Tag Archives: El Franco Lee

Getting smarter about crime

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The news that Harris County DA Pat Lykos has changed the office’s policy to no longer will file state jail felony charges against suspects found with only a trace of drugs is good news indeed. Lykos said the move “gives … Continue reading →

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

Putting prisoners to work

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee has proposed that the county consider putting more prisoners to work cleaning local bayous and parks. The plan would give working inmates three days’ credit … Continue reading →

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

The Dynamo Stadium issue in the Mayor’s race

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Moving away for the moment from ridiculous homophobic scare tactics in the Mayor’s race runoff to an issue of actual substance, we have the matter of the Dynamo Stadium deal and where the respective candidates stand on it. [Annise] Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Commissioners Court wants a lapdog, not a watchdog

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, we learned that County Attorney Vince Ryan was going after polluters that had been ignoring court orders to clean up their acts. You would think this would be a good thing to do – you know, enforcing … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Commissioners Court wants a lapdog, not a watchdog

County puts off vote on helping the city deny vehicle registration to red light camera scofflaws

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. For the second time in a month, Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday postponed a vote on an agreement with the city to block vehicle registrations for red-light camera violators who do not pay their fines. Court members … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commissioners Court approves public defenders plan

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The “hybrid” public defenders office that Commissioners Court had been considering was approved Tuesday by a 5-0 vote, though the details still need to be worked out in time for the February 2010 budget meeting. “It’s going to take however … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Commissioners Court approves public defenders plan

More on the city-county TIRZ deal

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron does a kind of big picture overview story of the city-county TIRZ deal that we heard about earlier this week. If successful, the months-long negotiations between the city and Harris County could provide a solution for problems that … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Harris County Commissioners for Sharp

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Senate candidate John Sharp has a press release out touting the endorsements of Harris County Commissioners Sylvia Garcia and El Franco Lee. It’s printed beneath the fold. As far as endorsements like these go, they’re pretty good gets – if … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Harris County Commissioners for Sharp

Yet another Astrodome plan

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a convention center, it’s a movie studio, it’s a planetarium. Add a planetarium to the myriad ideas for what to do with the Reliant Astrodome, Houston’s iconic stadium whose future has hung in uncertainty as officials and entrepreneurs have … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Still talking about a new jail

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be having this conversation for awhile, I expect. As he attempts to secure a new jail for Harris County, Sheriff Adrian Garcia has hired nearly 90 more guards but still faces skepticism from commissioners about whether a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still talking about a new jail

Dynamo moving forward

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Dynamo Stadium has been in the works for a long time, but depending on how things go this month, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. [T]he Dynamo view this month as pivotal in their quest … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dynamo moving forward

Driver!

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’ve read this story about part-time drivers for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett before. It reminded me of this one about state Senate staffer salaries, and this one about City Council expenditures. In each … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Driver!