Monthly Archives: June 2009

The secret coaches’ poll

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Starting next year, you may know which college football coaches are voting in the USA Today Top 25 coaches’ poll, but you may not know how they vote at the end of the year. The final regular-season ballots in the … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: You gonna eat that?

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with our Friday theme lists, here are ten songs about food: 1. Pico de Gallo – Trout Fishing in America 2. Watermelon Time – Marcia Ball 3. Col. Josh’s Homestyle Barbecue – Asylum Street Spankers 4. Taco Bell Canon … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, Music | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Still bitching about the beach

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Who would have thought that an otherwise-obscure bill about granting homestead exemptions to people who lost houses in Galveston to Hurricane Ike would become the most controversial bill of the first week post-sine die? Open beaches advocacy groups sent out … Continue reading →

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The Ten Best and Ten Worst of 2009

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time for that other biennial tradition known as the Texas Monthly Best and Worst Legislators list. And so another session is on the books. This legislative wrap-up marks the nineteenth time, beginning with the Sixty-Third Legislature, in 1973, that … Continue reading →

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Hardberger for Governor?

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not even a week out from sine die, and the 2010 campaign rumor ‘n speculation mill is in full gear. The most interesting bit in this story is right here: Democratic consultant Christian Archer suggested that candidates would shortly … Continue reading →

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One more from Annie’s List

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Annie’s List announced their first endorsed candidate for 2010 over the weekend. Now they have a second, and she’s in Houston. From their email: Annie’s List is proud to announce our endorsement of Kendra Yarbrough Camarena for State House District … Continue reading →

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A new Presidential head comes to Pearland

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You all know I’m a big fan of David Adickes and his giant Presidential heads, which were moved to Pearland last year. Well, they are about to be joined by the latest model. A 20-foot-tall bust of Barack Obama made … Continue reading →

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Enabling pedestrians

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how big a deal this is likely to be, but it’s nice to be talking about it. More than five years after inaugurating its light rail system, Houston is taking its first, tentative steps to make it … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Ed again

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its earlier endorsement of Ed Gonzalez for the District H special election runoff. In a matchup of two well qualified candidates to replace former District H council member and now Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, the Chronicle … Continue reading →

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Open beaches

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Got the following email from a colleague and thought it was worth mentioning: Very late Sunday night a “deal” was made in the Texas legislature to make an exemption in the Texas Open Beaches Act – the law that guarantees … Continue reading →

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From the “Math is hard” files

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Inside this article on the Astros’ poor home attendance numbers so far comes the following mathematical muddle. Through May 20, only 10 of the 30 teams in the majors were seeing an increase in average attendance over last year. Of … Continue reading →

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A high-speed rail to-do list for Texas

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Catching up on some stuff now that the Lege is (I hope) gone from Austin till 2011, Christof noted a meeting in town of the Federal Railroad Administration last week, and put together a list of things that will need … Continue reading →

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The film’s not right

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just amused by this. Movie producer Emilio Ferrari vowed last week to move ahead with his $30 million screen depiction of the deadly 1993 clash between federal agents and Branch Davidian cultists, even though the Texas Film Commission says … Continue reading →

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A challenger for SJL

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, the 2010 election season is wide open already, isn’t it? Via email from Carl Whitmarsh comes the news of a potential primary challenger for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in CD18. From the email: Houston attorney Sean Roberts today announced … Continue reading →

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McLeroy gets a challenger

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Paul Burka breaks the news that Thomas Ratliff, son of former State Sen. and Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, will challenge Don McLeroy, the now-former chair of the State Board of Education, for his seat on the board next year. From … Continue reading →

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Early voting underway in District H runoff

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know it’s been a lot of Lege stuff around here lately, but the end of the session means the start of early voting for the District H runoff. I figure I’ll probably do my civic duty this weekend, maybe … Continue reading →

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A Closer Look at Bill White’s So-Called “Republican Ties”

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a link to David Mauro’s post on BOR that investigates and rebuts some allegations made about Bill White in the who-knows-when-it-will-be Senate race. Just go read it if you haven’t already, it’s worth your time. The main thing I’ll … Continue reading →

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Legislative wrapups

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With sine die in the rearview mirror, tis the season for legislative wrapups. Here are a couple I’ve come across. – First, from Bike Texas, which had the fairly easy task of just following one bill: The final version of … Continue reading →

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The DNC comes to Texas

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. Calling Texas “a tremendous growth opportunity for the Democratic Party,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine announced this afternoon that Austin will host the Democrats’ annual fall meeting. The Sept. 10-12 session will highlight positive … Continue reading →

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Charging for Twitter

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure something like this will eventually happen. Twitter Inc.’s co-founders say the rapidly growing online communications company will eventually charge fees for its services, but it’s unclear which ones and what will drive revenue. “There will be a moment … Continue reading →

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Special session speculation

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We all know that the Lege adjourned without finishing all its business. A lot of people are speculating there will need to be a special session to deal with it. At this time, Governor Perry is not one of those … Continue reading →

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Cornyn reverts to form

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when Big John Cornyn was rebuking the crazy wing of the Republican Party for making race-based attacks on Sonya Sotomayor? Apparently, he’s figured out that this put him in the minority of the GOP, because he’s now joined … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Houston’s budget

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks if the city of Houston’s budget is balanced, then answers that question with a “Well, maybe”. Does the city of Houston have a balanced budget? Like so many things in politics, it depends on whom you ask. … Continue reading →

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The Cook and Delisi Top Ten

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With the motto of “Why should Texas Monthly have all the fun?”, Harold Cook and Ted Delisi have put together their own Ten Best Legislators list, with the twist being that Cook picked the Republicans and Delisi picked the Dems. … Continue reading →

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Strip club fee dies

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, I had sure thought that HB982, the alternate strip club fee bill by Rep. Senfronia Thompson had passed the Senate, but apparently the vote to pass it was reconsidered and was never taken up again, so as a result, … Continue reading →

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More Tier One schools

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s some genuine good news from Sunday night’s chaos. Legislation intended to lift some of the state’s public universities to top-tier status has passed the House and Senate and now goes to Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to sign … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 1

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege may have adjourned, but the Texas Progressive Alliance is always in session. Click on to read this week’s blog highlights.

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So what happens now?

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hell if I know. In a last-minute legislative meltdown, the Texas Senate adjourned Monday night without passing key measures to avert a shutdown of the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies, raising the specter of a special session … Continue reading →

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Time for a change

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think this sums it up, for the most part: After nearly seven years with Movable Type, I’ve switched over to WordPress, which has proven to be quicker and more flexible. Thanks to the diligence of Greg Wythe, this should … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

TxDOT lives, Lege adjourns

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The threat of a special session has been averted…we think. The House just voted to work the Legislature out of a jam by keeping open the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies at risk of closing. Members needed … Continue reading →

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One threat of a special session averted, another arises

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Gah. In a surprise ending to the second-to-last day of the legislative session, the House failed to pass the so-called sunset safety net bill, HB1959, before the midnight deadline tonight for the chamber to approve bills. The bill would allow … Continue reading →

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Burnam drops impeachment resolution

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I had wondered what would happen with Rep. Lon Burnam’s resolution to impeach Sharon Keller, given that we were coming down to the wire and there was a lot of pressing business that needed to be taken care of in … Continue reading →

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You say “succeed”, I say “secede”

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bleah. Lawmakers in the Texas House sent the U.S. Congress a message on Saturday to mind its own business. But just so no one gets the wrong message, House Concurrent Resolution 50 now says that Texas is still proud to … Continue reading →

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Annie’s List kicks off the 2010 elections

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Even for me, it’s a little early to be thinking about most of the 2010 races, especially for the State House. But I’m glad it’s not too early for some folks, such as Annie’s List. Here’s an email they’ve sent … Continue reading →

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