Tag Archives: Annise Parker

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

Council passes revised historic preservation ordinance

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see that City Council finally passed the long-awaited and much-revised historic preservation ordinance, and even more glad to see that the 90-day waiver for demolitions has been excised, so that what we have now is an actual … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Email counts, too

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say about this. City officials involved in negotiating a tax reimbursement deal with the developer of a controversial Walmart-anchored retail project near Washington Avenue made dismissive, and sometimes derisive, references to citizens opposed to the … Continue reading →

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

The preservation ordinance fight

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The revised preservation ordinance came before Council last week. It got a lot of feedback in addition to being tagged. Mayor Pro Tem Anne Clutterbuck also opposed the changes to the ordinance, which include a provision that would prevent property … Continue reading →

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

The anti-Prop 1 factions gear up

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The usual suspects have gotten the band back together to ensure that no action is taken to mitigate flooding in Houston. Former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt has teamed up with anti-tax advocate Bruce Hotze and conservative activist Norman … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council approves the Wal-Mart 380 agreement

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Over strong neighborhood objections, City Council this morning passed a package of economic development incentives worth more than $6 million for the developer of a future Walmart store near the Heights. City Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck offered two amendments … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Council approves the Wal-Mart 380 agreement

KHOU polls Mayor Parker’s job performance

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

She did pretty well. A majority of voters in Bayou City approve of Mayor Annise Parker’s job performance, according to an exclusive 11 News/KUHF-Houston Public Radio poll released Tuesday. Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement conducted the poll, which surveyed … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Falkenberg’s Wal-Mart strawman

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Where to even begin with this bizarre Lisa Falkenberg column? I’ll probably get banned from my favorite Heights coffee house for saying so, and it’s not that I’m a fan of Walmart. Some of their business practices led me years … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

The 380 agreement

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the proposed 380 agreement between the city and Ainbinder for the site now known as “Washington Heights”. It’s all fairly dense legalese, and I confess my eyes glazed over while reading it. If there’s something in here that’s unexpected … Continue reading →

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

Another Wal-Mart meeting

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was another meeting about the proposed Wal-Mart on Wednesday, this time for residents only. [I]n the second public meeting in eight days addressing concerns over the Walmart-Ainbinder Company development, the city’s proposed 380 Agreement with the developers took center … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Videos of the city’s Wal-Mart presentation from last week

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You can see three videos on Mayor Parker’s YouTube channel from last week’s meeting at the GRB to discuss the Wal-Mart development on Yale. This includes the Mayor’s opening remarks and the city’s slide show presentation, a bit less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Videos of the city’s Wal-Mart presentation from last week

The next Wal-Mart public meeting

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A 2nd public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, September 1, 2010 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice 4701 Dickson Street … Continue reading →

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

The Wal-Mart meeting at the GRB

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of sound and fury, that’s for sure. The city is negotiating a deal with the developer of Washington Heights — a proposed Walmart-anchored shopping center near Interstate 10 and Yale – that would reimburse the local builder for as … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

More on the red light camera Council vote

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fuller version of the Chron story addresses the question about whether the petition drive was lawful or not according to the city’s charter. “It is your absolute sworn duty to place this on the ballot,” [Mayor Annise] Parker told … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

There’s supporters, and then there’s “supporters”

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is about “supporters and opponents” of the “Heights” Wal-Mart debuting their webpages. See if you can spot the problem with this: The opponents, led by a group of concerned citizens who began organizing around a Facebook website … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Public meeting regarding Koehler Street Development

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Public Meeting Regarding Koehler Street Development Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Public meeting regarding Koehler Street Development

Term limits referendum not adopted by Council

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bit of a surprise. The Houston City Council today surprised Mayor Annise Parker and rejected a proposal to change the terms to which city officials are elected from three, two-year terms to two, four-year terms. The seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Term limits referendum not adopted by Council

Is it worth it to just tinker at the edges?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mostly feel the same way as the Chron about term limits and the proposal from the Term Limits Commission to alter them. [T]he logic in limiting city officials to three two-year terms, with the necessity for virtually nonstop campaigning … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Is it worth it to just tinker at the edges?

Renew Houston proposition officially on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

City Council voted to put the Renew Houston referendum on the ballot Wednesday. Details about how much the drainage fee it calls for will be, and other aspects of it are still to be worked out by the city before … Continue reading →

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

The residency referendum

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Houston will get two more City Council districts after the 2010 Census is completed. To allow potential candidates sufficient time to adjust to the new map, Council will put a charter amendment on the ballot that reduces … Continue reading →

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

The city of Houston’s social media guidelines

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I received the following email from Justin Concepcion, who manages social media for Mayor Parker’s office, in response to the questions I asked in this post about how the city of Houston handles social media: We are in the process … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The city of Houston’s social media guidelines

Ready or not, here comes Wal-Mart

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a done deal. Wal-Mart has placed 16 acres of land in the Washington Avenue corridor under contract, company spokeswoman Kellie Duhr confirmed Thursday. The deal comes two days after concerned Heights-area residents voiced their opposition to the project to … Continue reading →

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

The new Historic Preservation ordinance

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: The mayor’s office is out with a “public comment draft” of proposed changes to Houston’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. The biggest (and most expected) change: There’ll be no more 90-day “compliance waivers” issued for historic-district properties. Under the previous … Continue reading →

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

Term limits commission makes its recommendation

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Term Limits Commission finished its work on Monday and voted on a proposal that will be considered by Council. Houston’s Term Limits Review Commission voted Monday night to recommend changing the existing limits from three 2-year terms to two … Continue reading →

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

Renew Houston submits petitions

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Renew Houston has submitted signatures to get its drainage improvement proposition on the ballot this November. Renew Houston, a group of influential local engineers, has collected more than 30,000 signatures in a push to seek voter approval for an $8 … Continue reading →

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

Water rate rebate passes Council

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, Council approved a water rate hike. There were some complaints from apartment owners at the time about the size of the rate increase that would apply to them, and the city agreed to make some changes to … Continue reading →

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

The Chronic Consumer Stabilization Initiative

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In the comments to my previous post about mental illness and the criminal justice system, reader Katherine reminded me of this Houston Press article from last December, about a pilot program between HPD and the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor Parker on the proposed Heights Wal-Mart

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Hair Balls has an update. Walmart spokesman William Wertz told Hair Balls that Walmart is considering the expansion at this time but no plans have been approved. “We can confirm that we are looking at this site, but discussions are … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Council redistricting news

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Campos had an interesting tidbit from the other day. The H-Town City Council [Wednesday] morning started discussing next year’s redistricting process. Instead of creating a city council committee on redistricting, the H-Town Mayor mentioned that she will probably let the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Council redistricting news

City gets OK on water rate hike

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One obstacle cleared. In a letter to lawyers representing the city and conservative activists Bruce Hotze and Paul Bettencourt on Monday, state District Judge Stephen Yelenosky said the rate increases do not violate a charter amendment approved by voters in … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on City gets OK on water rate hike

Mayor Parker’s first budget passes

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The deed is done. We know the basic shape of the budget from earlier stories, so I just want to highlight a couple of things. First, an amendment to trim Council members’ budgets that ultimately was defeated: City Councilman Al … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mayor Parker’s first budget passes

Bilingual budget amendment controversy

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Given the budget situation we’re in, there’s been a surprising lack of overt controversy about how to deal with it. Council members submitted their budget amendments last week, and one of them has generated a stir. KUHF reported on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Bilingual budget amendment controversy

Metro working on its critics

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that it has much of its litigation-related unpleasantness behind it, Metro is working on improving its image, both with the public as a whole and with its more persistent critics. The need to re-brand Metro as an institution worthy … Continue reading →

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

More on Renew Houston

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The effort to create a dedicated fund for flooding and drainage is moving along at a good clip. Renew Houston, the non-profit committee formed to seek at least 22,000 ballot signatures in a bid to put the matter to voters … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments