Tag Archives: Galveston

Three times a lawsuit

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hat trick! A group of civil and voting rights organizations is suing the state’s chief election officers and local election officials in five counties, claiming Texas’ voter citizenship review efforts are unconstitutional because they intentionally target naturalized citizens and voters … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over bogus SOS advisory

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. A group of Latino voters is suing top state officials who they allege unlawfully conspired to violate their constitutional rights by singling them out for investigation and removal from the voter rolls because they are foreign-born. Filed … Continue reading →

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A trio of updates about that bogus SOS letter

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Most counties reacted skeptically, as well they should. The Texas Tribune reached out to 13 of the 15 counties with the most registered voters on Monday; Galveston was the only one that indicated it would immediately send out letters, even … Continue reading →

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Scooters come to Galveston

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still not in Houston, but getting closer. By the end of January, Galveston Island will be crawling with Crab…Scooters. Ryan O’Neal of Galveston said he expects to officially launch his new business Crab Scooters come late January or early February. … Continue reading →

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Ebola treatment progress

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. Texas scientists who developed an effective vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus are now reporting promising results with new medication to better treat full-blown cases of the disease. In a laboratory study published this week, researchers at … Continue reading →

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Bail lawsuit continues in Galveston County

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A lawsuit alleging that Galveston County’s cash bail system favors wealthier defendants will continue after a recent ruling by a U.S. district court judge. On Jan. 10, Judge George Hanks Jr. upheld Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison’s denial of the … Continue reading →

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How Dems took Hays County

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Three cheers for Texas State University. As the dust settles after last week’s election, the political identity of Hays County hangs in the balance: Is it red or blue? The rapidly growing Central Texas suburban county — Texas’ 22nd-largest by … Continue reading →

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Will we build the right Ike Dike?

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone thinks the best design was chosen. Jim Blackburn, a Rice professor and co-director of [Rice] university’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center, says the Corps’ initial Ike Dike study was incomplete because it did … Continue reading →

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The Courts of Appeals

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The other judicial races where Dems have a chance to gain ground. Republicans dominate Texas politics — but their stranglehold is especially noticeable in the courts. Republicans hold all 18 seats on the state’s two high courts. Of the state’s … Continue reading →

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We have an Ike Dike plan

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Now we need a plan to pay for it. A decade after Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that a more ambitious version of the proposed “Ike Dike” — a 70-mile-long … Continue reading →

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Army Corps to present Ike Dike options

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Later this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will recommend a multi-billion-dollar plan to help protect the Texas coast — the Houston area in particular — from hurricanes. When it will become a reality, however, is anyone’s … Continue reading →

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Galveston, ten years after Ike

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Overall things are better now, but not for everyone, and nothing can ever truly be the same as before. Galveston has a long and storied history dealing with epic storms, and the destruction Hurricane Ike wrought was no different — … Continue reading →

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Typhus in Galveston

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An infectious disease update for you. Typhus fever, a disease carried by fleas and once thought to be eradicated, is rearing its head in Galveston County, county health officials said on Monday. The Galveston County Health District reported that 18 … Continue reading →

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ACLU sues Galveston County over bail practices

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The ACLU of Texas, the ACLU and Arnold & Porter filed a federal class-action lawsuit today against Galveston County, Texas, for violating the constitutional rights of people arrested for misdemeanors and felonies. The lawsuit was brought against … Continue reading →

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Filing roundup: Outside Harris County

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A look at who filed for what on the Democratic side in the counties around Harris. These are all predominantly Republican counties, some more than others, so the Democrats are almost all challengers. On the flip side, there are many … Continue reading →

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Please don’t complain about the lack of an evacuation

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There are good reasons why there was not an evacuation order for the greater Houston area in advance of Harvey. Ultimately, mayors and county judges are charged with making such decisions. Leaders in Houston and Harris County told residents to … Continue reading →

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The rural/suburban tradeoff

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Martin Longman returns to a point he has been making about the way the vote shifted in the 2016 election. Let’s try to be clear about what we mean. Hillary Clinton won a lot of votes in the suburbs from … Continue reading →

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Abbott versus the cities

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing story. If Gov. Greg Abbott has disdain for how local Texas officials govern their cities, it didn’t show in a Wednesday sit-down with three mayors who were among 18 who jointly requested a meeting to discuss legislation that … Continue reading →

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Mayors to Abbott: Don’t mess with our cities

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck getting through. Less than 24 hours after Gov. Greg Abbott blasted local government restrictions like tree ordinances as a threat to the “Texas brand,” city government leaders statewide are seeking a meeting with the Republican leader. “We would … Continue reading →

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There is trouble with the trees

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More to the point, there is trouble with the idea that municipal tree ordinances are somehow a bad thing, but that’s where we are, and it’s got some folks worried. More than 40,000 trees were lost to [Hurricane] Ike, according … Continue reading →

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Busy hurricane season predicted

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to summer, y’all. The nation’s climate agency on Thursday predicted an above-normal 2017 hurricane season with 11 to 17 named storms, five to nine of them hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a 45 percent chance of … Continue reading →

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Galveston wants a bag ban

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. Reacting to a groundswell of concern about the effect of plastic bags on the environment, Galveston is on the forefront of a statewide controversy over cities’ ability to ban plastic bags that are killing turtles, birds and fouling … Continue reading →

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Climate change will not be kind to Houston

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It could be even worse, if that’s any consolation, but it will be bad as things are going now. Houston’s brutally hot summers, persistent humidity, floods and hurricanes never have been much of a selling point. It’s been something to … Continue reading →

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Statewide review: 2016 was like 2008, but not in a good way

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so I’ll just come out and say it: Despite the excitement about increases in voter registration and heavy early voting turnout. statewide Democratic candidates outside of Hillary Clinton generally did not do … Continue reading →

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Two Ike Dike updates

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ike Dike could be hidden by dunes: The “Ike Dike” that is being proposed to protect the Galveston-Houston area from a potentially catastrophic hurricane storm surge could take the form of undulating sand dunes hiding a steel or concrete core. … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts today

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart announced today that 46 locations will be open Monday, October 24 to Friday, November 4 where voters in the third largest County in the nation may cast ballots during the early voting … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of HD23

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We go to Galveston for one of the few interesting Legislative races in the area. A former Democratic state legislator is trying to recapture the Texas House District 23 seat from the first Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction. … Continue reading →

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What it will take to win the District Court of Appeals benches

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that one place on the local ballot where Democrats could potentially gain some real ground is with the district Courts of Appeals. There are no competitive Congressional or State Senate races, the one competitive … Continue reading →

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GetMe waits in the wings

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No matter what happens with the rideshare repeal referendum in Austin, there will be at least one vehicle for hire company in the capital city. Early voting is underway in Austin on Proposition 1, where residents will decide which regulations … Continue reading →

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Get Me goes to Galveston

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Swooping in to fill the gap left by Uber’s departure. Galveston is close to getting app-based transportation back. Get Me, a Dallas-based company that started serving Houston in October, has submitted an application with Galveston to provide ride services on … Continue reading →

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Not everyone likes the latest hurricane surge protection plan

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another obstacle. A new proposal to protect the Houston area from hurricanes is reigniting controversy, and potentially diminishing the odds that a consensus will emerge anytime soon on the best plan to safeguard the nation’s fifth-largest metropolitan area. Since … Continue reading →

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Storm protection is expensive

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

But then so would be getting hit by a truly bad storm. Building a storm surge protection system along the Texas Gulf Coast could cost between $7.9 billion and $11 billion, and likely would not be completed for about two … Continue reading →

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Two more places that Uber won’t operate

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Goodbye, Galveston. Just days after the City Council passed an ordinance designed to regulate transportation networks, Uber has shut down its service in Galveston. Monday evening, people in Galveston who tried to use the phone app to order a ride … Continue reading →

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Another floodgate proposed

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Third time’s the charm, right? Academic leaders have long beseeched government officials to learn from the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and harden the upper Texas coast against future threats. Finally, on Monday, Texas Land Commissioner George P. … Continue reading →

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