Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Lottery Commission bans that thing it said it couldn’t ban

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Things are going great over there. The Texas Lottery Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to ban lottery courier companies from selling tickets online amid lawmakers’ ongoing criticism of the practice. The vote was an about-face for the agency, whose officials previously … Continue reading →

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Twenty years later, we’re still studying rail into Fort Bend

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything old is new again. More than 120,000 people work at the Texas Medical Center – many of whom commute from Sugar Land and the surrounding areas in Fort Bend County. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is studying ways to help … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 4

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Star Wars Day to all who celebrate. Please enjoy this sprawling space saga of romance, rebellion, and household appliances. “Critics warned that the Biden administration put so many conditions on the grants it offered to semiconductor manufacturers that the … Continue reading →

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Here’s the Mayor’s deal with HPD

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t wait to see what the budget looks like, because I have no idea how this is all going to work. Houston police officers will receive “the best (benefits) package in anyone’s memory,” Mayor John Whitmire said Friday, but how … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough is way up in Texas this year

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is what happens when vaccine rates decline. Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years, pertussis cases are spiking as well. Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is surging across Texas and the nation. Already … Continue reading →

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Driverless taxis coming to Arlington

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Second city in Texas to get them. Startup May Mobility plans to deploy its autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform by the end of 2025, starting in Arlington, Texas, as part of a multi-year partnership. The tie-up with Uber offers … Continue reading →

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Measles update: We can’t escape the main character

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

No matter how much we might want to. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a visit to Texas on Tuesday that measles deserves less attention than other chronic diseases, while downplaying the number of deaths that have … Continue reading →

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Harris County gets in on another lawsuit over federal funding cuts

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Keep fighting. Harris County has filed a third lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging its overhaul of the federal government and a slew of federal workforce cuts. The county is suing along with a coalition of other local government … Continue reading →

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Waymo brings its self-driving tech to Toyota

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I just like to keep an eye on the driverless car scene. Alphabet-owned Waymo and Toyota on Tuesday announced a preliminary partnership to explore bringing robotaxi tech to personally-owned vehicles. “The companies will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology … Continue reading →

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UnidosUS poll of Latino voters about current events

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: UnidosUS, Voces Unidas, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Climate Power en Acción released today findings from the 2025 “First 100 Days Bipartisan Poll of the Hispanic Electorate,” the largest national bipartisan poll of … Continue reading →

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Beto 3.0?

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Beto O’Rourke, a one-time Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Texas Governor, is holding town halls across the state. It’s the kind of thing someone running for office would do. O’Rourke is not currently a candidate, but on Saturday … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, May 2 edition

Posted on May 2, 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: early voting turnout news for the Saturday election; local issues raised in the Lege; PACs … Continue reading →

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Spring Branch ISD ruled to have violated the Voting Rights Act

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And they are ordered to adopt single-member districts. A federal judge found Spring Branch ISD violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered the west Harris County district to overhaul its system so that the voices of Hispanic voters can be heard, but … Continue reading →

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The tariff effect on your homeowners’ insurance

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What can’t tariffs do? President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could cause homeowners insurance premiums in Texas to rise even faster this year than they otherwise would have, a new study finds. Even without tariffs, average premiums in Texas will rise … Continue reading →

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Barc-ee’s folds

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is all so weird. Back in June 2024, a canine-focused Missouri business announced itself as Barc-ee’s. Owner John Lopez told the Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri that he was hoping his 7,500-square-foot coffee shop, game yard and outdoor dog … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 28

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes Pete Hegseth would stop sending us those weird Signal messages as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Measles update: The liars keep gaining

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard out there for the facts. While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of … Continue reading →

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School districts have those “our insurance is too expensive” blues

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully, the Lege will do something to help. Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Port Aransas Independent School District when it hit in 2017, damaging every classroom and prompting weeks-long school closures. The district is still facing ripple effects today, but in … Continue reading →

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One more thing about microtransit in the Heights

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is from the latest edition of the Woodland Heights Civic Association newsletter, which I got in my inbox late on Friday. METRO recently announced a new micro-transit service (in partnership with the City of Houston and Evolve Houston) to provide an … Continue reading →

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Two action items

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wanted to pass along a couple of notices of action items for those of you looking for something to do this week. Item #1, from the inbox: On Thursday, May 1, 2025, attorneys, judges, law students, and others committed to … Continue reading →

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Bird flu is all around us

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Still not human to human transmissible. But that may not be the case forever. Texas health and wildlife officials have detected avian flu in mammals including skunks, raccoons, foxes and domestic cats across six counties in the state’s Panhandle region. The … Continue reading →

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Starbase Soon-To-Be-A-City

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I guess we’re all assuming this will pass. Nearly 10 years after SpaceX, Elon Musk’s effort to colonize Mars, began operating in a small community in Cameron County just a few miles inland of the Gulf Coast, employees who live … Continue reading →

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I got those unwanted speed trap blues

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. Daragh John Carter hates a speed trap near his home so much he began posting about it on Facebook before eventually escalating to standing near it and warning passing motorists it was coming. His actions frustrated a Houston police … Continue reading →

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Terry Virts

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We may have an astronaut candidate for Senate. In the latest sign that Democrats are turning a new leaf after their dismal 2024 defeat, astronaut and political neophyte Terry Virts is planning to launch a run for the US Senate … Continue reading →

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San Marcos and Austin marijuana ordinances struck down

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Strike one. A state appeals court has shot down a voter-approved ordinance that decriminalized marijuana in San Marcos. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals last week overturned a ruling that denied a temporary injunction to block the law’s enforcement in the … Continue reading →

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How much does Houston want to piss off its neighbors?

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is me, shaking my head. A proposal to cut Houston in on revenue generated through the county’s toll roads is threatening the city’s relationship with county officials and neighboring jurisdictions. The legislation making its way through both the Texas House … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for April 27

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. What’s going through this guy’s mind? He said I was lying. I’m not lying. He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I … Continue reading →

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Harris County sues over public health funding cuts

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Keep fighting. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee and officials from three other states sued the Trump administration Thursday over its decision to rescind $11 billion in public health funding for state and local health departments. The decision to pull … Continue reading →

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What is this microtransit for, anyway?

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Since I first blogged about the arrival of those Evolve Houston microtransit shuttles in the Heights a week or so ago, I have seen one of those shuttles three times. The first time it was in motion and presumably in … Continue reading →

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Another CD18 contender

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot Zoe Cadore, who works as a lobbyist for an energy company, became the latest Democrat to enter the special election for Texas’ 18th District on Tuesday. Cadore, a former congressional staffer who was Miss Houston in 2013, is competing with several … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Now in Collin County

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure hope this is an isolated case. A middle school student in Collin County has tested positive for measles, health officials confirmed Wednesday, the first reported case in a child in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year amid an outbreak … Continue reading →

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Recapping the whiny sore loser election contest lawsuits

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A useful guide from the Chron. I admit, I had lost track of a couple of these. The 2022 midterm elections proved contentious for Harris County. Ballot paper shortages, long lines at polling locations and malfunctioning voting equipment fueled allegations from conservative … Continue reading →

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More on the Aurora rollout

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Axios. Drivers along a 200-mile stretch of I-45 between Dallas and Houston should get ready for something new: The semi-truck in the next lane might not have anyone in the driver’s seat. […] What they’re saying: “Everybody is looking at … Continue reading →

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Fair for Houston sends a warning

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve been more than patient. A Houston advocacy group warned Mayor John Whitmire and council members Thursday that the city is risking a lawsuit if it continues to ignore the will of voters by participating on a regional planning board … Continue reading →

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