Tag Archives: Texas

Taking from Harris to give to Houston

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This story from Tuesday perplexed me a little at first. Harris County would have to turn over tens of millions in toll road dollars to the city of Houston for use on public safety and emergency services under a bill … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Time for another moment of perspective

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the Friday numbers. The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region of Texas grew to 541 cases across the state on Friday, according to health officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 56 have … Continue reading →

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More from Maria Rojas’ attorney

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff from the Press. During a March 27 hearing, Waller County District Judge Gary Chaney granted an injunction declaring that a network of three Houston-area clinics must remain temporarily closed. Marc Hearron, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Dire wolves

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Colossal Biosciences is at it again. Three genetically engineered wolves that may resemble extinct dire wolves are trotting, sleeping and howling in an undisclosed secure location in the U.S., according to the company that aims to bring back lost species. … Continue reading →

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Paxton officially running against Cornyn

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The campaign no one asked for. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s midterm elections, setting up a barnburner clash of two Republican titans that is poised to reverberate across … Continue reading →

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It’s hurricane prediction season

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And it will be another busy one. The 2025 hurricane season is shaping up to be one of the most intense in recent years, with forecasters at Colorado State University predicting an above-normal active season. A staggering 17 named storms are expected, with 9 … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Another needless death

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We have to start with some bad news. An 8-year-old girl with measles died Thursday morning, the second known measles-related death in an ongoing outbreak that has infected nearly 500 Texans since January. Her funeral was Sunday at a church … Continue reading →

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KP George charged with money laundering

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Fort Bend County Judge KP George, already facing legal troubles, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of money laundering, according to county jail records and the district attorney’s office. George, a Democrat first elected in 2018 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abbott finally calls CD18 election

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s for November. Gov. Greg Abbott has set Nov. 4 as the special election date to fill the congressional seat left vacant by former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death — a timeline that leaves the solidly Democratic seat vacant for at … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues San Antonio over abortion funding

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

First, this happened. In an election-year reversal, San Antonio city leaders voted 6-5 Thursday to fast-track distribution of $100,000 to organizations that provide reproductive services, including emergency contraception and transportation for out-of-state abortion care. Just months ago, city staff shut down a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Another name emerges as a possible Houston hockey team owner

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

New player alert. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said the league has received interest from multiple prospective owners about a Houston hockey franchise. On Thursday, the identity of at least another interested party became public. ESPN reported that Houston billionaire … Continue reading →

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Paxton whistleblowers get what they asked for

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them, and good in general. A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI. … Continue reading →

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Abbott finally says something about CD18

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And of course it’s stupid and insulting. Gov. Greg Abbott has blamed his delay in calling an election to replace U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner on election issues in Harris County, he recently told Austin’s KXAN. Abbott has faced criticism for the past month for failing … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Yeah, that’s too many candidates

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There are how many people running for Mayor of San Antonio?!? San Antonio is barreling toward the most bizarre mayoral election in recent memory. A massive field of 27 candidates has no clear frontrunners. State and national PAC money is flowing into … Continue reading →

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Measles update: We’re already making this harder on ourselves

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your weekend update. The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region soared past a combined 500 cases in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma on Friday, according to health officials. Texas has seen 481 measles cases amid the outbreak … Continue reading →

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TEA can release 2023 A-F accountability ratings

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A judge ruled Thursday that the Texas Education Agency can release its 2023 A-F school accountability ratings for the state’s public school districts, overturning a previous injunction issued in response to a lawsuit from more than 120 districts. The … Continue reading →

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

Smaller number of federal buildings on the chopping block

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Progress? I dunno. Less than two weeks after posting – and abruptly pulling down – a list of federally owned office buildings to be sold, the U.S. General Services Administration has released a much shorter list that includes one property in Houston. A … Continue reading →

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Yeah, the Paxton federal prosecution was officially dropped

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Please take several deep breaths before and as you read this. The Justice Department quietly decided in the final weeks of the Biden administration not to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, effectively ending the corruption investigation that cast a long … Continue reading →

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It looks like there’s no DaSean Jones do-over election on the May ballot

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the May 3, 2025 Joint Election Fact Sheet that I got on Monday. You will notice that on page 2, where the participating entities are listed, that Harris County is not among them. There are MUDs and services districts, … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 4 edition

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, the governor goes full Islamophobe; Dallas gets ready to pick a new police chief; Neiman Marcus in … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit threatened for CD18

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

File away, I say. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that House Democrats will “very likely” sue if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to hold off on calling a special election for the Houston-area seat of the late Congressman Sylvester … Continue reading →

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Tariffs are not good for beer

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll cost you more to drown your sorrows. Just getting a beer in Texas could become more expensive under President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on essentially every country in the world. While most industries are bracing for Trump’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

A win for protecting the right to travel

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, but the legal fight is far from over. The state of Alabama cannot prosecute groups that help people leave the state for an abortion, a federal judge ruled late Monday. The decision — one of the first to … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Moving around the state

Posted on April 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And we have some new counties to add to the board, too. The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas rose to 422 cases and spread to two new counties on Tuesday, according to health officials. … Continue reading →

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Menefee threatens to sue to get CD18 election called

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hope it doesn’t have to come to that, but there’s no reason to trust Greg Abbott. Acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee on Monday demanded that Gov. Greg Abbott call a special election to fill the region’s open congressional seat, even going … Continue reading →

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Allred considering 2026 Senate run

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. On a night when he urged a group of erstwhile Republicans to stay in the fight, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said he’s “seriously considering” a 2026 Senate campaign against incumbent John Cornyn, or the winner of … Continue reading →

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Kendall Scudder elected TDP Chair

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations and good luck. The Texas Democratic Party’s governing board on Saturday elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward as its new chair after a devastating performance in November and years of electoral defeats. “The challenge that we’re facing … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of course the Justice Department dropped the GLO screw job complaint

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What did you expect? Or for that matter, what did I expect? The findings were stark. In one investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded that a Texas state agency had steered $1 billion in disaster mitigation … Continue reading →

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Some plaintiffs drop out of redistricting litigation

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate but not unexpected. Two months before a scheduled trial, a coalition of voting rights groups is withdrawing from a long-running challenge to the political maps Texas drew after the 2020 U.S. census, which the groups said diluted the voting power of … Continue reading →

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Buc-ee’s versus Barc-ee’s

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, come on now. First was Choke Canyon. Then came Duckees. One month later, Super Fuels went under the microscope. This week, a canine-focused Missouri business became the latest target of legal action from a popular Texas-based super rest stop. Ladies and gentlemen: It’s … Continue reading →

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

Measles update: Hello, Ohio

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Put another state on the board, Johnny. A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the … Continue reading →

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Maria Rojas’ attorneys get a chance to speak

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And surprise surprise, they say the charges against their client are long on bluster and short on facts. When the Texas Attorney General’s office announced its first arrest under Texas’ abortion laws, the court filings and press statements painted a … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 29 edition

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag: congressfolks on both sides of the aisle making controversial statements; we may … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court keeps Menefee for now

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Seems reasonable. Harris County Commissioners have opted to keep Christian Menefee as the county attorney until Gov. Greg Abbott calls an election to fill the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat in Congress. Menefee has served as county attorney for more than four years, … Continue reading →

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