Tag Archives: Houston

Dynamo Stadium on the agenda

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Sports Authority will meet this week to try to hammer out a lease agreement for the Houston Dynamo in their future stadium. The Sports Authority will meet Dec. 2, but it won’t meet again until February, which is partly … Continue reading →

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We’re #1 in misleading rankings on annoying lists

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So what else is new? Mayor Annise Parker lashed out at an controversial annual study released Monday that placed Houston among the most dangerous cities in the United States with a population of 500,000 or higher. “Crime Rankings 2010-2011,” published … Continue reading →

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

More stories about building food

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After having turducken for your Thanksgiving dinner, how can you not have something like this for dessert? A Los Angeles man named Charles Phoenix has created the turducken of Thanksgiving desserts and dubbed it the cherpumple. Turduckens are pretty commonplace … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Another story about solar energy in Texas

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They keep writing them, I’ll keep blogging about them. Dallas renewable energy investor Panda Power Funds is developing one of the country’s largest solar power plants in sunny New Jersey. Not Texas. And Texas’ second-largest power generator, NRG Energy, is … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Baby, you can charge my car

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Plug it in, plug it in. The city of Houston will make it easier for locals to buy and own electric cars, including speeding up permitting of home charging stations and opening up HOV lanes to the vehicles. Mayor Annise … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

What about red light cameras elsewhere?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before the election, I noted a DMN story about how the red light camera referendum in Houston might spur opponents in other cities to try their luck with a similar ban. This DMN story discusses that, but you have to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Preservation reconsideration

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the pieces to the new historic preservation ordinance was the designation of a period in which already-existing historic districts could submit a petition to have the city reconsider their status. The deadline for that has passed, and 8 … Continue reading →

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

Cutting the cord on cable

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have no plans to change the way I watch TV any time soon, but a lot of other people are at least thinking about it. The Convergence Consulting Group of Toronto predicts that about 1.6 million U.S. households will … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

No more White Pages

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is long overdue. You won’t be getting the residential White Pages in February, and if recent evidence is any guide, you won’t miss the annual thud on the doorstep. AT&T, the nation’s largest distributor of the telephone directories, has … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Runoff reiteration

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its endorsement of Judith Cruz in the HISD Trustee runoff. To a large degree, the solution to the United States’ education problems is being worked out here in Houston. We’re the birthplace of some of the nation’s … Continue reading →

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The Bill King alternative to light rail

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, Bill King wrote a column lat week that was based on an email exchange he had with me awhile back in which he laid out his alternate vision for what Metro ought to be doing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Who cares about the will of the voters?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Prop 1 opponents don’t. Opponents of Proposition 1 are planning to lobby the state legislature to strike down the controversial drainage fee, even after voters narrowly approved it earlier this month. Don Hooper, who organized a political action committee blasting … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Early voting information for the HISD VIII runoff

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One more election to go this year, the runoff for the open HISD Trustee seat in District VIII. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, early voting begins tomorrow and runs through next Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What the Planning Department says about the new preservation ordinance

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via The Heights Life, here are a series of YouTube videos produced by Planning & Development Director Marlene Gafrick to explain what the new preservation ordinance is all about: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRJrDd6cb7A Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae5DyFiwuk4 Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp81p1Yq2HQ Part 4: … Continue reading →

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

Partisan breakdown for the city propositions

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that I have addressed the question of the effect of straight ticket voting on the city propositions, the next question is to figure out how they did in Republican and Democratic areas. To try and get a handle on … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Straight ticket voting and the city propositions

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Chron recently wrote an editorial decrying the rise in straight ticket voting. Among other things, they said: In two highly publicized Houston propositions on the ballot last Tuesday, nearly 56,000 voters did not register a choice … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Red light cameras to be turned off Monday

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. This week, officials with American Traffic Solutions Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., received a letter dated Nov. 10 from city attorney David Feldman, who reversed his previous opinion that the contract requires Houston to give ATS a 120-day … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mobile billboards

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, City Council passed a more restrictive billboard ordinance in 2008, and just recently got a favorable resolution in a lawsuit about billboards in the extra-territorial jurisdiction. But that doesn’t mean the billboard battle is over. Nonsequiteuse wants … Continue reading →

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The impending budget cuts will affect you in ways you don’t realize

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a bit from that big Chron story last weekend about Houston’s ongoing battle against sexually oriented businesses that masquerade as massage parlors and how the budget debacle will make that battle a little harder for the city. Regulating massage … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why HEB is not like Wal-Mart

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I read this story about how residents near the old Wilshire Village Apartments site, where HEB plans to build a new store, will be voting on possible designs for that new store, and I wondered what might have been. Residents … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

What now for Renew Houston?

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the disposal of the red light cameras and the associated costs of their removal, Mayor Parker and City Council now need to work out the details for Prop 1, which created the dedicated fund for streets and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What now for the red light cameras?

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything unusual, red light cameras will be history in Houston, but their effect will be felt for some time. City Controller Ronald Green said the loss of the devices would amount to a $10 million shortfall in revenues, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

It’s a go for REV Eco Shuttle

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This happened last week, but I didn’t get to posting about it at that time. A vote by city council [October 27] caps the long, strange regulatory journey of Erik Ibarra’s Rev Eco-Shuttle service. Rulespassed by the council in August restricted Jitneylicenses to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Opening thoughts on the carnage

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In no particular order… – Republicans gain 22 seats in the State House, for a 99-51 advantage. That’s with Pete Gallego, Hubert Vo, and Donna Howard, all of whom had been trailing early, coming back to win. Howard’s margin of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Sign of the times: Prop 3

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Spotted this the other day on Old Spanish Trail just east of SH288: Far as I can tell, the nearest red light camera to this sign is at Wayside and I-45. It’s all I’ve seen of the campaign against Prop … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The fate of the city propositions

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story could easily have been headlined “A bunch of people take wild guesses about what will happen to the city ballot propositions”. Political analysts say the fate of the three propositions may be tied together for some Houstonians … Continue reading →

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Census participation numbers

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Seventy percent of Houston households returned their 2010 census forms by mail, up 6 percent from 10 years ago. That could translate into millions of dollars in additional federal funding, according to city officials. Bragging rights, too. Just … Continue reading →

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

Billboard battle finally resolved

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. A protracted wrangle over 59 billboards illegally erected in Houston’s 5-mile-wide extraterritorial jurisdiction ringing the city ended Thursday when U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ordered bankrupt RTM Media to dismantle the outdoor advertising within 12 months. The judge’s order … Continue reading →

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

Metro to try mediation with CAF

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever works. The Metropolitan Transit Authority plans to negotiate the cancellation of a $331 million contract with a Spanish rail car manufacturer through mediation, local transit bosses said Wednesday. That is why, despite the agency’s announced intention to cancel the … Continue reading →

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“Lunch Line”

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Want to understand the history of the school lunch program and what’s going on with it today? Then you’ll want to see the documentary “Lunch Line”, for which The Lunch Tray is, fittingly enough, a sponsor: Here’s a trailer of … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Mayor’s email to Council regarding drainage and street repair

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This email from Mayor Parker to City Council members about the estimated costs of street and drainage repairs found its way into my Inbox, and I’m sharing it with you because it’s something you should know about, too. Any long-term … Continue reading →

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

Overview of the HISD Trustee race

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the HISD Trustee special election in District 8. There are five candidates actually running, though there is a sixth on the ballot: Roberto Centeno, 61, lives in Museum District Judith Cruz, 35, lives in Eastwood … Continue reading →

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The Mayor editorializes for Prop 1

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker lays out the case for Prop 1, the ballot referendum to establish a dedicated revenue source for street and drainage improvements. Is it necessary? Absolutely! Approximately 65 percent of our streets and drainage systems are beyond their useful … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments