Tag Archives: Commissioners Court

Eversole gets slapped by Ethics Commission

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

County Commissioner Jerry Eversole gets hit with a $75,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission for failure to accurately report expenses on his campaign finance reports. Eversole said he signed what is known as an “order and agreed resolution” so … Continue reading →

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Lawrence looking at Commissioners Court

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Something I’d realized recently is that almost everyone in city government who is or would have been term-limited out is running or has run for another office. Mayor White is running for Senate. City Controller Annise Parker is running for … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves ethics measures

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. The Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a slate of ethics reforms, placing new controls on money and influence in government for the first time in years. After months of infighting and setbacks, the court unanimously and … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court tries again on ethics reform

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

They meet today to try to get something done. After months of political maneuvering, County Judge Ed Emmett is asking commissioners to approve a series of ethics reforms. They include the voluntary registration of lobbyists, online posting of officials’ personal … Continue reading →

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Ethics reform is hard

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long and winding road for ethics reform in Harris County, and it isn’t getting any easier. Harris County Commissioner’s Court next week will consider a series of ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for and disclosure of … Continue reading →

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Feds’ report on Harris County jails

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of people dying in the jails here, at least as of the last federal inspection. Their experiences are detailed in a U.S. Department of Justice report, completed last week and obtained Monday by the Houston Chronicle, which … Continue reading →

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Yet another Astrodome plan

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a convention center, it’s a movie studio, it’s a planetarium. Add a planetarium to the myriad ideas for what to do with the Reliant Astrodome, Houston’s iconic stadium whose future has hung in uncertainty as officials and entrepreneurs have … Continue reading →

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Still talking about a new jail

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be having this conversation for awhile, I expect. As he attempts to secure a new jail for Harris County, Sheriff Adrian Garcia has hired nearly 90 more guards but still faces skepticism from commissioners about whether a … Continue reading →

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The squiggle

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that the new soccer stadium is likely to happen, even though Commissioners Court continues to take its sweet time about it. We know that the new light rail lines, including the Southeast and Harrisburg lines, are … Continue reading →

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Garcia’s plan to fix the jails

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sheriff Adrian Garcia is off to Austin to explain how he’s going to fix problems with the Harris County jails. Garcia, who took office in January, inherited a massive downtown detention system under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and … Continue reading →

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Dynamo moving forward

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Dynamo Stadium has been in the works for a long time, but depending on how things go this month, there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. [T]he Dynamo view this month as pivotal in their quest … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

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From the “Silver Linings” department

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The economic downturn plus the housing market crash means there’s never been a better time for local governments to bid out construction projects, with more contractors than usual getting involved and competing on price. The increased competition has cut costs … Continue reading →

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Radack’s Hill

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Who says Harris County is flat? Not County Commissioner Steve Radack, who is building a hill in Hockley for soap box derby enthusiasts. It is a vision seven years in the making for Radack, who predicts the hill will draw … Continue reading →

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No hog hunting

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Remember the plan Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack floated to allow bowhunting of feral hogs in George Bush Park, both as pest control and boon for the local food banks? The Army Corps of Engineers, which had say-so on … Continue reading →

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Dynamo Stadium funding almost secured

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward for Dynamo Stadium. Dynamo ownership has all but secured all of the financing needed for the construction of an $80-million soccer stadium just east of downtown and plans to break ground on the project as early as … Continue reading →

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Property values declining

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The housing slump that has battered much of the country for two years finally has trickled down to Harris County, where residential property values have declined or stagnated for the first time … Continue reading →

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A better idea for the Grand Parkway

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If we must build the Grand Parkway Segment E, then this would be a far more preferable way to do it. Probably less expensive, too.

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Them’s good eatin’

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack has an idea. Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack has a problem with hungry hogs. Houston has a problem with hungry people. If Radack gets his way, hundreds of pounds of pork soon could be hitting … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court OKs Grand Parkway Segment E work

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved an agreement to build and maintain a segment of the Grand Parkway connecting the Katy Freeway and U.S. 290, but questions over what would happen if the county ultimately decided the … Continue reading →

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More on the deputy drivers

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The story about the deputies that were assigned driving duties for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett got an extended play in the Chron thanks to a letter to the editor from Garcia and an email he sent … Continue reading →

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Morrison speaks on the Grand Parkway

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Bend County Commissioner Richard Morrison writes about the recently-greenlighted Grand Parkway Segment E and the possibility that stimulus funds could be used to fund what will become a toll road. If Segment E is funded from the stimulus money … Continue reading →

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Driver!

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’ve read this story about part-time drivers for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett before. It reminded me of this one about state Senate staffer salaries, and this one about City Council expenditures. In each … Continue reading →

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Grand Parkway Segment E gets a go-ahead

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved an agreement to build and maintain a segment of the Grand Parkway connecting the Katy Freeway and U.S. 290, but questions over what would happen if the county ultimately decided the … Continue reading →

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Pity the poor Astrodome

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

These sure are bad days for the old icon, aren’t they? The Astrodome will not host the rodeo’s nightly country-western dances next month, or any other special event for that matter, as city code violations that would cost millions to … Continue reading →

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A peek inside Astrodome Studios

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So we know that one of the ideas for what to do with the Astrodome is to convert it to a movie studio. But what might that look like? Swamplot has a sneak peek. We may be hearing more about … Continue reading →

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Harris County tackles jail overcrowding

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what do you know? Harris County’s burgeoning jail population is expected to swell to 12,600 this spring, prompting newly elected officials to take a fresh look at ways to alleviate overcrowding, including releasing low-risk offenders. The new sheriff, district … Continue reading →

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The lap bands of Collin County

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this story, which appeared in the print edition of Monday’s Chron but which I could not find on the chron.com site. About 150 obese Collin County employees have achieved dramatic weight loss with … Continue reading →

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