Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

It’s been a rough flu season

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Turning our attention to a different infectious disease. The flu is inflicting more fever-coughing-aching misery across Houston and much of the U.S. than it has in years. While most people will recover, thousands have already died during the 2024-2025 flu … Continue reading →

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Evolv sued over false advertising claims for its AI-aided weapons detection system

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Mansfield ISD officials are standing by a new artificial intelligence-powered weapon’s detection system despite the technology’s maker facing a pending federal lawsuit for false advertising. A lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission accuses Evolv of making false claims about the … Continue reading →

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Time for a measles update

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

One forty-six. And counting. The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status … Continue reading →

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Turning office space into coliving space

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Definitely worth considering. Nationwide, commercial vacancies are becoming increasingly noteworthy as the gulf between residential rental rates and stagnant wages widens. Low-income earners, folks making between $20,000 and $30,000 annually (typically minimum wage employees, students and seniors living on Social … Continue reading →

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Beware the egg smugglers

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I admit, I giggled a little at this. Since January, Texas area CBP officers have encountered more than 90 people attempting to import raw eggs from Mexico. As egg prices in the U.S. are hitting record highs, the price of … Continue reading →

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HISD’s looming school closures

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Boy is this going to be fun. Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles plans in the coming months to propose closing an undisclosed number of schools in the summer of 2026, as the district faces a tight budget and enrollment losses. … Continue reading →

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CenterPoint’s useless generators officially sent to San Antonio

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They will not be useless there. Texas’ main grid operator on Tuesday approved a $54 million plan to replace two aging natural gas-powered plants near San Antonio with the massive mobile generators that CenterPoint Energy came under fire for not … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, February 28 edition

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: news from the Lege that will affect traffic and transit in north Texas; things the city is … Continue reading →

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First Texas measles death recorded

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very sad. A school-aged child has died in Lubbock from measles, the first death reported in an ongoing outbreak that has infected more than 120 people in West Texas since January, Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on Wednesday. … Continue reading →

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MetroNow

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Temu version of MetroNext. The Metropolitan Transit Authority unveiled new details Monday on its MetroNow initiative, the seeming replacement for the voter-approved MetroNext plan. MetroNow first was announced as part of budget discussions for fiscal 2025 when the … Continue reading →

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Here’s the latest edition of the Eric Dick Chronicles

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Trouble sure does seem to find him. A U.S. District judge accused Houston attorney Eric Dick of falsifying the signature of a dead appraiser and threatened potential disbarment and charges of perjury and wire fraud. Dick, a trustee on the … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 24

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wants to see Elon Musk in handcuffs as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The Texas abortion ban has led to a sharp increase in sepsis

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The hits just keep on coming. Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021, ProPublica found in a first-of-its-kind data analysis. The rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when … Continue reading →

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On HPD and immigration enforcement

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. Houston Police Department officials pledged to “push for efficiency and effectiveness” in 2025 and further clarified their stance on immigration enforcement as part of a Tuesday presentation to the city’s Public Safety Committee. At the … Continue reading →

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FEC clears Cruz in podcast complaint

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, well. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz did not run afoul of campaign finance laws when the company that syndicates his podcast contributed nearly $1 million through a series of payments to a super PAC supporting Cruz’s reelection bid, the Federal … Continue reading →

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Texas Lottery Commission bans online ticket firms

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Tossing a bucket of water onto a raging inferno. The Texas Lottery Commission on Monday announced that it is banning so-called courier services, companies that skirt the state’s legal prohibition on online ticket sales by taking orders for lottery tickets … Continue reading →

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Some kind of immigration action happening at Colony Ridge

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Could be a big deal, or could just be Monday. Hard to say for sure. A state and federal law enforcement operation targeting “criminals and illegal immigrants” in Colony Ridge took place Monday morning, according to a social media post by Gov. … Continue reading →

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And this is how measles spreads

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully this won’t turn into something much bigger. Health officials in Hays County have issued a public health alert after a possible measles exposure in the area. Officials said a person who tested positive for the contagious virus visited San … Continue reading →

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January 2025 campaign finance reports: State officeholders

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Harris County offices City of Houston Senate and Congress I wasn’t going to do a state office roundup – there are no Democratic state officeholders, the races of interest won’t have candidates for several months, etc – but I … Continue reading →

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Roberson files another appeal

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I wish him luck. Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson filed a new appeal with the state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday in his first attempt to overturn his death sentence since an unprecedented intervention by a state legislative committee … Continue reading →

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How’s that response to bird flu going?

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Keep your expectations low, that’s my advice. Newly confirmed U.S. Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins is facing an early test as she leads the effort to tamp down on the country’s bird flu outbreak, which has decimated dairy and poultry farmers … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 23

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“The vice president has been very publicly pontificating — condescendingly lecturing others about the proper understanding of Catholic doctrine. Vance has been aggressively telling anyone who would listen that they just don’t understand that church teaching the way that he … Continue reading →

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“No easy fixes” for HISD to pass a bond

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. Houston ISD should allow more time for family and community engagement when it holds a school bond election, according to a recent report from a Houston public relations firm on the district’s failed $4.4 billion proposed … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over elimination of ICE’s sensitive locations policy

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Twenty-seven churches and organizations — some with ties to Texas’ Jewish and Christian faith communities — are suing the Trump administration over the elimination of ICE’s sensitive locations policy. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, Feb. … Continue reading →

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TEA takes over South San Antonio ISD

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Following a state-mandated conservatorship and years of squabbling board members, the Texas Education Agency decided Wednesday to overhaul South San Antonio Independent School District’s entire board of trustees. The state also appointed Saul Hinojosa, a retired superintendent for … Continue reading →

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Paxton whistleblowers ask for $6.7 million in damages

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Senior officials who were fired after reporting Attorney General Ken Paxton to law enforcement for alleged criminal conduct in 2020 asked a Travis County judge Thursday to award them $6.7 million in damages. Paxton’s office has … Continue reading →

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Measles outbreak approaches 100 cases

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Up and up it goes. Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus. Since the … Continue reading →

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This vaccine is for the birds

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly good news for future egg prices, among other things. A veterinary pharmaceutical company said they have received a conditional license for a bird flu vaccine to be used on chickens, potentially marking the first step toward mitigating a disease … Continue reading →

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Harris County joins amicus against NIH cuts

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced today that Harris County has joined a national legal fight to protect critical medical research funding. The county is part of a coalition challenging the Trump administration’s recent decision to … Continue reading →

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Multiple challengers line up for Fort Bend County Judge

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if they’re competing for an open seat or not. Another Democrat has entered the race for Fort Bend County Judge in 2026. Eddie Sajjad, an entrepreneur and political consultant, announced his candidacy earlier this month. Former Precinct 3 … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, February 21 edition

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a lot of recent stuff but also some catchup from the last month while I … Continue reading →

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SCOTx hears appeal of lawsuits over Winter Storm Uri deaths

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The question at issue is whether anyone can be sued, since at this point there are no defendants left. The Texas Supreme Court revisited the deadly mass outages of the 2021 freeze on its fourth anniversary during a Wednesday hearing, which … Continue reading →

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If the Texans want a new stadium, they can build it themselves

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, no. When Texans owner Cal McNair named a new team president last month, the first thing he touted about Mike Tomon’s resume was his “extensive history in stadium development.” Tomon was previously an executive at Legends, a stadium operations … Continue reading →

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No Eid on the HISD calendar

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Some folks would like it back. The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations — a local Muslim advocacy group — is calling on Houston ISD to add a school holiday back for Eid al-Fitr during the 2025-2026 school year. … Continue reading →

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