Monthly Archives: July 2012

Seattle bans plastic bags

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Spotted this while we were in Portland. Those ubiquitous, single-use plastic bags will no longer be available at checkout counters at grocery and retail stores across Seattle starting Sunday. The ban intended to cut down on pollution requires grocers and … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A history of Allen Parkway

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. When the roadway now known as Allen Parkway was new, it was the primary route between downtown Houston and a new residential community, River Oaks. “It was in 1923 when the Hogg brothers and Hugh Potter decided to build … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: You Can Leave Your Hat On

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #61 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “You Can Leave Your Hat On”, originally by Randy Newman and covered by Joe Cocker. Here’s the original: What a great songwriter Newman is. As the Popdose writer notes, Newman … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Public meetings on the General Mobility Program

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: If you haven’t had a chance to share your opinions about METRO’s General Mobility Programand the upcoming referendum, METRO’s Board of Directors is hosting additional public meetings and invite you to attend. The next round of meetings … Continue reading →

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Here comes El Niño

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our hurricane season could be short. The formation of Tropical Storm Debby last weekend in the Gulf of Mexico brought the tally of Atlantic storms to four this season, the earliest that’s ever happened. But despite the quick beginning, scientists … Continue reading →

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Environmental drones

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! A plane! A drone! One year into a $260,000 two-year grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, [civil engineer Thom] Hardy and his crew of biologists, geographers and spatial analysts have … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Let freedom ring

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Hope everyone had a good Fourth of July. In belated celebration of our constitutional freedoms, here are some songs about freedom and being free. 1. Free As A Bird – The Beatles 2. Free Ride – Austin Allsup 3. Freedom … Continue reading →

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Jamaal Smith: Cracking Down on For-Profit Colleges in Southwest Houston

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. I come from a family of educators. Four out of five of my aunts were teachers, and my wife is currently … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How much would you pay for that high school?

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some cost more than others, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth it. Supporters of Houston’s nationally recognized High School for the Performing and Visual Arts have lobbied for 15 years for a larger, more modern building. They could get … Continue reading →

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

Lawsuit filed over historic preservation ordinance

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I got an email last week from Kathleen Powell of Responsible Historic Preservation for Houston announcing that the first lawsuit against Houston’s new historic preservation. You can see a copy of the complaint here. What I have not seen is … Continue reading →

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Apps for apes

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This new program at the Houston Zoo sounds great, but we all know how it ends, right? A digital revolution is sweeping the ape house, and now its denizens, formerly preoccupied with classic chimpish activities, are turning their attention to … Continue reading →

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Tyson Sowell: Making Plans for a Brighter Future

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. In my previous article, I talked about the phasing out of single-use check-out bags being just one step the City needs … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker’s Metro decision

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker may be in a jam because of the upcoming Metro referendum, but if so it’s not because what Metro is likely to propose is bad for Houston. “I’m between a rock and a hard place on this,” Parker … Continue reading →

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CM Brown alleged to have altered time cards

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Houston City Councilwoman Helena Brown subtracted hours from employees’ timecards in apparent violation of federal law, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The first-term councilwoman shorted an employee by more than three hours in a day … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 2

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for some fireworks as it brings you this week’s roundup. Off the Kuff disputed the notion that Rick Perry would be doing better than Mitt Romney if he were the GOP Presidential nominee. BossKitty … Continue reading →

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Fourth of July video break: Oh beautiful, for spacious skies

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ray Charles, people: If you can listen to that and not get goosebumps, you need to see a doctor.

Posted in Music | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fourth of July video break: We the People

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You can tell how old someone is by whether or not they can recite the preamble to the Constitution without singing it. All together now! Happy Fourth, y’all. I may have another video later.

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Tyson Sowell: The Problem of Single-Use Bags

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. On Wednesday, June 20, Houston City Council approved a budget amendment to “address littering by plastic bags or phasing out plastic … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Houston to compete for new college football championship game

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? The city of Houston and Reliant Stadium plan to make a push to host college football’s new football championship game, the head of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority said Tuesday night. “We decided we want to aggressively … Continue reading →

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We apparently will have a candidate in SBOE1 after all

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib reviews the bidding on the Martha Dominguez situation in SBOE 1. According to the Texas Election Code, primary candidates have until 63 days before the primary election to apply to have their name withdrawn (this year it was … Continue reading →

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

Metro sets the schedule

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Metro will take some time and get some feedback before settling on the language for its November referendum. Metro Chairman Gilbert Garcia on Thursday laid out for the board what he called a “tight time frame” for a possible November … Continue reading →

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Cindy Vara-Leija: Political Activism, Great-Grandma Style

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, a mother of six would take her youngest children along as she set up … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

That other big lawsuit

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, there was another big ruling last week that will have a profound effect on Texas. A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that greenhouse gases pose a public health … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

School finance lawsuit #6

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were six. The Texas Charter School Association announced Tuesday that it would enter the legal fray, arguing that the state has short-changed charter schools because it does not provide funding for facilities. “Just because a parent puts … Continue reading →

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

Culberson’s Univesity Line attack makes it through the House

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Advocates of federally subsidized expansion of the Houston Metro light rail system lost a crucial round to Houston Congressman John Culberson on Friday, leaving dwindling opportunities to overturn spending restrictions on the Richmond Avenue project. The House adopted a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Weekend link dump for July 1

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

O Canada, our home and native land… You know, it’s a very short step from buying an island to hiring henchmen and building a doomsday device. I’m just saying. The Cookie Monster debate gets settled once and for all. Why … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Amazon starts collecting sales tax today

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We are in a new era. Beginning Sunday, Texans will see state and local sales taxes show up on their taxable Amazon purchases — the result of a deal with the state comptroller’s office that resolved the e-commerce giant’s past … Continue reading →

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

What will Texas do now?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, there are two big issues that Texas will have to face. (*) One is the health care exchanges, and the other is Medicaid expansion, now that there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TAB takes a hostage

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised by this tactic. Leaders in the business community said Wednesday that they would not stand for increased funding for education if it came with any rollback of accountability standards in Texas public schools. “If we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Yes, some cities still have red light cameras

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t claim to have any strong feelings one way or another about Austin’s attempts to collect red light camera fines, I was just struck by one aspect of this story. Beginning sometime this summer, the city will work with … Continue reading →

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