Tag Archives: Houston

Autonomous Metro shuttle 2.0

Cool. Metro is restarting its delayed study of autonomous transit, with the full-throated support of outgoing Houston mayor Sylvester Turner as a vital step toward a region not further choking on cars and trucks. “Those objectives do not end at … Continue reading

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

HISD Board approve District of Innovation plan

No suspense there. Houston ISD will be allowed to extend the school year and begin it earlier after the district’s state-appointed board of managers unanimously approved a “District of Innovation” plan Thursday, marking the end of a process that began … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Amtrak gets some federal high speed rail funds

It’s something. Amtrak has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to further study and develop a proposed high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas, a long-envisioned plan that until earlier this year had appeared to have fizzled out. Amtrak, the national … Continue reading

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

Get ready for the SD15 special election

It’s closer than you think. The candidates looking to replace Mayor-elect John Whitmire in the Texas Senate may have to win as many as five elections next year before they ever get to vote on a piece of legislation. Whitmire, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

So now what for SJL?

At least one big question about what comes next for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after losing the Mayoral runoff should be settled today. Following her decisive defeat in Saturday’s mayoral runoff, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee now has less than … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023, Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2023 runoff results: Whitmire and Hollins win

I’m writing this at about 11:30 PM, with 169 of 450 voting centers reporting results. One race is very much in the balance, one other could possibly swing. Keep all that in mind. John Whitmire led 65-35 in Harris County … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Would you please fix that Verizon debacle, HISD?

It sure would be nice. Twelve state legislators representing the Houston ISD area sent a letter to Superintendent Mike Miles on Monday asking him to reconsider a decision to end a program that provided free Verizon internet access to tens … Continue reading

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Today is Runoff Day 2023

You know what to do if you haven’t already. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth reminds voters that Election Day for the Joint Runoff is tomorrow, Saturday, December 9. There will be 450 vote centers across the county open from 7 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The recent history of runoff early voting

I brought this up in yesterday’s post, so let’s take that look at how much of the runoff vote has been cast early in the last few Mayoral elections. Year Early E-Day Total EV % ======================================= 2003 77,984 138,804 216,788 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2023 final runoff Early Voting totals

Early voting has ended. Early takes are flowing in. As of Tuesday night, nearly 132,000 votes – 120,155 in-person ballots and 11,732 mail ballots – had been recorded in Harris County, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office. That compares … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Precinct analysis: At Large #4

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 At Large #2 At Large #3 After that nine-candidate pileup in AL3, At Large #4 and its four contenders is a much more sedate affair, and a lot … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: At Large #3

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 At Large #2 At Large #3 had the largest non-Mayoral field on the ballot, with nine candidates. Five candidates finished with at least ten percent of the vote, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor proposes his water bill fix ordinance

This sure got a lot of late momentum. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is adding water bill reform to his to-do list as he approaches the end of his eight years in office. Turner announced at a Monday news conference nine … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Precinct analysis: At Large #2

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 Dist Davis Hellyar Coryat Bess Holly Obes ========================================================== A 5,494 3,854 1,580 2,112 1,830 1,184 B 5,834 800 1,286 5,148 658 1,211 C 7,921 13,067 2,477 4,679 4,923 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

8 Day runoff 2023 campaign finance reports

The last campaign finance reports for the year are the 8 day reports for the runoff elections. These were mostly filed on Friday, so let’s have a look at them. The 8 Day reports from November for the Mayor’s race … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

2023 runoff early voting: With two days to go

I changed up the schedule of posting early voting daily totals because I realized that the EV periods for the three years I’m comparing are all different, which makes the comparisons a little screwy. At this point in all three … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: At Large #1

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum We have four runoffs in the At Large races, and they’re all basically D versus R affairs. The HCDP and the Harris County GOP have taken their sides. Let’s look at … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: 2023 Harris Health proposition

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race The nice thing about analyzing Harris County Proposition A is that I can use the precinct/district guide I got and used for the 2022 election, which is nice and clean and gives me totals that … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HISD’s continued enrollment decline

It’s not great. Houston ISD saw its steepest enrollment decline this year since the first full school year of the pandemic, losing roughly 6,000 students, according to preliminary data obtained by the Houston Landing. Some 183,884 students now attend HISD … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: 2023 Controller’s race

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race I got in a groove and took what I learned from mucking around with the Mayor’s race data and was able to clean up the same for the Controller’s race in relatively short order. As you’ll see, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cruise and Houston

An interesting overview of the currently-on-pause driverless taxi service in our town. The nationwide pause included Houston and Austin. However, no Texas or local entity required Cruise to take its vehicles off the road because they legally could not. Senate … Continue reading

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Crime continues to decline in Houston

Noted for the record. Don’t let it get in the way of any campaigns. Houston was part of a nationwide decline in most crime statistics in major cities, leading one crime data analyst to say the trend shows that it … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Whitmire and SJL on the HISD mess

As we know, the Mayor has basically no direct influence on HISD, but it’s an issue people care about and the Mayor can certainly make it a point of focus. So what do our two Mayoral runoff candidates have to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2023 runoff early voting Day Two totals

Let’s get to it: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 20,233 22,964 43,197 2019 6,024 29,180 35,204 2023 946 28,113 29,059 Again, the early in person totals look normal. The mail, I have no idea. I just now noticed that … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SurveyUSA Mayoral runoff poll: Whitmire 42, SJL 35

We finally have a second pollster. State Sen. John Whitmire maintains a 7 percentage point lead over U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race, with a fifth of likely voters having yet to make up their minds … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

2023 runoff early voting Day One totals

Early voting for the 2023 runoff elections is underway. Here’s the news you can use from Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudpseth: As early voting begins for the December 9 Joint Runoff Election, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth urges voters to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: 2023 Mayor’s race

The November 2023 election has been officially canvassed and certified, and that means that there’s precinct data available for me to analyze. I’ve been working on it over the weekend, and I will tell you it’s a bit more of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Chron covers The MOB

Obviously, I am going to make note of this. A spectacle on the Rice Stadium football field: A college student wearing a suit and fedora hands a giant check for $0 to a man in a rubber horse helmet. Scoffs, … Continue reading

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Prop A gets its first customers

First there was this: Council Members Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (District D) and Mary Nan Huffman (District G) joined Council Member Amy Peck (District A) to submit notice to the City’s Agenda Office to place an item on the City Council Agenda. … Continue reading

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PragerU videos? Seriously?

Once again I have to ask, what the hell is going on at HISD? A Friday lesson intended to teach students at dozens of Houston ISD schools how to think objectively included a video that mocked the idea of human-caused … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Runoff early voting begins Monday

From the inbox: Early voting for the December 9 Joint Runoff Election begins Monday, November 27, and runs through Tuesday, December 5. Vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day except Sunday, December 3, from … Continue reading

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Installing the ice

Just in case. While Toyota Center undergoes several years of renovations, an upgrade that will not be immediately seen could prove to be among the most important. When listing plans for future phases of renovation, Rockets president of business operations … Continue reading

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Whitmire and SJL on Prop B and H-GAC

Of interest. Houston’s two remaining candidates for mayor appear to have cooled their earlier support of local Proposition B now that it has been approved by voters and the candidates find themselves an election away from becoming the person in … Continue reading

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“Solar For All” grant

From the inbox: Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced a $7 billion national “Solar For All” grant competition via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand solar energy production across the country. Harris County leaders enlisted a coalition … Continue reading

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