Tag Archives: lawsuit

By the way, City Council passed the budget

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, this was pretty boring. Which is a good thing. Houston city council approved Mayor Sylvester Turner’s $5.1 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year with little commotion Wednesday, authorizing a spending plan that was scrambled at the … Continue reading →

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Will Ken Paxton ever be prosecuted?

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

At this point, I’d have to say it’s very unlikely. After mulling the question for nearly six months, the nine Republican judges on Texas’ highest criminal court will not reconsider their 2018 ruling that threatens to imperil the criminal case … Continue reading →

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Buzbee billboard lawsuit dismissed

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I did say it was a dumb lawsuit. A state district judge has dismissed challenger Tony Buzbee’s lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor over a series of billboards for the city’s AlertHouston campaign. In the … Continue reading →

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Back to mediation

Posted on June 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Give it another sixty days. Maybe it’ll be different this time. A Texas appeals court Thursday ordered the Houston firefighters union and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration back to mediation in the hope the two sides will agree to a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Prop B layoffs rescinded

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No Prop B, no need for layoffs. Funny how that works. Houston City Council on Wednesday formally reversed the 220 firefighter layoffs and hundreds of demotions it approved earlier this year, making official Mayor Sylvester Turner’s pledge not to lay … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

It’s not an apology that’s needed

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This may make for good rhetoric, but it’s not what the goal should be. Congressmen Joaquin Castro and Lloyd Doggett on Friday demanded Gov. Greg Abbott apologize to Texas voters for attempting to purge as many as 95,000 people from … Continue reading →

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Paxton still holding on to bogus voter purge data

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about secrecy. He doesn’t want you to know what he’s up to. More than a month after a legal settlement was reached to scrap the review, Paxton’s office has indicated it is keeping open the criminal investigation file … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

It was Abbott all along

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Who was behind that botched voter purge that caused now-former Secretary of State David Whitley to not get confirmed by the Senate? Greg Abbott, that’s who. Two top officials at the Department of Public Safety named Gov. Greg Abbott’s office … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Paxton sues San Antonio over Chick-fil-A records

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We really do live in strange times. It’s a red-meat issue, but it feeds on chicken. San Antonio’s decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from its airport continues to resound in political circles. Legislators passed a religious freedom bill that gained steam … Continue reading →

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How to rig the Census

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is how you would do it. The Trump administration’s controversial effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was drawn up by the Republican Party’s gerrymandering mastermind, who wrote that it “would clearly be a disadvantage to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Orlando Sanchez’s water-pourer lawsuit dismissed

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when former Treasurer Orlando Sanchez filed a million dollar lawsuit against the doofus who poured a glass of water over his head at the press conference where Sanchez was begging the state to take over HISD? Well, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Appeals court affirms pension bond lawsuit

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this is now over. The Texas 1st Court of Appeals has struck down an appeal from a Houston businessman who contested the city’s 2017 pension bond referendum, appearing to end the legal challenge that began almost a year and … Continue reading →

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No arbitration

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re on to the next phase of the firefighter pay battle. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association on Tuesday asked Mayor Sylvester Turner to enter arbitration to settle its ongoing labor dispute with the city, a request the mayor … Continue reading →

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Anti-Israel boycott law amended

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For whatever this is worth. Gov. Greg Abbott this week signed a bill into law that limits the scope of a controversial anti-Israel boycott law, just weeks after a federal judge temporarily blocked its enforcement in an ongoing First Amendment … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Injunction ordered in Skull Creek lawsuit

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this helps. Three months after the waters of Skull Creek first turned black, a Travis County state district judge issued a temporary injunction Tuesday against Inland Environmental and Remediation and David Polston, its president, requiring the company to stop … Continue reading →

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Prop B ruled unconstitutional

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. A state district judge on Wednesday ruled Proposition B, the voter-approved measure that grants Houston firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding rank and seniority, unconstitutional and void. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought in November … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Federal lawsuit filed over homeless feeding ordinance

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m kind of surprised that this hadn’t been filed before now. On a recent evening in April, a few dozen people experiencing homelessness lined up outside Central Library in downtown Houston for a free — and illegal — meal of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

What’s going on in Skull Creek?

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a story from a couple of weeks ago that you may have missed. I know I missed it until it was pointed out to me. For more than two months, the waters of Skull Creek have flowed black, its … Continue reading →

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Firefighters get Prop B back pay

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The city of Houston on Friday issued lump-sum paychecks to more than 3,900 firefighters, a move Mayor Sylvester Turner said reflects the implementation, retroactive to Jan. 1, of Proposition B, the measure granting firefighters the same pay … Continue reading →

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

House passes a bail reform bill

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For what it’s worth. The Texas House gave an initial stamp of approval Thursday to a bill that addresses bail practices, which courts recently deemed unconstitutional in the state’s two most populous counties for discriminating against poor criminal defendants who … Continue reading →

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Buzbee files another lawsuit

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Tony Buzbee does what Tony Buzbee does. Houston mayoral candidate and attorney Tony Buzbee has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two companies that allege they were fraudulently listed as subcontractors by two companies that later secured millions of dollars … Continue reading →

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The SOS voter purge may be over, but Ken Paxton is unaccounted for

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. After the judge approved the settlement, the original list of voters was scrapped. Under the agreement, Texas officials now will only flag names of people who have said they’re not citizens after they have registered … Continue reading →

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Mediation fails to achieve Prop B agreement

Posted on May 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday said a court-appointed mediator has declared negotiations between the city and firefighters union over the implementation of Proposition B at impasse, potentially leaving the future of … Continue reading →

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The Section 3 bail-in hearing

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the final question to answer about Texas and the Voting Rights Act, namely has the state done enough bad stuff to be required to be put under preclearance again? Back in the federal courthouse where most of … Continue reading →

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Why would any Dem Senator change their mind on Whitley?

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t think of a good answer to that, but the man himself is going to try. Acting Secretary of State David Whitley, whose confirmation has been stalled in the Texas Senate after a controversial advisory from his office questioned … Continue reading →

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A closer look at how Texas strongly discourages voting

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, it strongly discourages some people from voting. Julieta Garibay, a native of Mexico City, was brought to Texas by her mother when she was 12. For 26 years, she was told to assimilate and stay quiet so people wouldn’t … Continue reading →

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Settlement officially reached in lawsuits over bogus SOS advisory

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Great news. Three months after first questioning the citizenship status of almost 100,000 registered voters, the Texas secretary of state has agreed to end a review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens that was flawed from the start. The … Continue reading →

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Injunction granted against Texas anti-Israel boycott law

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: A federal court today ruled that a Texas law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or companies that do business with Israel is unconstitutional. The judge ruled that … Continue reading →

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Off to mediation we go

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hope for the best, y’all. Mediation soon will begin in a lawsuit between the Houston police and firefighters unions over Proposition B, the voter-approved measure that gives firefighters equal pay to police officers. In a Monday morning filing, State District … Continue reading →

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Mediation ordered in Prop B lawsuit

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. A state district judge on Thursday ordered the city, the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Houston Police Officers’ Union to enter into mediation as they seek to resolve lingering differences over the implementation … Continue reading →

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Skilling settles longstanding lawsuit

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Old business. Less than two months after leaving prison, former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling settled a 17-year-old lawsuit claiming he helped defraud a Canadian investment firm with the promotion of the defunct energy company’s securities as it headed … Continue reading →

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This was a busy week for dumb lawsuits

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Exhibit A: Houston mayoral challenger Tony Buzbee followed through his pledge to sue Mayor Sylvester Turner Wednesday, claiming that donated billboards for the city’s AlertHouston! campaign violate campaign finance laws because they feature a photo of Turner. The lawsuit, filed … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Congressional Republicans seek to halt SOS voter purge inquiry

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Republicans are challenging the authority of a U.S. House panel to investigate the Texas effort to purge thousands of suspected non-citizens from voter rolls, contending in letters Monday that a recent request … Continue reading →

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Bail lawsuit settlement outline taking shape

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We should have a final version in a couple of weeks. A proposed settlement in the landmark Harris County bail lawsuit would significantly change how the county treats poor defendants in misdemeanor cases by providing free social and transportation services … Continue reading →

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