Tag Archives: Houston

BP settlement cash

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. The city of Houston, Harris County and Metro netted $23 million in compensation from BP for revenue they could not collect in the wake of the company’s 2010 Gulf oil spill, officials announced Thursday. Houston will pocket about $12.2 … Continue reading →

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Revisiting the historic preservation ordinance

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This sort of thing is always fun. Houstonians who live in historic districts, including the Old Sixth Ward, the Heights and the High First Ward, weighed in this week on proposed updates to the city’s rules that create areas preserved … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court rules HERO must be repealed or voted on

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston City Council must repeal the city’s equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot. The ruling comes three months after a state district judge ruled that opponents of Houston’s … Continue reading →

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The conservative case for more rail transit

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. As conservatives, we find it odd that many people expect us to oppose public transportation, especially rail. In fact, high-quality transit, which usually means rail, benefits conservatives in a number of important ways. It spurs development, … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports: Out of town cash and max donors

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You may have noticed that there’s a lot of money in the Mayoral race this year, even after subtracting what the candidates have given or loaned to themselves. You may be wondering where all that money came from. This post … Continue reading →

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Seeking GLBT support in the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In a crowded field where a small number of votes could be the difference between making the runoff and not, endorsements will be of greater importance. One endorsement that several Mayoral candidates would really like to have if the endorsement … Continue reading →

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Interview with Greg Travis

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to our second and final interview in District G. There are only two candidates for this open seat, which is a lot fewer than you might normally expect. It’s quality that matters more than quantity, of course, … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports: PACs and consultants

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take a deeper dive into Mayoral candidate fundraising by examining one of the main categories of raised funds, and one of the main categories of spent funds. I speak of PAC money for the former, and consultant fees/staff salaries … Continue reading →

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Controller philosophies

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Chron story from a candidate forum for Controller candidates at which the main subject was the relationship that Controllers have with Mayors. “It’s the second-highest elected official in city government, and it needs to be independent to provide … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sandie Mullins Moger

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We move on now to the other open district seat, which is District G, currently held by CM Oliver Pennington. G is a Republican district stretching out to the west, just south of I-10, encompassing the Energy Corridor, the Galleria, … Continue reading →

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It’s hard out here on a recycler, part 3

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A story in the WaPo about the ongoing struggles of the recycling business. Once a profitable business for cities and private employers alike, recycling in recent years has become a money-sucking enterprise. The District, Baltimore and many counties in between … Continue reading →

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Mayoral ad spending

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a look at one of the more visible aspects of all the money that Mayoral candidates have raised or loaned themselves so far. Despite taking in a total of more than $7 million, Houston’s mayoral candidates spent … Continue reading →

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Preview your bus route change

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Write On Metro: The New Bus Network is designed to make our service better and more convenient for you. Before it debuts on Aug. 16, you can get a preview of exactly how your new route will be changed. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jason Cisneroz

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the last of the interviews I did in District H, where current Council Member Ed Gonzalez is termed out. Today’s candidate, Jason Cisneroz, is a former staffer for CM Gonzalez, and for CM Adrian Garcia before him. … Continue reading →

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Finance reports come trickling in

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As always, the Mayoral reports lead the story. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia closed out the first half of the year with more than $1.3 million in the bank, eclipsing City Councilman Stephen Costello by a mere $7,423. According … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Veterans Association benefit event

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: To celebrate the upcoming football season, and to benefit the Lone Star Veterans Association (LSVA), the Houston Texans Grille at CITY CENTRE will host a “Pay What You Want” Day on Monday, July 20th. All of the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Karla Cisneros

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with candidates in District H, where incumbent Council Member Ed Gonzalez is term limited. Today’s interview is with another Heights neighbor of mine, Karla Cisneros. Cisneros is a longtime educator and education activist, having served six years on … Continue reading →

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Campaign finance reports may be a bit more interesting this cycle

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And by “interesting”, I mean in the Chinese curse sense. From the city’s campaign finance reports page: In April 2015, the Texas Ethics Commission released a new Electronic Filing Application. The changes made have to do with the separation of … Continue reading →

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Our forthcoming early voting problems

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is the view in front of the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, also known as the busiest early voting location in Houston. 8,390 people voted early here in the 2013 election. There was a water main break there, which … Continue reading →

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Parker wants a vote on lifting the revenue cap

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So do I. Mayor Annise Parker plans to press City Council this month to reconsider loosening a decade-old revenue cap for public safety spending as talk of a looming budget deficit and possible service cuts grows more ominous around the … Continue reading →

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More on Houston’s transit deserts

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

James Llamas writes a guest post at the Kinder Institute blog about their earlier article on transit deserts in Houston. As a planner at Traffic Engineers, Inc. I had the privilege of working with METRO staff and industry experts on … Continue reading →

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Interview with Roland Chavez

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And so we begin another campaign candidate interview season. I will be talking to candidates in various contested races on the ballot here this fall and presenting those interviews to you over the next three months. (Yes, it takes that … Continue reading →

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Yes, the new rail lines are off to a slower-than-hoped start

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s not panic. Our own history shows that early rail ridership numbers are often highly variable. Slightly more than a month after the Metropolitan Transit Authority christened two new rail lines – built at a cost of $1.4 billion and … Continue reading →

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Sheriff asks for more funds for body cameras

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good move. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office recently applied for a grant from the Department of Justice to purchase 750 wearable body cameras, a new technology aimed at improving government transparency and accountability after a year of high-profile police-involved shootings … Continue reading →

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Dave Wilson will never go away

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What’s that definition of insanity again? Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have once again submitted petitions calling for a voter referendum to put a gender identity issue on the ballot in November, but the mayor says it’s not going … Continue reading →

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Downtown post office has a buyer

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Redevelopment, here we come. Lovett Commercial, a Houston-based developer of neighborhood shopping centers and urban redevelopments, is under contract to buy the downtown post office property and potentially turn it into an urban complex of shops, offices, housing and perhaps … Continue reading →

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Initial Mayoral fundraising totals

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Lotta money being raised out there, though not quite as much as the topline totals say. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia was first out of the gate with his figures, announcing Tuesday that he raised $1.5 million since announcing … Continue reading →

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Paxton drops another same sex marriage appeal

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plans to dismiss an appeal challenging a Travis County judge’s February ruling that found the state’s ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision declaring gay … Continue reading →

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The debate over changing Confederate-named schools in HISD

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Predictably, not everybody likes the idea of rechristening HISD schools that were named for Confederate generals. Houston ISD board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones has said she wants her fellow trustees to consider renaming six campuses, following the June shooting deaths of … Continue reading →

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Pushing for Vision Zero

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jay Crossley opines in the Chron for a lower speed limit in Houston. Texas law requires a 30 mph speed limit in the city of Houston on local residential streets unless a different speed limit is posted. If you are … Continue reading →

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TOP calls for changes in construction incentives

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Prime Property: Members of the Texas Organizing Project stood with signs across from a 40-story building under construction at Preston and Milam just off the park on downtown’s north side. The group was hoping to draw attention to the … Continue reading →

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Circling back to city finances

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. This time, [City Finance Director Kelly] Dowe insists, the $126 million deficit he projects for the budget year that starts next summer is not going to disappear, as past projected shortfalls have. … Continue reading →

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Metro and your smartphone

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. As Metropolitan Transit Authority officials planned for the new system – which will affect practically every bus ride in the region – they have also focused on offering new services. One of those, a system that allows bus riders … Continue reading →

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The wedding industry is rubbing its hands with glee

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like having your market dramatically expanded overnight. Within hours after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in Texas and across the country, local wedding businesses and venues already began getting orders and bookings from same-sex couples. Those in the … Continue reading →

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