Tag Archives: coronavirus

Statewide COVID disaster declaration to end

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s nothing to celebrate. Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he will not renew Texas’ long-running COVID-19 disaster declaration later this week after he signed a law that bans local mandates related to the pandemic. Abbott has kept the disaster declaration … Continue reading →

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City passes Mayor Turner’s final budget

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready, whoever is up next. Houston city staff will see pay raises, money will go toward sidewalk repairs and residents won’t have to maintain their own drainage ditches anymore. All are part of the $6.2 billion budget that passed through Houston … Continue reading →

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Converting empty downtown office space into residences

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Something to think about. Across the country, office-to-housing conversions are being pursued as a potential lifeline for struggling downtown business districts that emptied out during the coronavirus pandemic and may never fully recover. The conversion push is marked by an emphasis on affordability. Multiple … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner’s final budget

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is what he’s handing off. Mayor Sylvester Turner will unveil a $6.2 billion budget proposal this week, the final spending plan of his tenure and one he predicts will have enough savings to cover his successor’s first budget gap. … Continue reading →

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FDA approves RSV vaccine

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. After a 60-year scientific quest, the world has its first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV – and more are on the way. On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Arexvy, made by GSK, … Continue reading →

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“More Space: Main Street” permanently extended

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A good outcome for a good idea. Houston will close down traffic on seven blocks of Main Street permanently to allow businesses to maintain outdoor seating spaces initially established during the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to expand the concept to other commercial strips in … Continue reading →

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We do need more felony courts

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good start. County officials are considering adding new district courts and making more room for detainees in an effort to reduce to county’s court backlog and alleviate overcrowding at the Harris County Jail. During Commissioners Court on … Continue reading →

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HISD facing budget cuts

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be a rough couple of years. Amid declining enrollment and a looming $215 million deficit, the Houston ISD is eyeing budget cuts that would slash funding to the central administration and cut campus budgets, especially at high schools. The … Continue reading →

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Anti-vaxxer defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist dismissed

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A state district judge has dismissed Dr. Mary Talley Bowden’s defamation lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital, which suspended the doctor’s privileges in late 2021 over COVID misinformation. Judge Mike Engelhart, of the 151st Civil District Court, heard arguments Monday afternoon after the … Continue reading →

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The ongoing referee shortage

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This news is not new, though the cause being cited is different than the last time I read this kind of story. The official shortage seen in the Houston area is part of a nationwide issue, according to the National Federation … Continue reading →

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FDA suggests annual COVID booster

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I like the idea of this, which is to make COVID shots simpler and thus hopefully more likely to be taken, but it seems to be more nuanced than that. The US Food and Drug Administration wants to simplify the … Continue reading →

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COVID rates tick down again in Houston

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Always a good headline to read. COVID-19 data from the Texas Medical Center this week suggests the current wave may be subsiding, though experts urge caution as a new, highly infectious variant continues to circulate. The average number of daily … Continue reading →

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New year, new omicron variant

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe out there. A new omicron COVID-19 variant is spreading fast across the United States and beginning to make inroads in Houston, where the positivity rate continues to rise. The new strain, XBB.1.5, was first detected on the east … Continue reading →

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It’s winter surge time again

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, though I think you already suspected this. COVID-19 cases are rising across Texas two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, echoing last year’s surge of the omicron variant. There are more than 18,000 positive … Continue reading →

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Recruitment of next summer’s lifeguards is already underway.

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Better luck this time, we hope. The city has begun recruiting lifeguards for next summer following a significant staffing shortage that led to the closure of two-thirds of Houston’s public pools this past season. The Parks and Recreation Department, which operates Houston’s 37 aquatic centers, usually … Continue reading →

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Santa Claus is back

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So, you know, you better watch out, and all that. Some Santas who stayed home the past two years out of concern for their health have returned, but performers have pressing issues, including inflation, on their minds. Many are older, … Continue reading →

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A thousand days of the COVID disaster declaration

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy COVID Disaster Declaration Thousand-Day Anniversary to all who celebrate. Thursday marks 1,000 days that Texans have been living under Gov. Greg Abbott’s public health disaster proclamation — an era of unprecedented gubernatorial authority for the state’s chief executive, triggered … Continue reading →

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I regret to inform you that “tripledemic” is a word

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that we may avoid it here in Houston. A collision of three respiratory viruses — COVID-19, influenza and RSV — may not hit Houston as severely as other parts of the country, experts say, but pediatric … Continue reading →

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Beware of RSV

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Worrying. Two common respiratory viruses continue to keep Houston pediatric hospitals unusually busy this time of year, with both the flu and RSV seeing a second surge following a rise in cases over the spring and summer, respectively. Before the … Continue reading →

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Math test scores took a hit during the pandemic

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The decline started before the pandemic, but kept on going from there. Students in Houston and across the nation showed “appalling and unacceptable” declines on the 2022 Nation’s Report Card, adding to mounting evidence that the pandemic impacted young people … Continue reading →

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Is this just the calm before the next COVID wave?

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things look good now, at least in the Houston area, but COVID never sleeps. As the U.S. heads into a third pandemic winter, the first hints are emerging that another possible surge of COVID-19 infections could be on its way. … Continue reading →

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Microbreweries are getting back on track

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of good news. Texas craft breweries rebounded in 2021, a promising sign after the pandemic staggered the industry. The state of beer: Of the state’s 10 largest breweries, seven increased production in 2021 compared with 2020, according to an Axios analysis … Continue reading →

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Treasury Department investigating DeSantis

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. The Treasury Department is now investigating whether the taxpayer money Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) spent to fly Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard for political theater last month came from federal COVID-19 relief. Richard Delmar, the … Continue reading →

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School enrollment in Texas declined in 2020-2021

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Blame it on COVID. Tens of thousands more students either dropped out or otherwise left Texas public schools during the 2020-21 school year, compared to previous years, according to the most recently available records from the Texas Education Agency. The number of students … Continue reading →

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The wastewater is looking good now

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

In terms of COVID levels, anyway. The COVID-19 viral load in Houston’s wastewater has sunk to its lowest point in seven months as the city puts the latest wave, driven by the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5, in the rear … Continue reading →

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The new county COVID risk assessment system

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it works. Harris County has revamped its method for assessing the public’s risk for contracting COVID-19, replacing the threat level system that has been in place since early in the pandemic with a community level system that … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton keeps trying to kill the SAISD vaccine mandate

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

On brand, always on brand. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another petition seeking to reverse a Bexar County judge’s decision that rejected the state’s bid for a temporary injunction to block the San Antonio Independent School District’s staff … Continue reading →

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Our overall vax level is down

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not great! The coverage rate for routine childhood vaccines – or the percentage of kids getting them – dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover, according to statistics from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Health … Continue reading →

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Coulda Been Worse

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Are you ready for some attack ads? A shadowy new group has purchased at least $6 million in TV ads ahead of the November election and is airing an ad that targets Gov. Greg Abbott as he runs for reelection. … Continue reading →

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Your omicron booster will be ready this week

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be getting mine. Most Texans will be eligible in the coming days for a second round of Covid-19 booster shots after updated vaccines got final federal approval this week. The new doses, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are designed to … Continue reading →

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First school ratings since 2019 released

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All in all, not too bad. But for poorer schools and school districts, it remains a very hard go. The Texas Education Agency on Monday released its first public school ratings in three years and despite pandemic interruptions, the number … Continue reading →

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At least you’re (probably) not giving birth in West Texas

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a long story about the lack of prenatal and obstetric care in West Texas. It’s mostly set in Alpine, Presidio, and Big Bend, which are the “big cities” in the area that actually have doctors and medical facilities … Continue reading →

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It’s not a teacher shortage yet

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But you can see one on the horizon. School districts across the Houston region are trying to fill thousands of teacher vacancies before most will be welcoming students back to classrooms in the coming weeks. A review of about 18 area school districts’ job … Continue reading →

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Houston will monitor for monkeypox in the wastewater

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea. Houston will begin monitoring its wastewater for monkeypox in late August as cases of the blister-causing contagion continue to climb, health officials said. Scientists will begin testing for the monkeypox virus in city sewage samples “starting in about three … Continue reading →

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