Category Archives: Local politics

Vidal Martinez made the case in yesterday’s Chron for tackling the task of City Council redistricting in time for the 2009 elections, on the grounds that this is the deal the city agreed to with the Justice Department back in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t know how widespread the email distribution list is for this sort of thing, so consider this to be a public service announcement for District H in Houston: City of Houston Capital Improvement Plan Meeting for District H Hosted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Or at least, here we go again with arguing about when we should be redrawing City Council lines. Mayor Bill White’s decision to delay redrawing the boundaries of City Council districts has angered numerous community activists, who say his stance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

New Sheriff Adrian Garcia won a round in court yesterday against two of the command staff members he fired upon taking office. Former Majors Jule Brownfield and Kim Stelter had sought an injunction to hold two captains’ positions open while … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor Bill White gave his last State of the City address yesterday. Mayor Bill White used his last “State of the City” address Thursday to reassure Houstonians that they and the city will weather the coming economic storm, just as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Alas. Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez can breathe easy for at least two more years. After county leaders made abolishing his office a top priority going into the last legislative session, it’s not even on the county’s platform this time. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Glad to hear it. Houston ISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra has temporarily withdrawn a proposal to cut spending on busing to the district’s beloved magnet schools after failing to get enough support from parents and school trustees. Saavedra said Monday he … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today and through the weekend, the newly-elected county officials and judges who haven’t already been sworn into office will take their oaths. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett will administer the oath of office to Adrian Garcia, who becomes sheriff after … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Back in September, the city won a temporary injunction against The Penthouse Club, as part of a wider effort to sue a bunch of strip clubs out of business on the grounds that they represent public nuisances. That injunction has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The idea of separating the function of voter registrar from the office of Harris County Tax Assessor has come up before in the wake of Paul Bettencourt’s departure, and it is still being discussed. State law allows Commissioners Court to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

By this time next week, City Council Member James Rodriguez in District I will be the only Latino member on Council. “For many people, I will be the only Latino voice on the City Council, and that’s something I take … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A letter to the editor yesterday from Terry Beiswanger makes an interesting point. In response to Wednesday’s City and State cover article “Vasquez takes charge of county tax office / Commissioners vote 4-1 to fill recent vacancy”: With a new … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s the full Chron story on Leo Vasquez, who appears to be the favorite to be selected by Commissioners Court as Paul Bettencourt’s replacement for Harris County Tax Assessor. Just a couple of points to note. First, since I was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In yesterday’s post about the looming Bettencourt deadline, a commenter noted that the agenda for Harris County Commissioner’s Court would be posted this morning for next Tuesday’s meeting. Here it is (PDF), but it doesn’t tell us much: Discussion and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Hair Balls brings the news. Harris County Commissioners Court has to appoint a replacement. The trouble, County Judge Ed Emmett tells Hair Balls, is that there’s a deadline fast approaching that has to be met or the entire office may … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I blogged about this earlier, and now there’s a Chron story about the controversy surrounding HISD magnet schools and the costs of transporting students to them. In recent weeks, HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra has proposed limiting busing to magnet schools … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A few weeks back, HISD Superintendent Abe Saavedra wrote an op-ed that discussed the state of HISD’s magnet programs and the costs associated with them. One item has caused alarm among parents and activists: As we continue to move the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s time for Harris County Commissioners Court to start picking through the many hopefuls who want Paul Bettencourt’s job and choose a replacement. At least two dozen names were being floated, including potential Houston mayoral candidate Bill King, ousted District … Continue reading → Continue reading →

No surprise there. The good news is that it’s not nearly as bad as it could be. Sales tax revenue could be 3.4 percent lower than planned for this fiscal year, said Controller Annise Parker. That means a shortfall of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

No, not his future run for Governor, which I will continue to believe is Bill White’s fate until proven otherwise. This is about the Mayor’s last legislative session while in office and the things he’d still like to accomplish there. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chuck Rosenthal may be gone, but sadly his brand of “humor” lives on at the courthouse. The Harris County Republican Party chairman is calling for a GOP misdemeanor court judge to resign because, using the courthouse computer system, he circulated … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I meant to blog about this Rick Casey column in which he provided an update to the Lloyd Kelley/Ibarra brothers saga but didn’t get to it last week. Two weeks ago I reported that Kelley had withheld another $200,000 or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Do you own a bicycle? If you do, you’re probably in violation of a city ordinance. Mayor Bill White breaks this law. Thousands of innocent children could be implicated. You, dear reader, may be in violation and not even know … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So Judge Ed Emmett’s task force plan for improving ethics in county government was introduced to Commissioner’s Court today. It didn’t get very far, but that was pretty much expected at this point. I do want to highlight something that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sometimes you think there are no twists and turns left in a story, then you find there are indeed. Erik and Sean Ibarra filed suit Wednesday in a Harris County court, accusing Lloyd E. Kelley of breach of contract. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →