Tag Archives: Houston

The firefighter pay parity proposal sure seems like it’s going to pass

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What are ya gonna do? Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is holding town halls to try to convince voters that the city can’t afford Proposition B, a ballot measure that would tie firefighters’ pay to that of police. It’s turning into … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 49 Comments

Now how much would you pay to fix Houston’s sewer system?

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We may be about to find out. Federal and state authorities sued the city of Houston over its long-running struggle to limit sewage spills on Friday, marking the beginning of the end of a years-long negotiation that could force the … Continue reading →

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

“Viva Texas! Viva Beto!”

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been too long since the last time I posted a video. It all came from a love of the law and a shared dislike of Ted Cruz. It was a few bigwig local prosecutors, a capital defense attorney, a … 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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Bring back the Comets

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Jenny Dial Creech would like to see one more professional sports team in Houston. As [Tina] Thompson — the league’s first No. 1 overall draft pick — was inducted into the [Naismith Basketball] Hall of Fame, we were all reminded … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Southwest Key sues city over permit for child detention warehouse

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Screw them. The Austin-based nonprofit trying to open a shelter to house migrant children east of downtown sued the city of Houston Friday, alleging a discriminatory, baseless and politically motivated campaign to prevent it from opening the facility. Southwest Key … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Second look at Metro’s long range transit plan

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Still a work in progress, but there’s beginning to be some focus. Transit officials inched closer Wednesday to asking voters next year for up to $3 billion for two-way express bus service along many Houston freeways, along with a few … Continue reading →

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Speed kills

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good long read from the Chron about our dangerous roads and highways. There’s too much to cover here, so I just want to focus on the why we all speed so much. Houston drivers likely speed, at least in part, … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Baptist Ministers Association apologizes for its role in overturning HERO

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m very glad to see this. The Baptists Ministers Association of Houston & Vicinity issued a joint statement with the Houston GLBT Political Caucus saying the two groups “are building a relationship that recognizes our common equal rights struggle.” The … Continue reading →

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

The beer boom continues

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Raise a glass. There were a dozen craft breweries across the Houston metro before 2013, and that seemed like a lot at the time. Now, there are 52. The new breweries have added 344,487 square feet of industrial space — … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The city has its own bail lawsuit

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not going well. Houston city officials intentionally destroyed evidence, wiping crucial data from the computer drives of top police commanders that is potentially relevant to a lawsuit about the detention of suspects beyond the 48-hour deadline for a magistrate … Continue reading →

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

HFD Chief warns of layoffs

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, this isn’t the first time we have heard this. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña on Tuesday warned of dire consequences — including possible layoffs of more than 800 firefighters and deferred maintenance or upgrades on aging equipment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Town hall meetings for city referenda

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: MAYOR TURNER INVITES CITY RESIDENTS TO TOWN HALL MEETINGS ABOUT THE 2 PROPOSITIONS ON THE NOV. 6 CITY BALLOT Mayor Turner urges all voters who live in the city to learn about the Rebuild Houston and fire … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Looking beyond HISD’s one year reprieve

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD has been in danger of sanctions from the TEA, which could include a state takeover of the district, because of several schools that had rated as “improvement needed” for multiple years in a row. They managed … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Emmett speaks post-bond

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

With the flood bond referendum safely passed, we now turn to what comes next. Land and housing preservation is key to the Houston region becoming more resilient, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Tuesday, on the heels of last weekend’s … Continue reading →

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Jeff Skilling released from prison

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the end of an era. Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former Enron CEO sentenced to a long prison term for his role in one of most notorious corporate fraud cases in history, was recently released from a minimum security federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Cyber insurance

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea. Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to spend $471,000 on cyber insurance, becoming the latest Texas municipality trying to bolster its response to growing technological risks. The insurance can cover up to $30 million … Continue reading →

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Appeals court allows city to post video of pay parity hearing

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Probably doesn’t matter much at this point, but there it is. A Texas appeals court on Thursday ordered a state district judge to rescind his temporary restraining order requiring the city of Houston to remove video from its website that … Continue reading →

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One year out from Harvey

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, 8 percent of the people impacted by the disaster have not been able to return to their … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One year out from Harvey

Texans’ cheer coach quits

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Altovise Gary, the longtime director of the Houston Texans cheerleaders squad who was named as a defendant in one of two recent federal court lawsuits filed against the team, has resigned, a team spokeswoman said Tuesday. Gary resigned … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

July 2018 campaign finance reports: HCC

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of the campaign finance reports for July. I’ll try to do the 30 day finance reports for Congress and the Lege, but in the meantime here are reports for the HCC Trustees: Adriana Tamez Carolyn … Continue reading →

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A better match from FEMA

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Federal officials have agreed to count volunteer work hours and donated materials toward the local match required for disaster recovery grants to repair streets, buildings, utilities, parks and other public facilities — a national policy change, initiated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

July 2018 campaign finance reports: HISD

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Every level of government requires finance reports in January and June, whether or not there is an active election cycle in that year. That includes HISD and HCC, which are the last two groups I’ll be examining. I didn’t get … Continue reading →

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The firefighter pay parity referendum won’t be decided by the voters

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

it will be decided by the courts. Here’s a story out of Austin to illustrate. Former Travis County judge Bill Aleshire has sued the city of Austin in the Texas Supreme Court, challenging the ballot language of a proposition up … Continue reading →

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Woodfill and Hotze take their next shot at same sex employee benefits

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Anti-LGBTQ activists are again asking a Harris County judge to halt benefits for the same-sex spouses of Houston city employees, according to a recently filed motion. The motion for summary judgment in Pidgeon v. Turner, a … Continue reading →

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

ReBuild re-vote approved

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Add another item to the ballot. City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to put the controversial street and drainage program known as ReBuild Houston before voters again in November, but not before tweaking the ballot language in hopes of avoiding … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

HISD avoids sanctions for this year

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Big sigh of relief. Houston ISD will avoid major state sanctions for at least one year after four of its longest-struggling schools met state academic standards this year, according to preliminary results released Wednesday. The announcement ensures the Texas Education … Continue reading →

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

July 2018 finance reports: City of Houston

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Every level of government requires finance reports in January and June, whether or not there is an active election cycle in that year. That includes the city of Houston, whose january report data we inspected here. Our next election is … Continue reading →

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The long range plan for municipal waste

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Something you probably missed (I know I did) from recent City Council action. Last week Houston City Council voted to hire a company that will help local officials create and adopt a long-range waste and recycling plan. This wasn’t all … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rape kit lawsuit dismissal will be appealed

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. Two women who on Friday lost a lawsuit against the City of Houston and a variety of officials over a rape kit backlog will file an appeal, an attorney for the women announced in a news release … Continue reading →

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

Deterring dumping

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Tough problem, good use of technology. [Radny] Scales, a Harris County Environmental Crimes Unit lieutenant, and his team of nine investigators depend heavily on video cameras to crack down on illegal dumping, a crime that disproportionally affects the city’s poorest … Continue reading →

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

Firefighter pay proposal officially on the ballot

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As required. Houston voters in November will choose whether to grant firefighters pay “parity” with police of corresponding rank and seniority. After weeks of wrangling over the issue — including angry debates, rare legislative maneuvers and allegations of electioneering — … Continue reading →

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Lots of Harvey waivers out there

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And good for the school districts that got them. The vast majority of Houston-area school districts will be eligible for academic accountability waivers this year due to Hurricane Harvey, meaning they will be labeled “not rated” unless they score an … Continue reading →

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Rape kit backlog lawsuit dismissed

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A federal judge has dismissed a 2017 lawsuit two rape victims filed against Houston’s current mayor and police chief and five sets of predecessors, among others, for allowing a backlog of rape kits to accumulate over decades without being … Continue reading →

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