Monthly Archives: October 2009

Saturday video break: Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have two words for you: Pumpkin cannon. Some people look at something like that and wonder why anyone would want to do such a thing. Others wonder why anyone wouldn’t want to. I’m just wondering if they really know … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The official turnout projection, sort of

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the end of early voting. [E]lection officials and political observers said Friday they expect fewer than one in four registered voters will cast ballots in Tuesday’s elections for Houston mayor, City Council, controller and other … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Eversole running for re-election

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Surprise! Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole announced on Friday that he will run for re-election, potentially pitting him against a term-limited Houston city councilwoman and, perhaps, his own tarnished reputation. Eversole, 66, who was hit with a $75,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Some info on the HCC Trustee District 3 race

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned before that I knew nothing about the HCC District 3 Trustee race, which is the only such contested race on the ballot. In response, Sergio Davila forwarded the following press release from a group called Concerned East End … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

City not paying toll road fines

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The city has avoided paying county toll road fines using a defense it does not want motorists to use when contesting red-light camera violations. […] A city finance official claimed the toll fines are owed by the individual employees … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The new Saint Arnold brewery

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Opening today just north of downtown. [T]he 15-year-old craft brewery will debut to the public a new plant in a converted warehouse with fabulous views of downtown and easy freeway access. It’s the result of a $7.5 million renovation and … Continue reading →

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Early voting: Out with a bang

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today was by far the heaviest day of Early Voting, with 17,072 ballots cast, which is nearly as much as Wednesday and Thursday combined, and also nearly as much as the final day of 2003. In the end, 71,368 in-person … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Friday random ten: Boo!

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Are you ready for some Halloween? My iPod is. 1. The Dark Lady – Ceili’s Muse 2. Eighty Hillbillies In A Haunted House – Austin Lounge Lizards 3. The Ghost – Eddie from Ohio 4. Ghost of Stephen Foster – … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

And we finally get some coverage of Council races

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has done a good job, as expected, of covering the Mayor’s race, and they’ve provided more coverage than I’d expected of the various HISD Trustee races. But their coverage of the Council races has been basically non-existent, and … Continue reading →

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Eight days out: Spending on voter outreach by At Large candidates

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As with the Controller’s race, I took a look at spending on voter outreach for At Large candidates in the 30 day out report. Given that some large number of people have no clue about who is running for these … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

HISD candidate spending

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

After all I’ve done detailing how city candidates are spending their campaign money, I’d love to be able to tell how how candidates for HISD Trustee are spending theirs. I’d love to, but unfortunately I can’t, because that information isn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Both sides may claim victory, but that doesn’t mean they both achieved it

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, last week there was a settlement reached in the lawsuit against the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office over allegations that they improperly rejected thousands of voter registration applications last year. Shortly after that agreement was signed, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

County puts off vote on helping the city deny vehicle registration to red light camera scofflaws

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. For the second time in a month, Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday postponed a vote on an agreement with the city to block vehicle registrations for red-light camera violators who do not pay their fines. Court members … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Vote to bring the World Cup to Houston

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bored with the Mayor’s race? Here’s something else you can vote on. As the USA Bid Committee puts together a proposal for the United States to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to present to FIFA next year, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting: One more day

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is the last day of early voting. If you haven’t voted by 7 PM on Friday, you’ll need to show up at your precinct polling location on Tuesday to have a say in this election. Here’s a press release … Continue reading →

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Don’t mess with Bill

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As everyone expected, Mayor White has stayed the heck out of the race to replace him. So it’s a pretty big deal when he feels compelled to speak up about something that is happening in the race. Mayor Bill White … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spending on voter outreach: The Mayorals

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t take a look at the Mayoral candidates’ expenditures on voter outreach in the 30 days out reports, as this exercise is rather time consuming, but I figured I’d have a look at the 8 day reports, just to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“I don’t know” wins big!

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Just as the Chron poll also asked about the Controller’s race, so did the recent KHOU poll, which went it one better and also asked about the At Large Council races. Not that this told us anything useful. The poll, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

No quorum for Lawrence’s Council meeting on 287(g)

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Three City Council members fell short of forcing a vote Wednesday on the city’s participation in a controversial immigration screening program after the rest of their colleagues skipped a special meeting. The city secretary counted only three members — … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Forget the “human element”, just get it right

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Regarding the debate over instant replay in baseball, two facts are incontrovertible. One, the umps have really been blowing some calls lately. I mean, Joe Mauer’s ground rule double to left in Yankee Stadium that Phil Cuzzi ruled foul even … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Texas’ Madoff money

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not particularly upset that Texas had some money invested with Bernie Madoff, which is now gone. I mean, I wish that wasn’t the case, but he snookered an awful lot of people and organizations, so it’s neither shocking nor … Continue reading →

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Early voting: Two big days to go

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday and today were the two busiest days for early voting so far, with 7193 and 8684 voters showing up on each day. Both were better than the corresponding days in 2003, though thanks to the rain-induced slowdown on Monday, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: HCC trustees

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses in the HCC Trustee races, which even I had forgotten they hadn’t yet done. In the westside District VI, Sandie Meyers is unopposed as the replacement for incumbent Robert Mills Worsham. In District III, which stretches from … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eight days out: What the Controller candidates are spending their money on

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall I looked at how the Controller candidates were spending their money after the 30 day reports came out, and I figured I’d do it again with the 8 day reports. Along the way, I found a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Chron sues Perry over clemency files

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers LLC are suing Gov. Rick Perry in an effort to force the release of a clemency report Perry received before denying a stay of execution to Cameron Todd Willingham. The report … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The hole the Sports Authority is in

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sure is a great time for stuff like this to happen, isn’t it? Harris County taxpayers may have to inject up to $7 million a year into the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority for the next two years due to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Stop for the school buses

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

My route to and from work takes me through a couple of school zones, and every now and then I wind up behind a school bus and have to stop when it pulls over to discharge some riders. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, School days | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of October 26

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for the start of the World Series, and it presents to you its weekly highlight reel as we await the first pitch. Click on for more.

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Tuesday mail call

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

After several politics-free days, my mailbox was overflowing with campaign literature today. Two pieces from the Houston Turnout Project, one that generically advocated early voting and one that advocated for Annise Parker, using language that I daresay we’ll all find … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Eight day out finances

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the eight days out finance reports, which is all about the Mayor’s race. City Councilman Peter Brown, who polls show leading the pack, poured an additional $801,000 of his family fortune into the race, pushing … Continue reading →

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Brown leads in KHOU poll

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another good poll result for Peter Brown. According to [an 11 News / KUHF Houston Public Radio] poll, 24 percent of likely voters in the Houston mayoral race plan to vote for Brown. This is up sharply from the five … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Roy on the air

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Behold the power of Roy: Just as a reminder, Barack Obama got 61% of the vote in Houston last year. I don’t know how effective a boogeyman he’ll make, though I suppose that depends on where the ad airs. Roy’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The case against Willingham

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the pushback against the criticism of the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and conviction has so far been of the form of “He was a bad guy!” and “We did too use science to prove arson!”, neither of which … Continue reading →

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Bad web info! Bad! Bad!

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle would like to remind you that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Or in your Inbox, for that matter. The Internet is the wonder of our age — a peerless tool for assembling information quickly. … Continue reading →

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