Monthly Archives: November 2015

Do homeschoolers have to actually teach anything?

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a real question being asked of our State Supreme Court. In an empty office at the family’s El Paso motorcycle dealership, Laura McIntyre says her nine kids were learning. McIntyre’s brother-in-law says they were singing and playing instruments. Learning … Continue reading →

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Bondings

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Montgomery County! After rejecting two bond measures for new and improved roadways in four years, including one last spring, traffic-weary voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a $280 million plan to unplug bottlenecks in rapidly growing Montgomery County. With all … Continue reading →

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Initial day-after-election thoughts

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

– We now have two cycles’ worth of data to suggest that having more good candidates in a Council race does not necessarily lead to better outcomes. Following in the footsteps of At Large #3 in 2013, a handful of … Continue reading →

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What the passage of the term limits referendum means

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a little unclear from this story. The passage of Proposition 2 also means some current officeholders will be able to serve longer than the six years they originally signed up for. Current freshman council members will now be able … Continue reading →

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Paxton moves to dismiss the charges against him

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. [Ken] Paxton’s legal team announced late Monday it had filed six motions to quash the three indictments against him, citing problems with the grand jury process. They also raised other objections to the case in four pretrial … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 2

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone took advantage of their opportunity to vote as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Omnibus election results post

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to take the easy way out here, because it’s been a long day/week/month and I’m hoping to get some sleep tonight, and just hit the highlights. There will be plenty of time for deeper analysis later, and of … Continue reading →

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Election Day: Get yourself to the polls

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From County Clerk Stan Stanart: Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart strongly encourages citizens who plan to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to be prepared before voting on Election Day. “It is very important for voters to know the answers to … Continue reading →

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More on MUDs

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron covers this topic. A few months ago, a cabinet maker and his wife were recruited to move into a manufactured home parked on a dirt road that was plowed into the woods on the west side of Conroe … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against Uptown line dismissed

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We haven’t heard the last of this, of that you can be certain. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a dedicated bus lane project in Houston’s Uptown area, but the ruling is not a final resolution of the dispute. … Continue reading →

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Final 2015 EV statewide totals

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Presented for completeness. Here are the 2015 EV totals from the top 15 counties, and here are the 2013 totals. And here is a handy table comparing the two: County 13 total 15 total Inc ====================================== Harris 101,694 193,966 90.73% … Continue reading →

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One more analysis of early vote turnout

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Greg: Sometimes the motivation to drive out one segment of voters to the polls has a disparate impact in an electorate. And sometimes the motivation in one constituency has an echo effect that motivates competing constituencies. A classic example … Continue reading →

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It’s not just bail reform that we need

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The latest from Emily dePrang at the Observer: It’s a Monday morning, a little past 9:00. Half an hour ago, this hallway on the eighth floor of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in downtown Houston was swarmed with people. … Continue reading →

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UberEats

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some new food delivery options, at least for some people. Uber will expand its presence in Houston this week with the local launch of its meal-delivery service, UberEats. Beginning Thursday, Houston becomes the second city in Texas and the 10th … Continue reading →

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Keeping an eye on Katy ISD

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This could be interesting. Some of the details of George Scott’s “shadow school board” are still that – shadowy. But as the conservative blogger has assembled a group to meet regularly to reach its own conclusions about the business of … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for November 1

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Laverne Cox is your new Dr. Frank N. Furter. Minor league baseball players suing MLB over allegations that they were paid less than minimum wage have won their request to include a much larger class of players in the lawsuit. … Continue reading →

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Day 12 EV 2015 totals: Final turnout projections

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The last day was another big one: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ======================================= 2015 164,104 29,859 193,963 43,280 2013 87,944 21,426 109,370 30,572 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full … Continue reading →

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Hall sues his former consultant

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not really an election season if there isn’t at least one WTF story to make us all shake our heads. Houston mayoral candidate Ben Hall sued his former consultant for defamation Tuesday in connection to a radio advertisement that … Continue reading →

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When low turnout is the goal

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You really have to admire the sheer brazenness of this. Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 142 is yet another special-purpose district this election cycle using what appears to be a service that hires voters to pass MUD elections in … Continue reading →

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