Tag Archives: Harris County

RRC finds no fault in that Energy Transfer Pipeline explosion

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What’s a giant fireball among friends, am I right? An investigation by Texas regulators into the massive pipeline explosion in Deer Park last fall has found no safety violations by the pipeline’s operator Energy Transfer Company – a determination drawing … Continue reading →

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2024 was a bad year for traffic deaths in Houston

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not really a surprise, unfortunately. Asked amid a flurry of design changes and shifts in street policy whether he was abandoning Houston’s goal of eliminating vehicle deaths by 2030, Mayor John Whitmire in February 2024 said a goal for the future … Continue reading →

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Still more measles

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Still nothing to freak out about! Right!? At least 10 cases of measles — eight of which are among school-aged children — have been reported in Gaines County in West Texas over the past two weeks, driving worries of an … Continue reading →

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Hollins’ warning about the budget

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is where we are. Houston could face a $330 million deficit in the next fiscal year – up by approximately $100 million after the Texas Supreme Court denied the city’s motion to appeal a years-long court battle over street … Continue reading →

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Menefee gets the go ahead to fight against Trump executive orders

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Go get ’em. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee wants to go on the offense against President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which he argues would have lasting effects on Harris County. Harris County Commissioners approved the county attorney’s request to pursue litigation … Continue reading →

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Remaining former Hidalgo staffer gets pre-trial intervention plea

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is basically a deferred dismissal of the charges. The former chief of staff for County Judge Lina Hidalgo accepted a pre-trial intervention deal Thursday on one charge linked to a controversial COVID-19 contract, ending a years-long political saga that … Continue reading →

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Hotze gets a pause on his civil trial

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh for crying out loud. The Texas Supreme Court stayed proceedings in a civil lawsuit filed against Republican activist Steven Hotze, amid his attempt to block claims over the alleged attack of a man targeted in a voter fraud conspiracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There are bills to require backup power for nursing homes and assisted living facilities

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but it’s a long way from filing to passing. When a storm hits the Texas coast during the summer hurricane season, state Sen. Borris Miles knows among the first calls he’ll get is from a constituent letting him know … Continue reading →

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Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund analysis of the 2024 election

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund—a political action committee that is building and improving infrastructure to create conditions under which Democrats can win in Texas—released its preliminary breakdown of the 2024 election results. The data analysis, conducted in … Continue reading →

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More measles

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing to see here! At least four cases of measles, including two involving school-aged children, have been reported in Texas in less than two weeks, putting state health agencies on alert. For some communities, this is the first case of … Continue reading →

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Driver who caused the Energy Transfer pipeline fire ruled to have died by suicide

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The report has not been published yet, so there are still questions to be answered. The driver who caused a massive pipeline explosion and fire in Deer Park last fall died by suicide, according to the Harris County medical examiner’s … Continue reading →

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Charges dismissed against two of Hidalgo’s former aides

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Well, well, well. Criminal cases against at least two of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former employees have been dismissed by the Office of the Attorney General, nearly two weeks since District Attorney Sean Teare recused himself of the prosecutions. Prosecutors under Attorney … Continue reading →

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How deep is this funding freeze?

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The chaos is the point. Houston and Harris County on Tuesday were scrambling to figure out the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s pause on federal grants and aid, a move local officials said could hold up hundreds of millions … Continue reading →

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January 2025 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill here. Start of the year, we review all of the relevant campaign finance reports. Harris County races are the main event for 2026, at least at this time. I won’t mind if there are some other … Continue reading →

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GLO contests the allegations on their Harvey screw job

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Going through the motions here, since we all know that Justice Department investigation will never happen. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has penned a letter to federal law enforcement officials encouraging them to reject “unsubstantiated findings” submitted by the U.S. Department … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: County races 2024 part 2

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: President Senate Railroad Commissioner District Attorney and County Attorney Last time we looked at the low-performing countywide races for Democrats. This time it’s the three races where Dems did the best. The starting place is exactly where you’d expect … Continue reading →

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Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We all have a role to play in slowing its spread. Communities in Texas are being urged to take action to slow the spread of bird flu in the avian population. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) offers suggestions … Continue reading →

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DA’s office recused from Hidalgo aides’ case

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Done and done. A judge signed off on Harris County prosecutors handing their case against three former employees for County Judge Lina Hidalgo to the Texas attorney general, effectively ridding District Attorney Sean Teare’s office of the politically fraught charges … Continue reading →

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Justice Department asked to investigate GLO’s screw job of Houston on Harvey funds

Posted on January 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure that late is actually better than never in this case, but here we are. A complaint stemming from the Texas General Land Office’s allocation of Harvey disaster recovery funds, which originally awarded no money to Houston or Harris … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: County races 2024 part 1

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: President Senate Railroad Commissioner I’m going to break up the countywide race analyses into two posts, to make my life a little easier. I’m also going to reduce the overall amount of information I’m putting in them, to make … Continue reading →

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Harris County passes backup power rule for nursing homes

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes in the unincorporated areas of Harris County now are required to install backup power generators to keep heating and cooling systems operational during electrical outages, making the county among the first in Texas … Continue reading →

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Hotze’s desperation

Posted on January 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a loser. Republican activist Stephen Hotze asked a federal judge to step in on a civil case against him, saying the lawsuit was part of a Democrat-led conspiracy. Hotze on Dec. 31 asked the U.S. District Court for the … Continue reading →

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Houston and Harris County to get Beryl relief funds

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Biden administration announced Tuesday that Houston and Harris County will receive a combined $382 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist in recovery from May’s flooding in Kingwood and Hurricane Beryl in July. Houston will receive … Continue reading →

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Possibly the last time I will write about Kim Ogg

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats on the new gig. Former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has been hired in a new position within the county. On Sunday, it was confirmed that Ogg had been hired as a senior policy advisor for Harris County … Continue reading →

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Abbott appoints a bunch of judges

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to be the king. Justice Jimmy Blacklock, a conservative ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, has been named the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He replaces Nathan Hecht, the court’s longest serving justice, who stepped down … Continue reading →

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Bald eagles

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know why it had never occurred to me before, but there are numerous bald eagles in the greater Houston area, if you are of a mind to try to spot one in the wild. The bald eagle has … Continue reading →

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Teare recuses his office from the Hidalgo aides’ cases

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As he said he would. Recently-elected Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare filed a motion on Thursday to recuse the Harris County Attorney’s Office from three cases related to the prosecution of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former staffers. In April 2024, former … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Senate 2024

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: President The US Senate race between Colin Allred and Ted Cruz was easily the best Democratic result, the race most like 2020, with Allred winning by over 11 points and 175K votes. The precinct numbers reflect this margin of … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: President 2024

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I know you’ve been waiting for this, and now here it is, the 2024 precinct data for Harris County. We’ll start at the top, with the Presidential race. Dist Trump Harris Lib Grn ========================================= CD02 101,141 73,399 1,112 1,027 CD07 … Continue reading →

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Late to the party

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m kind of fascinated by this. On election day last month, 29-year-old Shannah Becker from Pasadena showed up at a polling location to cast her ballot, but was turned away. Although she had submitted her voter registration application in early … Continue reading →

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Charles Johnson elected Mayor of Baytown

Posted on December 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There were a handful of runoff elections following the November 5…whatever you want to call it. This was the most consequential of the local races. Charles Johnson, who served as District 3 city councilman from 2017 until 2023, has come … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

HCDE declines to censure Eric Dick

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Puzzling. The Harris County Department of Education board of trustees reversed course on censuring trustee Eric Dick Wednesday, one month after voting to propose a censure in the wake of a grievance hearing about his unpaid ethics fines. The board … Continue reading →

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The YouTube judge

Posted on December 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Defendants accused of low-level crimes could soon be handed cautionary fliers warning what they say and do in Harris County Judge David Fleischer’s courtroom may live on social media. This is because Fleischer, a two-term Democrat jurist, shares … Continue reading →

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Replacing NRG Arena

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s gotta pay for it. If NRG Arena were a car, it would be totaled. A 2019 assessment commissioned by the county found the arena, where the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo holds its horse show and auctions every March, … Continue reading →

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