Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Colossal Biosciences update

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Money is not their problem. Colossal Biosciences, the company that’s famously on a mission to bring back the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species, has raised a $200 million Series C at a $10.2 billion valuation from TWG Global, … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Colossal Biosciences update

SCOTx rejects appeal of that zombie ReBuild lawsuit

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

End of the line. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied Houston’s motion to appeal a long-standing lawsuit requiring the city to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on street and drainage projects. Friday’s ruling could add yet another financial challenge to a strained city … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More measles

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing to see here! At least four cases of measles, including two involving school-aged children, have been reported in Texas in less than two weeks, putting state health agencies on alert. For some communities, this is the first case of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on More measles

World Cup preparations update

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot happening. Houston is officially 500 days from hosting its first FIFA World Cup in the 95 years of the globe’s biggest tournament. Representatives of the FIFA World Cup 26 Houston Host Committee held a joint press conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Houston Progressive Caucus

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: On January 30th, the birthday of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in the wake of the attempt to suspend funding of Medicaid and thousands of other federal government programs, Houston progressives are launching the Houston Progressive Caucus—a movement … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Houston Progressive Caucus

CenterPoint proposes small rate decrease

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A win is a win. More than six months after CenterPoint Energy came under fire for its response to Hurricane Beryl — and its proposal to raise its rates — Houston’s main electricity company announced Wednesday that it reached a settlement that will … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on CenterPoint proposes small rate decrease

Driver who caused the Energy Transfer pipeline fire ruled to have died by suicide

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The report has not been published yet, so there are still questions to be answered. The driver who caused a massive pipeline explosion and fire in Deer Park last fall died by suicide, according to the Harris County medical examiner’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Driver who caused the Energy Transfer pipeline fire ruled to have died by suicide

Charges dismissed against two of Hidalgo’s former aides

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Well, well, well. Criminal cases against at least two of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former employees have been dismissed by the Office of the Attorney General, nearly two weeks since District Attorney Sean Teare recused himself of the prosecutions. Prosecutors under Attorney … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Charges dismissed against two of Hidalgo’s former aides

HISD graduates’ earning potential

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very concerning, but I have a lot of questions. Less than 20% of Houston ISD’s high school graduates earn enough to make a living wage in Harris County six years after obtaining their diplomas, according to an analysis of by … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 27

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance says one week down, 208 to go as it brings you this week’s roundup. Off the Kuff analyzed three more Harris county races from 2024, in which Democrats did considerably better. SocraticGadfly looked at issues of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of January 27

How deep is this funding freeze?

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The chaos is the point. Houston and Harris County on Tuesday were scrambling to figure out the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s pause on federal grants and aid, a move local officials said could hold up hundreds of millions … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Maybe do more than just worry about what mass deportations might do to Texas?

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a thought. In Texas, undocumented people have built apartment complexes and skyscrapers that changed skylines. They have picked fruits and vegetable in fields, cooked in restaurant kitchens, cleaned hospitals and started small businesses. They have become stitched into communities … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Assessing North Texas’ wildfire risk

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting stuff. North Texas terrain and climate differ significantly from Southern California’s, but the possibility of wildfires in the Tarrant County area that are as destructive as those in Los Angeles cannot be ruled out, according to Luke Kanclerz, head … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

January 2025 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill here. Start of the year, we review all of the relevant campaign finance reports. Harris County races are the main event for 2026, at least at this time. I won’t mind if there are some other … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024, Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

On weakening vaccine mandates

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I had to take several deep breaths while reading this story. They only helped a little. When speech pathologist Rebecca Hardy recalls her up-close seat to lawmaking during the 2015 state legislative session, she remembers how tough it was to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The drone crackdowns

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I learned a lot from this story about how drones are being used and how that usage may come to an abrupt end as Chinese technology is increasingly limited by law. Russell Hedrick, a North Carolina farmer, flies drones to … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The drone crackdowns

Abbott wants federal reimbursement for all his border boondoggle spending

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the federal government for more than $11 billion in reimbursements to Texas for the costs of border security operations and wall construction during the Biden administration. In letters sent Thursday to … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Three water stories

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This lawmaker wants to fix Texas’ water shortage with desalination and billion-dollar pipelines The state lawmaker expected to carry out Gov. Greg Abbott’s “transformative” water reforms this year wants to earmark billions of dollars to develop new sources and fix … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Three water stories

Home distilling ban lawsuit heads to the Fifth Circuit

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. In July, a Texas judge ruled that a 157-year-old ban on at-home distilling was unconstitutional, allowing a group of at-home distilling proponents in the Lone Star State to pursue their passion without the fear of breaking the law. It also marked a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Home distilling ban lawsuit heads to the Fifth Circuit

Weekend link dump for January 26

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“Ultraprocessed Foods Have a Terrible Reputation. They Don’t Deserve It.” “An AI app for creating nonconsensual nude images of anyone is getting the vast majority of its traffic directly from Meta platforms, where the app is buying thousands of explicit … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for January 26

HISD teacher rating system 2.0

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how this one goes. Houston ISD’s new system for evaluating its roughly 11,000 teachers looks similar to its current one, maintaining a large emphasis on classroom observations and student test scores, but without a controversial student survey component … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HISD teacher rating system 2.0

A brief update on that bonkers bankruptcy court saga

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just because I came across it, I felt it was worth sharing. In October 2023, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones resigned from the bench. A Houston judge frequently touted for the sheer volume of bankruptcy cases his court handled, Jones stepped down after … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A brief update on that bonkers bankruptcy court saga

Buc-ee’s keeps their lawyers busy

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They remain one litigious beaver. Everyone’s favorite beaver is back in the courtroom crying foul over another gas station’s use of rodent-like iconography. Buc-ee’s, known for its wide selection of beaver-centric merch and clean bathrooms, has filed several trademark infringement … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here’s the voucher proposal

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. Get ready to be sick of the whole debate by the end of the session. The Texas Senate revealed a bill on Friday to create an education savings accounts program, a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I sure hope these are the only cases we see

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Stay away, measles. The Houston Health Department said [last] Friday it has identified two cases of measles in adults who’ve recently traveled internationally, the first cases in Houston since 2018. The adults live in the same household, and it’s unknown … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on I sure hope these are the only cases we see

Would you buy electricity from this man?

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Man, 2025 is on one. Enron, or the satire-infused Frankenstein version of the long-deceased company, filed an application with state regulators Tuesday to become Texas’ newest retail electric provider. It’s yet another eyebrow-raising move by 28-year-old CEO Connor Gaydos, one of the pranksters behind “Birds … Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Would you buy electricity from this man?

State Bar to drop its lawsuit against Paxton

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The State Bar of Texas on Wednesday moved to drop its lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, extending a cascade of legal and political wins for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

GLO contests the allegations on their Harvey screw job

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Going through the motions here, since we all know that Justice Department investigation will never happen. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has penned a letter to federal law enforcement officials encouraging them to reject “unsubstantiated findings” submitted by the U.S. Department … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on GLO contests the allegations on their Harvey screw job

HISD addresses the “ICE in schools” issue

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox. Dear HISD Community, Many of our staff are receiving questions about how HISD manages state and federal law enforcement agencies on our campuses. We want to assure you that our policies have not changed, and they align … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HISD addresses the “ICE in schools” issue

This time the power stayed on

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The weather cooperated by not being as bad as it could have been. Most Houston-area residents woke up to two delights Tuesday morning: an unusually thick blanket of snow, and the power thankfully still on. It was a sharp contrast … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TEC drops ethics complaint against state GOP Chair

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Boy that was fast. The Texas Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint against the state Republican Party Chair alleging that he illegally threatened and intimidated lawmakers over their support for a House speaker candidate, according to the state House Member … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TEC drops ethics complaint against state GOP Chair

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 20

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes we’re all ready to fight back now as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of January 20

Snow Day 2025

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That sure was something. Houston woke up to a winter wonderland Tuesday as a fresh blanket of snow fell across the region. The winter storm that also brought sleet should taper off through Tuesday afternoon. How does this snow — … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dan Patrick says something about abortion

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Usually, when Dan Patrick says something should happen in the Legislature, he gets his way. With this, I’m not so sure he actually has anything in mind, and as such I’m not expecting anything. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Sunday … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment