Monthly Archives: May 2018

The crossover question

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From G. Elliott Morris, reviewing the recent AZ-08 special Congressional election: The second thing to learn from AZ-08 helps explain the first: if Democrats aren’t winning because of differential turnout (or, not solely because of differential turnout), why are they? … Continue reading →

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MS Houston

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Meet our new technical overlords. Microsoft will provide STEM education at schools, teach computer literacy skills to adults and transform Houston into a “Smart City” as part of a new partnership announced Friday. “These sort of efforts become infectious and … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of May 7

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with Michelle Wolf as it brings you this week’s First Amendment-loving roundup.

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No Metro vote this year

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One thing that won’t be on your ballot this fall. Voters will have to wait a few more months to decide Houston’s transit future, as Metro officials said Monday they are taking a more deliberative approach to developing a long-term … Continue reading →

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Dallas Republicans ordered to pay legal costs in their failed ballot access lawsuit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Cue the sad trombone. The Dallas County Republican Party will have to pay more than $51,000 to Dallas County Democrats for attorney fees incurred in defending the GOP’s attempt to remove dozens of Democrats from election ballots. In his final … Continue reading →

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Time for an update on that other high speed rail line

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been awhile. Backers continue to move along on plans to build a bullet-train route between Dallas and Houston, but it’s not the only high-speed passenger rail project on Texas drawing boards. With a proposal to run between cities such … Continue reading →

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Abbott approves August flood bond referendum

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One more step forward. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday approved Harris County’s request to call a multi-billion-dollar bond election to pay for flood control measures on Aug. 25, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. By state law, the county needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

November special election in HD62

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Because I’m a completist, I bring your attention to news like this. Gov. Greg Abbott has set a Nov. 6 special election to fill former state Rep. Larry Phillips’ seat in North Texas. That’s the same day voters will head … Continue reading →

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

Santos calls on Skillern-Jones to step down as HISD President

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This happened last week. I’ve been waiting to see if there will be anything more to it. Houston ISD Trustee Elizabeth Santos on Thursday called for school board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones, to “immediately step down” from her position in light … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mike Siegel

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting for the primary runoffs begins in a week, running from Monday through Friday, with Tuesday the 22nd being the vote-at-your-precinct-location day. I’ll have more information about that later, but for now I have one more interview to present. … Continue reading →

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

Beto and Ted

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

¡Dale! U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, has invited U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to participate in six debates with O’Rourke across Texas, two of them in Spanish, during their U.S. Senate race. O’Rourke campaign manager Jody Casey made the … Continue reading →

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

No GOP convention for San Antonio

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wise decision. The city of San Antonio will not submit a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention, a decision announced after council members met Thursday in closed session to discuss the matter. The cost of pursuing the event … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for May 6

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Up, up and away, in my beautiful space-bound balloon. “When the last Toys ‘R’ Us store closes its doors once and for all, the company’s top executives will have pocketed some $8.2 million in retention bonuses for sticking around long … Continue reading →

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May 5 election results

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Martha Castex-Tatum is your winner of the District K special election. She dominated in Harris County with over 65% of the vote, and while she finished below fifty percent in Fort Bend County, she had more than enough votes to … Continue reading →

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

Farenthold tells Abbott to go pound sand

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what did you expect? Blake Farenthold — a disgraced former Texas congressman who resigned last month — will not fund the special election to replace himself, he told Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported. Abbott … Continue reading →

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A flock of electronic scooters descending on Austin

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not actually one of the signs of the apocalypse, though I’m sure it was annoying. Seemingly overnight, Austin was buzzing with electric scooters last month. Scooter riders weaved through crowded sidewalks and traffic downtown and zoomed out of drivers’ blind … Continue reading →

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

Today is May Election Day

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Saturday, May 5, 2018 is Election Day for voters in Houston Council Member District K. Voters will determine who will fill the vacancy in the southwest Council District. Polling locations will be open from 7 am to … Continue reading →

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We finally have a White/Valdez runoff debate scheduled

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez has accepted an invitation to debate her runoff opponent, Andrew White, on May 11 in Austin, according to her campaign. White, who was the runner-up in the March primary, has been pushing to … Continue reading →

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

Reducing solitary confinement

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is good. Almost five years after images surfaced of a mentally ill inmate wallowing in a cell full of human waste and bugs, the Harris County jail has cut in half its use of solitary confinement. The decrease is … Continue reading →

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Firefighters have their signatures

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On to the next act in this drama. A petition Houston firefighters submitted last summer seeking pay parity with police contains enough valid signatures to trigger a referendum election, City Secretary Anna Russell reported to Mayor Sylvester Turner and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Greg Abbott, Russian stooge

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Heck of a job, Greggie. A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate “the information space,” and … Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness, Skepticism, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Of course Ken Paxton opposes the sick leave ordinance

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He wouldn’t be Ken Paxton if he didn’t. Less than a week after a conservative think tank sued Austin over the city’s paid sick leave ordinance, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has thrown the state’s support behind the suit, calling … Continue reading →

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Rep. Eric Johnson declares for Speaker

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, filed Wednesday to run for speaker of the Texas House, making him the first Democrat to enter the race to succeed retiring House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The revenue cap and the police

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. Not what I want, but something. Mayor Sylvester Turner used his third State of the City speech to call — again — for the city to be able to collect more revenue than allowed by the property tax … Continue reading →

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

Metro will pilot automated vehicle shuttle at TSU

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

from the inbox: Texas Southern University students may have another transportation option on campus in the fall semester: an autonomous shuttle. Today, METRO’s Board of Directors gave the nod to the autonomous vehicle (AV) project, a first for the agency.  Although the … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 30

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you to vote in the May 5 elections if you have them as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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We’ll be voting on flood control bonds in August

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not my first choice, but it is what it is. Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to seek a special election on Aug. 25 for what likely will be a multi-billion-dollar bond package that, if approved by voters, would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Paxton sues to end DACA

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Following through on a months-old promise, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, leading a seven-state coalition against an Obama-era immigration measure that protects hundreds … Continue reading →

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

Early voting ends for May 5 elections

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Go vote Saturday if you haven’t voted yet. Voters across southwest Houston will head to the polls Saturday to vote on a replacement for late District K Houston City Councilman Larry Green who died unexpectedly from a drug overdose in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sri Preston Kulkarni

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The other contender in the Democratic primary runoff for CD22 is Sri Preston Kulkarni, who led the field in March with just under 32%. A graduate of UT, Kulkarni was commissioned as a Foreign Service Officer after college and served … Continue reading →

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What might the TEA do with HISD?

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They have some options, the best of which is probably to put the decision off for a year. A.J. Crabill knows what it’s like to close schools. In 2010, Crabill, then a 30-year-old member of the Kansas City, Missouri, school … Continue reading →

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San Antonio and the 2020 Republican convention

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Beware. The campaign manager for President Donald Trump wants San Antonio to host the 2020 Republican National Convention and has taken to Twitter to voice his frustration at the city’s lack of response to bid for the event. San Antonio … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments