Monthly Archives: July 2020

Why resign tomorrow when you can do it today?

News item: After 15 years as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, Republican Justice Paul W. Green said he will retire in August — almost two and a half years before his term was set to end. “I’m grateful … Continue reading

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 20

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people in Portland currently being attacked by federal troops as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Time for your regularly scheduled announcement that the Uptown BRT line opening has been pushed back

Maybe for the last time, though. We hope. Rapid bus service is coming to Uptown next month, a couple weeks later than Metro first said this summer and two years later than expected when construction began in 2016. Service will … Continue reading

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UT prepares for fantasy football

I have no idea what they’re thinking. The University of Texas at Austin will kick off the football season Sept. 5, albeit with a stadium open at half its capacity, athletics officials told ticket holders Monday. While both NCAA and … Continue reading

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

HCDE Q&A: Jose Rivera

As noted before, I am doing written Q&As with candidates for HCDE Trustee Position 7, At Large, whose nominee will be selected by Democratic precinct chairs in August. This is the third and (barring any unexpected late entrants) final entry … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The cities still need COVID relief

Just a reminder, in case you’d forgotten. As Congress resumes work on a new coronavirus financial relief package, nearly 100 Texas mayors are pressing the state’s congressional delegation for more funding to address revenue losses incurred due to the economic … Continue reading

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What Ted Cruz is scared of

Let’s give him a reason for it. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a dire message to Texas Republican activists on Saturday about the danger President Donald Trump faces in November here. “This is a real race,” Cruz told the Republican … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

High school sports pushed back a bit

Just a guess, but I’d bet this winds up being redone at least once more before any actual sports get played. The University Interscholastic League is delaying the start of high school football’s regular season to Sept. 24 for Class … Continue reading

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HCDE Q&A: David Brown

As noted before, I am doing written Q&As with candidates for HCDE Trustee Position 7, At Large, whose nominee will be selected by Democratic precinct chairs in August. 1. Who are you and why are you running for this office? … Continue reading

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More pressure on Biden to really compete in Texas

Fine by me. With President Donald Trump’s poll numbers sliding in traditional battlegrounds as well as conservative-leaning states, and money pouring into Democratic campaigns, Joe Biden is facing rising pressure to expand his ambitions, compete aggressively in more states and … Continue reading

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

The state deficit is quantified

Honestly, it’s not as bad as it could be. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered bleak but unsurprising news Monday: Because of the economic fallout triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the amount of general revenue available for the state’s current two-year … Continue reading

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State GOP wraps up its historic convention

And what a convention it was. Allen West, the firebrand former Florida congressman, has defeated Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey to lead the country’s largest state Republican Party. West claimed victory shortly before 3:30 a.m. Monday, while Dickey conceded about … Continue reading

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

HCDE Q&A: Obes Nwabara

As you know, there are two races on the November ballot for which Democratic precinct chairs will be selecting the nominee in August. One is for County Clerk, and the other is for HCDE Trustee Position 7, At Large. As … Continue reading

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Going after Abbott

Forward thinking is always good to see. Hoping to harness the opposition to Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the coronavirus, several Texas Democratic strategists are launching a new political group to defeat him in 2022. Their group, the Beat Abbott … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

We still need that equality bill in the Lege

That SCOTUS ruling was huge, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. LGBTQ Texans marked a major victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law prevents employment discrimination on the basis of … Continue reading

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Weekend link dump for July 19

“The North American Scrabble Players Association announced that derogatory language would be removed from the game’s official word list.” The Far Side is producing new content, which is news we can all use in 2020. “The beer industry, like so … Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dems could possibly win a lot of Congressional races in Texas

It started with this: what does a biden win in texas look like? here’s how a D+1 nailbiter might turn out, if we use 2016 and 2018 as a guide → (hint: biden would win 9 currently R-held districts and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

TEA updates its school-opening guidance

They heard the outcry. Facing growing backlash from teachers, parents and health officials, Texas education officials Friday relaxed a previous order that would have given public schools just three weeks from the start of the fall semester to reopen their … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another lawsuit filed over mobile voting locations

Don’t know that there’s enough time for this to be heard, but it’s a good idea. Mi Familia Vota, the Texas NAACP and two Texas voters this week filed a suit against the state over its election policies, alleging they … Continue reading

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Wineries and distilleries

I’m happy to keep beating this drum, but I’d really rather not have to. The owners and patrons of Ironroot Republic Distillery in Denison hardly consider the business to be a bar in the traditional sense. There’s no loud music … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Here, have a COVID update

Things are going great. Texas set yet another record for coronavirus deaths Thursday with 154 — the third day in a row above 100. The previous record was July 8 when 112 deaths were logged, according to a data analysis … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Federal judge rules GOP can have its in person convention

Unbelievable. A federal judge on Friday ruled that Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston First Corp. must allow the Texas Republican Party to proceed with an in-person convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center, though the party now only intends … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

We’re still not doing great with the Census

There’s still time, but we have a lot of work to do. Despite an extended deadline, local government cash infusions and grassroots campaigns to improve Houston’s 2020 census response rate, almost half of Houston households are still missing from the … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bike lanes coming to Shepherd/Durham corridor

Nice. Houston officials with some regional help have nearly solved funding a $100 million rebuild of Shepherd and Durham that adds bike lanes, wider sidewalks, improved drainage and new concrete to one of the most car-centric corridors within Loop 610. … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interview with Commissioner Rodney Ellis

Normally, I do candidate interviews for elections, though I do branch out sometimes when there’s an issue or some election-adjacent matter I want to explore. It’s in that spirit that I bring you this conversation I had with Commissioner Rodney … Continue reading

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

Censuring Abbott

An amusing sideline, if nothing else. Republicans in eight different Texas counties have now voted to censure Gov. Greg Abbott for his order requiring Texans to wear face coverings and take other protective measures as COVID-19 spreads throughout the state. … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Give reformers a seat at the police collective bargaining table

This is a clear path forward. Chas Moore watched in shock one night in 2017 as Austin City Council voted on the city’s proposed police contract. He and other criminal justice reformers had spent months observing contract negotiations and lobbying … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The GOP convention is off to a great start

Ain’t technology great? Getting the virtual state convention up and running “has not been a walk in the park,” said Republican Party of Texas Chair James Dickey in a Facebook Live chat Wednesday evening. Glitches related to credentialing had yet … Continue reading

Posted in General snarkiness, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Some brief runoff thoughts

You know the drill here… – The Election Night Results page at the SOS shows 955,735 votes total in the Democratic Senate runoff. That number is likely to increase a bit over the next few days, as we’ll see shortly. … Continue reading

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Is it time to step back?

It’s not a question of whether we want to do this, it’s whether we need to. Houston leaders are calling for another two-week shutdown as dozens of Army personnel are set to arrive Monday to help fight a virus that … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harris County will hire an elections administrator

Just like that. Harris County became the latest in Texas to adopt an independent administrator model to run elections when the Democratic majority on Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to create the new department. Court members voted 3-2 along party lines … Continue reading

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 13

The Texas Progressive Alliance is fanning itself with one hand and sipping from a frosty beverage with the other as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Schools get an in person opening reprieve

It started with this. Texas will give school districts more flexibility to keep their school buildings closed to in-person instruction this fall as coronavirus cases continue to rise, Gov. Greg Abbott told a Houston television station Tuesday. Public health guidance … Continue reading

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

2020 primary runoff results: Statewide

It was a tight race all night, but it looks like MJ Hegar will win. MJ Hegar was holding a 5-percentage-point lead over Royce West on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate, according to unofficial results. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments