Monthly Archives: June 2020

The reopening metric we should be heeding

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter: This graph is amazing. It shows that measuring #SARSCoV2 levels in municipal sewage almost perfectly predicts forthcoming #COVID19 cases with a full week’s notice (R=0.994). It’s one of several discoveries in this new study from @Yale: https://medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.19.20105999v1.full.pdf. C-19 … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

MLS agrees on its restart, WNBA still considering options

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More sports coming. The MLS Players Association voted Wednesday to approve a revised collective bargaining agreement with the league. The new deal will run through 2025 and clears the way for Major League Soccer to resume its 2020 season via … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quinnipiac: Trump 44, Biden 43

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are locked in a very tight race in Texas, with Trump receiving 44 percent of the vote and Biden receiving 43 percent in a general election matchup, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There won’t be furloughs after all

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A slightly confusing bit of good news. Houston will not need to furlough roughly 3,000 city employees nor cancel its police cadet classes in the upcoming budget year, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced during a city council budget committee … Continue reading →

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

NBA sets a plan, MLB still working it out

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Happening today. The NBA is finalizing details of a plan which is expected to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors on Thursday, paving the way for a return from the coronavirus shutdown. The board is poised to give … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 1

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with those demanding justice for George Floyd as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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How low can sales tax collections go?

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re lucky, no lower than this. Texas collected about $2.6 billion in state sales tax revenue in May, leading to the steepest year-over-year decline in over a decade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday. The amount is 13.2% less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Runoff reminder: Statewide

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As I said in the interview posts for SD14, I’m going to revisit the runoff races of interest ahead of early voting. It’s been awhile since we’ve really paid attention to a lot of these folks, what limited news there … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

State ordered to pay plaintiffs’ fees in voter ID case

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Pending appeal, of course. Texas ultimately won the long-winding fight to keep its voter ID law on the books, but a federal judge has ruled the state is on the hook for nearly $6.8 million in legal fees and costs. In a Wednesday … Continue reading →

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Chris Hollins sworn in

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We have a County Clerk again. Christopher Hollins on Monday became the third Harris County clerk in three years, appointed to the post after the incumbent, Diane Trautman, resigned after 17 months because of unspecified health concerns. He has pledged … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The George Floyd March

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Impressive. Sixty thousand people joined the family of George Floyd as well as elected officials and religious leaders today in a peaceful Houston march from Discovery Green to City Hall organized by rappers and civic activists Trae tha Truth, Bun … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

RIP, Engage Texas

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We hardly knew ye. Engage Texas, the massive Republican super PAC focused on voter registration, is shutting down, citing challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic. The group began last year with the support of some of the biggest Texas GOP donors and raised $12.7 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

A bipartisan equality bill

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the effort, but we can’t expect too much to come of this. Five Democratic and two Republican state legislators announced plans Wednesday to file a bill next legislative session that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in housing, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A bipartisan equality bill

MLB players make their counteroffer

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Back to the owners. The Major League Baseball Players Association delivered a return-to-play proposal to MLB on Sunday that includes a 114-game season, deferred salaries in the event of a canceled postseason and the option for all players to opt … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hurricanes and pandemics

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Summertime in the Gulf Coast, y’all. Dealing with multiple disaster threats at the same time is nothing new for Francisco Sanchez. As a 15-year emergency management veteran for Harris County, Sanchez understands the anxiety tugging at local officials wary of … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Sarah Eckhardt

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview to present for the July 14 special election in SD14. As noted, there are six candidates running to succeed Kirk Watson, but really just two that merit your attention. Today I have a conversation with … Continue reading →

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Of course they have voted by mail

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It should surprise no one that the three main opponents to an expansion of voting by mail have all voted by mail themselves in past elections. Three of Texas’ top Republican leaders are vigorously fighting efforts to expand mail-in voting … Continue reading →

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

Abbott issues disaster declaration following protests

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Where we are now. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sunday afternoon that the entire state of Texas will be placed under a disaster declaration in response to demonstrators in several Texas cities protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man … Continue reading →

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