Monthly Archives: September 2010

LCT profile

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With the passing of Labor Day comes the traditional Media Profiles Of Candidates You May Not Be Familiar With Yet period. The Express-News kicks theirs off with this story about Linda Chavez-Thompson, who is the Democratic candidate for Lite Guv. … Continue reading →

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Chron story on lawsuit against red light camera referendum

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron covers the story. Boosters of Houston’s 70 red-light cameras are seeking to prevent a November vote on whether to ban the devices, alleging in a federal lawsuit that the initiative was placed on the ballot illegally and that … Continue reading →

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

Friday random ten: Cover me

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In last week’s Houston Chronicle, in their Thursday Entertainment section, there was an article about the author’s ten favorite cover songs. I was going to link to that as the basis of my Friday Random Ten, but for some bizarre … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Interview with Brad Neal

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For my last legislative race interview, I visited with Brad Neal, who is challenging Rep. Debbie Riddle in HD150. Yes, that Debbie Riddle. Neal is a mechanical engineer and a veteran of the Army National Guard and the Marine Corps … Continue reading →

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

How big is the hole, Susan?

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think with all of the talk about the budget and the projected shortfall, we’d have heard an opinion from our State Comptroller, Susan Combs, as to just how things look right now. Especially given that Governor Perry has publicly … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are you ready for end-of-course exams?

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A preliminary run of the state’s new end-of-course exams shows that student performance is not where we would want it to be yet. Of the nearly 102,000 students who took the Algebra I test in May, for example, just 57 … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 6

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everybody had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

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Add another year to the construction schedule

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Metro may have dodged a bullet with the FTA, but they’re still going to feel the effect of the federal agency’s decision in the Buy America case. The Metropolitan Transit Authority today retracted its acting president’s statement that the agency … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Kendra Yarbrough Camarena

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Democrats have made large gains in the Legislature this decade, picking up a total of 12 seats in the last three election cycles. One of the top targets the party has identified for this cycle is HD138, currently held … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Sandra Peake

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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New PPP poll: Perry 48, White 42

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A bigger spread than last time, but still another example of a poll showing a close race. [Rick] Perry holds a 48-42 lead over [Bill] White with 8 weeks left to go until election day. The race is confounding the … Continue reading →

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

Tomball declines to be like Farmers Branch

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m stunned. Pleased, but stunned. The Tomball City Council late Tuesday defeated a proposal to make English the city’s official language and voted down another measure seeking to prohibit illegal immigrants from renting or owning property or owning or operating … Continue reading →

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FTA gives Metro a second chance

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is a bullet whizzing past Metro’s ear Metro violated federal laws in making a deal with a Spanish company to purchase 103 rail cars, and must re-bid the purchase in order to qualify for a $900 … Continue reading →

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

Interview with State Rep. Ana Hernandez

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is State Rep. Ana Hernandez, who has represented HD143 since winning a special election to succeed the late Rep. Joe Moreno in 2005. Rep. Hernandez has been a consistent voice for voting rights, cleaner air, and working class … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Keith Branch

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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Retama Park

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another story about another horse racing track – Retama Park, which is northeast of San Antonio in Selma – hoping to hit the jackpot (as it were) with slot machines. The bit that interests me is this: If slots … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Donating unused school food

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If you spend any time in a public school cafeteria, you will see a lot of food getting thrown out. Much of it is stuff that has to be thrown out, of course, such as all cooked food. But that … Continue reading →

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Texas Watch poll: Perry by 1

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We have some new polling data to play with. A statewide public opinion survey conducted by Republican polling firm Hill Research Consultants on behalf of the Texas Watch Foundation reveals an electorate divided between incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry (42%) … Continue reading →

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

Interview with State Rep. Carol Alvarado

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m wrapping up the legislative interviews this week. First up is State Rep. Carol Alvarado, who is serving her first term representing HD145. Rep. Alvarado had previously served three terms on Houston City Council, where she was the author of … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Christina Bryan

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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TDP sues Tax Assessor again over voter registrations

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This happened late last week while I was still affected by my site outage. For the second time in as many years, the Texas Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County tax assessor-collector, accusing the Republican-led voter … Continue reading →

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

Perry asks for federal education funds

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday submitted the state’s application for the money, which is intended to help school districts save teacher jobs now. But Texas faced a bigger hurdle than other states because of an amendment authored by … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chron opines for red light cameras

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here, and nothing new in the way of arguments. I’m sure there are plenty of people who haven’t formulated an opinion about red light cameras whose vote is up for grabs, but I don’t see a whole lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

When do you get a cell phone for your kid?

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Department Of Things We’ll Be Dealing With Sooner Than We Think, Whether We’re Ready For Them Or Not, the “when should we get our kids a cellphone?” question. S. Craig Watkins, author of The Young and the Digital … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Creationists concede

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A small bit of good news for Texas education. Henry Morris III, the CEO of the Institute for Creation Research, has announced the end of the school’s fight with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In 2008, after the board … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 5

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Whistle while you work… The party of know-nothings. Movements are about something real. Where are the women in technology? Every time I see another stupid Charles Krauthammer or Jonah Goldberg column, I think how much better a place the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Paper ballots: Views differ

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One reason why Harris County will make paper ballots available to anyone who wants them this year is because Beverly Kaufman is afraid we won’t get enough replacement voting machines in time for the election. In a letter to county … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bell scores $2 million verdict against RGA

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Bell racks up his second legal victory related to a lawsuit stemming from the 2006 Governor’s race. A state district judge Tuesday ruled that the Republican Governors Association violated state campaign finance laws and ordered it to pay Chris … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dropout factories

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people have recommended this Washington Monthly story about colleges with extremely low graduation rates, and now I’m recommending it to you. I’d never given this any thought before, but having read the story, it’s quite clear to me … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Saturday video break: Let’s talk about sex, baby

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As this is the Labor Day weekend, it is also the traditional start to the high campaign season. Sadly, you will not see the following political ad on your teevee this year, or any other year: Of course, we’ve already … Continue reading →

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Another Wal-Mart meeting

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was another meeting about the proposed Wal-Mart on Wednesday, this time for residents only. [I]n the second public meeting in eight days addressing concerns over the Walmart-Ainbinder Company development, the city’s proposed 380 Agreement with the developers took center … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lawsuit filed to stop red light camera referendum

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

And now the fun really begins. A federal lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in an effort to prevent Houston residents from voting on whether to ban red-light cameras. Multiple sources told KPRC Local 2 that the lawsuit was filed on … Continue reading →

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

Laura Spanjian

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Laura Spanjian, the new Director of the city’s sustainability office. She has some ambitious goals. Most ambitious, but most important, to Spanjian is getting every Houstonian access to single-stream, curbside-pickup recycling. You may have heard happy tales of those … Continue reading →

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

Friday random ten: That’s just crazy

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So I was sitting with my laptop trying to be inspired for this week’s Friday list, and it occurred to me that the girls had been driving us a little crazy all weekend. And thus was I inspired. 1. Crazy … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments