Tag Archives: San Antonio

Paxton sues San Antonio over “sanctuary cities” law

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is gonna be ugly. Texas is suing the city of San Antonio for an alleged violation of the state’s new anti-“sanctuary cities” law, in the state’s first enforcement action against a city under the controversial statue. The lawsuit, filed … Continue reading →

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Distributing the VW settlement money

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good for some, less good for others. Texas cities will soon get millions of dollars to help clean up air quality, but Houston officials say the plan for distributing all that money isn’t fair. The money is coming from a … Continue reading →

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San Antonio looking at driverless car pilot program

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Driverless cars could be sharing the road with San Antonio motorists in the not-too-distant future. The City is requesting information about a potential autonomous vehicle pilot program that would inform how driverless cars are eventually used and regulated. “As … Continue reading →

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Uber scooters

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow, you knew something like this was going to happen. Uber is getting into the scooter-rental business. The ride-hailing company said Monday that it is investing in Lime, a startup based in San Mateo, California. “Our investment and partnership in … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on flood tunnels

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They’re a thing, I swear. While it’s far from clear whether it will ever happen, the concept almost immediately generated widespread response when it was announced earlier this spring. Local officials told the Houston Chronicle it’s outside-the-box thinking with benefits that could outweigh … Continue reading →

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Scooters come to San Antonio

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Beware, y’all. Electric scooters started popping up on the streets of San Antonio early Friday morning as part of an initiative by Los Angeles-based scooter-sharing company Bird to provide an alternative mode of transportation, mostly for those downtown. The scooters, … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to get pro football team

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not the NFL or the XFL but the AAF. “After talking to [league co-founder and CEO] Charlie Ebersol, I knew the Alliance of American Football was right for San Antonio, and that San Antonio was right for the Alliance,” said … Continue reading →

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Opioid lawsuits

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading Texas into a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for exacerbating the opioid crisis among Texans. In an announcement Tuesday afternoon, Paxton, a Republican, flanked by several assistant attorney generals, said the state … Continue reading →

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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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No GOP convention for San Antonio

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wise decision. The city of San Antonio will not submit a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention, a decision announced after council members met Thursday in closed session to discuss the matter. The cost of pursuing the event … Continue reading →

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San Antonio and the 2020 Republican convention

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Beware. The campaign manager for President Donald Trump wants San Antonio to host the 2020 Republican National Convention and has taken to Twitter to voice his frustration at the city’s lack of response to bid for the event. San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick wants SAPD Chief arrested

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday asked the state’s attorney general to determine if the chief of the San Antonio Police Department violated the state’s immigration-enforcement law during a human smuggling incident. Late last month, San … Continue reading →

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

The Nation on Our Revolution in Texas

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a feature story in The Nation from before the holidays about Our Revolution, one of the many grassroots groups that have become prominent post-Trump to organize and get better people elected. The focus of this story is on what … Continue reading →

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Hyperloop versus high-speed rail

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been pondering whether our state is big enough for two high speed land-based forms of transportation, and I think the answer is “yes, at least for now”. The Hyperloop is nearly twice as fast as Texas Central’s High-Speed Rail … Continue reading →

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Ruby Polanco

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This happened late last month, and kind of got lost in the Harvey fallout. A year after Ruby Polanco first noticed that the San Antonio Independent School District’s non-discrimination statement for students and employees didn’t mention gender identity, gender expression … Continue reading →

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Texas remains in hyperloop competition

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still a long way from anything happening, but if it does it could happen here. There’s still a chance Texans could be some of the first people in the world to whisk along in tubes at 700 mph. Hyperloop … Continue reading →

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Enforcement of SB4 halted

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent! U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia granted a preliminary injunction of Senate Bill 4, one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s key legislative priorities that seeks to outlaw “sanctuary” entities, the common term for governments that don’t enforce federal immigration laws. The … Continue reading →

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Ten digit dialing comes to San Antonio

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the end of an era. The era of knowing someone is from San Antonio based solely on the “210” at the start of a phone number is drawing to a close. San Antonio is outgrowing its singular 210 area … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s preemptive “sanctuary cities” lawsuit dismissed

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Wednesday dismissed the state of Texas’ lawsuit against Travis County and other defendants over the state’s new immigration enforcement law. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a pre-emptive lawsuit shortly after the bill was … Continue reading →

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Religious groups get into the SB4 fight

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. For the first time, religious groups have filed court briefs against the so-called sanctuary cities ban in Senate Bill 4, entering the fray in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the implementation of the law, which they say will … Continue reading →

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

Abbott versus the cities

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing story. If Gov. Greg Abbott has disdain for how local Texas officials govern their cities, it didn’t show in a Wednesday sit-down with three mayors who were among 18 who jointly requested a meeting to discuss legislation that … Continue reading →

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Law enforcement against the bathroom bill

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Add another group to an ever-expanding list. Police chiefs from three of the five biggest cities in the state gathered at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday to spurn proponents’ claims that such legislation is needed to protect privacy, arguing that … Continue reading →

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Mayors to Abbott: Don’t mess with our cities

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck getting through. Less than 24 hours after Gov. Greg Abbott blasted local government restrictions like tree ordinances as a threat to the “Texas brand,” city government leaders statewide are seeking a meeting with the Republican leader. “We would … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Hearing for that other SB4 lawsuit

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The SB4 lawsuit that Ken Paxton filed, to get the law pre-emptively declared to be constitutional, had its hearing in Austin on Thursday. A federal judge on Thursday criticized the politics surrounding Texas’ new immigration-enforcement law and hinted that he’d … Continue reading →

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City of El Paso joins in on SB4

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Add one more to the list. The city of El Paso voted on Tuesday to join the growing list of local governments that have filed a legal challenge in hopes of stopping Texas’ new immigration enforcement law from going into … Continue reading →

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Ellis seeks Harris County entry into SB4 litigation

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, an email from Commissioner Ellis: Despite strong opposition from law enforcement officials, faith leaders, local governments, civil rights organizations, constituents, and advocacy groups, Senate Bill 4 (SB4), the “show-me-your-papers” legislation, has been signed into law. The new … Continue reading →

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SB4’s day in court

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sparks were flying. Opponents of Texas’ state-based immigration law told a federal judge Monday that allowing the controversial measure to stand would pave the way for a nationwide police state where local officers could subvert the established immigration-enforcement powers of … Continue reading →

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Feds join the state in defense of SB4

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was to be expected. About a month ago, the city of El Cenizo filed a lawsuit against the state, calling the bill unconstitutional. On Monday, the Trump administration got involved. The defendants in the lawsuit are the … Continue reading →

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Houston officially gets in the SB4 litigation business

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well done. Houston City Council voted Wednesday to sue the state over its new “sanctuary cities” law, joining Texas’ three other largest cities in challenging the controversial measure. Council voted 10-6 to join San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, El Paso County … Continue reading →

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Getting ready for the first SB4 hearing

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

All eyes are going to be on this next week. On Monday, June 26, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia will hear the City of San Antonio’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Senate Bill 4, the “sanctuary cities” law, … Continue reading →

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May runoff results

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I know I’ve been all about the Pearland and Pasadena runoffs, but this is easily the big story from yesterday. With little more than 75% of precincts reporting, Mayor Ivy Taylor conceded victory to Councilman Ron Nirenberg (D8) just after … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dallas gets in the fight against SB4

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Dallas is joining some other Texas cities, including Austin and San Antonio, in taking on the state’s so-called “sanctuary city” law. Mayor Mike Rawlings made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, calling SB4 “unconstitutional” and a law that “greatly … Continue reading →

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Bexar County joins in on SB4 litigation

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Add another to the list. Bexar County has joined the fight against Senate Bill 4, the so-called “sanctuary cities” law. In their biweekly meeting Tuesday, three commissioners and Judge Nelson Wolff voted to join the City of San Antonio in … Continue reading →

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State files motion to combine all the “sanctuary cities” lawsuits

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t a surprise, but there is a bit of a twist. In a filing late Thursday, Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a federal district court in Austin to absorb two other legal challenges that have been filed against the … Continue reading →

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