as the nearing takeover prompts growing … Continue reading →

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And another Dallas ransomware update

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Recovery is a long and painful process. In the immediate aftermath, the attack forced the city to take offline the police and fire department’s computer-aided dispatch system, the police department’s website and the city’s website. The city also closed its … Continue reading →

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

Dispatches from Dallas, May 12 edition

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in DFW-area news, two big stories: the mass shooting in Allen and local election results. Plus, updates on the Dallas ransomware situation, … Continue reading →

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Another Dallas ransomware update

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

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

Dallas ransomware update

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

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

City of Dallas hit by ransomware attack

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

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

Dispatches from Dallas, May 5 edition

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 28 edition

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in news from the DFW area, book bans (local and statewide), election administration, some scary climate predictions for Galveston, more Six Degrees … Continue reading →

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How much downtown parking do we need?

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know the answer to that, but this is how much we have. Downtown Houston dedicates more than a quarter of its land to parking spaces, surpassing the percentages in most major U.S. cities, a new report shows. A photo from … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 21 edition

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas-area news, two big stories: the Tarrant County election chief has resigned, and more on the Harlan Crow angle of the … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 14 edition

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas-area news, we have a lot more on Harlan Crow and the Six Degrees of Clarence Thomas, the Bryan Slaton scandal, … Continue reading →

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Hazmat routes

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story made me think about a thing I basically never think about, and now I wish I didn’t have to think about it. Toxic inhalants, flammable gases and explosive chemicals are just some of what rolls along Dallas-Fort Worth … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 7 edition

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas news: Who is the Dallasite at the center of the Clarence Thomas scandal? Plus ACLU support for some area protestors; … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 31 edition

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas news: Carroll ISD (Southlake) bails out of TASB in a new phase in the reactionary war on Texas public schools; … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 24 edition

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in DFW: A run of school violence including a fatal school shooting, in DFW area schools; a former president comes to Waco … Continue reading →

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More World Cup events on tap for 2026

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. The 2026 World Cup soccer tournament is expanding by 24 games, and Houston is prepared to handle any added games. FIFA voted Tuesday for a change in format to the 48-team event by adding games. The total of 104 … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 17 edition

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in North Texas, we have bad bills filed by our local legislators and follow-ups on a variety of ongoing stories in North … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 10 edition

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas news: The DPD evidence scandal grows, more about Marvin Lowe, water cremations, winter weather, Star Wars, and finally some good … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 3 edition

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in DFW, our most interesting story is a brouhaha in Frisco ISD, but we also have an interview with Sarah Weddington’s co-counsel … Continue reading →

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We’re fixing to have some boring May elections

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

At least as far as Mayoral races go. The mayors of some of Texas’ largest cities are cruising toward reelection. The incumbents in San Antonio and Fort Worth face little opposition after the deadline to run for mayor in the … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, February 24 edition

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas area news, we now know the candidates for various races in the May elections in the Metroplex; staffing and evidence … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, February 17 edition

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Note: this is the second edition of the Dallas-area news roundup conducted by my friend Ginger. Issue 1 was last Friday. We got a lot of positive response to that and I definitely like it, so on we go. The … Continue reading →

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DCAD’s ransomware experience

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A story of great interest to me. On Election Day 2022, Dallas County Chief Appraiser Ken Nolan and his staff showed up for work, but there was an unexpected problem. Nothing worked. The Dallas Central Appraisal District’s desktop computers, all … Continue reading →

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Dallas-area news roundup, inaugural edition

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, Off the Kuff readers! I’m Ginger and I’ve been friends with our host for nigh onto thirty years. Back in the early 2000s, when they called it “warblogging”, I had a blog, but I’ve long since retired it. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Winter storm 2023

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if this one will get a name, but I can imagine what a lot of folks are calling it. Thousands of frustrated Texans shivered in their homes Thursday after more than a day without power, including many … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Is trap-neuter-return illegal?

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A question that could affect a lot of cities, including Houston. Trap, neuter, return programs are popular across Texas as a way to control feral cat populations. But one local official is now posing a thorny question: Are they legal? … Continue reading →

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IKEA gets self-driving trucks

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not for home delivery. Not yet, anyway.

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Election 2022 miscellania: Marijuana, Austin Mayor, CRT

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Three items of interest for you. First up, several local initiatives to decriminalize marijuana were successful on Tuesday. By the end of Election Day, five Texas cities have voted to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession. After Austin voters overwhelmingly approved the … Continue reading →

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Texas Central insists they’re still alive

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something, I guess. A lawyer for nearly 100 property owners who are living with the threat of their land being seized said he will seek legal action against Texas Central, the company that for a decade has promised to … Continue reading →

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