Monthly Archives: September 2022

Republicans propose nationwide abortion ban

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It was ever thus. Republicans are struggling with the backlash against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and a series of Republican-controlled states instituting harsh abortion bans. Voters are angry, and that anger has contributed to a reduction in … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Sonya Heath

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. This year it’s mostly incumbents running for … Continue reading →

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Unifying the opposition to massive urban highway projects

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good idea, ought to have some effect, but changing the overall culture and philosophy about transportation in Texas is a very big lift. Opponents of some of Texas’ largest transportation projects are unifying their messaging, pushing state highway officials to … Continue reading →

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Our overall vax level is down

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not great! The coverage rate for routine childhood vaccines – or the percentage of kids getting them – dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover, according to statistics from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Health … Continue reading →

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Interview with Chuck Crews

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This week I have two interviews with candidates for State Representative. Chuck Crews knows that he’s running in one of the reddest districts in Harris County in HD128, but he’s also running against one of the worst people in the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Jerry Simoneaux

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. This year it’s mostly incumbents running for … Continue reading →

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Let’s not go overboard about these voter registration numbers

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sure it’s nice to see, but a little perspective is in order. In Texas, it’s not just women who are fired up about access to abortion and registering to vote in large numbers following this summer’s historic Supreme Court decision … Continue reading →

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MLB to recognize MLBPA representation of minor leaguers

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association on Saturday finalized a card-check agreement expected to formalize the league recognizing the union as the bargaining representative for a unit of minor league players in excess of 5,000 members, sources … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 11

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“This case is to Medicaid what Dobbs was to abortion.” “The world could create more sustainable batteries with an unusual source: crustaceans. In a paper published this week in the journal Matter, researchers say they have made a biodegradable battery … Continue reading →

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Coulda Been Worse

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Are you ready for some attack ads? A shadowy new group has purchased at least $6 million in TV ads ahead of the November election and is airing an ad that targets Gov. Greg Abbott as he runs for reelection. … Continue reading →

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National support for abortion rights on the rise

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s pretty high in this poll. Voters have grown more supportive of legalizing abortion following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, with a clear majority opposing restrictions, like bans at a certain point of pregnancy or barring women from traveling to … Continue reading →

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The slow but steady march of Houston’s non-car transportation infrastructure

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good story. When he arrived in Houston two years ago, what David Fields saw belied what he had heard. The nation’s fourth-largest city has long been known as car-centric and geared toward commuting, with a web of wide freeways that … Continue reading →

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West 11th construction is about to start

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready, here it comes. City staffers are finalizing a plan to add protected bike lanes along 11th Street in the Heights and reduce the number of driving lanes, despite pushback from some residents in the area. Crews will begin … Continue reading →

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UH-TSU Texas Trends poll: Abbott 49-Beto 42, and Hidalgo 52-Mealer 42

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From their webpage, scroll down to Report 1 and Report 2: In the race for governor, Republican Greg Abbott leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 7% among likely voters, 49% to 42%, with 7% undecided and 1% intending to vote for … Continue reading →

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The one big question DPS still hasn’t answered about Uvalde

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib gets at something that I’ve mentioned a couple of times. Ever since the Uvalde elementary school shooting left 19 students and two teachers dead, blame for the delayed response has been thrust on local law enforcement. The school … Continue reading →

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The easy and obvious case against Sid Miller

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Chron business columnist Chris Tomlinson writes a 95% good column about ol’ Sid. Sid Miller appeared genuinely surprised when during floor debate over his 2011 bill requiring a sonogram before an abortion, Rep. Carol Alvarado brandished the foot-long probe a doctor would … Continue reading →

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Here comes the pitch clock

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some foundational rule changes are coming to MLB next year. A pitch timer, limits on defensive shifts and bigger bases are coming to Major League Baseball in 2023. Following recent experiments in the Minor Leagues, the recently formed Joint Competition … Continue reading →

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It’s the year 2022 and we’re still litigating the Affordable Care Act

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t this horse dead yet? A federal judge in Fort Worth agreed Wednesday with a group of Christian conservatives that Affordable Care Act requirements to cover HIV prevention drugs violate their religious freedom. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor also agreed … Continue reading →

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

Five DPS agents being investigated for their Uvalde actions

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. It just can’t be the end. Five Texas Department of Public Safety officers who responded to the Uvalde school shooting in May will face an investigation into their actions at Robb Elementary, the agency said. The officers … Continue reading →

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SCOTx maintains judicial bypass rules for abortion

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Texas Supreme Court has opted to keep in place a legal process that allows minors to seek a judge’s approval to have an abortion without parental consent, though state law now bans the procedure in most circumstances. … Continue reading →

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Still wondering about the existential future of Texas Central

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I really hoped this would be a thing. If it isn’t, it’s a great wasted opportunity. Ten years ago, a company calling itself Texas Central High-Speed Railway announced plans for a trailblazing bullet train that would whisk passengers between Dallas … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Cory Sepolio

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. This year it’s mostly incumbents running for … Continue reading →

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Comptroller caves on phony “defunding” claim

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, he folded like a lawn chair. Harris County is moving through the process of passing a fiscal 2023 budget with a 1 percent dip in the property tax rate, after the specter of the state blocking its … Continue reading →

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Meet Clifford Tatum

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County’s new Elections Administrator has a chat with the Chron’s Jen Rice about his new job and the fact that early voting starts in less than seven weeks. Why did you start working in elections and why do you … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of September 5

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy unofficial first week of autumn as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Tanya Garrison

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. This year it’s mostly incumbents running for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Republicans for Collier

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Two of them, anyway. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, one of Texas’ most prominent Republican local leaders, is backing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Democratic challenger. “The one person who I’ll support statewide that will get me a little in trouble: … Continue reading →

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Plan B

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott told The Dallas Morning News that rape victims can take emergency contraception, like Plan B, to prevent a pregnancy. With abortion now banned in Texas, even in … Continue reading →

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More on A Tale Of Two Bridges

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After I wrote about the effort to get two new bike and pedestrian bridges built in the Heights area, with the intent of making some new connections across the White Oak Bayou and to the existing White Oak Bayou Trail, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Michelle Palmer

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Day After Labor Day! It is now officially campaign season, and that means it is also now officially Candidate Interview Season. (It’s also Judicial Candidate Q&A season, which you’ve already seen.) I’ll have a lineup of interviews to bring … Continue reading →

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Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading →

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“Safe haven” laws are also not a replacement for abortion

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing a theme. What are safe haven laws? A flurry of Houston baby abandonments in the ’90s led Texas to become the first state to enact a safe haven law in 1999. Created as an incentive for parents in crisis who are unable … Continue reading →

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All interviews and judicial Q&As with nominees so far

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Back in February, right before the primary, I posted a list of all of the candidate interviews and judicial Q&As I had done. A couple more Q&A responses came in after that, and I did some further interviews for the … Continue reading →

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VA says it will provide abortions

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday it will provide abortions for veterans and their beneficiaries as medically necessary or in cases of rape or incest. The VA said it plans to provide abortions across the entire nation … Continue reading →

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