Tag Archives: Houston

Restaurants may get to use parking lot space for dining

Posted on August 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like this idea. Restaurants in Houston, currently limited by 50% indoor capacity limits, may soon be able to serve diners in parking lots to accommodate more guests. Pending a vote by the Houston City Council, a “More Spaces” plan … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember District B?

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This makes me so mad. For the last couple months, Tarsha Jackson has organized north Houston neighborhoods around criminal justice reform, helping to release a “Justice Can’t Wait” policy platform she said the city could enact immediately. Cynthia Bailey has … Continue reading →

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So we really were undercounting the COVID-19 death rate

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised. After months of undercounting coronavirus deaths, Texas’ formal tally of COVID-19 fatalities grew by more than 600 on Monday after state health officials changed their method of reporting. The revised count indicates that more than 12% … Continue reading →

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Abbott finally speaks about schools

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Of course, he mostly says weasel words. Gov. Greg Abbott clarified Friday that Texas schools will be required to provide in-person instruction this fall, but that some districts may be eligible for extended waivers on a “case-by-case basis.” In a … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The school situation remains a big ol’ mess

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You can blame Greg Abbott for all this confusion. After weeks of confusion and conflicting signals, Texas has settled into policies that effectively compel schools to reopen their classrooms this fall no later than eight weeks after the academic year … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Who gets to be on the I-45 panel?

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not thrilled about this. Houston will have a say in a regional response to design differences in the planned widening of Interstate 45 within the city — and so will Sugar Land, Montgomery County and Waller County. After voting … Continue reading →

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Paxton overrides county health orders on schools

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So much concern for the children here. Local health officials do not have the authority to shut down all schools in their vicinity while COVID-19 cases rise, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in nonbinding guidance Tuesday that contradicts what … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Harris County issues school closure order

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. Harris County and Houston health authorities on Friday ordered all public and non-religious private schools to delay opening for in-person instruction until at least Sept. 8 — a date likely to be extended unless the region sees … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A very early glimmer of some possibly good news

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We may be finally bending the curve, thanks to people finally taking seriously the need to wear face masks in public. Three weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott required Texans to wear masks, epidemiologists and disease modelers say they are cautiously … Continue reading →

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More like Ike than Harvey

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure this is a choice I want to have to make, but here we are. Hurricanes are expected to blow through Texas more quickly during the last 25 years of this century. A study led by Rice University researcher … Continue reading →

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Time for your regularly scheduled announcement that the Uptown BRT line opening has been pushed back

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe for the last time, though. We hope. Rapid bus service is coming to Uptown next month, a couple weeks later than Metro first said this summer and two years later than expected when construction began in 2016. Service will … Continue reading →

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The cities still need COVID relief

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, in case you’d forgotten. As Congress resumes work on a new coronavirus financial relief package, nearly 100 Texas mayors are pressing the state’s congressional delegation for more funding to address revenue losses incurred due to the economic … Continue reading →

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TEA updates its school-opening guidance

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They heard the outcry. Facing growing backlash from teachers, parents and health officials, Texas education officials Friday relaxed a previous order that would have given public schools just three weeks from the start of the fall semester to reopen their … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here, have a COVID update

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Things are going great. Texas set yet another record for coronavirus deaths Thursday with 154 — the third day in a row above 100. The previous record was July 8 when 112 deaths were logged, according to a data analysis … Continue reading →

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Federal judge rules GOP can have its in person convention

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Unbelievable. A federal judge on Friday ruled that Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston First Corp. must allow the Texas Republican Party to proceed with an in-person convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center, though the party now only intends … Continue reading →

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

We’re still not doing great with the Census

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still time, but we have a lot of work to do. Despite an extended deadline, local government cash infusions and grassroots campaigns to improve Houston’s 2020 census response rate, almost half of Houston households are still missing from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bike lanes coming to Shepherd/Durham corridor

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Houston officials with some regional help have nearly solved funding a $100 million rebuild of Shepherd and Durham that adds bike lanes, wider sidewalks, improved drainage and new concrete to one of the most car-centric corridors within Loop 610. … Continue reading →

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Give reformers a seat at the police collective bargaining table

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is a clear path forward. Chas Moore watched in shock one night in 2017 as Austin City Council voted on the city’s proposed police contract. He and other criminal justice reformers had spent months observing contract negotiations and lobbying … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The GOP convention is off to a great start

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ain’t technology great? Getting the virtual state convention up and running “has not been a walk in the park,” said Republican Party of Texas Chair James Dickey in a Facebook Live chat Wednesday evening. Glitches related to credentialing had yet … Continue reading →

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Is it time to step back?

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not a question of whether we want to do this, it’s whether we need to. Houston leaders are calling for another two-week shutdown as dozens of Army personnel are set to arrive Monday to help fight a virus that … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Schools get an in person opening reprieve

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It started with this. Texas will give school districts more flexibility to keep their school buildings closed to in-person instruction this fall as coronavirus cases continue to rise, Gov. Greg Abbott told a Houston television station Tuesday. Public health guidance … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

State Supreme Court denies GOP effort to force convention to happen

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Denied. The Texas Supreme Court on Monday rejected the state Republican Party’s appeal of a lower court’s decision regarding its in-person Houston convention, all but ensuring that Mayor Sylvester Turner’s move to cancel the event will stand. In an unsigned … Continue reading →

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

AG sides with Mayor Turner in GOP convention litigation

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But only in a limited and technical way, so cool your jets. The Texas Attorney General’s Office on Saturday sided with Mayor Sylvester Turner in a legal dispute over the state Republican Party’s in-person convention, arguing that the Texas Supreme … Continue reading →

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The hidden toll

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another reason why the reported death count from COVID-19 is too low: People who didn’t know they were infected and die at home may never be tested or counted. As coronavirus cases surge, inundating hospitals and leading to testing shortages, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Dems ask some Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from convention appeal

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Stay with me here, this will all make sense. The Texas Democratic Party on Friday called for four of the state’s nine Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from a case involving the Texas Republican Party’s in-person convention, claiming each … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

GOP sues over cancelled convention

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As the night follows the day. The Texas Republican Party on Thursday sued Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston First Corp. for canceling the party’s in-person convention that was scheduled for next week in downtown Houston. The lawsuit, filed in Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A new homelessness initiative

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously on Tuesday to authorize $18 million for a two-year program serving the homeless as advocates project a rise in homelessness with the novel coronavirus. The program is the county’s most ambitious partnership with … Continue reading →

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City cancels Republican convention

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. Mayor Sylvester Turner announced on Wednesday that the city has canceled the Texas Republican Party’s in-person state convention in downtown Houston next week. Houston First, the public nonprofit that serves as the city’s convention arm, sent a letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

GOP declines Turner’s invitation to cancel their convention

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The ball is back in your court, Mr. Mayor. The Texas Republican Party is proceeding with an in-person convention next week in downtown Houston, a rejection of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s formal request Monday to move the event online amid a … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Checking on Metro’s mask mandate

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I admit, I was a bit confused when I saw the earlier version of this story. Metro wanted to make sure its mask requirement for all passengers passed legal muster, asking a Houston lawmaker to seek an opinion from Texas … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner asks GOP to not hold its convention

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck with that. The city of Houston will deploy health inspectors to enforce COVID-19 restrictions at the Texas Republican Convention, and potentially shut down the event if guidelines aren’t followed, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday. In a letter to … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Criticizing the HPD narcotics audit

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good that it was finally released, but that doesn’t mean that all questions have been answered by it. Standing outside the small house where Houston police officers conducted a raid that killed two and grievously wounded their department’s reputation, … Continue reading →

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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

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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