Tag Archives: Adrian Garcia

Trying to spend less on the jails

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Harris County has a budget shortfall, and in recent years has seen spending on the Sheriff’s department, driven largely be the costs of the overcrowded jails, exceed its budgeted amount by millions. For the upcoming fiscal year, … Continue reading →

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There’s a fix for that

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Harris County has a budget shortfall of its own to deal with. So the fact that the Sheriff’s Office is spending more than it was allotted is drawing some scrutiny. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is projected … Continue reading →

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Play politics first, ask questions later

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The number of homicides increased in unincorporated Harris County last year while declining in Houston. With only a few hours left in the year, 86 murders had occurred in the county’s unincorporated areas in 2009, up from 69 in 2008. … Continue reading →

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Getting smarter about crime

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The news that Harris County DA Pat Lykos has changed the office’s policy to no longer will file state jail felony charges against suspects found with only a trace of drugs is good news indeed. Lykos said the move “gives … Continue reading →

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More back and forth on the latest jail proposal

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Grits argues that the latest proposal to build a new processing center for the jail would result in a tax increase because of the need to hire more staff, which is not accounted for in the bonds. The Chron wonders … Continue reading →

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Sheriff to try again for new jail facility

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to take another crack at building a new jail facility. As was the case in 2007, when a referendum to float bonds for a new jail was voted down, this too would be voted on by … Continue reading →

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County to move forward on mental health center for inmates

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds good. Harris County officials agreed Tuesday to establish a “reintegration center” to reduce the revolving door of mentally ill and homeless prisoners who are a major factor in chronic overcrowding at the county jails. The discussion of the … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves public defenders plan

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The “hybrid” public defenders office that Commissioners Court had been considering was approved Tuesday by a 5-0 vote, though the details still need to be worked out in time for the February 2010 budget meeting. “It’s going to take however … Continue reading →

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Election tidbits for 9/28

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Two weeks till Early Voting begins. Psst! Hey, Peggy! Rep. Kristi Thibaut represents HD133 here in Houston, not Galveston. Just FYI. As for the news that the GOP will be targeting State Rep. Abel Herrero, given the 2008 partisan index … Continue reading →

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The journalists have filed their reports! Eek!

Posted on September 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that a reporter from the English language bureau of Al Jazeera was here in town a few days ago doing a report on the Harris County Jail. This caused the local GOP, especially Jared Woodfill, to wet … Continue reading →

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“Jail hell”

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the title of this Houston Press story about the experiences of those who have served time in the Harris County jail, as told by those who have just gotten out. The story is partly a response to the county’s … Continue reading →

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The jounalists are coming! Eek!

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill has a panic attack. The chairman of the Harris County Republican Party sharply criticized Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia Thursday for granting jail access to a reporter and videographer from Al Jazeera English, an … Continue reading →

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The Sheriff and the deputies

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I had mentioned before that there was some discontent from the Sheriff’s deputies bubbling up, mostly in the form of emails sent to Carl Whitmarsh’s listserv. Earlier today, the following was sent out: SHERIFF GARCIA, KEEP YOUR PROMISES A Labor … Continue reading →

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Harris County disputes federal criticism of its jails

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. Harris County officials today delivered a 300-page response to the U. S. attorney general’s findings that the Harris County Jail was unconstitutional, saying the report was largely based on anecdotal accounts from inmates and incomplete data. County … Continue reading →

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The exodus from the DA’s office

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron writes about disgruntlement in the DA’s office. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos promised to clean house when she was elected in November and promptly fired seven senior prosecutors. Now other experienced prosecutors, including a member of Lykos’ … Continue reading →

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Outsourcing inmates

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know Sheriff Adrian Garcia has a plan to fix problems with the Harris County jails. He’s been up front about what he wants to do, and he’s helped create the position of “jail czar”, who is tasked with finding … Continue reading →

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Harris County jail passes re-inspection

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office: HARRIS COUNTY JAIL PASSES REINSPECTION (HOUSTON, TX) – Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia is proud to announce that the Harris County Jail has passed a reinspection by the Texas Commission on Jail … Continue reading →

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Grits on the jail czar

Posted on July 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

When I blogged about the creation of a “jail czar” position in Harris County whose job it will be to deal with overcrowding in the local jails, I said hoped that Scott Henson would comment on it. He did leave … Continue reading →

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City or county?

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Like Nancy Sims, I was at the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce candidate forum yesterday morning. And like Nancy, I thought this bit was one of the more interesting parts of the debate. Several questions focused on city finances and … Continue reading →

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The jail czar

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think the whole “czar” thing is overdone, but if it takes hiring a person whose only job it is to focus on jail overcrowding to get something done in a real and lasting way about it, then so be … Continue reading →

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Garcia’s agenda

Posted on July 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia lays out his agenda on the op-ed pages. This is an opportunity for me to work with every stakeholder in the Harris County justice system — including, first of all, you — to make sure … Continue reading →

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Lawrence looking at Commissioners Court

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Something I’d realized recently is that almost everyone in city government who is or would have been term-limited out is running or has run for another office. Mayor White is running for Senate. City Controller Annise Parker is running for … Continue reading →

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Feds’ report on Harris County jails

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of people dying in the jails here, at least as of the last federal inspection. Their experiences are detailed in a U.S. Department of Justice report, completed last week and obtained Monday by the Houston Chronicle, which … Continue reading →

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One week of early voting in the District H runoff

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I did my civic duty on Friday at Moody Park, early in the morning – according to the sign-in sheet, I was the fifth person to vote that day. That makes me one of 1302 people to cast their ballot, … Continue reading →

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Who should represent District H?

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question, isn’t it? It took only a few minutes at the District H candidate forum Thursday morning for discussion to turn to the elephant in the room. “District H is supposed to be a Hispanic district,” said Edgar … Continue reading →

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Still talking about a new jail

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be having this conversation for awhile, I expect. As he attempts to secure a new jail for Harris County, Sheriff Adrian Garcia has hired nearly 90 more guards but still faces skepticism from commissioners about whether a … Continue reading →

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Garcia’s plan to fix the jails

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sheriff Adrian Garcia is off to Austin to explain how he’s going to fix problems with the Harris County jails. Garcia, who took office in January, inherited a massive downtown detention system under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Ed for H

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle makes its endorsement in District H. An unusually well-qualified field of candidates is vying to replace former incumbent Adrian Garcia, who was elected Harris County Sheriff in November. The Chronicle believes Garcia’s former council community liaison, 18-year Houston … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

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Precinct data: The City Council districts revised

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I presented data on the 2008 election results by City Council district and by city of Houston/not City of Houston. I said at the time that the measurement was a bit rough because precinct boundaries do not conform … Continue reading →

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There’s always an excuse to not do it

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, but this sounds like carping to me. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia has nearly tripled the number of investigators assigned to an expanded Office of Inspector General to handle what he described as a “tremendous” backlog of unresolved complaints … Continue reading →

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Candidate interview: Ed Gonzalez

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And with the announcement of early voting locations and times, and the realization that early voting is three weeks away, I bring you the last of my interviews with candidates in the District H special election. Today’s subject is Ed … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The City Council districts

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering for a long time how the 2008 vote broke down by City Council districts, as well as for the city of Houston versus non-Houston Harris County. I finally did something about it awhile ago and made a … Continue reading →

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Red, white, blue, and hopefully back

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see that the KUHT political program The Connection: Red, White, and Blue is on its way back to the airwaves after an unplanned hiatus followed by a bit of a kerfuffle. It fills a very useful niche … Continue reading →

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