Monthly Archives: April 2026

The cost of hosting the FIFA World Cup

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The economics are hard to understand. When Texas dedicated $22 million to host the 2017 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, state officials expected a return on their investment. But a state analysis after the … Continue reading →

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It’s not just Corpus Christi

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I feel bad for these people. At least six small cities and towns in the Coastal Bend region of Texas issued disaster declarations in the last two weeks, begging not to be forgotten amid a spiraling water crisis. All attention lies … Continue reading →

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RIP, Voting Rights Act

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

JFC. Wednesday’s 6–3 party-line decision in Louisiana v. Callais will go down in history as one of the most pernicious and damaging Supreme Court decisions of the last century. All six Republican-appointed justices on the court signed onto Justice Samuel … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 27

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has never attended the White House Correspondents Dinner but it always brings you the weekly roundup. Off the Kuff rounded up the Q1 campaign finance reports for Texas Democratic candidates for Senate and Congress. SocraticGadfly read … Continue reading →

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TPOR poll: Talarico leading both Cornyn and Paxton

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This will never get old. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is leading both of his prospective Republican opponents in a new poll of Texas’ U.S. Senate race — though the result is within the margin of error in either scenario, … Continue reading →

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Early voting for the May 16 District C runoff starts today

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s now time for Election #2 of 3 in the month of May. This one is the runoff for Houston City Council District C, between Joe Panzarella, who led with about 33% of the vote in April, and Nick Hellyar, … Continue reading →

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Texas Medical Board sanctions doctors in Ngumezi and Crane cases

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not enough, and it’s also not anywhere close to addressing the real problem. The Texas Medical Board has disciplined three doctors ProPublica previously investigated whose patients died after receiving delayed or inappropriate pregnancy care under the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS approves Texas redistricting map

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, obviously. Texas’ newly redrawn congressional map is officially cleared for use, after the U.S. Supreme Court formally overturned a lower court’s ruling Monday. In November, the high court allowed the map to be used temporarily. Monday’s ruling maintains … Continue reading →

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Virginia Supreme Court hears redistricting challenge

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was redistricting day in court. The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the legality of a constitutional amendment voters approved last week that allows Democrats to implement a more favorable congressional map ahead of the midterm elections. … Continue reading →

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A brief history of shield laws

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long and detailed story about abortion shield laws and the significant effect they’ve had on abortion access post-Dobbs. You should read the whole thing but I wanted to focus on this bit from Texas that I had not … Continue reading →

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Some insight into Ken Paxton’s finances

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. In 2019, hostile attorneys questioned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton about his conduct as a lawyer: Had he turned over a former client’s communications to an attorney suing that client? Paxton acknowledged that he had, one of the nuggets … Continue reading →

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Dallas gets to keep voting centers for the primary runoff

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but perhaps not the end of the story. A North Texas appeals court rejected a petition from a Dallas County republican trying to force the county to hold a precinct-specific Election Day for the upcoming primary election. The petition … Continue reading →

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Other cities’ scooter issues

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I am fascinated. Growing concerns over reckless scooter use in cities south of Houston have prompted officials to update ordinances, launch awareness campaigns and plead with parents to educate young riders. League City officials say call lines have been flooded with complaints, while … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for April 26

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

“How Viktor Orbán Got Rolled by His Own Gerrymander”. “When people consent to have sex with each other, they also generally agree, implicitly or explicitly, to a specific risk level: birth control methods, sexually transmitted infection (STI) status, whether someone … Continue reading →

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Some poll news and other tidbits

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From Somos Votantes: Today, Somos Votantes released new polling data showing Latino voters in key states and districts are rejecting President Trump and Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms, driven by mounting economic pain, widespread disapproval of Republican’s tariff and healthcare policies, and … Continue reading →

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Morath names the new Lake Worth ISD superintendent

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Lake Worth ISD has new leadership after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on April 23 appointed a new superintendent and five-member board of managers who are tasked with overseeing improving student outcomes for the 3,200-student district. … Continue reading →

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Thankfully, a lot of those recent forced birth lawsuits are crappy

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They have a key thing in common, beyond the misogynist zealot lawyer who runs them. Jerry Rodriguez appeared to be a deeply aggrieved man—the victim of a scheme orchestrated by his girlfriend’s domineering ex-partner to “murder” not one, but two, of … Continue reading →

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The Book-Loving Texans’ Guide to the May 2026 elections

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

More valuable insights from Franklin Strong. GCISD Parents PAC has gotten the message: Book-banning and attacking students from marginalized groups won’t win school board elections in Texas. Year after year after year after year, I’ve written recaps after school board elections in Texas. And—after the initial … Continue reading →

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Unelected HISD Board votes to fire HISD union leader

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

What the hell are we doing here? Houston ISD’s appointed board of managers voted Thursday to terminate a teacher union leader even though an independent hearing examiner initially recommended that the district reinstate the longtime educator. All six members who … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs win other Addicks and Barker lawsuit

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Once again I say, it’s hard to keep track of these things. A federal judge vindicated Houston homeowners who have argued for years that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to open Addicks and Barker dam gates during Hurricane … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s talking about the CD23 special election

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Except for Greg Abbott, of course. It’s been about a week since now-former Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress after the Texas Republican admitted to having an unethical sexual relationship with at least one former aide, who later died by suicide. Yet … Continue reading →

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Elmo and the fake election sweepstakes

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Gather round for another story of Little Eldon Musk and his Big Fake Promises. Elon Musk appeared to be totally serious when he announced at a Pennsylvania town hall in October 2024 that his political action committee America PAC would … Continue reading →

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And another voter purge lawsuit filed

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

As I said before, it’s hard to keep track of them all. Voting rights group Common Cause and four voters sued the Justice Department on Tuesday to block it from compiling a national voter database that the watchdog warns allows … Continue reading →

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Council amends ICE ordinance

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

What a waste of time. Houston City Council amended its recently approved policy limiting police officers’ interactions with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatened $114 million in city grants, despite some council members saying the changes will dilute … Continue reading →

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Virginia approves its new Congressional map

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that plan to hold onto the Republican majority in Congress going? In yet another loss for president Trump and his floundering gerrymandering blitz, Virginia voters approved a Democratic-led redistricting measure on Tuesday that will likely give Democrats four additional congressional … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Ten Commandments law to be enforced

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They do what they always do. Texas can enforce a state law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A 9-8 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Alex Maldonado

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I promised you two interviews for Harris County District Clerk, and today we have the second of them. Alex Maldonado is a high school math and statistics teacher in Clear Creek ISD. Maldonado got an associate’s degree when he graduated … Continue reading →

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Dallas Republicans demand a return to precinct voting chaos

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Oh good lord… Some Dallas County Republicans on Monday sued the county elections department in a bid to require voters to cast ballots for the May 26 primary runoff at specific polling places in their precincts rather than any location … Continue reading →

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Tesla robotaxis arrive in Houston

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

And in Dallas. Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Houston. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service just launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas — … Continue reading →

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A brief look at the runoffs

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Lite Guv runoff is the highest profile statewide race on the ballot in May for Democrats. After busting through turnout expectations for the party primaries, can Texas Democrats keep up that momentum for May’s runoff elections? Beyond that, will voters turn … Continue reading →

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Who wants to listen to the lawyers about the HPD/ICE ordinance?

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not Mayor Whitmire, who already has the surrender documents drawn up. Mayor John Whitmire says the city must walk back its new policy limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $114 million in grants … Continue reading →

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Mike Miles wants to foist a bunch of AI on us

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this originally, but now that I’ve seen it I must say, WTF? Houston ISD’s state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles will convert four more schools into AI-focused “Future 2” schools, up from two previously announced kindergarten-to-eighth-grade schools. But according to … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 20

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is not currently blocking the Strait of Hormuz as it brings you this week’s roundup. Off the Kuff considers the possibilities for a special election in CD23. SocraticGadfly talks about “Death Valley Days” — the heart … Continue reading →

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Interview with Darrell Jordan

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The main runoff of interest in the Democratic primary is for District Clerk, which is an open seat as incumbent Clerk Marilyn Burgess is not running for a third term. There was a big field in March, so I decided … Continue reading →

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