Monthly Archives: March 2007

To toll or not to toll

Posted on March 26, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Former TxDOT Commissioner and current State Sen. Robert Nichols explains his shift in thinking on toll roads. Basically, he does not favor the no-compete clauses, which he did not think would be a part of the deal for the Trans … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

Ratliff: Change how we rate schools

Posted on March 26, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Amen to this. The father of the state’s public school accountability system says it’s time to scrap the way schools get rated and substitute something better. “We think it’s become cumbersome. Nobody can understand it,” says retired Republican Sen. Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 1 Comment

Global warming in the Lege

Posted on March 26, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Please, refrain from making any hot air jokes. This is a good thing that’s happening. Lawmakers this session have filed more bills to assess the effects global warming will have on the state and to curb the pollution causing it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Reminder about Metro town hall meetings

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Christof reminds me of the Metro town hall meetings that will take place tonight and tomorrow night to discuss various aspects of the Universities line. More details are here for these meetings, which Metro says are “to receive your input … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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How to run the Final Four

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting article on how the Reliant Stadium crew and associated others are studying what other Final Four sites have done in preparation for Houston’s turn as host in 2011 (we get regionals next year and 2010 as warm-up acts). Just … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

This ain’t your daddy’s Pasadena

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Pasa-git-down-Dena isn’t what you think it is any more, at least not if your impression of it is taken from Urban Cowboy. Pasadena, ever the chameleon, is undergoing its most profound shift to date as the old Anglo culture gives … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Houston Bloggers Pub

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Bloggers Pub is an aggregator of Houston blogs that in its words “becomes a virtual pub to listen in on the social, political, recreational, and spiritual views of the area.” They’ve just started up here (they already exist in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Open document formats for Texas

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Chip Rosenthal, who was one of the leading fighters against the anti-municipal wireless provisions of last session’s telecom bill, writes about two proposals in the Lege to mandate that the state use an XML-based, open, non-proprietary format for its documents. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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With former friends like these…

Posted on March 25, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Poor Tom. Poor, poor Tom. As Tom DeLay pursues a return to the public stage, he’s meeting resistance from an unexpected source: conservatives who say that he betrayed the movement as a congressional leader. Four board members of the American … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Downtown construction photos

Posted on March 24, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

A reader named Mike Caddell sent me a couple of great aerial photos that he took of the construction going on downtown of Discovery Green Park and One Park Place. They’re a little big to display here, so I’ll just … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Downtown construction photos

Been waitin’ on the bus all day

Posted on March 24, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Christof writes about his daily bus commute and how the experience compares to the light rail. I had some experience with each this week thanks to a car in the shop. I was dropped off at and picked up from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 6 Comments

COPA struck down again

Posted on March 24, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in Philadelphia struck down a 1998 law Thursday that made it a crime for Web sites to allow children to gain access to material deemed “harmful.” The ruling is the second major setback in federal efforts … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on COPA struck down again

TDP town hall in the Valley

Posted on March 24, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Meant to link to this story about the Texas Democratic Party town hall meeting in Laredo, but didn’t get to it till now. The real story isn’t so much what was said and done, but that it happened and that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 1 Comment

TYC: Alfonso Royal and email retention

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Vince is reporting that Alfonso Royal, the aide to Governor Perry who knew about what was happening at Pyote in March of 2005, was supposed to become the head of the TYC later this year. I’m guessing that’s not going … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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TYC superintendant arrested

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing to do with Pyote, just more bad news from somewhere else in this wretched system. The superintendent of the Texas Youth Commission’s Marlin intake center was arrested this morning for allegedly fibbing to Texas Rangers investigating sexual-assault reports at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on TYC superintendant arrested

Woodland Heights home tour this weekend

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Marty Hajovsky has been beating the drum all week for the Woodland Heights Home Tour, for which you can still order tickets online through 11 PM tonight. If you aren’t sure about going on the tour this year, let me … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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TYC: Another “correction” from Perry’s office

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart, on March 5: When Sen. Juan Hinojosa held hearings last summer about a riot at a TYC facility in the Rio Grande Valley, he learned enough about the agency’s operations to recognize “a recipe for disaster.” Guards … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: The next playlist

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Well, I enjoyed my experimental playlist, and will certainly put a fair amount of it higher up in the rotation for the future, but all good things must come to an end, and I’ve still got a bunch of CDs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 2 Comments

Richie to Cornyn: Recuse yourself

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The idea of Sen. John Cornyn on an ethics committee is ludicrous on its face, since Cornyn has shown no willingness or ability to use any criteria besides partisan considerations for making a decision. Asking him to judge Sen. Pete … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

To override or not to override

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t made up my mind about this yet. In another rebuff to Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas House passed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday for an automatic special session during which lawmakers could attempt to override gubernatorial vetoes. “I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

An update on a longstanding Heights development story

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Via Houstonist, here’s an update on a story regarding some condo development in the Heights. Heights residents, upset about a possible new condominium development on vacant land near East Fifth and Frasier streets, aim to petition the city of Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

No indictments in TYC cases yet

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

You know, after all the outrage and demonization of the accused offenders at the Pyote TYC facility, it would be…the word “bizarre” comes to mind…if the Attorney General were ultimately unable to get any indictments against them. After one day … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on No indictments in TYC cases yet

Carona puts the brakes on toll road moratorium

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is a surprise. The chairman of the Senate’s transportation panel, despite being one of more than 125 legislators co-sponsoring legislation to shelve private toll road contracts for two years, said Wednesday he won’t give the measure a vote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Elizabeth Edwards

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

My very best wishes to Elizabeth Edwards as she continues her battle against cancer. I agree with Kos – in a fairer world, she’d be a Senator or something similar. Regardless, she’s a fighter and a huge asset to her … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment

Jones’ petition denied

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this when I was finishing up this earlier post about Ray Jones: The 14th Court of Appeals has spoken, and it has said No to Jones. Justices Richard Edelman, Charles Seymore and Leslie Brock Yates rejected his argument that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 1 Comment

All that needs to be said about Tom DeLay’s comeback tour

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The story may have been on yesterday’s front page (obviously, a slow news day), but nobody cared. Seems only fitting to me. One point to make: The verdict is out on whether he can remain a power broker, particularly with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 3 Comments

Town hall meeting on education with Rep. Cohen

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

From the office of State Rep. Ellen Cohen: On Thursday, March 29th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, State Representative Ellen Cohen will host her second town hall meeting at Rice University. The topic of discussion will be “From Kindergarten … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Two words I didn’t expect to hear this time around: Special session

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe it’s just an immutable law of nature that there must be a special session every year that Rick Perry is Governor. I don’t see him having a whole lot of enthusiasm for this, however. The scuttlebutt in the Capitol … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Jones responds back

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles has the latest response (PDF) in the Ray Jones/City of Houston dustup. I’ve already said what I think about this, and I’m not seeing anything to change my mind. I will say that Jones’ attorney Richard Leach has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | Comments Off on Jones responds back

RIP, Charles Harrison

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Charles “father of Woody” Harrelson, probably the best-known contract killer of the late 20th Century, has died in prison. Charles Harrelson, 69, was found unresponsive in his cell on March 15 and apparently died of natural causes, said Felicia Ponce, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on RIP, Charles Harrison

First draft of the budget passes out of committee

Posted on March 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Every time the Lege meets, they have one task on their must-do list, and that’s pass a budget. They could do nothing else (and there are times when that would be a good idea), but they have to do this. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on First draft of the budget passes out of committee

Looks like Orlando will escape the legislative axe

Posted on March 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Back in January, I wrote the following about any attempt by the Lege to eliminate the office of Harris County Treasurer now that it was being held by Orlando Sanchez: I have my doubts that any progress will be made … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 3 Comments

TYC: What did Perry’s people know?

Posted on March 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

One of the many questions regarding the Texas Youth Commission scandal is about what Governor Perry knew and when he knew it. The Chron advances that story today. Gov. Rick Perry’s staff knew as early as June 2005 that two … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Red light camera ban bill to be heard today

Posted on March 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Grits reports that the Urban Affairs Committee will be holding a hearing on Rep. Carl Isett’s HB985, which bans red light cameras, including their possible use for catching speeders, later today (see the schedule here). Scott’s feelings on these things … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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