Monthly Archives: August 2008

Bringing entertainment to Sugar Land

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Sugar Land wants to be a more entertaining place than it is now. Sugar Land City Council is considering a measure to create an entertainment district that would include among other things, a concert hall, minor league baseball stadium and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

Bye-bye, TRCC

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance if it goes away. An agency created to resolve disputes between homeowners and builders is “fundamentally flawed” and should be abolished, the Sunset Advisory Commission staff said today. “It’s really doing more harm to homeowners than good,” said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

Brimer denied again

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The State Supreme Court has rejected Sen. Kim Brimer’s latest attempt to knock Wendy Davis off the ballot in SD10. That leaves one more appeal pending in the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth for Brimer’s petition to have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Brimer denied again

Would we call him “Mr. Governor Mayor”?

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I realize we’re all focused on the 2008 elections, and rightly so, but if I may interrupt that for a moment to bring a bit of interesting news for 2009: According to a well-placed City Hall source, former Governor of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged | 3 Comments

From the “How fleeting is fame?” department

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Ken Hoffman: Let’s get right to today’s trivia: Who holds the Major League Baseball record for most career home runs by a player whose last name begins with the letter Q? For example, A is easy. It’s Henry Aaron with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments

Good news coming for Metro?

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds promising. The U.S. transportation secretary will announce “good news” regarding expanding transit in Houston Tuesday, a spokeswoman said. Metro has asked the agency to pay for half of two planned light rail lines. The announcement by Transportation Secretary … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

Candidate Q&A: Dion Ramos

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Note: This entry is part of a series of written Q&As with judicial candidates who will be on the ballot in Harris County. I am also doing recorded interviews with non-judicial candidates. This is the first such entry in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

ACORN in the field

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I spent a few months as a deputy vote registrar in 2004. It’s pretty tedious work, and you don’t really get to see a reward for it, since the folks you register won’t cast their ballots for at least several … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on ACORN in the field

Still searching for Bigfoot

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

You have to give these guys credit for persistence, if nothing else. Two men who claim to have stumbled across a Bigfoot corpse in the woods of northern Georgia indignantly stood by their story at a news conference in Palo … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Skepticism | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of August 18

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I’m too in awe of Michael Phelps’ gold record count to come up with a snappy intro to this week’s Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup. So please just click on for the highlights, and we can all get back to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of August 18

Big John welcomes Bad Karl

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that today was the day Karl Rove came to El Paso to help his buddy Big Bland John and State House candidate Dee Margo raise some money. Cornyn and Rove, of course, go a long way back, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Big John welcomes Bad Karl

The tunnels and the ADA

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This is rather dicey. What’s the best way for downtown workers to get to Beck’s Prime restaurant in the Bank One Center on a scorcher of an August day? The downtown tunnel system, of course. But if you’re a person … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on The tunnels and the ADA

Interview with Chris Bell

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Going into 2008, Democrats knew they had a couple of opportunities to make gains in the State Senate, which has not traditionally been fertile ground for such pickups, at least outside of redistricting years. But Joe Jaworski and Wendy Davis … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Interview with Chris Bell

Favorable poll for Juan Garcia

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, there was a much-debated poll showing Democratic State Rep. Juan Garcia trailing challenger Todd Hunter in HD32, which runs from Corpus Christi up along the Gulf Coast. Now BOR brings word of another poll with a very … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

Discovery Green update

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but I think Discovery Green is pretty awesome. Houston’s only major downtown park has settled into a rhythm four months after its April 13 opening. The enormous crowds of the first few weeks, which taxed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 5 Comments

Peanut allergies and blanket bans

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I confess to being a little puzzled by the sound and fury over peanut allergies and the steps some schools have taken to deal with them. I understand that schools overreact to things all the time (two words: “zero tolerance”), … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | 2 Comments

Bridgin’ it

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The best news in this story about some bridges that will be part of the construction plan for the east-west light rail lines downtown is this bit: The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s light rail plans now include an “elevated structure” over … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on Bridgin’ it

Forensic Science commission recommends examination of capital arson case

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This has the potential to be a political earthquake. Cameron Willingham never stopped insisting he was innocent of murder. Even as he lay strapped to a gurney awaiting execution, the burly Corsicana auto mechanic denied setting the house blaze in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Forensic Science commission recommends examination of capital arson case

“Hiding in the bushes” might have been a sign this was not a good thing to do

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It’s clear that this guy is a creep. It’s somewhat less clear that he’s a criminal. From the perspective of park rangers, Phu V. Nguyen was obviously violating the state’s improper photography statute when he was arrested at Hippie Hollow … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 3 Comments

Has anyone seen my cloak of invisibility?

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Science marches ever onward. Long the stuff of fantasy, practical invisibility shields have been brought a step closer to reality by researchers who say they have engineered materials that can hide an object by bending ordinary light like balloon animals … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Has anyone seen my cloak of invisibility?

Weekend link dump for August 16

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Never gonna link you up…wait, that’s not right… Barack Roll. It had to happen sooner or later. When identity politics backfire. Gay Street and a Baptist church. Whatever you do, don’t tell the American Family Association about this. Once a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for August 16

Brimer takes it to the Supremes

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

We may finally get a resolution to the question of Wendy Davis‘ ballot status in SD10, as Kim Brimer has asked the Texas Supreme Court for an expedited ruling to his appeal of the civil court ruling that she was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Brimer takes it to the Supremes

Cornyn takes a stand

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Gardner Selby asks an impolite question: I may have exasperated an aide to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas the other day by asking if Cornyn did more than speak against senators taking a break. Cornyn’s office had ballyhooed his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 11 Comments

No she won’t! Yes he will!

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Rick Perry continues to train his orbital mind control lasers at Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison over her stated intention to run for Governor in 2010. Dave Carney, Perry’s longtime political consultant, told me the other day that Perry, who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged | Comments Off on No she won’t! Yes he will!

The chef was a spy

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Julia Child and the OSS. Who would have guessed? Famed chef Julia Child shared a secret with Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg at a time when the Nazis threatened the world. They served … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on The chef was a spy

From the “National laboratory for bad government” department

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

John Cornyn bragged to his buddies the other day about how awesome health care is in Texas. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, representing the state with the highest share of population without health insurance, said Tuesday that Texas is a national … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on From the “National laboratory for bad government” department

Vote for LJD

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Obviously, if you live in CD10, I’d like for you to vote for Larry Joe Doherty in November. But you can also vote for him before then, wherever you live, in the latest Progressive Patriots Fund election, the winner of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Vote for LJD

Let he who is without sin fling the first mud

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

You can always count on a member of the Hotze family to make an election more special. Alan Bernstein has an example, in this case an email by Austen Furse supporter Steven Hotze slagging SD17 candidate Joan Huffman, and a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Let he who is without sin fling the first mud

No women’s Final Four for Houston

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Houston’s Toyota Center was not among the eight venues selected Wednesday as finalists to host the NCAA Women’s Final Four. The eight sites that remain in contention for the five-year cycle from 2012-16 are Dallas; San Antonio; Columbus, Ohio; … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on No women’s Final Four for Houston

The candidates on immigration issues

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Awhile back, immigration-focused blog The Sanctuary (now at a new URL) sent a detailed questionnaire to John McCain and Barack Obama to ask them about their stances on immigration issues. What kind of a response did they get? With a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Comments Off on The candidates on immigration issues

And the Democratic nominee for Probate Court #1 is…

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

…Kathy Stone. I know because I was there at the County Executive Committee meeting, as the newly-sworn-in chair of Precinct 003. I’m not going to say how I voted, just that between Patrice Barron, Martha Failing, and Stone, we had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on And the Democratic nominee for Probate Court #1 is…

Wanna buy the Comets?

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Bill White and County Judge Ed Emmett have sent out a letter to help find a buyer for the Houston Comets. A copy of the letter received by the Chronicle, dated Aug. 11, states White and Emmett are working … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on Wanna buy the Comets?

Strange new poll

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Many things to say about this UT-Austin Government Department and the Texas Politics Project poll of the Presidential and Senate races in Texas. Where to begin… – Let’s start with a nitpick: Ralph Nader is not and will not be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 4 Comments

One and done?

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

So some surrogates for John McCain are floating the idea that he may take a one-term-only pledge. Rick Davis, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” demurred three times when Chris Wallace raised the prospect that McCain may use the Republican convention … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment