Tag Archives: Houston

No red light camera action on Friday

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Tagged again. City Council passed on an opportunity to outlaw red-light cameras during a special meeting Friday, delaying consideration of the repeal of Houston’s camera ordinance until Wednesday. Councilwoman Sue Lovell tagged the item, a parliamentary maneuver that delays a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperCommittee!

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Up, up, and away! A group of 16 elected officials, community leaders, union bosses and pension executives have until Jan. 31 to find ways to tackle the triple threat to the city’s future solvency — ballooning pension obligations, runaway health … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperCommittee!

HCC Trustee sues HCC Board

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, the HCC Board of Trustees censured Board member Yolanda Navarro Flores after an investigation reported that she had engaged in unethical behavior. Here’s the Chron story from the time, which I did not blog about: The Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview with Brian Cweren

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our tour of District C with the candidate who ran for Council here before it was reconfigured. Brian Cweren was a candidate in C the last time it was open, back in 2005, finishing fifth but only … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Can this divorce be saved?

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

After all their feuding this week, the city and the camera vendor are still trying to work out the terms of their breakup. A day after Mayor Annise Parker ripped American Traffic Solutions for “jerking us around” and failing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

We have a contested HISD election

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

School Zone: Houston ISD school board president Paula Harris is the first incumbent to draw an opponent in the November elections. Arturo “Art” Huerta — who, according to the board office, is a parent of a child at Lanier Middle … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on We have a contested HISD election

Interview with Joshua Verde

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Joshua Verde is the newcomer to politics in the District C field. A former pilot with Continental’s ExpressJet, Verde has worked for the Houston Airport System and is now a student at the South Texas College of Law. He lives … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No vote on red light cameras today

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Tag! The council will not act today on Mayor Annise Parker‘s resolution seeking its approval to shut off the city’s red-light cameras and fight its vendor in court over breach of contract. Councilwoman Sue Lovell tagged it, delaying a vote … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Interview with Karen Derr

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Karen Derr wound up in District C after redistricting by living in the western portion of the Heights. She ran for At Large #1 in 2009, losing in the runoff to CM Stephen Costello. She is the founder of Karen … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You can’t always get what you want

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

But you can always complain about getting what you want. A little over a month ago, Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced she was turning the red-light cameras back on and declared she did not need the City Council’s approval to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview with Ellen Cohen

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We move now into District C, where a newly-drawn inner Loop district has drawn a fair amount of interest. First up is former two-term State Rep. Ellen Cohen, who represented a fair piece of this district while serving in HD134. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Houston to get 2013 NBA All Star Game

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming the lockout has ended by then, of course. The game will be played Feb. 17 at Toyota Center, which also hosted the 2006 game. “It’s a done deal,” a person familiar with the bidding process told the Chronicle on … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor orders water conservation measures

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Parker Orders Mandatory Water Conservation Measures Due to persistent drought conditions and continuously decreasing water levels in Lake Houston, as of Monday, August 15, 2011, Mayor Annise Parker has mandated the implementation of the City of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Mayor orders water conservation measures

Boney to run for HCC Trustee

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first contested race for a non-city of Houston office as former Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Jew Don Boney has announced his candidacy for the HCC Trustee District IV seat. You can see his press release … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Red light cameras may get a Council vote

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Houston’s red-light camera vendor said on Friday that Mayor Annise Parker is trying to turn the cameras off again, and it has asked a federal judge to stop her from doing so. City Attorney David … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Fighting blight

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker has proposed a new city department to combat the problem of blight. “We for years have said that we’re a city of neighborhoods and we care about neighborhoods. Well, budgets don’t lie. And we have shortchanged neighborhoods,” Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Cameras everywhere

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Red light cameras get all the attention, but there are a lot more cameras in Houston. This story about the city’s network of surveillance cameras that have been installed by the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security gives … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Council approves IAH/United deal

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The deal is done. The deal calls for United to put in $686 million and the Houston Airport System $288 million. Although the airport system is a city government function, it runs as a separate business and will not use … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wouldn’t it be nice to have solar panels on your roof right now?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Some people do. More people should. Despite Houston’s sweltering heat, Grady Hill hasn’t paid an electric bill since 2009. He keeps his thermostat set at a comfortable 78 degrees when he’s home, but a combination of solar panels and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Where the line is

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Me, July 17: I disagree that anyone who might think about challenging the Mayor will wait two years before taking action. They’ll simply wait to see how Parker does in November. Like all three of her predecessors in the term-limits … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Laying track

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a long time coming. For the first time in 10 years, workers this morning poured concrete for a new section of Metro light-rail track. The 80-foot section of steel rail will be part of the 6.6-mile Southeast … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Larry Green

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

District K is one of the two new Council seats that resulted from the redistricting plan this year. You’d think a brand new seat like that would draw a crowd, but this new district has basically drawn a crowd of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Larry Green

HISD to hire back some teachers

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. More than 300 teachers and other educators in the Houston Independent School District have been rehired since the massive round of layoffs in the spring, according to newly released data. Additional HISD teachers could get their jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commissioners Court approves its redistricting plan, DOJ approves city’s plan

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Greg and Stace attended today’s Commissioners Court meeting, where to nobody’s surprise the slightly-less-but-still-retrogressive new redistricting plan was unanimously approved. And why shouldn’t it be? It took care of the main, if not the sole, purpose of the task, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A closer look at finance reports: Spending on consultants

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that we’ve looked at who gives to candidates in Houston, let’s take a look at what those candidates spend their money on. Broadly speaking, your main forms of expenditures include overhead (rent, food, office supplies, transportation, webhosting, etc), advertising, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Where’s the response for this?

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This was bigger than Rick Perry’s Prayerpalooza in terms of attendance. It should have been bigger in terms of news interest as well. Some families camped out for hours to gain admittance into the Houston’s first-ever, citywide back-to-school event at … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Greanias’ return

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Metro CEO George Greanias is back on the job after serving a week’s suspension for viewing adult websites on his laptop while connected to Metro’s WiFi network. Since the surprising announcement 10 days ago, Greanias has been publicly silent, spending … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Greanias’ return

Who has filed so far

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day of the filing season for Houston Mayor, Controller, and City Council. The filing period runs through September 7. You can see the list of official filers here; as of this moment, it’s Ellen Cohen in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with CM James Rodriguez

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM James Rodriguez is running for his third term in District I. He was Chief of Staff for his predecessor, Rep. Carol Alvarado, so he has actually been serving the district a lot longer than that. Rodriguez has been in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Some questions about the airport deal

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron stumped for the Terminal B expansion deal on Friday. Under the proposal by United, which merged with Continental this year, the Chicago-based airline would spend $686 million to expand and renovate Terminal B. The city is being asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Former CM Pam Holm to run for HD136

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says Robert Miller. Pam Holm, who represented District G on the Houston City Council from 2004 through 2009, has decided to run to replace Speaker Beverly Woolley in Texas HD 136. Ms. Holm was a prolific fundraiser the three … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Former CM Pam Holm to run for HD136

Saturday still photo break: May the Force be with you

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We have some family in town, and today Audrey and I took them to the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Health Museum. It was a combination of models and costumes from the “Star Wars” movies, with … Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Saturday still photo break: May the Force be with you

City wins again on Rebuild Houston lawsuit

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, shortly after the Renew Houston proposition passed last fall, the usual suspects led by Paul Bettencourt filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the result on the grounds that they believed the voters were too stupid to know … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Trader Joe’s to the Alabama Bookstop?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Trader Joe’s is eyeing the old Alabama Theatre on Shepherd and West Alabama, according to a source familiar with the situation. Earlier this year, the grocer said it planned to open stores in Houston and Dallas. Specific locations were … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments