Monthly Archives: April 2018

Happy tenth birthday, Discovery Green

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What a great addition it has been. Discovery Green opened a decade ago this weekend, drawing 25,000 people to the long-dormant east side of downtown to gawk at parading Clydesdales, dogs in costumes, a puppet show, a magician, musicians and … Continue reading →

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Some people sound very threatened by that Quinnipiac Texas Senate poll

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is almost funny. In its first-ever Texas poll, Quinnipiac University deemed the Senate race “too close to call” in reporting that 47 percent of Texas voters surveyed back Cruz and 44 percent support O’Rourke, an El Paso congressman. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An article about Congressional race in Texas that doesn’t mention CD07

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Who knew that was even legal? Several of the most truly competitive House races in the country are in Texas, which could wind up providing Democrats three or more of the 24 flipped seats that they need for control of … Continue reading →

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Harris County is not growing the way it used to

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And the reason for that is that people aren’t moving here the way they used to. Quite the opposite, in fact. There’s been a lot of publicity lately about the fact that in the last couple of years, Harris County … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Pat Frazier

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our interview series in District K with Pat Frazier, who is the one person in this race that has run for this seat before, back in 2011. Frazier is an educator and community activist with a long … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Cruz 47, O’Rourke 44

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty good poll result, with the ever-present proviso that it’s just one result. The closely watched U.S. Senate race in Texas is too close to call, with 47 percent for Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and 44 percent for U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Many more school districts are feeling the pinch

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not just HISD. Not by a long shot. For eight-straight years, Cypress-Fairbanks and Conroe ISDs earned the Texas Smart Schools Award, bestowed on school districts with prudent financial practices and high academic achievement. Now, Cypress-Fairbanks faces a $50 million deficit … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Interview with Elisabeth Johnson

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Elisabeth Johnson has a long background in politics and community activism, having worked on the Bill White for Governor campaign in 2010 as a field organizer in Dallas and with the Texas Organizing Project and Working America to help pass … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are Texas Republicans really worried about Trump for November?

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I guess they are. They’ve seen what has happened around the country, in other elections and other red places. I don’t know how worried they are, or how worried they should be. This is a Red State where … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Someone needs to sue Blake Farenthold

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my response to this. Four months after U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold promised to repay an $84,000 sexual harassment settlement funded by taxpayers — and 11 days after the Republican resigned his Corpus Christi seat — he has yet to … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

RIP, Barbara Bush

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Former First Lady and mother of President George W. Bush has passed away. Barbara Pierce Bush, matriarch of an American political dynasty that has produced presidents, governors and other high officials, has died in Houston. She was 92. Bush was … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Larry Blackmon

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We return now to the interviews for the special election in District K. Most of the nine candidates in this race are first-timers, but two are not. Larry Blackmon is one of those two, having run in the open At … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The math on redistricting

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not just that Republicans drew themselves a favorable map. It’s that they drew a durable favorable map. Thanks to those very effective Republican redistricting maps, Texas Democrats would have to improve their statewide election results by more than 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

More accusers against Paul Pressler

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

So often the case when there is one accusation of abuse against a powerful person, more victims come forward with their own stories. The list of men accusing a former Texas state judge and leading figure of the Southern Baptist … Continue reading →

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Interview with Cecil Webster

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to take one brief diversion from the District K special election interviews to bring you this interview for the HD13 special election, which is also happening on May 5. I’ve written about Cecil Webster before, as he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Head of “voter fraud” troll group that sued Harris County gets sued himself

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Delightful. A conservative activist and voter fraud alarmist is facing a federal lawsuit Thursday over dubious allegations of massive voter fraud in Virginia. A civil rights group and four Virginia voters filed a suit against J. Christian Adams and the legal outfit he runs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chron overview of CD07 runoff

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know how much there is here we didn’t already know, but this is the marquee local runoff, so it gets the attention. On paper, there is little to separate attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and writer-activist Laura Moser, the two … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Weekend link dump for April 15

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

“Facebook’s baseball broadcast was a vision of the hellish future we deserve”. Diversity in Baseball Begins in Little League. Wishing all the best in retirement to Phil Coyne after EIGHTY-ONE YEARS of service as an usher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 6 Comments

Anti-same sex employee benefits lawsuit moved back to state court

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On and on we go. Nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the city of Houston continues to battle for the rights of its gay workers. On Tuesday, a judge struck down Houston’s attempts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cruz’s lesser fundraising haul

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not that little, Ted. Really. When U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke announced his latest fundraising haul earlier this month – a stunning $6.7 million – it was widely expected to surpass what his rival, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, brought … Continue reading →

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There will never be a hurricane named Harvey again

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Or Irma or Maria or Nate. Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate were so destructive and deadly during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season that the World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee decided this week to retire those names from future Atlantic Basin … Continue reading →

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Harvey-affected schools may get a break on the STAAR test

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas school districts hit hard by Hurricane Harvey may not have to worry as much about how well their students fare in this year’s standardized tests, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday at a meeting of the … Continue reading →

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

Just don’t call it “Mexican-American studies”

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The SBOE does its thing. Texas advocates for Mexican-American studies classes won a bitter victory Wednesday, gaining approval to move forward with the class they wanted but losing the course title. The State Board of Education had been debating more … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Sid Miller and the unqualified creep

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this when it came out last Friday, and now that I’ve seen it I wish I was still blissfully ignorant of it. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in late 2016 appointed to the state’s Rural Health Task Force … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized!, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

On Latino primary participation

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Time for some numbers. The predictions about Harris County Latinos becoming more engaged in the recent mid-term primary were right: The number of Latino voters who cast their ballot more than doubled compared to the previous primary of the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stockman convicted

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Turn out the lights, the party’s over. Former U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman — a political maverick once viewed as a champion of right-wing causes — was taken into federal custody Thursday after a jury convicted him of masterminding a wide-ranging … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

A clean separation

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Well done. Former Houston ISD superintendent Richard Carranza’s resignation from the district involved no financial settlements, and the two sides agreed not to sue each other following the separation, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle. A written agreement … Continue reading →

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Federal court ruling says LGBT workers in Texas are protected from discrimination

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal. For the first time in Texas, a federal judge said LGBT workers should be protected from employment discrimination based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. Judge Lee Rosenthal, the chief judge in the Houston-based … Continue reading →

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

Orlando Sanchez is not happy with the dominatrix investigation

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This case is going to challenge headline and blog post title writers for the foreseeable future. Two elected Harris County officials squared off Tuesday over a bizarre case in which a top treasury official was charged in a $35,000 check … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Texas’ maternal mortality rate not as bad as previously reported

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, if a bit puzzling. Several of the state’s top health experts released a report in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology on Monday showing that by using the new method, the number of women who died dropped from … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 9

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is neither the subject nor the target of an investigation, but it is bringing you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Martha Castex-Tatum

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We continue on with interviews in the District K special election, to succeed the late Council Member Larry Green. Today we have Martha Castex-Tatum, who has served in CM Green’s office as the Director of Constituent Services since 2015. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

White voters sue Dallas County over claims of voter discrimination

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Are white voters in Dallas County being discriminated against? That question, which might cause some to chuckle, will be answered after a trial starting April 16 that could change the face of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium report

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: “Strategies for Flood Mitigation in Greater Houston, Edition 1”, a report released today by the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium, calls for accelerating the paradigm shift underway in how the Houston area plans for and recovers from flooding … Continue reading →

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