Tag Archives: coronavirus

2020 Primary Runoff Early Voting, Second Monday: A statewide look

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not going to keep track of what day number we’re at now, as it doesn’t really make sense anymore. But what we can do right now is have a look at how each party is doing with mail votes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How Texas screwed it all up

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a more succinct headline for this story about how Texas went from having a low COVID-19 infection rate to one of the worst in the country. And the vast majority of the responsibility for this is on Greg Abbott. … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

2020 Primary Runoff Early Voting, Day Five/Six: Apples and Oranges

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We are at the end of the first official early voting week for the 2020 primary runoffs. At this point, there have been five actual early voting days, as Friday and Saturday the polls were closed for the Independence Day … Continue reading →

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Of course there’s a lawsuit against Abbott’s mask order

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And of course it involves the usual suspects. The day Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate that face masks be worn in most public places across Texas went into effect, a GOP activist and group of conservatives filed a lawsuit in an … Continue reading →

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State GOP will have its convention

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they don’t kill any convention or hotel workers as a result. Beyond that, I don’t know what to say. The Texas GOP’s executive committee voted Thursday night to proceed with plans to hold the party’s in-person convention in … Continue reading →

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No fast track on vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I confess, I hadn’t been aware that this was in the hopper. The U.S. Supreme Court won’t fast-track a bid by Texas Democrats to decide whether all Texas voters can vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving in place … Continue reading →

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Abbott finally issues a mask order

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never, but it’s pretty damn late. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a nearly statewide mask mandate Thursday as Texas scrambles to get its coronavirus surge under control. The order requires Texans living in counties with 20 or more … Continue reading →

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How it’s going at the hospitals

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In a word, it’s bad. At Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital on Sunday, the medical staff ran out of both space for new coronavirus patients and a key drug needed to treat them. With no open beds at the public hospital, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Second lawsuit filed by bars against Abbott

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This one was expected. Several Texas bar owners filed a $10 million federal lawsuit Tuesday afternoon against Gov. Greg Abbott, in an attempt to void his executive order shutting down bars for a second time since the beginning of the … Continue reading →

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The lack of testing is becoming a more serious problem

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It was already serious. Now it’s extra serious. As the new coronavirus continues to spread in Texas, leaders of some of the state’s biggest cities said Monday that their testing sites were being strained, forcing them to turn away people … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Runoff Early Voting, Day One: People seem to like this vote by mail thing

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Big surprise, am I right? Harris County voters cast more than 51,000 ballots Monday in the primary runoffs, an eye-popping total that exceeded turnout for entire runoff elections in some recent years. Combined with a robust in-person turnout, voters had … Continue reading →

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Maybe that Republican convention won’t happen after all

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

First, there was this. The Texas Medical Association is encouraging Texans to practice social distancing, stay home when possible and wear masks to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. But despite the potential mixed message it may send, the … Continue reading →

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More on that bar owners’ lawsuit

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something, that’s for sure. They’re here. They serve beer. And they are hopping mad at Greg Abbott. As the Washington Post’s Teo Amus reported Tuesday, a group of Texas bar owners from around the state has banded together to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hey, how about trying that local control thing again?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like it might be worth a shot to led Mayors and County Judges lead on coronavirus response again, since they’ve done so much better a job of leading than Greg Abbott has. As Texas grapples with soaring coronavirus cases … Continue reading →

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Ready or not, here we vote

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope it goes all right. Poll workers [began] greeting voters from behind face masks and shields as early voting begins in primary runoffs that will look and operate differently from any Texas election in the past 100 years. Although the … Continue reading →

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Judges added to felony bail reform lawsuit

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This could be a sign that things are about to happen. All 23 Harris County felony judges have been added as proposed defendants in the lawsuit alleging that the region’s felony bail practices are discriminatory and damaging to poor defendants. … Continue reading →

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Is this convention really necessary?

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously. I know they don’t care about anyone else, but maybe the state GOP might think about the health and well-being of their own people? As the coronavirus pandemic engulfs Texas’ metropolitan areas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has left the … Continue reading →

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No relief from SCOTUS on vote by mail

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is not really a surprise. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an initial bid by state Democrats to expand voting by mail to all Texas voters during the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Samuel Alito — whose oversight of federal courts … Continue reading →

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The pause effect on bars and restaurants

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I feel terrible for them, but what could we do at this point? Ed Noyes was trying to get some shut-eye when he woke up to seven different texts Friday morning. Three of the five bartenders at his Fort Worth … Continue reading →

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

Early voting for primary runoffs starts tomorrow

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the runoffs? It’s time we settle who our nominees are. Who can vote in the runoffs? Texas has open primaries, meaning you don’t have to be a registered member of either party to cast a ballot in a primary … Continue reading →

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Put a pause on that reopening

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At this point, we had no other choice. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday took his most drastic action yet to respond to the post-reopening coronavirus surge in Texas, shutting bars back down and scaling back restaurant capacity to 50%. He … Continue reading →

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Masks for Metro confirmed

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. Metro riders need to cover up to hop on, following a decision by the transit agency’s board Thursday to require masks on its buses and trains. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members approved the requirement at their monthly meeting … Continue reading →

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Straight ticket voting lawsuit tossed

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a big surprise. A federal judge on Wednesday threw out Democrats’ effort to reinstate the straight-ticket voting option in Texas. Siding with the state, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo found that Democrats lacked standing to challenge Texas Republicans’ … Continue reading →

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We need to understand what we did wrong

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So yeah, we need this. Two of the nation’s most influential experts on the coronavirus pandemic, both based in Texas, are calling for an independent, nonpartisan investigation of the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus. “We must prevent this from … Continue reading →

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Who needs testing?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great idea. The Trump administration is planning to end federal support for some coronavirus testing sites across the nation at the end of the month — including seven in Texas, where confirmed cases of COVID are spiking. An … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Have we gone from “concerned” to “alarmed” yet?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting there. With cases of the coronavirus surging to record levels in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott recommended Tuesday that Texans stay home as much as possible and for the first time moved to allow the tightening of two kinds … Continue reading →

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MLB is on its way back

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

What a long, strange trip it was, and who knows how successful any of it will ultimately be. But here we are. The lack of a deal between MLB and the MLB Players Association led to the league imposing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Can we make it past July?

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s when it looks like we’ll hit the peak of the pandemic here. And it could be ugly. A surge in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day could set the Houston area on track for a peak of 2,000 daily hospitalizations … Continue reading →

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In case you needed another reminder that this coronavirus thing is dangerous

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. The Orlando Pride have withdrawn from the upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup after six players and four staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, a significant setback for a league attempting to become the first in American professional team … Continue reading →

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How bad is it going to get in Houston?

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m worried, y’all. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas continued to reach record highs over the weekend while new cases also climbed in the Houston area. The new figures come as County Judge Lina Hidalgo and leaders in other … Continue reading →

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

Maybe we should have had this election in May

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, the irony. When the coronavirus threat was newer and seemed more immediate, Texas postponed its May elections to pick winners in several party primary runoffs, fearing the health risks of exposing voters and poll workers. With those statewide elections … Continue reading →

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Masks for Metro

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. Metro riders soon may need more than their Q card or $1.25 to board buses and trains as transit officials weigh making face coverings mandatory for all bus and rail users in a new set of safety procedures. … Continue reading →

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HISD will not change its calendar

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not for this year, anyway. Houston ISD’s calendar for 2020-21 will remain largely unchanged, district officials said Thursday, bringing an end to nearly two weeks of debate over whether to extend the school year as a way to increase flexibility … Continue reading →

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Fauci and football

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to rain on your tailgate, but… The NFL is planning to begin its season on time, but Dr. Anthony Fauci pulled the reins on that optimistic view Wednesday. “Unless players are essentially in a bubble – insulated from … Continue reading →

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