Monthly Archives: September 2020

Two more polls of Texas

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Trump is up two in this one. Florida and Texas remain tight battlegrounds in the presidential election, according to CBS News Battleground Tracker polls released Sunday. The current margin in both states is 2 percentage points, with Democratic nominee Joe … Continue reading →

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Still code red

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll turn it down a notch when the data says we should. The counts of coronavirus patients in local hospitals have been falling for two months. Restaurant patios are packed. Houston’s symphony and pro soccer teams are resuming at limited … Continue reading →

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Texas Central gets federal approvals

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A big step completed. Federal officials have issued final approvals to backers of a Houston-to-Dallas high-speed rail line, clearing the way for construction of the proposed line, in a move almost certain to face challenges from opponents. Texas Central Railroad, … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Endorsement watch: No Briscoe

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron follows the basic principle that bad acts should not be rewarded, and bad actors do not belong in positions of trust and power. In his two terms representing House District 128, Rep. Briscoe Cain has quickly acquired a … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Hank Gilbert

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I will have a few interviews to present for the November election. Nearly all of the people I wanted to talk to in the greater Houston area were in contested primaries, and thus I have already interviewed them, but there … Continue reading →

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

Flooding affects toll roads, too.

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This makes sense to me. Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to create a local government corporation to manage Harris County’s toll road system in a move expected to provide a windfall to county coffers and allow surplus toll collections to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Recruiting poll workers

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One good thing Facebook has ever done. Facebook has set out to recruit poll workers, providing free ads for state election officials to help fill jobs at voting centers in a very unusual election year. “With the election less than … Continue reading →

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So far so good on school reopening

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still early, though. For the first Houston-area school districts to resume in-person classes, the early results for COVID-19 on campus are in: so far, mostly so good. Eight districts that brought children back to schools in August are reporting … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for September 20

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“Several elements of those historic failures exist today: political disunity, economic collapse, the possibility of a razor-thin electoral margin, and corrupt challenges to the results. But none of those other transitions incorporated all of that at once, and a deadly … Continue reading →

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A matter of timing

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the stated reason why SCOTX overturned the earlier decision that booted three Green Party candidates off the ballot. The Texas Supreme Court in a new opinion Friday explained its decision to reinstate to the November ballot Green Party candidates … Continue reading →

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

CD03 poll: Taylor 44, Seikaly 43

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Nate Cohn: If there’s any single competitive district you could look at on Election Night to know whether Texas went blue, this might be the pick — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) 8:47 AM – 17 September 2020 All we get … Continue reading →

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Voter registration during a pandemic is hard

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Especially when online voter registration is not an option. In the first seven months of 2020, new registrations in Texas were down nearly 24% compared with that same time frame in 2016, according to numbers from the nonprofit Center for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Matt Glazer: To see boon, clean energy needs Congress

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: The following is a guest post that was submitted to me. I occasionally solicit guest posts, and also occasionally accept them from people I trust.) I’m a bit of an Austin-area expert when it comes to weird homes. So, … Continue reading →

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Appeals court sides with Hollins in mail ballot applications case

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s up to SCOTX now. A Texas appeals court on Friday upheld a district court ruling that denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to block Harris County officials from sending mail ballot applications to the county’s 2.4 million registered voters. … Continue reading →

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

HPD adopts cite-and-release

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Took them long enough. The Houston Police Department plans to join Harris County’s cite-and-release program, fulfilling advocates’ long-running request to implement the policy they say keeps low-level offenders out of jail and saves law enforcement resources for more serious threats. … Continue reading →

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Adding to the team in Texas

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Shot: Joe Biden is a lot closer to winning Texas at this point than Donald Trump is to winning Minnesota, if the polls are anywhere close to right. — (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) 2:15 PM – 14 September 2020 Chaser. Joe … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Smoots-Thomas takes a plea

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A sad but hardly unexpected end to this story. The ex-judge in an orange jail uniform stood before a judge in black robes, swore to tell the truth and tried to make sense of her predicament. “My world truly turned … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three to get started

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But first, why do endorsements, anyway? If newspapers are objective, why do you recommend candidates? Newspapers don’t endorse candidates. Editorial boards do. The editorial board is separate from the newsroom. It is made up of opinion journalists with wide-ranging expertise … Continue reading →

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

And so the re-reopening begins

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Are we really ready for this? Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that most of Texas will be able to loosen some coronavirus restrictions, including letting many businesses increase their capacity to 75%, as soon as Monday. Retail stores, restaurants and … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Green Party owes Ken Paxton a thank-you note

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He did them a solid, that’s for sure. In the legal fight to exclude minor party candidates from the November ballot, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton took a flexible view of time and deadlines. After the Texas GOP filed suit … Continue reading →

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

We suck at COVID data, the continuing story

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Would have been nice to have known this when it was happening. State health officials published new data this week that showed the state’s positivity rate was higher in the spring that originally disclosed, even as public officials cited the … Continue reading →

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

The post-Harvey flood control march

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a long journey, with a lot to be done. It’s going to take awhile. Most of Kenwood, a working class, mostly Latino neighborhood, is so deep in the 100-year floodplain that Harris County engineers have concluded no flood control … Continue reading →

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Harris County preps to print mail ballots

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How many they have to print remains an open question at this time. For the first time, Harris County will pay a third-party vendor to print mail ballots, a move intended to help the county clerk handle what is expected … Continue reading →

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

CD25: Williams 45, Oliver 43

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Congressional polls, they keep coming. Progressive Democratic candidate Julie Oliver is in a close race with her GOP incumbent opponent Rep. Roger Williams, a new internal poll finds. The poll of 400 likely voters by EMC Research shows Oliver … Continue reading →

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

Lawsuit filed over gun sign law

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. A church in Clear Lake and a coffeeshop in the Heights are challenging a Texas law that dictates how no-gun signs are displayed. Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church and Antidote Coffee allege the signs private properties need … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 14

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance salutes everyone who’s doing their best to make back to school happen – remote and in person – as we present this week’s roundup.

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Big 10 flip flops on football

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a powerful force. The Big Ten announced Tuesday that its Council of Presidents and Chancellors has voted to allow the league to play football in fall 2020. The Big Ten will open its season on the weekend of Oct. … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

SCOTX puts Greens back on the ballot

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is my head spinning. The Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. Last month, a state appeals court sided with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

SCOTX extends stay in Harris County vote by mail case

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I was set to be super outraged about this, but as you will see it’s not quite as bad as it first looked. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications to all registered … Continue reading →

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Hegar targets open carry

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m all in for this. Former Air Force pilot MJ Hegar, a Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, is calling for an end to open carry. The issue has never attracted the same sort of urgency from gun safety … Continue reading →

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Everybody is invited!

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this last week. ACC men’s basketball coaches are proposing an expanded 2021 NCAA tournament that would include every Division I team. Several ACC coaches would prefer to avoid nonconference games in the 2020-21 season due to complications from … Continue reading →

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The case for voting in person

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Wired, an argument for worrying less about voting by mail because voting in person is still a fine way to do it. Casting a ballot in person, it turns out, isn’t so dangerous after all. Early in the pandemic, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Cite and release for Houston

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston is preparing a cite-and-release policy that could let people accused of certain misdemeanors off with a ticket instead of an arrest, perhaps the city’s most significant bid at criminal justice reform since the killing of George Floyd ignited … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

SBOE updates sex ed curriculum

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

All things considered, especially the past history of the State Board of Education and its shenanigans, this could have been worse. It’s not great, but the potential for disaster was monumentally high. The Texas State Board of Education gave preliminary … Continue reading →

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