Monthly Archives: June 2012

Friday random ten: Take two aspirin and call John Roberts in the morning

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still waiting for the SCOTUS ruling on the Affordable Care Act. Here’s some music to listen to while we sit in the waiting room reading back issues of Cosmo and Sports Illustrated. 1. The Doctor’s Gonna Cut Ya – … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Culberson up to his old tricks

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the single minded focus on doing something only he and a few other people really want to do. For the first time in his long-running dispute with Houston Metro, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, has managed … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

STAAR pushback

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The House Public Ed committee gets an earful. Members of the House Public Education Committee on Tuesday questioned why the first batch of students who took the end-of-course exams scored so poorly. For example, 55 percent of ninth-graders met the … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on STAAR pushback

Bye-bye, BCS

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some sort of playoff system is on its way. The expected became a reality Wednesday as college football’s leaders announced that they will move forward with a four-team seeded playoff to decide the sport’s champion starting in 2014. The decision … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Bye-bye, BCS

There will still be international flights at IAH

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In fact, soon there will be a new airline and a new destination at IAH. Turkish Airlines plans to start non-stop flights between Bush Intercontinental Airport and Istanbul next year, the Houston Airport System announced in a press release. The … Continue reading →

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

Council defers on strip club fee

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tagged for a week. Consideration of a $5-per-head fee on customers of strip clubs to pay for reducing the city’s backlog of untested rape kits has been delayed for a week. Council members Melissa Noriega and Al Hoang both tagged … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

HISD planning bond election

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The fall ballot gets a little longer. The Houston Independent School District is preparing to ask voters to fund up to $1.8 billion in bonds to replace and upgrade aging campuses. Superintendent Terry Grier has said the bond referendum – … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HISD planning bond election

More on the 288 to Medical Center connector

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The more I hear about this idea, the worse it sounds. A proposal to build a highway connector between Texas 288 and the Texas Medical Center via North MacGregor Way has drawn criticism. Among those opposed to the flyover is … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 18

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a happy Father’s Day as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of June 18

Precinct analysis: The two races we’re all glad to see the end of

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For my last look at precinct data from the Harris County Democratic primary of 2012, let’s see what happened in the two most contentious races on the ballot: Elaine Palmer versus Steven Kirkland, and Keryl Douglass versus Lane Lewis. First … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Your vote on the Metro referendum may not matter

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Unless of course you vote the way the developers want you to vote, in which case it’s all good. In an interview prior to Monday’s meeting, Joshua Sanders, the acting executive director of Houstonians for Responsible Growth, said the group … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fixing pipes needs to be part of the state water plan

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The idea of conservation is to use less than you are currently using. When a large part of your water usage is due to leaks and losses, any sensible plan for conservation should start with addressing the underlying issues causing … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fixing pipes needs to be part of the state water plan

Why I hold the Hall of Fame voting process in contempt

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This story has the best distillation of why the Baseball Writers Association of America should have had the Hall of Fame voting privilege taken away from them years ago. Former BBWAA president Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer didn’t … Continue reading →

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

Precinct analysis: That mysterious Democratic DA primary

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We return to Democratic primary results and to the Harris County canvass as we take a look at the race everyone is trying to understand, the Democratic DA primary. Here’s what the numbers look like: Dist Oliver Fertitta Oliver % … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here comes the pension fight

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking forward to it. A day of reckoning has arrived in Houston, the city’s financial stewards say, to choose between pensions and pothole repairs. Days after voters in two California cities curbed public employee retirement benefits and voters in … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fifth Circuit rules for EPA against Texas

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always a pleasure seeing our litigious Attorney General get slapped down by whatever court he’s bothering this week. In the latest turn in a saga pitting environmental regulators in Washington against those in Austin, a panel of federal judges … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

No smoking at UH

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Put that cigarette down and slowly back away. The University of Houston is on its way to becoming a tobacco-free campus. Under a new proposal by school officials, UH would outlaw the “use, sale, advertising, and sampling of all tobacco … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Clemens cleared

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The saga ends. A federal jury today acquitted baseball superstar Roger Clemens on charges of lying to Congress about the use of performance enhancing drugs in a stinging rebuke to a four-year campaign by legislators and federal prosecutors to turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Clemens cleared

Precinct analysis: GOP President and Senate in Harris County

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Though I didn’t have one originally, I now have a canvass of the GOP primary in Harris County from this year. Since it’s impossible for me to have data and not do something with it, I’ve taken a look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

All the budget amendments

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Google doc upload of all of the budget amendments from Council members to Mayor Parker. All members except CMs Bradford and Hoang submitted at least one amendment, with some (Brown, Sullivan, Green) submitting more than others. I’ve given … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Conservation is still the best water plan

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas needs to do better at it. As Texas recovers from the severe drought of the last two years, water experts say that conservation is the easiest way to ensure that the state will have enough of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Suehs to retire

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs will call it a career this August. Suehs’ announcement follows news last month that Billy Millwee, the state’s Medicaid director, was retiring, leaving an even bigger void than anticipated at the top … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Suehs to retire

Weekend link dump for June 17

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Happy birthday, Eileen! HBO doesn’t want to take your money unless you also give some of it to a cable or satellite company. Here’s a LEGO Star Wars MC Escher diorama. Do I really need to say more than that? … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for June 17

Mailing letters about the homeless ordinance

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not really sure what to make of this. Activists against Houston’s new restrictions on feeding the homeless plan to mail around 30,000 letters Friday to urge voters to sign a petition to trigger a charter amendment election in November. Paul … Continue reading →

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

Downtown shuttle back in operation

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you who missed the old downtown trolley, here’s its successor. [T]he Greenlink bus service was launched Monday as a free offering for tourists and locals alike. The 18-stop route makes the rounds of eight hotels, the George … Continue reading →

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

Calling a ball a ball and a strike a strike

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bobby Valentine says that’s the way he wants it. A day after being ejected, Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine was still steamed about umpiring, and said technology should be used to eliminate human error in calling balls and strikes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Calling a ball a ball and a strike a strike

Saturday video break: The Air That I Breathe

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #63 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “The Air That I Breathe”, originally by Albert Hammond and covered by The Hollies. Here’s the original: I continue to be amazed at how many of these songs are covers … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Good move, Mr. President

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. President Barack Obama’s administration announced Friday that it would stop deporting younger illegal immigrants and would begin granting them work permits. The policy will apply to immigrants younger than 30 who arrived in the U.S. before the age … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Good move, Mr. President

UH versus Metro over Southeast Line route

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what’s up with this. Half a year after receiving a long-delayed $450 million federal funding grant for its Southeast line, Metro appears to have run into almost as big an obstacle to progress on that light-rail alignment much … Continue reading →

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

MyPlates doing well

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Specialty license plates sales have generated $10.5 million for the state’s general revenue fund so far, and the program will likely exceed the $25 million five-year-contract guarantee from My Plates, a marketing company that provides Texans more … Continue reading →

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

Friday random ten – In the summertime

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Technically, summer starts next week, but weather-wise it’s been here for awhile. 1. All Summer Long – The Beach Boys 2. Cruel Summer – Bananarama 3. Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer – Stevie Wonder 4. Our Last Summer – … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Friday random ten – In the summertime

Budget amendment time

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Now that Mayor Parker has formally submitted her proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, it’s time for Council members to submit their amendments for consideration. I’m going to start at the bottom of the story with the two proposals that … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here comes Trader Joe’s

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They’re opening the first Houston-area store in the Woodlands, which doesn’t count as far as I’m concerned. But it’s all right, the one I am interested in will follow behind shortly. The 13,500-square-foot store at 10868 Kuykendahl has a fraction … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Here comes Trader Joe’s

The TFN on the SBOE

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Hair Balls attended a session at the TDP convention held by the Texas Freedom Network about electing a less-embarrassing State Board of Education. More than 600 people packed a ballroom at the George R Brown Convention Center on Saturday morning … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The TFN on the SBOE