Monthly Archives: July 2010

Saturday video break: I’m just a mean green mutha from outer space

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t be the only person who has followed the story of Lois the corpse flower to think of this, can I? (Warning: Some naughty words in the video.) Now, now, I know fully well that Lois is not in … Continue reading →

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The SBOE and charter schools

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some members of the State Board of Education want to get into the charter school business. Representatives for Texas’ 460 independent charter schools asked the State Board of Education on Wednesday to tap into the state’s education trust fund and … Continue reading →

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

The HEB and the Wal-Mart

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the site of the old Wilshire Village Apartments was bought by HEB a few months ago. Some area residents were not terribly thrilled at the idea of a new supermarket at that location and organized to have … Continue reading →

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

Fort Bend Democratic Party HQ grand opening

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Looking for something to do tomorrow afternoon? Come out to Fort Bend and celebrate the grand opening of their first ever Democratic Party headquarters. This ain’t Tom DeLay country any more. The FBC has been trending steadily Democratic this decade. … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: You made that up

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In honor of “Refudiate-gate”, here are ten songs from my collection that feature words not found in nature: 1. Abacab – Genesis 2. Billy-A-Dick – Bette Midler 3. Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste of Honey 4. Boplicity – Miles … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Metro finance update

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What’s going on with Metro these days? Although leaders of the region’s transit agency are confident that they will secure $900 million in federal funding to build more light rail lines in Houston, they have begun discussing fare increases and … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

John Bradley is a political hack: Film at 11

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the District Attorney for Williamson County and the hand-picked-by-Rick-Perry Chair of the Forensic Science Commission, continues to be the single biggest impediment to the Commission doing the job it was specifically created to do. In an op-ed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Adolfo Santos

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigned her position. It’s not clear yet whether the Board will appoint a replacement or there will be a special election, but Marc Campos is floating the name of a possible successor. UH-Downtown Political … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM: Down dooby doo down down…

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it? All the finger-pointing and fault-finding over the state’s troubled data center contract has technology analyst Tom Starnes wondering if Texas and IBM Corp. want this marriage to work. “It’s like they don’t want … Continue reading →

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The Great Texas Clean Up Festival

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Looking for something to do Saturday? The Sierra Club has a suggestion. RAY JOHNSTON BAND LOS PISTOLEROS DE TEXAS ROBERT ELLIS & THE BOYS MRS. GLASS Join us on JULY 24TH, from 4-10pm for a day of music and art. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The new Historic Preservation ordinance

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: The mayor’s office is out with a “public comment draft” of proposed changes to Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. The biggest (and most expected) change: There’ll be no more 90-day “compliance waivers” issued for historic-district properties. Under the previous … Continue reading →

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

Meet the Mostyns

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this. Attorney Steve Mostyn said Tuesday he and his wife, Amber Anderson, are committed to putting a “substantial” amount of money that likely will exceed $3 million into ending hard-right Republican politics in … Continue reading →

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

“Warning” versus “reprimand”

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey answers a question that has been bugging me about the State Commission on Judicial Conduct ruling that issued a “public warning” to Sharon Keller. A majority of the panel agreed that Keller needed to be sanctioned for ignoring … Continue reading →

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

The State of Texas and IBM: Not getting any better

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No group hugs are expected any time soon. Agencies that help Texans renew their automobile registrations, draw unemployment benefits and apply for food stamps and Medicaid face crushing demands – and IBM, the technology contractor for those agencies, isn’t even … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Harris County State Reps

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve collected fundraising reports for Harris County State Rep races of interest; they’re all beneath the fold. Here are the highlights: – In the rubber match between State Rep. Kristi Thibaut in HD133 and former State Rep. Jim Murphy, Thibaut … Continue reading →

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

More on the broadband map of Texas

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Shouldn’t a map that purports to document broadband availability in Texas do a better job than this of actually including broadband providers? At an unveiling last month, the Texas Department of Agriculture touted its map of broadband Internet availability as … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never a pretty sight when an outsourcing relationship goes bad. IBM Corp.’s $863 million data center consolidation contract with Texas is teetering on collapse. Seven months of negotiations aimed at righting the troubled project and salvaging the partnership fell … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Comparing stadium experiences

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Sugar Land Sun has an interesting three-part series comparing the minor league baseball experiences in Fort Worth and New Orleans to what we might expect in Sugar Land with its forthcoming stadium. Here’s the introduction: Both cities provide key … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fundraising: Harris County

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The top story for the Harris County money race is that County Judge Ed Emmett has a big lead in financial resources over challenger Gordon Quan. Gordon Quan said he knew from the start that challenging County Judge Ed Emmett … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Park ambitions

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Dream big. Two of Houston’s heaviest-hitting business groups — the Greater Houston Partnership and the Quality of Life Coalition — are promoting an ambitious master plan to develop land along 10 of Harris County’s major bayous, creating an enormous system … Continue reading →

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

Metro lets more bikes on the trains

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the efforts by BikeHouston and other activists to expand bicycle access to light rail trains. This past week, they scored a victory on that front. Bikes are still barred during peak travel hours in the morning and afternoon, … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 19

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has never lost containment and needs no relief wells as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

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Opposition to Renew Houston

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last Tuesday, while I was out of town, Council Member Stephen Costello did a presentation about Renew Houston at HCDP headquarters. (CM Sue Lovell was supposed to be with him but was unable to make it because a committee meeting … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Comparing the reports

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just out of curiosity, I thought I’d see how Bill White did with his fundraising compared to the last two Democratic candidates for Governor. Here’s what it looks like: Bill White Totals From Report For William H. White Filed on: … Continue reading →

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

Family planning saves money

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It does a lot more than that, of course, but in these times we may as well highlight the financial aspect of it. A state and federal program that provides free family planning and related health screenings to low-income women … Continue reading →

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Back to Basics PAC back on the air

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Stuff That Happened While I Had Put Down The Internet” department, here’s an update on the Back to Basics PAC, which produced and ran a great TV ad about Rick Perry’s budget hypocrisy. Since we’ve released the ad … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for July 18

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A short list for a short week. The US Postal Service treats its employees right. The picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words case for extending unemployment insurance. Being a “deficit hawk” means opposing anything and everything that would actually shrink the deficit. Besides, tax cuts … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fundraising: Other statewides

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Bill White kicked butt in the fundraising department, but how did the other statewide candidates do? Not nearly as good, unfortunately. Here’s a look: http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/php/summary.php?rn=458383&form=COH Totals From Report For Linda Chavez-Thompson Filed on: July 15 2010 Covering the Period February … Continue reading →

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Still more on the San Antonio smoking ordinance

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an Express News article from last Sunday about the effect that municipal ordinances that have banned smoking in bars and restaurants have had on those establishments. Interestingly, the main place it goes for anecdotal evidence is Houston. Lizzard’s Pub, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Perry settles lawsuit with Bell

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The settlement in the lawsuit by Chris Bell against the Rick Perry campaign over allegations of illegal campaign contributions to Perry by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is now official. Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign paid $426,000 to former Democratic challenger … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Just so we’re clear

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

While I was out in the wilds of New York, I got word from Harold Cook that a fellow named Daniel Melder had criticized Land Commissioner candidate for his most recent press release, the one about the guy in Indiana … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Powered by Mentos

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Have you ever looked at one of those Diet Coke and Mentos videos and said to yourself “Sure, that’s cool and all, but can you harness that power and do something with it?” Well, wonder no more. I give you … Continue reading →

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HPD sends “Pay your red light camera ticket or else” letter

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With predictable results. Houston police have notified 79,000 motorists that they cannot renew their vehicle registrations until they pay red light camera fines and penalties, even though Harris County officials repeatedly have said they will not prevent people from registering … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Another Wal-Mart-related neighborhood meeting

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They Are Building A Wal-Mart On My Street continues to be a great resource for details about the proposed “Heights” Wal-Mart development. In this latest update, we learn quite a few things, including: -There is a set ‘warehouse’ type of … Continue reading →

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