Tag Archives: San Antonio

Uplift Harris can proceed

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

So says a judge. A district judge on Thursday ruled Harris County’s new guaranteed income program can proceed, denying the Texas Attorney General’s office request for a temporary injunction. The state sued Harris County earlier this month, arguing the initiative … Continue reading →

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County leaders defend Uplift Harris

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the passion and intensity in this response, but overall it does not leave me feeling optimistic about the outcome. Harris County leaders are defending their new guaranteed income program after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sued to … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over Uplift Harris

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Harris County over Uplift Harris, its new guaranteed income pilot program, calling the effort to administer $500 monthly payments to low-income residents the “Harris Handout.” Though participants … Continue reading →

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San Antonio responds to “Reproductive Justice Fund” lawsuit

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. A lawsuit over the City of San Antonio’s controversial but still undefined Reproductive Justice Fund made its way to a courtroom Thursday. While the city’s legal team tries to get the case thrown out of court, the city … Continue reading →

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Hope we have enough water this summer

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking great for some parts of the state right now. Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024. A wet year or a well-placed hurricane … Continue reading →

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Could San Antonio support an MLB team?

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As you may have heard, Major League Baseball is starting to talk about expansion, potentially adding two more teams in the next few years. San Antonio is on the list of possible destinations for MLB, sometimes paired with Austin, which … Continue reading →

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Is this the end of the DeLorean dream?

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe? Bexar County Commissioner’s Court pulled the plug Tuesday on an incentives package for DeLorean Motors Reimagined, an electric-vehicle startup that pledged to create 450 jobs if it got tax breaks to locate its headquarters in San Antonio. The commissioners … Continue reading →

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HISD’s continued enrollment decline

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not great. Houston ISD saw its steepest enrollment decline this year since the first full school year of the pandemic, losing roughly 6,000 students, according to preliminary data obtained by the Houston Landing. Some 183,884 students now attend HISD … Continue reading →

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“Solar For All” grant

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced a $7 billion national “Solar For All” grant competition via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand solar energy production across the country. Harris County leaders enlisted a coalition … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against San Antonio over “reproductive justice fund”

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little concerned about this. The city of San Antonio is facing a lawsuit after budgeting $500,000 to support reproductive health services, including, potentially, transportation and lodging for people seeking abortions outside Texas. A group of anti-abortion organizations filed … Continue reading →

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Intellectual property lawsuit against DeLorean dismissed after settlement reached

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Whew. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the heads of San Antonio-based DeLorean Motors ReImagined of stealing intellectual property from a previous employer, according to an Express-News report. Last August, electric-vehicle maker Karma Automotive sued DeLorean CEO Joost … Continue reading →

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Judge blocks “Death Star” law

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I assume this has been appealed and thus the ruling is stayed for now, but in the meantime this is nice. via Gfycat A Travis County state district judge on Wednesday struck down Texas’ “death star” law preempting local regulations … Continue reading →

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Who votes in Houston elections?

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The short answer is old people. When Houston residents head to the ballot box this November to elect a new mayor and city government, fewer people may actually show up than in Seattle, a city with a third of our … Continue reading →

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More cities’ responses to the Death Star law

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some good reporting from El Paso Matters. In 2015, El Paso became the second city in the country to safeguard its workers by passing a historic wage theft ordinance. Now, as a sweeping new state law aimed at handicapping Texas’ … Continue reading →

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Will Dallas join the Death Star litigation?

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It remains to be seen. Council members Chad West and Adam Bazaldua told The Dallas Morning News that they know of no plans as of Thursday for Dallas to get involved in the legal challenge of HB 2127, but both … Continue reading →

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San Antonio joins Houston’s “Death Star” lawsuit

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome aboard, there’s plenty of room for more. After weeks of complaints from council members who say the law’s vagueness is preventing them from doing their jobs, San Antonio leaders said Monday that the city has joined a lawsuit filed by the … Continue reading →

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The Lone Star Rail idea never truly dies

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, it is a good idea, even if the obstacles seem to be impossible. San Antonio and Austin, two of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, sit just 80 miles apart. That’s too close for regular flights and just far enough … Continue reading →

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San Antonio likely to sue over “Death Star” law

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We welcome your participation. San Antonio likely will sue the Texas over the so-called “Death Star bill,” recently passed state legislation limiting municipalities’ ability to exercise their right to home rule, City Attorney Andy Segovia told the Express-News. Segovia told the daily … Continue reading →

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The scooters come back to Dallas

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes this time around. Electric scooters had a rough go in Dallas following their 2018 introduction. The “micro-mobility” options pissed off plenty and led to a spike in hospitalizations. So in 2020, the two-wheeled vehicles were yanked … Continue reading →

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Houston sues over “Death Star”bill

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First out of the gate. I’m sure they will have company. Houston city attorneys on Monday filed a lawsuit against a new state law that blocks an array of local regulations, marking the first legal challenge to the sweeping crackdown on cities and … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court upholds Abbott’s mask mandate ban

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Settling a heated pandemic-era debate between Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of the state’s major urban areas, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the governor had the legal authority to forbid local officials from requiring residents to wear … Continue reading →

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How bad is the “Death Star” bill going to be?

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll soon be finding out. House Bill 2127 has been approved by the state House and Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it any day. Crafted by state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), the bill aims to create a statewide, uniform set … Continue reading →

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A tale of two Propositions A

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I usually write my own sentence or two to introduce the article I’m linking to and commenting on, but honestly I can’t do any better than the lede of this story. Proposition A, the wide-ranging police reform measure also known … Continue reading →

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How much downtown parking do we need?

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know the answer to that, but this is how much we have. Downtown Houston dedicates more than a quarter of its land to parking spaces, surpassing the percentages in most major U.S. cities, a new report shows. A photo from … Continue reading →

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More on the Denton experience with marijuana decriminalization

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A long story from the Dallas Observer. Nick Stevens stood before the Denton City Council looking equally frustrated and determined. The activist had helped to lead the grassroots charge to decriminalize marijuana in the North Texas college town. Now he … Continue reading →

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SCOTx denies pre-election challenge to San Antonio marijuana reform referendum

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First the voters will vote, then as needed the lawsuits will happen. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that any legal challenges to a proposed charter amendment on policing reforms must wait until after voters weigh in on the measure … Continue reading →

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We’re fixing to have some boring May elections

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

At least as far as Mayoral races go. The mayors of some of Texas’ largest cities are cruising toward reelection. The incumbents in San Antonio and Fort Worth face little opposition after the deadline to run for mayor in the … Continue reading →

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The Denton experience with marijuana decriminalization

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a challenge. Four months after a majority of voters approved Proposition B, Denton’s misdemeanor marijuana decriminalization ordinance continues to be a difficult issue for city staff to implement completely, according to City Manager Sara Hensley on Tuesday. Hensley, … Continue reading →

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ShotSpotter

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m more skeptical than not, but there is a way to make me less so. Two years in, Houston’s ShotSpotter program has resulted in 5,450 alerts, 99 arrests and the seizure of 107 guns, but no real consensus on its … Continue reading →

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AG argues for separating that San Antonio criminal justice reform proposition into multiple questions

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise, but an aggressive position to take. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is urging the Texas Supreme Court to side with opponents of a proposed charter amendment that seeks to decriminalize marijuana and abortion, as well as enact … Continue reading →

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San Antonio marijuana decriminalization referendum already facing a legal challenge

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t think this one will work, but after that who knows. Opponents of the so-called Justice Charter have filed an emergency petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to require separate votes for each of its provisions, including decriminalizing marijuana and … Continue reading →

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Marijuana decriminalization and other police reform proposals get closer to the ballot in San Antonio

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This will be the most interesting election on the May ballot. A proposed City Charter amendment that seeks to ban police from using no-knock warrants and chokeholds, as well as expand the city’s cite-and-release policy for low-level, nonviolent crimes, has … Continue reading →

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San Antonio will vote on marijuana decriminalization

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Progressive groups celebrated on the steps of City Hall Tuesday afternoon before delivering the boxes of signed petitions needed to get a measure in front of voters that would decriminalize both cannabis possession and abortion. … Continue reading →

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Trying again in Harker Heights

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I admire the determination. Cannabis reform advocates are pushing back against the city council of the Central Texas city of Harker Heights, which recently rejected a voter-approved ballot measure decriminalizing low levels of pot possession there. Harker Heights was one … Continue reading →

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