Monthly Archives: January 2010

Judicial Q&A: Paul Simon

Posted on January 26, 2010 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 →

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Editorialists call for sanctions on Keller

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Special Master David Berchelmann may think that Sharon Keller has suffered enough, but that doesn’t appear to be a popular position. Here’s the Express News weighing in: Richard’s guilt is not at issue, nor is the fact that he ultimately … Continue reading →

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Houston’s hotel occupany tax lawsuit tossed

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in 2006, the city of San Antonio filed a lawsuit against online hotel room bookers such as Expedia and Travelocity on the grounds that they were largely avoiding their hotel occupancy tax. The city of Houston did the same … Continue reading →

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Another SBOE primary fight to watch

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned before that the GOP primary for SBOE District 5 is worth watching, but I didn’t know much about it at that time. This Statesman article helps to fill in the blanks. The brouhaha over the teaching of evolution … Continue reading →

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

Don’t hold your breath waiting for SUPERTRAIN funds

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN throws a little cold water on the hopes of high speed rail advocates in Texas. This month, at a speech in Austin, a top federal rail administrator charged with managing the distribution of the new grants said Texas’ … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 25

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance congratulates the city of New Orleans for its first Super Bowl as it provides an instant replay of its blog highlights for the week.

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Goodbye, old friend

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This morning, Tiffany and I took our dog, Harry, to the vet. He did not come home with us. We’d known this day was coming for awhile. Harry was 15 years old, and his health had declined in recent months. … Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

Interview with Gordon Quan

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This week I have interviews with the two Democratic candidates for Harris County Judge. First up is former Houston City Council member Gordon Quan. Quan has lived in Harris County since his family came here from China in 1951, when … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Dennis Slate

Posted on January 25, 2010 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 →

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University Line FEIS filed

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Again via Swamplot, here’s another Examiner story about the current state of light rail construction, in this case the University line. The light rail alignment for Metro’s University route will require the acquisition of about 23 acres of land, much … Continue reading →

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

Perry’s paid volunteers

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This story is just full of mockery opportunities. Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign has unknowingly paid convicted felons as part-time workers under its incentive program to turn out voters for the Republican primary. The campaign lists about 300 part-time workers on … Continue reading →

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

Close the Sugar Land prison

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has a question. Why not begin to close Texas’ oldest, most outdated prisons, particularly when locals would benefit from a “higher and better use” of the property and the state is looking to trim the budget? At the top … Continue reading →

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

The Sheriff versus the deputies

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to be surprised at how antagonistic this relationship has been. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Friday released a long-promised “Bill of Rights” for deputies under investigation by the department, but three deputies’ unions criticized the sheriff for … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for January 24

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Whoops, got to this a little late this weekend… Apparently, texting while walking isn’t such a hot idea, either. On the plus side, though, we’re not any harder of hearing than we feared we’d be. Mark Evanier on the whole … Continue reading →

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January City of Houston campaign finance reports

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to state and federal officeholders/candidates, January 15 was also the deadline for City of Houston folks to file their campaign finance reports as well. As there are no elections coming up any time soon, I will not be … Continue reading →

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Metal detectors at the Capitol

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After the gunfire incident at the Capitol last week, you’d think this wouldn’t be too controversial. The day after a shooting outside the state Capitol, lawmakers on Friday suggested that metal detectors to the building entrances were imminent, a move … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The new Planned Parenthood

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the reasons cited for that silly “boycott Houston” campaign is the new Planned Parenthood building on the Gulf Freeway. Having been a clinic escort at the Fannin location many years ago, back when the entrance was right off … Continue reading →

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

Uptown line update

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The River Oaks Examiner takes a look at what Metro is planning to do to prepare for the Uptown line. [A] Metropolitan Transit Authority street reclassification plan, dated March 13, 2009, [shows] total land needed for the project beyond the … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Do the android!

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t even know how to introduce this one, so let’s just dive right in. Don’t be distracted by the fact that it starts out in French. It’s totally worth it, trust me. What can I say? It was the … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Tax Assessor primary

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re a bit more than three weeks out from the start of early voting, so it’s time for some overviews of the contested primaries on the ballot. Here’s the first one, for the Republican race between County Tax Assessor Leo … Continue reading →

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Where’s Willingham?

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Forensic Science Commission will meet on January 29. You will be shocked to hear that Cameron Todd Willingham is not on their agenda. Instead, the meeting will focus on formalizing procedures explaining how the group will conduct business, … Continue reading →

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January finance reports for statewide candidates

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It almost seems a bit silly to look at the January campaign finance reports, since the 30 days out report is due in two weeks, but I’ve created a Google spreadsheet with summaries for the statewide candidates. A couple of … Continue reading →

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

HISD to do school bus ads

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Ericka Mellon writes: *Advertising could begin showing up on HISD school buses, assuming the board gives the green light, which it will. Only newly elected trustee Anna Eastman raised a slight concern at agenda review. “Our children are … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Friday random ten: Love, exciting and new

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The letter L, like the letter I, offered several possible options for songs beginning with the same word. I thought I’d stick with the classics this time. 1. Love Hurts – Nazareth 2. Love In A Refrigerator Box – Austin … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Judy Dougherty

Posted on January 22, 2010 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 →

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More on Keller

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about Sharon Keller getting off lightly in the report produced by Special Master David Berchelmann for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Of interest is the reminder that Keller isn’t out of the woods just yet. … Continue reading →

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

Boycott us, please!

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now this is something I can really get behind. If you think the folks in Haiti are having a rough time, just wait until Houstonians feel the economic effects of Pastor David Grisham’s boycott against our city of sin. Launched … Continue reading →

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

Again with KBH and term limits

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You do have to admire her lack of self-consciousness. Contending that Gov. Rick Perry has used the state as his personal playground, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison unveiled a government reform plan Monday that includes term limits for Texas governors and … Continue reading →

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That cold was good for something after all

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It won’t do anything to control the mosquito population, but that cold front did help with some other nuisances. The worst invasive plants are natives of warm climates — South America, mostly — and have limited tolerance to cold temperatures. … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The health care mess

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what will happen with health care reform. But I do know this: It can’t possibly be right for the Democrats to do what the Republicans want them to do. I play tournament bridge, and we bridge players … Continue reading →

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

Wilson remains off the ballot

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For now, anyway. The 14th Court of Appeals in Houston has denied a request for a place on the March Democratic primary ballot from [Dave Wilson]. […] Wilson filed a writ of mandamus last week seeking to be placed on … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Lori Gooch

Posted on January 21, 2010 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 →

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HISD may race to the top

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the earlier decision by Governor Perry to not let Texas compete for “Race to the Top” stimulus funds, school districts like HISD may get the chance to apply for them on their own. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

And the rest

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it’s not fair to talk about the possibility of a runoff in the Republican gubernatorial primary without discussing the prospects for same in the Democratic primary. We don’t have any polling in this race as yet, and frankly … Continue reading →

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