Tag Archives: Annise Parker

Here come the HERO appeals

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So many appeals. Andy Taylor, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he will continue an appeal he has pending at the Texas Supreme Court, which has made no decision on whether it will hear the case. He has a response due … Continue reading →

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Fixing sidewalks

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I like this. Houston’s leaders often decry the condition of city sidewalks, whether missing, overgrown or buckled by tree roots. Then there’s the safety risks when pedestrians are forced to walk on the crumbling concrete or adjacent streets. But the … Continue reading →

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Uber satisfies Mayor Parker’s demands

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

OK then. Tensions eased Friday in a dispute between Mayor Annise Parker and Uber, which partners with local drivers to coordinate paid rides via smartphone, after the company outlined plans to help drivers obey Houston’s for-hire vehicle rules. Responding to … Continue reading →

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City prevails in HERO repeal petition lawsuit

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Hallelujah! Opponents of Houston’s non-discrimination ordinance failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum, a state district judge ruled Friday, validating city officials’ decision to toss out the petition foes submitted last summer. After separate rulings from … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker pressures Uber

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. After two weeks of rising tensions between the city and the ride-sharing service Uber, Mayor Annise Parker on Wednesday warned the company it risks losing the right to operate in Houston unless it submits a plan to bring its … Continue reading →

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Pothole progress

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Hooray. Two months after Mayor Annise Parker called Houston’s pockmarked streets a “crisis situation” and pledged to clear a mounting pothole repair backlog, the city has reduced open work requests by about 1,000 despite a steep increase in calls for … Continue reading →

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No HERO ruling quite yet

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There was a hearing, but still no ruling quite yet. Opponents of the city’s legally embattled equal rights ordinance say they collected about 200 more valid petition signatures than they need to trigger a repeal referendum, a figure a district … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the HERO ruling

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Should happen on Monday. With a ruling expected next week in the protracted legal battle surrounding Houston’s equal rights ordinance, city attorneys entered a motion for judgment late Friday afternoon that says opponents of the law are 650 signatures shy … Continue reading →

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Uber and background checks

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Uber is back in the news again, and as has often been the case it’s not in a good way. Houston officials discovered crimes ranging from aggravated robbery to driving on a suspended license when they checked the backgrounds of … Continue reading →

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Wilson completes his latest troll job

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

He totally half-assed it, too. Houston Community College trustee and longtime anti-gay activist Dave Wilson has submitted a city charter amendment petition seeking a November vote to bar men “who perceive or express themselves as women” from entering women’s restrooms, … Continue reading →

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Dave Wilson goes trolling again

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what he does. The battle over Mayor Parker’s efforts to protect gay and transgender Houstonians is roaring back to life. A petition is making the rounds saying, sign if you agree gender is assigned at birth. The man behind … Continue reading →

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Council approves Memorial Park plan

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Done deal. The plan, which could see up to $300 million invested, also would restore the park’s ecosystem, which was greatly harmed in the 2011 drought, through ambitious plans to add fire suppression and irrigation systems and improve drainage to … Continue reading →

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What kind of Memorial Park do you want?

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Council is set to vote on the Memorial Park Conservancy plan, whether you like it or not. Joe Turner does not want more drawings gathering dust on a shelf. Houston’s parks and recreation director inherited more than a few unrealized … Continue reading →

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Still unclear where One Bin For All stands

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Your guess is as good as mine. The fate of the city’s cutting-edge “one bin” waste system that would feature a privately built, $100 million sorting facility is becoming increasingly uncertain, as sources familiar with the company proposals say there … Continue reading →

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One way to lower speed limits

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Purple City makes an interesting observation. One of the quieter actions of the late Parker administration has been to slowly alter speed limits from 35 or 40mph to 30mph. These reductions aren’t based on an engineering study or field measurements, … Continue reading →

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WaPo profiles Mayor Parker

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing we didn’t already know, but a nice story nonetheless. Annise Parker keeps a leather-bound journal on the desk in her wood-paneled office in City Hall. If it had a title, she says, it would be: “Would This Have Happened … Continue reading →

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Police officers’ pension fund speaks up

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The firefighters’ pension fund is the one that gets all the attention, but it’s not the only one the city is responsible for. The Houston Police Officers Pension System (HPOPS) has sent a letter to the city reminding it that … Continue reading →

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Council’s pension meeting

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It was about what you’d expect. Many City Council members who attended a special meeting Friday to discuss Mayor Annise Parker’s controversial deal with the city’s firefighters pension called the gathering a success, despite two members walking out and breaking … Continue reading →

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Council recommends term limits change

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Meh, I say. A Houston City Council committee Tuesday night recommended changing the term limits of elected officials from three two-year terms to two four-year terms starting in 2019, a charter change that could go to voters in November. The … Continue reading →

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Council meeting called to discuss firefighter pension deal

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some Council members are determined to discuss the deal Mayor Parker made with the firefighters’ pension fund. Four City Council members have taken advantage of a rarely used provision in city law to call a special meeting Friday to discuss … Continue reading →

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The pension deal

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure yet how I feel about this. Mayor Annise Parker and Houston’s firefighter pension trustees have reached a deal that would lower the city’s payments for three years, a move that would mark an abrupt reversal for the mayor. … Continue reading →

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Ethics Commission rejects Bell’s complaint

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

No go. The Houston Ethics Commission has ruled against mayoral candidate Chris Bell’s complaint that City Hall was letting Rep. Sylvester Turner start the race with a $900,000 head start in fundraising. […] Bell argues that Turner’s legislative account should … Continue reading →

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King makes his official entry

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Add Bill King to the “made his official announcement” list. In the middle of a noisy, torn-up west Houston street that he said epitomized Houston’s crumbling roads, Bill King launched his campaign for mayor Monday morning, pledging to return the … Continue reading →

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Judge Schaffer makes his ruling on the HERO repeal petitions

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I was expecting this to happen Monday, but apparently Judge Robert Schaffer handed down his ruling about which HERO repeal petition signatures were valid and should be counted on Monday. Judge Robert Schaffer ruled on which types of signatures can … Continue reading →

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All backlogged rape kits have been tested

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Great news. Houston officials have completed the lab testing and review of a three-decade backlog of rape kits, yielding 850 matches in the national DNA database. On Monday, Mayor Annise Parker, District Attorney Devon Anderson and police department and crime … Continue reading →

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Cities and counties push back on state meddling attempts

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve got their work cut out for them. The mayors of Texas’ largest cities on Monday pushed back against an initiative by state lawmakers to place new revenue caps on local communities as a way to answer conservatives’ demands to … Continue reading →

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Texas Central chooses a corridor

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We have a single preferred route for the Houston to Dallas high speed rail line. Texas Central High-Speed Railway (TCR) today informed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that it recommends narrowing the consideration of potential high-speed rail corridors between Houston … Continue reading →

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On Council and charters

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Council continues considering charter changes. (Go ahead, say that five times fast.) The Charter Review Committee’s proposal would allow for six council members to add an item to the agenda for consideration by the full City Council. Under the current … Continue reading →

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Mixed jury verdict in HERO repeal petitions trial

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some Friday afternoon big news. A jury in the trial surrounding Houston’s embattled equal rights ordinance issued a mixed slate of decisions Friday, giving neither side the obvious upper hand as a district judge now uses those findings to decide … Continue reading →

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HPD to get a pay raise

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker and the police union agree to a new contract. The Houston Police Department hopes a new union contract that targets raises primarily to younger officers will ward off recruiting struggles that have forced it to offer bonuses to … Continue reading →

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Where are the women?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have several things to say about this. The slate running to replace Mayor Annise Parker features a globetrotting sailor, a triathlete grandfather, a millionaire minister and no women. Despite the most-crowded pack of mayoral contenders in decades, no female … Continue reading →

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2015 Mayoral manifesto: Transportation

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Preliminaries Please note that I have called this part of my manifesto “Transportation” and not “Traffic”. I agree that traffic sucks and that the Mayoral candidates ought to have some ideas for how to deal with it. It’s my opinion … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker testifies at HERO repeal petition trial

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was Mayor Parker’s turn to take the stand at the trial over the validity of the HERO repeal petitions. You’d think this would be a momentous occasion of high drama, but since this whole thing is about technicalities and … Continue reading →

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On the seasonal return of term limits modification

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fuller version of that earlier story about Council moving forward with a modified term limits proposal. You can almost set your watch by it. Mayor Annise Parker is in her third and final term, which means it is … Continue reading →

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