Tag Archives: Houston

Interview with Ramiro Fonseca

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Trustee District 3 is a rematch of one of the uglier elections from 2011. Ramiro Fonseca is back to challenge incumbent Manuel Rodriguez again. The College Success Coordinator for Project GRAD Houston, Fonseca has a long history of service. … Continue reading →

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A broader overview of the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The TL;dr version of this is basically “meh, not much happening”. With a bevy of candidates and midyear fundraising that collectively topped $7 million, Houston’s 2015 mayoral race has been poised to be a blockbuster. Yet, just five weeks before … Continue reading →

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Chron Mayoral profile: Ben Hall

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is the fourth in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston. His dedication to accomplish whatever he sets out to do – regardless of public reaction – has jumped out for friend and … Continue reading →

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August ridership numbers for the new rail lines

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Again, don’t get too excited just yet. Use of Houston’s two newest rail lines increased in August, though it took a strong late showing and free rides to finally meet the ridership expectations Metro officials outlined in May. According to … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rhonda Skillern-Jones

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We move over to HISD Trustee races, which I’ll be running this week. There are four Trustee seats that are up for election this cycle, and I have interviews with a total of five candidates in them. First up is … Continue reading →

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Time to guess the Chronicle’s endorsements

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are a bit more than a month out from the start of early voting, and as such we are getting close to the start of Chronicle endorsement season. I know from doing candidate interviews that the Chron has been … Continue reading →

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HISD will begin process of renaming schools with Confederate ties

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [HISD] trustees plan to start the process with a vote to revise the district’s policy to state explicitly that names should be non-discriminatory. The revised policy also details how the board can initiate renaming schools. Board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones … Continue reading →

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

What next for HISD?

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The board ponders its options for Superintendent while they prepare to search for a successor to Dr. Terry Grier. The Houston Independent School District board is set to meet Tuesday morning to discuss the district’s next steps after Superintendent Terry … Continue reading →

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Mayoral debate #1

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Who watched? In the first televised debate in the Houston mayor’s race, three of the candidates jockeying to replace Mayor Annise Parker took aim at former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and the agency’s allegedly low crime clearance rates. The … Continue reading →

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Grier to step down as HISD Superintendent

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This was sudden. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier announced Thursday that he is stepping down effective on March 1. Grier became superintendent of Houston in 2009, leading the nation’s seventh largest school district to win the Broad Prize for Urban … Continue reading →

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Uber wants to add more drivers here

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

An Uber surge is coming. Eighteen months after launching in Houston, Uber, the popular ride-sharing service known for its conflicts with regulators, plans to add 5,000 drivers in the area over the next year. Uber leaders, staff of the nonprofit … Continue reading →

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HISD bond concerns

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always something. A key Houston ISD school board member called Sunday for audits of the district’s 2012 bond program amid estimates of a $211 million shortfall and concerns about breaking promises to voters. Juliet Stipeche, chair of HISD’s audit … Continue reading →

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Yet another report on pensions

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yippie. Some city leaders have spent years standing in the town square, hollering themselves hoarse that Houston’s financial footing is unstable, that huge pension costs threaten the city’s future ability to police the streets, pick up trash and maintain parks. … Continue reading →

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Chron Mayoral profile: Adrian Garcia

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the third in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston, in this case on Adrian Garcia. The youngest of six children born to poor Mexican immigrants could soon occupy the mayor’s office of … Continue reading →

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Yes, there are some people complaining about the new bus routes

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Press talks to a few of them. The 87 still runs—just not right here. While the previous bus network had 89 routes, the new one has 79—and as a result, low-income communities like Hersey’s lost access to 12 … Continue reading →

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Three I-45 updates

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From The Highwayman: Texas Transportation Commission members on Thursday approved a $3.6 million contract with Main Lane Industries, based in Houston, to replace the entrance ramp from Allen Parkway to southbound I-45. The ramp, which whips drivers through a steep … Continue reading →

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On cellphones and school zones

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I need to talk about this. Six years ago, state lawmakers hoping to protect students banned drivers from texting and talking on hand-held cellphones in school zones. The ban, however, has never been enforced in Houston. City and … Continue reading →

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On the value of endorsements

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks what they’re good for. Houston mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner has the backing of the city’s three unions. Do you care? The C Club, a group of top conservative donors, supports former Kemah Mayor Bill King, and a … Continue reading →

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The local minimum wage fight

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not quite on the radar here, but it could be. After years of failed proposals in the Texas Legislature to raise the minimum wage, organizers and advocates for higher hourly wages are going local. Leaders in two major Texas cities … Continue reading →

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Bayou trails update

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Coming along nicely. Houston’s Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative will build 150 miles of hike and bike trails along the city’s nine waterways, a $220 million effort that Mayor Annise Parker says is “one of the most exciting things I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Churches and recall elections

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Are Texas churches prohibited from campaigning to recall politicians? The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals [weighed] that question Thursday in a case set to clarify if and how a church as a corporate entity … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Who needs wetlands?

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Development is all that matters, right? More than 38,000 acres of wetlands vanished in greater Houston over the past two decades despite a federal policy that “no net loss” can be caused by encroaching development. That’s an area about the … Continue reading →

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Houston pleads its case to the Supreme Court

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how they did. “The point of all this is to protect the public and the environment, to have clean air, and the TCEQ, for the Texas Clean Air Act, envisions that it be vigorously enforced,” [Houston attorney Robert] … Continue reading →

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Another floodgate proposed

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Third time’s the charm, right? Academic leaders have long beseeched government officials to learn from the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and harden the upper Texas coast against future threats. Finally, on Monday, Texas Land Commissioner George P. … Continue reading →

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2015 candidates’ voting history

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Regular commenter Mainstream took the time to investigate and document the recent voting history of the candidates on the 2015 city of Houston ballot. Here it is, for your perusal. A couple of caveats: Data is for Harris County, with … Continue reading →

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Interview with Philippe Nassif

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up City Council interviews with At Large #5 challenger Philippe Nassif. Nassif is a first-generation American, the son of immigrants from Mexico and Lebanon. A founding member of New Leaders Council Houston and member of Leadership Houston, Nassif … Continue reading →

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Houston’s environmental protection ordinances go to the Supreme Court

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Where, sadly, they’ll likely get killed. State environmental regulators don’t adequately enforce air pollution laws, the city of Houston believes, and on Wednesday it will ask the state’s highest civil court to let it keep trying to do the job … Continue reading →

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Houston Unites’ first ad

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad: The story: Supporters of Houston’s equal rights ordinance released their first official radio ad Friday, countering opponents’ claim that the law presents a public safety threat and seeking to reframe the debate before voters consider the issue in … Continue reading →

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The anti-HERO horde

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of them out there, though many of them claim their mostly last-minute filings didn’t really have to do with HERO. Members of the anti-HERO campaign and other prominent conservative activists disputed suggestions of a widely-coordinated effort, saying … Continue reading →

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Chron Mayoral profile: Steve Costello

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s “the second in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston”. It was July 2007, and Steve Costello, leading a crowded meeting of the region’s most influential engineers, had just silenced the room. “You … Continue reading →

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The Press on the high speed rail line

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Press devotes a cover story to the proposed Houston-Dallas high speed rail line. Most of what’s there will be familiar to anyone who has been following this along with me, but this bit from the story caught my eye. … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Jack Christie

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We enter our final week of City Council interviews with a tour of the other contested At Large Council race, in At Large #5. CM Jack Christie is in his second term, having first been elected in a close-fought race … Continue reading →

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Three Metro updates

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Metro board has its first meeting post-system reimagining, and gets some feedback on the new routes. At Metro’s first board meeting following the launch of the new network, officials heard about two hours of public comment from unhappy riders. … Continue reading →

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Wilson denied by Supreme Court

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news that came in late Friday. Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson’s attempt to amend City Charter and bar men “who perceive or express themselves as women” from entering women’s restrooms will likely not appear on the November ballot after … Continue reading →

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