Tag Archives: Oklahoma

Time for an update on that other high speed rail line

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been awhile. Backers continue to move along on plans to build a bullet-train route between Dallas and Houston, but it’s not the only high-speed passenger rail project on Texas drawing boards. With a proposal to run between cities such … Continue reading →

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Miller avoids charges for his questionable trips

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t catch ’em all. Travis County prosecutors will not press criminal charges against Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller for tapping taxpayer funds for two trips that involved personal activities — including an appearance in a Mississippi rodeo and the receipt … Continue reading →

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Rangers hand off Miller case to Travis County DA

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has begun reviewing the findings of a criminal investigation into Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s travel, a top prosecutor said Friday. “We received the investigation (from the Texas Department of Public … Continue reading →

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Alignments proposed for Oklahoma City-South Texas passenger rail

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Check ’em out. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have released 10 service and route options for new and improved conventional and high-speed passenger rail service connecting Oklahoma City, … Continue reading →

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Being Sid Miller

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated, especially when your stories keep changing. The Texas Rangers are currently investigating whether Miller broke the law when he took those out-of-state, taxpayer-funded trips in February 2015. The first was to Oklahoma, where internal emails from the Department of … Continue reading →

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Second complaint filed against Miller

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You do the crime… A liberal advocacy group has filed another complaint against Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who found himself in hot water recently over possible misuse of state and campaign funds. The complaint, filed Wednesday by Progress Texas,asks … Continue reading →

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From the “It’s not the crime, it’s the coverup” department

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, Sid. You’re such a naughty boy. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s office withheld public records that suggest he obtained a medical procedure known as “The Jesus Shot” on a taxpayer-funded trip to Oklahoma, the Houston Chronicle has learned. In … Continue reading →

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Earthquake!

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a real risk in Dallas now. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a 1 to 5 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake strong enough to damage buildings in the next year, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. That risk has … Continue reading →

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Complaint filed against Sid Miller

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. A liberal advocacy group on Monday asked the Texas Rangers to investigate whether Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller used taxpayer money to fly to Oklahoma to get an injection known as “the Jesus Shot” that is supposed to cure … Continue reading →

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Sid Miller and the Jesus Shot

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Less than a month after taking office, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller flew to Oklahoma City with a top aide, billing the taxpayers at least $1,120 for flights and a rental car, … Continue reading →

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2016 Presidential primaries: Clinton and Cruz win in Texas

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A good night for Hillary Clinton. Once again, Texas delivered for a Clinton. The Texas Tribune projects that Hillary Clinton has easily won a majority of the statewide vote in the Texas Democratic primary, dominating her rival for the party’s … Continue reading →

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Oklahoma, where the same-sex weddings come sweeping down the plain

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One of the most commonly made arguments for expanded gambling in Texas is that as long as we don’t have casinos, Texans will travel to neighboring states to spend their gambling dollars there. Well, that same argument can be made … Continue reading →

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Texas same sex marriage plaintiffs want the get oral arguments scheduled

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They would like to get on with their lives, if it’s not too much trouble to Greg Abbott and the Fifth Circuit. Austin lawyer Nicole Dimetman is pregnant and expects to give birth for the first time on March 15, … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder that “more gambling” does not necessarily mean “more revenue”

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If Atlantic City can go bust… The winning streak has run cold for Atlantic City, N.J. Earlier this week, the upscale Revel Casino Hotel announced it will close, bringing the total number of casinos in the city expected to close … Continue reading →

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When is that appeal of the Texas same sex marriage ruling going to happen?

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little later than originally planned. It’s been five months since a federal judge struck down Texas’ bans on same-sex marriage. But Attorney General Greg Abbott says he needs more time to file a brief appealing U.S. District Judge Orlando … Continue reading →

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Tenth Circuit upholds same-sex marriage

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A huge step forward. A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that states outlawing same-sex marriage are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. By upholding a Utah judge’s decision, the a three-member panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in … Continue reading →

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Hearing for the Texas federal same sex marriage lawsuit is tomorrow

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

All eyes will be on San Antonio on Wednesday. Like most new parents, Nicole Dimetman and Cleopatra De Leon plan their days around their small child. Theirs is an ordinary family life, they say, but it is by no means … Continue reading →

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On, Wisconsin

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the ACLU of Wisconsin: The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of four same-sex couples who wish to marry in Wisconsin or are … Continue reading →

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More on TxDOT and high speed rail

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

First come the studies and the public hearings. Then we wait and see what happens. The Texas Transportation Commission is expected to vote Thursday at its monthly meeting on the creation of a high-speed rail commission focused on the Dallas-Fort … Continue reading →

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US-Mexico high speed rail?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What goes north can also go south. A high-speed rail line connecting San Antonio and Monterrey, Mexico, could be less than a decade away from welcoming its first passengers, according to federal and Texas officials who met with Mexican officials … Continue reading →

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Annise Parker’s journey

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reviews how Mayor Parker went from activist for the LGBT community to Mayor on the occasion of her wedding. The country’s first openly gay mayor became the country’s first openly gay married mayor this week. A wedding wouldn’t … Continue reading →

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Oklahoma!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Where the same sex marriages come whistling down the plains. U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern ruled Tuesday that Oklahoma’s ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional. The ruling is stayed pending appeal, meaning marriages will not occur immediately in Oklahoma. … Continue reading →

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The states that are making life harder for their National Guard members

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not just Texas. While a majority of states ban same-sex marriages, most are not fighting the new policy. But Pentagon officials say that in addition to Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia have balked. Each has cited … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to review request to reinstate injunction against HB2

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never a good thing to have one’s fate in Justice Scalia’s hands, but that’s where we are. State attorneys filed a response on Tuesday to abortion providers’ request for the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the ongoing legal … Continue reading →

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Abortion providers petition SCOTUS for injunction review

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what happens. Abortion providers on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a lower federal court’s injunction that blocked Texas from implementing strict new abortion rules. “Right now, women in vast swaths of Texas are being turned … Continue reading →

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I do not expect another Ardmore

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The AusChron tries to get out the Democrats’ strategy for Special Session 2. When the Texas House convened last last month to pass, on third reading and onto the Senate for final passage, Senate Bill 5, the omnibus abortion regulations … Continue reading →

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Who gets the water?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This will be worth watching. A simple idea has guided appropriations of Texas water for decades: First come, first served. Now, with drought conditions returning to almost the entire state, the principle is being put to the test by a … Continue reading →

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UT will start conference shopping

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More dominoes. University of Texas President William Powers Jr. was given the authority Monday to explore changing conferences, and Texas will seriously consider trying to join the Pacific-12 and the Atlantic Coast conferences if not other possibilities, sources close to … Continue reading →

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Can this conference be saved?

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest Big XII speculation. Several reports indicate that Texas would be willing to share its Tier I revenue provided through the Big 12’s television contracts for football to help preserve the conference. That would not affect the $15 … Continue reading →

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Are you ready for the Sooner Network?

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Reporters were given a tour Tuesday of the university’s SoonerVision HD production rooms that have been expanded through $5 million in improvements in recent years. With fiber-optic cables connecting the school’s athletic venues to side-by-side control rooms, … Continue reading →

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Big XII lives

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. “The University of Texas’ athletics programs will continue competing in the Big 12 Conference,” the school announced Monday in a statement. Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin released the following statement: “Texas A&M is a proud member of the … Continue reading →

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With more gambling comes more problem gambling

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The never asleep gambling industry in Texas likes to point out how much business the casinos in Oklahoma and Louisiana get, which includes a hefty amount from Texans. But as gambling becomes more prevalent, so do gambling addictions. Tribal casinos … Continue reading →

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Oklahoma gets on the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome aboard! The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said Friday it has taken an initial step to apply for high-speed rail funding that, if successful, could return passenger service to Tulsa. ODOT spokeswoman Terri Angier said top speeds between Tulsa and … Continue reading →

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