Category Archives: The great state of Texas

Curbside composting

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Way to go, Austin. City officials are asking Austinites in 7,900 households in five parts of the city to separate their banana peels, egg shells, meat, chicken bones, milk cartons, leaves and any other organic material from their household trash … Continue reading →

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Tar Sands Protesters Are Texas Progressive Alliance 2012 Texans Of The Year

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance, a consortium of Lone Star-based liberal weblogs, has selected the protesters of the Tar Sands Blockade as Texans of the Year for 2012. The award has been given annually to the person, or persons or organization, who had … Continue reading →

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Get well soon, Elf Louise

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve ever lived in San Antonio, you are undoubtedly familiar with the Elf Louise Christmas Project. I’m sad to say that “Elf” Louise Locker has suffered a heart attack, but thankfully appears to be recovering nicely. The woman behind … Continue reading →

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Happy birthday, Lady Bird

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Lady Bird Johnson would be celebrating her 100th birthday today if she were still with us. Catherine Robb’s eyes blurred with tears and she paused, overcome by the emotion of trying to find the right words to express how much … Continue reading →

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The Municipal Equality Index

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: A new report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in America’s cities by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute,  rated … Continue reading →

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Save those seeds

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

What would have been worse than the drought and the wildfires in Central Texas that wiped out millions of trees? Not having the wherewithal to properly reforest afterward. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, but it was a closer call than you’d … Continue reading →

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How long before marriage equality comes to Texas?

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As is so often the case, the state of Texas will lag behind the rest of the country on the issue. If DOMA is struck down, questions will be raised about states that don’t recognize same-sex marriages and if it … Continue reading →

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Have I mentioned the that drought is back?

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to say it, but it is. A dry winter that’s on track to making the record books has sent portions of Texas, including Houston and Fort Worth, back into severe drought, raising concerns about wildfires and the health … Continue reading →

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DRT vs OAG: OAG wins

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the Daughters of the Republic of Texas have conceded in the fight over how the Alamo has been maintained. In a news release Tuesday, the Daughters acknowledged recent troubles at the shrine and … Continue reading →

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Demographic change in the Panhandle

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

What’s happening in other parts of Texas is happening in West Texas, too. Whites no longer are the majority group in 17 counties in the Texas Panhandle/South Plains region, including Potter County, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. And based … Continue reading →

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A family planning end run?

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. Texas lawmakers have spent the past two years attacking family planning services in the state, cutting funds for programs that provide women with birth control and wellness exams. Now family planning advocates are fighting back. A coalition … Continue reading →

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The drought is back

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bad news, y’all. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that more than three-quarters of Texas is now in at least a “moderate” drought, and nearly half the state is in a “severe” or worse … Continue reading →

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DRT vs OAG

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like a little holiday week controversy. A blistering report released Tuesday by the Texas attorney general’s office outlines a long list of problems and dysfunctions in the past management of the Alamo by the Daughters of the Republic of … Continue reading →

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On bringing home the “bacon”

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Cruz doesn’t do bacon. Texas’ new U.S. senator-elect, Ted Cruz, has repeatedly taken a cautious approach when asked about how he’ll fill Kay Bailey Hutchison’s shoes when it comes to Texas’ share of federal funding. Cruz said while campaigning … Continue reading →

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No Planned Parenthood, no women’s health care

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough concept. Women’s access to affordable health care will be reduced if the state follows through with its plan to eschew federal funding for the Women’s Health Program and create a state program instead, according to a … Continue reading →

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Psych hospital privatization rejected

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Department of State Health Services has rejected a bid by Geo Care to privatize Kerrville State Hospital. Last year, legislators told State Health Services it had to solicit proposals from mental health providers that wanted to run one … Continue reading →

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It was nice knowing you, Lockhart

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much that’s wrong with this. Community leaders believe the four lanes of Texas 130 will spur growth — despite what is expected to be a charge of about 15 cents a mile to drive on it. The tollway, … Continue reading →

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The hogs are winning

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So many feral hogs. So much more needed to deal with them. Texas upped the ante in its battle with feral hogs a year ago when it passed a “pork choppers” law that allows recreational shooters to blast wild pigs … Continue reading →

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Three hundred million trees

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the latest estimate of the toll from last year’s drought. The numbers are ugly. A whopping 301 million trees have died across state forestlands as a result of the 2011 drought, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported Tuesday. The … Continue reading →

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Castro puts pre-K on the national stage

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to thrusting himself into the national spotlight with his DNC keynote address, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro also brought the discussion about pre-kindergarten education to the fore. Under the biggest spotlight of his political career, Mayor Julián Castro … Continue reading →

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Counties may try to expand Medicaid on their own

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Washington Post reports on the efforts of county and hospital district officials in some of Texas’ largest counties to bypass Rick Perry’s refusal to expand Medicaid for Texas and seek approval to do it themselves for their own jurisdictions. … Continue reading →

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From the fish fraud files

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My name’s Friday. I’m a fish fraud cop. Game wardens inspecting the takes of the “Nice Tails” team at the annual Ladies Kingfish tournament last month knew something was up when they saw a trout with a mottled belly and … Continue reading →

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A dollar a tree

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Replacing the trees lost in the Bastrop fires last summer is going to cost some money, but there’s now a foundation working on raising that money. Flanked by containers bristling with pine tree seedlings, state and local officials on Tuesday … Continue reading →

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We’re not number one!

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Harris County, for not having the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country any more. An estimated 29.9 percent of Harris County residents lacked health insurance in 2010, according to the new U.S. Census Bureau data, a smaller … Continue reading →

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AG shuts down bogus charity museum

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an extremely rare privilege to point out something of actual positive value done by our Attorney General. The doors will finally close on the Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio, a charity that raised millions of dollars under … Continue reading →

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More porkchopping, please

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, shooting feral hogs from a helicopter isn’t as popular a pastime as you might think. “Number one, the cost is kind of limiting,” said Steve Lightfoot, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, explaining that interest has … Continue reading →

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Forget the Alamo

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least, forget about using it in a slogan. Even if it’s possible to get too drunk to remember the Alamo, the state agency that oversees the shrine says that’s nothing to brag about on a T-shirt or frilly undergarment. … Continue reading →

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More on the landfills of Waller County

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Last July I wrote about a proposed landfill in Waller County near Hempstead and the residents who are fighting against it. The Statesman has an update on the story. In many ways, the landfill fight in this rural Texas town … Continue reading →

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Opposing the privatized psych hospital

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some pushback on a bad idea. A coalition of influential Texas organizations is pushing back against the proposed privatization of a state psychiatric hospital by Geo Care, a subsidiary of a prison operations group that has a troubled history in … Continue reading →

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We need more doctors and nurses

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If the state of Texas ever expands Medicaid, or less likely does something on its own to improve access to health care for its residents, it’s going to have to confront a different problem: A persistent shortage of doctors and … Continue reading →

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It was more than drought that killed the trees

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So say the experts. Don’t blame the drought for killing an estimated 506 million trees in Texas. At least, don’t blame it exclusively. The drought is only part of the story of why trees are dying, according to a new … Continue reading →

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Will the real Bikinis, TX please stand up?

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My head hurts, too. It’s a story confusing enough to make your head hurt. The owner of Austin-based Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill announced last week that he’d purchased the Hill Country town of Bankersmith and planned to rename it … Continue reading →

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More to the story on Bikinis, TX

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what do you know? Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill CEO Doug Guller didn’t buy Bankersmith, but rather a piece of land nearby. Tax records show the actual town site is owned by Rudy Klinkseik, an adjacent landowner. And it’s … Continue reading →

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Who gets to use the water?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot more demand for an increasingly limited supply. More than miles separate the rice farms of the Texas coast and the Highland Lakes, where the outward march of Austin is marked by each new house, strip mall and … Continue reading →

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