Monthly Archives: June 2014

Sriracha post-mortem

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Motley Fool wonders if State Rep. Jason Villalba should get the credit for the resolution of the Great Sriracha Dispute of 2014. In early January, Texas state representative Jason Villalba made a public invitation to David Tran to pack … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: C U Later

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This list is brought to you by artists whose names begin with the letter C. 1. Never Gonna Give You Up – CAKE 2. Pictures of Matchstick Men – Camper Van Beethoven 3. Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

On bathrooms and menaces

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Nonsequiteuse has something to say. Steven Hotze, M.D., recently published these outright lies about the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance: Mayor Parker’s ordinance would include minority status for the so called “transgendered,” allowing a biological male to legally enter women’s public … Continue reading →

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

Vehicle for hire vote tagged

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here. I had thought the ordinance was still in committee, but it went before the full Council yesterday. It was of course tagged – we weren’t going to have this vote only one week after the HERO vote, … Continue reading →

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Bell op-ed for eliminating the revenue cap

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. A decade ago, Houston voters restricted city property tax revenues to the combined rates of inflation and population increases. Like most arbitrary rules that politicians apply to math, this revenue cap sounds like a great idea … Continue reading →

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

Burnam drops electoral challenge

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A good decision, in my opinion. After months of legal wrangling, state Rep. Lon Burnam announced Thursday that he will not continue with his challenge of his primary election loss. Shortly after losing on March 4 by 111 votes to … Continue reading →

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Those uninvestigated criminal cases

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

To say the least, this is big news. The Houston Police Department, already reeling from a scandal involving shoddy work in its homicide unit, was dealt another blow Monday when a report revealed that some 20,000 burglary, theft, assault and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judge Dietz refuses to recuse himself

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. The Travis County District Court judge overseeing a contentious trial over the state’s school finance system rejected a request by the attorney general’s office to recuse himself from the case. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office asked state District … Continue reading →

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Waco finally adopts non-discrimination policy for LGBT city employees

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very glad to see it. Without fanfare or controversy, the city of Waco has quietly agreed to bar discrimination against city employees who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. City Manager Dale Fisseler said Monday he has made an administrative … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 2

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The Latino Victory Project

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of this. Building on record-breaking fundraising numbers, an expanded donor base and a historically high number of Latino voters in the 2012 presidential election, a progressive Latino group is set to officially begin efforts to expand … Continue reading →

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Who stands with Jared?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I noted yesterday that soon-to-be-former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill is busy trying to gather petition signatures to repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Here’s the beginning of his pitch: I want to thank all of you who stood … Continue reading →

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And we circle back to Uber and Lyft

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Took longer than we thought it would, but on we move to the next contentious debate. Companies that connect riders with drivers via smartphone and tablet applications could operate legally in Houston, subject to certain conditions, under a proposal to … Continue reading →

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

State wants judge removed from school finance case

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Monday sought to remove the judge presiding over the public school finance case, contending that his impartiality is in question due to email exchanges with lawyers that filed the … Continue reading →

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TM talks to Mike Collier

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a really impressive candidate. What I’ve been surprised by in the past two years is how much farther right the state has gotten, even compared to someone like Rick Perry, who has, I think, been conservative by any normal … Continue reading →

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Yes, Greg Abbott opposes the HERO

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He just doesn’t want to be forced to admit it. When the Houston City Council passed its nondiscrimination ordinance including gay and transgender protections, top Democratic statewide candidates such as Sen. Wendy Davis were quick to celebrate. “All people should … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Astrodome preservationists make their case for historic landmark status

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Powell and Cynthia Neely, the driving forces behind the push to designate the Astrodome as a national and state landmark, write an op-ed outlining their reasoning. As the Texans and the Rodeo view a third-party investor as not boosting, … Continue reading →

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Texas will do just fine under the new EPA clean air regulations

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Unless it wants to fail, of course, which is always an option under the likes of Rick Perry and Greg Abbott. Texas could lead the way into a less carbon-intensive future under the Obama administration’s plans to sharply reduce greenhouse … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick loves the Latinos

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Can you feel the love? State Sen. Dan Patrick’s victory over incumbent David Dewhurst in the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor on Tuesday night came as no surprise. And while the conciliatory tone that marked his victory speech — in … Continue reading →

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Probably the last thing I’ll write about Jim Hogan

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

At least, I hope it’s the last thing, because there ain’t much to say. Texas Democrats are not holding their breaths for a win for the office held by Republicans since Perry ousted Jim Hightower in 1992. Democratic consultant Jason … Continue reading →

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City strikes two deals with CenterPoint

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One on street lights, and one on bike trails. Both are great news. All 165,000 of Houston’s streetlights will be converted to more efficient LEDs over the next five years, halving electricity use and cutting air pollution in what Mayor … Continue reading →

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Reminder: Drowning doesn’t look like drowning

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve posted this twice before, and with summertime officially upon us, it seemed like the right time to post it again. The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for June 1

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Neil Gaiman visits a refugee camp in Jordan. You should read about it. On a completely not-coincidental note, there’s over $100 million lying idle in the campaign accounts of former members of Congress. You could feed a lot of refugees … Continue reading →

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Wilson’s petitions

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here, courteously sent to me by reader and regular commenter Mainstream, is a copy of Dave Wilson’s petition for a charter amendment to “prohibit men (who perceive or express themselves as women) from using the women’s restroom. The petition itself … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court denies Burnam mandamus request

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Late Friday I got an email from the Ramon Romero campaign touting the news that the State Supreme Court had denied a write of mandamus to Rep. Lon Burnam in his electoral challenge lawsuit. You can see the Supreme Court’s … Continue reading →

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Another slap on the wrist for a prosecutor behaving badly

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Weak. Very weak. The Texas Bar Association has issued a public reprimand to state district Judge Kaycee Jones for her role in clandestine texting during a criminal trial while she was a prosecutor and before her election to the bench … Continue reading →

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