Category Archives: The great state of Texas

Bikinis, Texas

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I got nothin’. Bikinis isn’t just a restaurant anymore. Now it’s a city, too. Doug Guller, owner of the Austin-based bar and restaurant chain, has purchased Bankersmith, a long-abandoned town in northwestern Kendall County, renaming it Bikinis, Texas. The purchase … Continue reading →

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How’s that can ban going?

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Depends who you ask. The so-called can ban doesn’t prohibit alcohol, but that message hasn’t been sticking. “People are calling saying, ‘You can’t drink in New Braunfels, so why am I coming?“’ said Shane Wolf, general manager of Rockin’ R … Continue reading →

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Patterson talks desalinization

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is getting the state into the Central Texas water game. Patterson’s office [announced Monday] that it has contracted with two water consulting firms to examine the feasibility of building a desalination plant between Austin … Continue reading →

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We’re #50!

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is dead last in delivering health care. The 2011 State Snapshots report is based on 155 quality measures gathered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human … Continue reading →

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Local action on payday lending

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart reports on a promising movement. No one was particularly surprised a year ago when the Texas Legislature failed – once again – to pass meaningful regulation of the payday and auto title loan industries. After all, the … Continue reading →

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Why do we want to subsidize the creation of minimum wage jobs?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a question some people are asking in San Antonio. Thankfully, the local debate over whether to grant Maruchan Inc. of Japan millions of dollars to pay people very little money to make noodles has transcended the mere question of … Continue reading →

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Henry Cisneros

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Express News bring us an update on former San Antonio Mayor and onetime rising star Henry Cisneros. Henry Cisneros still talks about housing and urban development with passion, about the future of cities and the ways in which immigrant … Continue reading →

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You say “Manchaca”, I say “Menchaca”

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start a Facebook page to settle it once and for all. Austin’s long-held knack for mangling street pronunciations is so rich it could be its own game show category. As in: “This well-known University of Texas-area street’s name suggests … Continue reading →

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Conservation is still the best water plan

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas needs to do better at it. As Texas recovers from the severe drought of the last two years, water experts say that conservation is the easiest way to ensure that the state will have enough of … Continue reading →

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Recycling water

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib continues its look at the present and future of water use in Texas with a story about reclaiming wastewater. “Reclaimed water,” the term for cleaned-up wastewater that gets reused, currently provides a little less than 3 percent of … Continue reading →

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Desalinization and power plants

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has another story about desalinization in Texas, and reading it brings up a point that I don’t think gets enough attention. Interest in desalination surged more than a decade ago, when the technology became more efficient and cost-competitive, … Continue reading →

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Solar’s bright future

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long story in the Observer about the state of solar energy in Texas. The piece covers a lot of ground, including this bit about what’s going on in San Antonio. San Antonio has emerged as a city willing … Continue reading →

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Who wants to live in Galveston?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Galveston would like to know. Although the city is still rebuilding with new private investment and hundreds of millions in federal disaster money, Galveston finds itself at a crossroads and confronting fundamental questions: Will its population continue to shrink until … Continue reading →

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Ten things you should know about the demographics of Texas

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Center for American Progress: 1. Communities of color are driving population growth in Texas. Texas is one of five states in the country where people of color make up the majority of the population. Between 2000 and 2009 Hispanic population … Continue reading →

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Can ban lawsuit moves back to Comal County

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins removed two state agencies from a lawsuit filed against New Braunfels by a coalition of businesses over the law banning disposable containers on the rivers — popular tubing routes. Jenkins dismissed … Continue reading →

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Lake businesses hoping for a good summer

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Sure must be tough being so dependent on factors beyond your control. Central Texas lake-area businesses dependent on customers being in, on or near water want you to know three things heading into Memorial Day weekend: Last summer wasn’t as … Continue reading →

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It sure would be nice if The Lege would do something about the drought

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t count on it, though. Most of Texas has emerged from its driest year on record, but the turn in weather likely will dampen legislative interest in the state’s water supply. Water planners, policy experts and scientists said Monday at … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit sends open beaches lawsuit back to district court

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, the headline makes it sound like better news than it is. A federal appeals court Monday ruled that the Texas Open Beaches Act is unconstitutional in the case of a Galveston Island property, a ruling that puts the fate … Continue reading →

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The face of the country continues to change

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is our future. For the first time, as of 2011, more than half of the children under age 1 in the U.S. were minorities, the newest benchmark illustrating the widening age gap between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing, … Continue reading →

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Another reason why Texas has a high teen pregnancy rate

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’re lousy at sex education. In the mid-1990s, California embraced sex education that teaches students the importance of waiting until they’re older to have sex, but also the value of using protection if they don’t wait. Compare this with classrooms … Continue reading →

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ERCOT hopes this summer is better than the last

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That would be nice. Managers of the state’s primary electricity grid expect to avoid rolling blackouts this summer but not without calling on Texans to turn up their thermostats and conserve power during peak usage on the season’s hottest afternoons. … Continue reading →

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“Crazy” ants come to Austin

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the move. There’s a new ant in town, and wherever it goes, fire ants start disappearing. It also doesn’t sting or bite. But don’t get excited yet. The Rasberry crazy ant which showed up in Travis County and … Continue reading →

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Urban chickens update

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From TM Daily Post: A survey of Texas chicken husbandry regulations showed an overall tolerance for backyard fowl as long as the noise and smell don’t offend your neighbors (although some cities, like Plano, forbid chickens). The regs require considerable … Continue reading →

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The Adickes museum

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. It’s been 70 years since David Adickes danced the jitterbug in the old Huntsville High School gym. Now, at age 85, he pauses at a flight of schoolhouse stairs, uncertain if his knees can stand the climb. Still, there’s … Continue reading →

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The teen birth rate in Texas

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that it’s declining. The bad news is that as with so many other things, Texas ranks among the lowest in the country. Despite a slight improvement from 2009, Texas still had one of the nation’s highest … Continue reading →

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Bastard cabbage

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

All that recent rain benefits good plants and bad plants. With its thick outcropping of leafy green branches topped with small yellow flowers, an invasive weed commonly called bastard cabbage is blotting out large swaths of wildflowers, including the beloved … Continue reading →

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I think we’ve found the problem at TAPPS

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As is often the case, the problem starts at the top. Edd Burleson, in full charge, didn’t bother to chew on the question. At age 77, the former small-town state champion football coach, who later served as the superintendent of … Continue reading →

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San Antonio going for desalinization

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing we’ll be seeing more of in the near future. The San Antonio Water System is now pumping salt water in southern Bexar County as it looks for new water sources for the city. Tuesday the utility gave a … Continue reading →

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The bees are back

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And that’s a very good thing. The bees were hungry. Months of sweltering heat with little rain blanched the landscape. Flowers withered, if they bloomed at all. The drought, a death rattle to so many farmers and ranchers in Texas, … Continue reading →

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There’s still a drought out there

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the rain, the state of Texas is still mostly in drought conditions, and the threat will remain for the next several years. Most of Central and East Texas beat long odds with heavy rains this winter, but experts warned … Continue reading →

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It’s not so easy being green

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For cities, anyway, at this time. College Station, the maroon-hued home of Texas A&M University, is finding it is not easy being green. Four years after launching an ambitious local effort to fight global warming, city leaders say their high … Continue reading →

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West Texas wind

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The wind energy business in Texas is going strong. BP and other energy companies are funneling millions of dollars into building and operating wind farms in West Texas, helping to transform the oil country into one of the nation’s leading … Continue reading →

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Pediatric dental care

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s more important than you might think. While overall oral health care for adults and children has improved, tooth decay continues to be the most common chronic disease among children. It can have serious social and health consequences when untreated … Continue reading →

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Less drought, more mosquitos

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tough choice, isn’t it? This story is about the prospects in Central Texas for rain and the buzzing vermin we all hate, but it could just as easily be written for Houston or any other part of the state. This … Continue reading →

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