Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Saturday Beryl roundup

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We need better outage data. Meanwhile, the system that once fed CenterPoint’s map – which has quietly continued to report data under the hood of the utility’s website – became overwhelmed almost immediately after Beryl reached the greater Houston area. … Continue reading →

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Alternate route for the DFW high speed rail line

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Compromise! High-speed rail could zip past downtown Dallas under a revised route that regional elected leaders will consider this week. The proposal, developed after the Dallas City Council approved a June 12 resolution opposing an elevated line through downtown and … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 13 edition

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a (usually) weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. The last few weeks, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag of catch-up items from elections to storms and their … Continue reading →

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The CenterPoint criticism

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more people in positions of power with things to say about CenterPoint’s performance this week. Here’s Rep. Sylvia Garcia: U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia is tired of feeling left in the dark by CenterPoint Energy – both literally and figuratively. … Continue reading →

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Other Beryl stuff

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A mini-roundup, with mostly non-CenterPoint things. How’s your Internet service? An Xfinity spokesperson said Wednesday that service was restored to approximately 355,000 customers — or about 36% of those experiencing service outages — in the 36 hours after Hurricane Beryl … Continue reading →

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Re-impeachment?

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have a hard time believing this. Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday evening said the Texas House ethics committee, which scheduled a meeting for next week, is planning to recommend impeaching him a second time. “Next week’s House General … Continue reading →

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CenterPoint’s uninspired performance

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

So what happened here? CenterPoint Energy faced an early round of scrutiny Tuesday about whether it adequately prepared for Hurricane Beryl, as more than 1 million Houston-area customers prepared to sweat through multiple days without power. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan … Continue reading →

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Flooding in Texas

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We have a lot. We’re going to get more. Any questions? The combination of rising sea levels and sinking land along the Texas Gulf Coast has made the region one of the most frequently flooded in the country, according to … Continue reading →

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Judge Aguilar back on the bench

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As expected following the dismissal of the charges against him. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct has lifted the suspension of a Harris County felony court judge after a misdemeanor assault case against him was dismissed. The chair of the … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 8

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The thoughts and prayers of the Texas Progressive Alliance are with everyone in the path of Hurricane Beryl as we bring you this week’s roundup.

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The power situation

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Rough times for CenterPoint. Hurricane Beryl “more heavily impacted” Houston’s electric infrastructure than originally anticipated, the area’s primary electricity provider said Monday in an afternoon press release. The Cat 1 hurricane led to widespread outages affecting more than 2.26 million … Continue reading →

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More on the infant mortality study

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Mother Jones takes a closer look at a recent study that showed a significant increase in infant mortality in Texas since the passage of SB8 in 2021. Since then, as wave after wave of post-Dobbs abortion restrictions have been enacted … Continue reading →

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Tuesday Beryl checkin

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got no power but I do have Internet, so here’s a brief Beryl overview for you. We’re all fine and we do have some battery power to charge devices and keep the fridge and freezer cold, but expect things … Continue reading →

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Should we appeal the zombie ReBuild lawsuit ruling?

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Controller Hollins says no. Mayor Whitmire seems likely to go ahead anyway. Houston Controller Chris Hollins has warned Mayor John Whitmire’s administration about potential financial challenges the city could face if it were to appeal a state appellate court ruling … Continue reading →

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Here’s Beryl

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hoping for the best. Beryl is on the cusp of regaining hurricane status this evening as it lumbers its way north northwest through the western Gulf of Mexico. At this point, it’s mostly a waiting game as the outer bands … Continue reading →

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Bond spending so far

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

HISD is presumably going to spend some amount of money to get its bond passed. It has already spent some money putting the bond package together. Houston ISD has spent at least $700,000 developing and promoting its $4.4 school bond … Continue reading →

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The answer to “who watches the watchers” is “Ken Paxton”

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think even Molly Ivins could have found a way to make this funny. For more than a year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has owed the state over $11,000 in fines for filing late campaign finance reports. Now, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for July 7

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“Gotta bring back the bootleg DVD man. This shit ain’t right.” “If that sounds like the narcissism of small differences exemplified in the classic Emo Phillips joke — “I said ‘Die heretic!’ and I pushed him off the bridge!” — … Continue reading →

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Keeping an eye on Beryl

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From Space City Weather: In brief: Although we cannot be certain at this time, it increasingly looks as though Tropical Storm Beryl is on track to make landfall somewhere between Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay on Monday. For the greater … Continue reading →

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The HISD bond committee has some feedback

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t we all. Houston ISD should provide more communication and transparency around its $4.4 billion school bond proposal, including plans for pre-K expansion and co-locations of several campuses, before a potential vote in November, according to a recent advisory committee … Continue reading →

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Sheriff’s office looking at AI solutions

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This actually sounds pretty reasonable to me. With thousands of hours of body camera footage and non-emergency calls and not enough staff to tackle it all, Harris County Sheriff’s officials are thinking of turning to artificial intelligence to handle some … Continue reading →

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Amarillo to vote on abortion travel ban

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope the opposition to this gets all the support it needs. Amarillo residents will vote on a so-called abortion travel ban in November, one of the few times Texas voters will have a say on abortion since Roe … Continue reading →

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Domestic violence charges dismissed against Judge Frank Aguilar

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. A misdemeanor assault case that led to the suspension of a Harris County felony judge was dismissed Wednesday by Galveston County prosecutors, court records show. Prosecutors contend probable cause exists against 228th District Court Judge Frank Aguilar, who was … Continue reading →

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A small followup on the West 11th Street safety study

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This doesn’t really add much to what we had before, but I figured a little low-stakes story about something good was a thing we could use. 11th Street in the Houston Heights area became safer for everyone, including drivers, after … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear appeal of Texas’ anti-porn law

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The hits are already coming. The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider a challenge to a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the ages of their visitors. The dispute centers around Texas House Bill 1181, which … Continue reading →

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Judge Kelli Johnson appears in court

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her well in resolving this. Judge Kelli Johnson, 52, entered the misdemeanor courtroom — 11 floors below her 178th District Court bench — to face an elected official like herself as hundreds of defendants have done in her … Continue reading →

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A few questions about Swyft Cities and the Whoosh project

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about the Whoosh elevated autonomous cable car project in North Texas, I got a comment from Leonard Lee addressing some of the concerns I had raised. He invited me to contact him if I had any … Continue reading →

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On cover songs

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s almost certainly because of Luke Combs and his amazing cover of Tracy Chapman’s classic “Fast Car”, but cover songs are back in the conversation now. I’m an aficionado of covers, I love a good one, so this is all … Continue reading →

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Judge rejects Paxton’s bullying against Annunciation House

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. An El Paso district court judge has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to shut down the Annunciation House network of migrant shelters in El Paso, saying the state was harassing its employees and guests. In a pair … Continue reading →

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More on “No trust, no bond”

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still inclined to vote for the HISD bond, but I’m listening to the opposition and am very interested in seeing what traction they can get. Several HISD teachers, parents and community members say they are planning to cast their … Continue reading →

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Future doctor shortage update

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Still going in a worrying direction. According to new statistics from the Association of American Medical Colleges, for the second year in a row, students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residency positions … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 1

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone’s dogs a safe and quiet Fourth as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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SCOTUS keeps Texas’ stupid social media censorship law blocked

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The US Supreme Court did an awful lot of Very Bad Things this past week. You don’t need me to get into that, the entire Internet is screaming about it, with much justification. They also did at least one not … Continue reading →

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Are we really gonna take this show on the road?

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Color me skeptical. The seismic changes seen by Monsiváis’ son and the 180,000-plus students throughout HISD this school year are the result of the most dramatic state takeover of a school district in American history, a grand experiment that could … Continue reading →

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