Monthly Archives: December 2009

More on Market Square

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in October, we heard that the historic Market Square Park downtown was set to get a facelift. Now Nancy Sarnoff has a few details. The renovation will include an area for pets, art installations, a 9/11 Memorial garden and … Continue reading →

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

Judge Jackson convicted

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall the case of Harris County Criminal Court-at-Law Judge Don Jackson, who was indicted in August on a misdemeanor charge of official oppression, after being accused of offering a DWI defendant a chance to get out of her … Continue reading →

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

Friday random ten: You better watch out

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have a ton of Christmas music in my collection, but only ten songs that refer to Santa Claus in the title: 1. Back Door Santa – Jon Bon Jovi 2. Here Comes Santa Claus – Asleep At The Wheel … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The transition team

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the team that will help Mayor-Elect Annise Parker get the ball rolling. State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, one of the only area political heavyweights to endorse Parker, will lead efforts on intergovernmental relations. Coleman also has been involved in … Continue reading →

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

Search for the Chief

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More speculation about who will replace Harold Hurtt as HPD chief. Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, and other officers said they’ve heard Timothy N. Oettmeier, 57, Vicki L. King, 48, and Kirk A. Munden, 49, all … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Search for the Chief

FTA gives preliminary engineering approval to University line

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hot dog! The Federal Transit Administration notified Metro on Monday that the line has been approved to move into the Preliminary Engineering phase of the Transit Administration’s matching-funds program. Two other light rail lines, the North and Southeast corridors, are … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on FTA gives preliminary engineering approval to University line

Getting smarter about crime, state prison edition

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news on the criminal justice front. Texas has a new swagger that comes from a recently released U.S. Justice Department report showing the growth of the state’s prison population is slowing to the extent that three new prisons … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Getting smarter about crime, state prison edition

Linda Chavez-Thompson

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We Democrats may have ourselves a real candidate for Lite Guv. Linda Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, is leaning toward running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat, according to multiple sources familiar with her plans. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Judith Snively

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Runoff precinct analysis, Controller’s race

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Picking up from where I left off yesterday, here’s the breakdown of the Controller’s race by Council district. For comparison purposes, here’s the November analysis. Dist Green Khan Holm Green % Khan % Tot votes ========================================================= A 4,685 6,750 7,125 … Continue reading →

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

White v. Vasquez

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez says Look at me!” Mayor Bill White and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez traded barbs Tuesday over two contracts that have led relations between the city and county to what Mayor Bill White … Continue reading →

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

Improving campaign finance disclosure

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a step in the right direction. The [Texas Ethics Commission] adopted new rules last week that, beginning this summer, will require anyone running for office to use 19 defined subject categories to describe any goods, services or other … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Improving campaign finance disclosure

Judicial Q&A: David Longoria

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Runoff precinct analysis, Mayor’s race

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

All right, I now have a copy of a draft canvass report from Saturday’s election, courtesy of the Harris County Clerk’s office. As before, I will be going through it to see what I can learn from it. First up … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Farouk files

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Farouk Shami has officially filed for Governor. “I don’t see the difference in public service and running a big company,” Shami said shortly after filing paperwork at state Democratic headquarters. “You work with people,” he said. “You build team spirit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Farouk files

A preview of the Uptown line

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot has a preview of the Uptown line as currently envisioned by Metro. The main focus of the Examiner story that Swamplot cites is the potential effect on vehicular traffic. Following the construction of the Uptown light rail line, Post … Continue reading →

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

Pancho Claus toy drive

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Stace, a message from Pancho Claus: To all my friends who have sent me well wishes and messages on my health, thank you very much. It did the heart good to know I have so many friends and supporters … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Pancho Claus toy drive

Chief Hurtt to step down

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We all knew this was coming. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt is planning to resign at the end of the year, two days before Mayor-elect Annise Parker takes office. Hurtt, who has been Houston police chief for almost six years, … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Marc Isenberg

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Kinky drops out of Governor’s race, will run for Ag Commish

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Musician and author Kinky Friedman will drop his Democratic bid for Texas governor and seek the agriculture commissioner post, instead. “This has never been about me; this has always been about what … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Kinky drops out of Governor’s race, will run for Ag Commish

Tax cuts have consequences

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all familiar with the financial constraints that the city of Houston is operating under. Harris County is experiencing similar problems. “As best we can tell appraisals are going to be flat, if not down a little, so that means … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More polls coming

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on, I say. Blum and Weprin Associates in New York, a veteran survey firm specializing in political polling, will conduct the polls on candidate matchups, public policy and other political issues. Blum and Weprin Associates have polled Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on More polls coming

Texas blog roundup for the week of December 14

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time for the antepenultimate TPA blog roundup for 2009. Click on for the highlights.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of December 14

Still more on Parker’s win

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hereare a couple of photo slide shows from the Annise Parker victory party on Saturday, from TPM and Hair Balls, the latter of which has some pix from the Gene Locke event as well. And BOR has a recording of … Continue reading →

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

BAE gets a reprieve from the GAO

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Government Accountability Office has set aside the Army’s decision to award a $2.6 billion contract to build combat trucks to Oshkosh Systems, giving at least a temporary victory to BAE Systems of Sealy, which currently has that contract. Michael … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on BAE gets a reprieve from the GAO

And now that that’s over…

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time to start focusing on the 2010 elections. Yeah, I know, I’m still recovering from the Houston runoffs as well. But the fact is that the filing deadline for the 2010 primaries is three weeks away, and candidates are … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Mayor Parker hits the ground running

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor-Elect Annise Parker talks to the Chron and tells us again what she intends to do after she’s sworn in. “One of the reasons I’m not having that big, excited, happy feeling is that there is a lot of work … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mayor Parker hits the ground running

More on the new DA drug policy

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mark Bennett notes the new policy for dealing with trace amounts of drugs as announced by the Harris County DA’s office and suggests there’s little to be concerned about. What we’re really talking about here is a small number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on More on the new DA drug policy

Council rejects Ashby appeal

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I can’t believe it, either. The Houston City Council on Wednesday eliminated the final option outside the courthouse for the developers of the Ashby high-rise to gain approval of the 23-story, mixed-use development they first sought to build … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Council rejects Ashby appeal

TAMU-SA update

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on the Texas A&M campus in San Antonio, which is now searching for a full-time president of the school. Regents for the Texas A&M University System have appointed an advisory committee made up of regents, administrators, faculty, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , | Comments Off on TAMU-SA update

Weekend link dump for December 13

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Birthday, Kristin! The AV Club’s Top 50 movies of the decade. I’ve seen two of them, about what I’d have expected given how seldom I watch movies these days. Talk about having a gambling problem. The rise and fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

How others are viewing the election

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This AP story about the Mayoral runoff election contains a paragraph you won’t see very often. Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker after … Continue reading →

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

Chron slaps Culberson again for Metro meddling

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an old story. Metro gets some good news relating to the University line. Rep. John Culberson tries again to halt the project. The Chronicle calls him out on it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that last part. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chron slaps Culberson again for Metro meddling

Initial thoughts on the runoffs

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll go through them one race at a time, with the unofficial vote totals minus Montgomery County for each. Once I have precinct results, I’ll go through those and do a more detailed analysis. Mayor Annise Parker – 81,971, 52.78% … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments