Monthly Archives: June 2012

Metro meeting about the General Mobility Program

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Put it on your calendar. You’re invited to attend a special board meeting to tell METRO what you think about the agency’s General Mobility Program (GMP) and the upcoming referendum. The board meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 18, from … Continue reading →

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

Precinct analysis: GOP Senate

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to give highlights from this one. I only have the Democratic canvass for Harris County, so this is county by county data only. You can see the spreadsheet here. – David Dewhurst had a majority of the … Continue reading →

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New frontiers in cost cutting

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, you can cut costs by defaulting on your bills. Why didn’t I think of that? Councilwoman Helena Brown has submitted a budget amendment aimed at solving the city’s decade-old pension problem: Stop paying. Her amendment calls for defaulting on … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Recycling water

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib continues its look at the present and future of water use in Texas with a story about reclaiming wastewater. “Reclaimed water,” the term for cleaned-up wastewater that gets reused, currently provides a little less than 3 percent of … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 11

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is back from the conventions and focused on the fall as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Precinct analysis: Democratic Senate primary

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After the May 29 primary, runnerup Senate candidate Grady Yarbrough said he did as well as he had because he “went directly” to counties where there is “a heavy Hispanic and African American population”. I don’t remember him ever being … Continue reading →

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

Wage theft

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Any employer that would do this is scum. [Wage theft] reflects a changing economy in which low-wage work has increased, more companies try to cut labor costs to stay afloat in a sour business climate, and fewer workers belong to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Desalinization and power plants

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has another story about desalinization in Texas, and reading it brings up a point that I don’t think gets enough attention. Interest in desalination surged more than a decade ago, when the technology became more efficient and cost-competitive, … Continue reading →

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There’s an app for registering voters

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In New Mexico. It needs to go nationwide. Jason Libersky is a deputy voter agent in New Mexico. He spends much of his time at community events throughout Albuquerque registering people to vote using an iPad application he created — … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: The “not Obama” vote, such as it was

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I now have my hands on a draft canvass for the Democratic primary in Harris County, and you know what that means: Precinct data! I’ll be doing various analyses over the week so we can get a better idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Yet another voting-related lawsuit

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I had completely forgotten about this. A federal judge in Galveston is to consider motions in a lawsuit filed by a Washington-based voters’ rights group that contends Texas laws make it illegally difficult to register voters. The group Voting for … Continue reading →

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

Solar’s bright future

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long story in the Observer about the state of solar energy in Texas. The piece covers a lot of ground, including this bit about what’s going on in San Antonio. San Antonio has emerged as a city willing … Continue reading →

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Recycling campaign signs

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Great idea. [Mike Martinez] has been running Food is Free since founding it in late January, and now he’s asking for old campaign signs to line the edges of garden boxes. They can be dropped off in front of his … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Sen. Wendy Davis

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t have the room in my schedule during the TDP convention to contemplate trying to arrange a bunch of interviews, but if there was one person I hadn’t spoken to this cycle that I really wanted to it was … Continue reading →

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Sadler and the Senate runoff

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One of the two candidates in the Democratic runoff for US Senate was at the TDP convention last week. U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler, who still faces a runoff fight with a candidate who’s a complete unknown, told reporters on … Continue reading →

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

Calculate your storm risk

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That hurricane risk calculator is now ready for your input. Using the Storm Risk Calculator produced by the city of Houston and Rice University, users can enter an address and learn the risks for rainfall, power outage, storm surge and … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Checking in with the cottage foodies

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Recall again that last year home bakers were able to get a law passed that allowed them to legally sell their products in the state – see here for all the background. After the law was passed there was another … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 10

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, textbooks! Getting a Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award would have been way cooler than an invitation to join most of those college honor societies would have been. America 4 America. Microsoft will make Do Not Track the default in … Continue reading →

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Politicians come and go, but campaign cash is forever

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It seems that way, anyway. With the defeat of several incumbents in last week’s primaries, there’s a lot more unneeded campaign war chests lying around. Millions in unspent contributions have long lurked in former state lawmakers’ campaign bank accounts, often … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I can drive 85

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And so can you, on the right road. State transportation officials are testing a new 41-mile segment of an Austin area toll road to see whether it would be safe to post the state’s first 85 mph maximum speed limit. … Continue reading →

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

Martha and Marisa

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Martha Dominguez, the accidental SBOE nominee from El Paso who had been telling people she wanted to drop out of the race before the primary, has decided to stay on the ballot for November, according to the Lion Star blog. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: Try A Little Tenderness

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #64 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Try A Little Tenderness”, originally by Bing Crosby and covered by everybody in the galaxy but for these purposes by Otis Redding. Here’s Der Bingle: Oh, that voice. Makes you … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Not a great start for the STAAR tests

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever we think about standardized tests, we’ll need to do better than this. Thousands of Houston-area high school students failed the state’s new standardized exams and must retake them – or risk not graduating. Preliminary test results released by several … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Petty withdraws lawsuit against Hecht

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago, Democratic Supreme Court candidate Michele Petty filed a lawsuit that sought to determine if her opponent, Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht, had fulfilled his legal requirement to gather petition signatures from 50 registered voters in … Continue reading →

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

On competition and airline prices

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I come across news stories of blog interest from a variety of sources. Here’s one that I got from my alumni association email list that has to do with airline pricing; it was of interest to Trinity University alums because … Continue reading →

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

Friday random ten: I get knocked down, but I get up again

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I figure this is a good week for some songs that make you want to get back up and keep fighting. 1. Arthur McBride – SixMileBridge 2. Tubthumping – Chumbawamba 3. We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister 4. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Planned Parenthood and Texas back in court

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I presume this was the appeal of the injunction that was granted to Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to destroy the Women’s Health Program. A federal appeals court will review a new Texas rule that prohibits … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Are the end of course standards too low?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Beginning this year, high school students must pass new end of course exams in a variety of subjects in order to be able to graduate. These tests begin in the ninth grade and continue through the 12th. The standards will … Continue reading →

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

Who wants to live in Galveston?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Galveston would like to know. Although the city is still rebuilding with new private investment and hundreds of millions in federal disaster money, Galveston finds itself at a crossroads and confronting fundamental questions: Will its population continue to shrink until … Continue reading →

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

Why the small cities like the GMP as is

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The GMP is Metro’s General Mobility Program, which distributes funds for road projects to Houston, Harris County, and the smaller Metro member cities. The smaller cities like it as it is, don’t want any changes made to it, and claim … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Council approves Mayor’s crime lab plan

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a done deal. City Council has appointed a nine-member board to oversee the city’s crime lab, the first step in yanking it from police department control and setting up a publicly funded non-profit corporation to do evidence testing. The … Continue reading →

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

Revenues rise, but reality recognition doesn’t

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good news and bad news, because we can’t have one without the other. The latest bit of positive fiscal news came Tuesday when the state comptroller released numbers showing that business tax collections in Texas had exceeded projections. Comptroller Susan … Continue reading →

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Open house meetings for US90A/Southwest Rail Corridor project

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Metro: The New METRO is continuing work on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the US90A/Southwest Rail Corridor Project with meetings to inform the public about alternatives that will be considered as part of this federal process. The … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 4

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready to get conventional as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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