Tag Archives: Houston

Council to consider wage theft ordinance

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Houston City Council may step up its efforts to combat wage theft, sanctioning companies that deny workers pay to which they are entitled and monitoring firms accused of doing so, regardless of whether they do business with the … Continue reading →

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Uber writes to the city about its taxi demand study

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You can see the letter here. They make two basic points: One, the $70 minimum fare for private car trips “serves neither the driver community nor the riding public, and should be eliminated as a matter of public interest regardless … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

LIBOR lawsuit

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. The City of Houston filed suit today for financial damages suffered from the manipulation of the interest rates on its investments against the banks that set the benchmark interest rate known as the London Interbank … Continue reading →

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Uber

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mark me in favor of this. A smartphone app could be the subject of the year’s most spirited regulatory battle at City Hall, as lobbyists line up for a fight that pits taxicab companies against a car-service technology company called … Continue reading →

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July 2013 finance reports for district Council candidates

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We move now to the remaining Council races, which are the district races. Here are the July finance reports for candidates in District Council races. Please note that all reports now appear on my newly-published Election 2013 page. Refer to … Continue reading →

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On Jon Buice and Paul Broussard

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has a provocative guest post from Michael Berryhill, an author and journalism professor, about the murder of Paul Broussard, the way it has been portrayed by the media, and the effort of convicted killer Jon Buice to win parole … Continue reading →

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Ashbys all over

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that Chron story that I mentioned yesterday, which talks about increasing neighborhood resistance to multi-story residential projects in areas that mostly have single-family houses. Tension mounted as 20 or so Morrison Street residents, armed with city documents and Internet … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More construction on Yale

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Alexan Heights II: Midrise Boogaloo. For residents near Yale and 6th street, Independence Day fireworks were nothing compared to the sparks flying when news of another proposed apartment complex came to light July 5. A heads-up notification from District … Continue reading →

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Council approves Costco tax rebate

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I still don’t think this is a good idea. The Houston City Council on Wednesday approved a $1 million economic development deal to help Costco build a store outside the city limits. In a rambling discussion ending in a 12-3 … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for At Large candidates

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Still plowing my way through all the July finance reports. July and January are very busy months, since everybody has finance reports to do. After I’m done with the city candidates, I’ll be looking at HISD and HCC candidates, then … Continue reading →

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The Chron continues to rage against the pensions

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Hobby horse mounted, away we go! There is something particularly frustrating about municipal pensions, which are funded by the city but controlled by the state. This is a recipe for disaster, which can be seen in ballooning burdens to the … Continue reading →

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The University Corridor

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry for the late notice about this. Every year Houston combs its plan for future road building and improvements and makes changes. Generally, it’s relatively minor stuff that reflects putting on paper something that is going to happen anyway. […] … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for Controller candidates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing my look at July 2013 campaign finance reports for city candidates, here’s a look at the reports for the two Contoller hopefuls, incumbent Ronald Green and challenger Bill Frazer. Candidate Raised Spent On Hand Loan ————————————————- Green 71,548 31,185 … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports for July

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go to the press releases for the initial hype. Here’s Mayor Parker’s announcement of her fundraising haul for the July report. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has raised more than $2.2 million for her re-election campaign since February, with the … Continue reading →

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Waiting to hear about New Dome financing

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that the process is still in progress. Two weeks ago, the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation presented its vision for a 194 million dollar project dubbed THE NEW DOME EXPERIENCE. It included turning the inside into … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Ellen Cohen

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the start of the 2013 interview season. Things are going to be a little different for me this year, because my personal schedule is not as flexible as it has been in years past. What that means is … Continue reading →

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Mayoral multitude

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Campos has an update on who’s running for what. Commentary dropped by the City Secretary Office a couple of days ago to check out the latest campaign treasurer designations. Here is who I will add to my political page later … Continue reading →

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Chron favors Uptown transit plan

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see, and I think they make a decent point. We’re glad that Houston-area transportation officials have approved federal funds for an Uptown bus rapid transit (BRT) system. […] But we’re struck by [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett’s vote … Continue reading →

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On using B-Cycle

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron had a nice lifestyle section story about B-Cycle last week. B-cycles are appearing all over downtown and Midtown. You may have seen them, parked at racks with self-serve kiosks, where riders are able to enter their payment information, … Continue reading →

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A tax break where?

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t quite understand this. The Houston City Council on Wednesday will consider giving up to $1 million in tax rebates to a Costco store that would be built outside city limits. City officials say the proposed 151,600-square-foot warehouse and … Continue reading →

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If you want your trash to be collected

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s best to put your trash can where the automated pickup arm can get it. Last year, at least 9,000 trash cans in the city were left uncollected at some point, according to records kept by the city, a small … Continue reading →

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First Hackathon project released

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Budget Bootcamp, a new city website application that provides easy access to city budget information, is the first Houston Hackathon project to become reality.  Budget Bootcamp is hosted on the Finance Department’s website and provides citizens an educational walkthrough of the … Continue reading →

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HBU and UIW make the leap to Division I

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. One of Dr. Louis Agnese’s earliest recollections of the University of Incarnate Word’s athletic program was quite memorable — and not in a good way. In 1985, his first year as president of the school, Agnese … Continue reading →

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David Adickes hearts Houston

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And he wants you to know it. Houston’s efforts at self-promotion – remember “Houston. It’s Hot!”? – have come and gone. Somehow, though, the Bayou City always looked for love in all the wrong places. Now, thanks to concrete sculptor … Continue reading →

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HISD inspects North Forest schools

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not pretty. The HISD leaders tried not to scowl as they walked into classrooms with broken glass, flooded floors, outdated chalkboards, graffiti on walls, gum on desks and the smell of mildew. The head of food service swept cockroaches … Continue reading →

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Here come the hotels

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of downtown hotel construction going on, or about to go on. The area around the George R. Brown Convention Center is about to see a burst of hotel construction as developers plan several new projects, two of which will … Continue reading →

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The Heights yarn bomb lives again

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This makes me happy: See here for the background. According to Marty Hajovsky, the new installation will be up through July 14th, so go check it out while you can. And if you see anyone approaching it with a sharp … Continue reading →

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Railroad crossings

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of freight rail lines in the East End. Some big changes will be coming to them. A series of underpasses and street closings east of downtown represents the latest effort to seal off railroad corridors and … Continue reading →

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What does the DOMA decision mean for Texas?

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the day after the disappointing SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, we got a much more heartening ruling on DOMA, declaring it to be unconstitutional. However, not all of DOMA was struck down. In a landmark Supreme … Continue reading →

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H-GAC approves Uptown transportation funding

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston-area transportation officials approved a plan Friday to use $61.8 million in federal funds to help build bus-only lanes along Post Oak Boulevard in the Uptown area. […] The project, sponsored by the Uptown Management District, widens Post Oak … Continue reading →

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Full speed ahead for Parks By You

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Houston City Council on Wednesday approved an agreement with the Houston Parks Board to tackle the ambitious trails plan voters approved in a $166 million bond issue last November. The Bayou Greenways 2020 project fulfills a century-old vision first … Continue reading →

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Enrolling the uninsured

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be such a huge job. Fresh produce wasn’t the only thing you could find at the Farmers Market [last] Saturday. Volunteers with the Get Covered America campaign were passing out flyers and letting people know that … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves HCSCC Astrodome plan for further review

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I noted this briefly in an update to my interview with Willie Loston, but on Tuesday Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the proposal by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation to redevelop the Astrodome for further study. Commissioners … Continue reading →

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Clock strikes midnight for North Forest

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This was a tough blow for NFISD. North Forest school officials lost one of their final court battles Wednesday, making the district’s state-ordered merger into HISD five days from now increasingly likely. U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected the last-ditch … Continue reading →

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