Tag Archives: Arturo Michel

Council amends ICE ordinance

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

What a waste of time. Houston City Council amended its recently approved policy limiting police officers’ interactions with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatened $114 million in city grants, despite some council members saying the changes will dilute … Continue reading →

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Who wants to listen to the lawyers about the HPD/ICE ordinance?

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not Mayor Whitmire, who already has the surrender documents drawn up. Mayor John Whitmire says the city must walk back its new policy limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $114 million in grants … Continue reading →

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Possible reconsideration of HPD/ICE ordinance pushed to next week

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Mayor John Whitmire has delayed Houston City Council’s vote on whether to revoke its new policy limiting the police department’s interactions with immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott’s office extended the city’s deadline to make a decision as he threatens to pull $114 million in … Continue reading →

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Whitmire waffles on ICE ordinance

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. And predictable. Mayor John Whitmire last week joined his City Council colleagues in voting to limit Houston police officers’ interactions with federal immigration agents, but now says the city must “correct” its policy after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to … Continue reading →

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Council passes ordinance to limit HPD’s interactions with ICE

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston City Council approved a proposal from three city council members limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Wednesday, with Mayor John Whitmire in support. The proposal by Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Edward … Continue reading →

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Council HPD/ICE ordinance mostly moves forward

Posted on March 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A proposal to change the way Houston police officers work with immigration agents looks set to move ahead with two of its three original provisions after the City Attorney’s office rejected one of them, saying it would have violated … Continue reading →

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Drainage, demolition, what’s the difference?

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all vibes, man. Houston officials on Wednesday authorized an eyebrow-raising deal allowing $30 million to be spent from the city’s stormwater fund to demolish blighted buildings. Council Members Edward Pollard, Sallie Alcorn, Abbie Kamin, Tiffany D. Thomas, Mario Castillo, … Continue reading →

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Houston can defer the drainage settlement spending

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Can successfully kicked down the road. Mayor John Whitmire and plaintiffs in Houston’s drainage lawsuit have reached a deal on how the city will fund future street and drainage projects, slashing a third of its $330 million budget deficit. The … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rejects appeal of that zombie ReBuild lawsuit

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

End of the line. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied Houston’s motion to appeal a long-standing lawsuit requiring the city to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on street and drainage projects. Friday’s ruling could add yet another financial challenge to a strained city … Continue reading →

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Houston re-ups its membership in H-GAC

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard not to get really effing discouraged sometimes. Houston City Council voted 9-4 to renew its membership in the Houston-Galveston Area Council Wednesday after fiery discussions over whether the city’s continued involvement violated the city charter. Council Members Tarsha Jackson, Abbie Kamin, Edward … Continue reading →

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Should we appeal the zombie ReBuild lawsuit ruling?

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Controller Hollins says no. Mayor Whitmire seems likely to go ahead anyway. Houston Controller Chris Hollins has warned Mayor John Whitmire’s administration about potential financial challenges the city could face if it were to appeal a state appellate court ruling … Continue reading →

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Some rules set for the Proposition A committee

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Prop A committee has voted on some rules for handling agenda items put forth by three or more Council members in accordance with last year’s referendum. The vote comes after months of arguments between council members and Mayor John … Continue reading →

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Firefighter settlement officially approved

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The legalities are mostly over, but there are still a bunch of items to handle. A state district court judge has signed off on a settlement between the city of Houston and the firefighter union, clearing one obstacle for a … Continue reading →

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Mayor’s committee on HPD dropped cases provides its report

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Up to Council and HPD to take action now. The independent panel reviewing the ongoing Houston Police Department scandal over suspended cases identified an interim police chief as the one who ordered the creation of the “SL” lack of personnel … Continue reading →

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Time to fight over Prop A implementation

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is gonna be so much fun. During the first-ever Proposition A Committee meeting on Tuesday, council members considered a series of rules designed by the mayor’s office to set parameters around the process. They include a lawfulness review by … Continue reading →

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Here’s your committee to investigate the HPD dropped cases situation

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday named the five people who will run an independent investigation into the Houston Police Department’s handling of over 264,000 suspended incident reports. The committee will be led by a former state … Continue reading →

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Firefighter back pay update

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just tell me what the bill’s gonna be. The city of Houston and its firefighters are nearing an agreement to resolve their bitter, yearslong pay dispute, with specifics expected to take additional weeks or months to finalize, according to city … Continue reading →

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“Stuck with H-GAC”?

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sure seems a bit late in the game to be raising this possibility. This November, Houstonians will decide whether the city should stay in a regional planning body that does not offer it proportional voting power. But City Attorney Arturo … Continue reading →

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And now we have a hue and cry about Whitmire’s campaign treasury

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m surprised it took this long, to be honest. U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee and former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia have requested the city attorney to investigate alleged campaign contribution limit violations by State Sen. John Whitmire, hinting at a … Continue reading →

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Once again with the non-filers

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Same story in July as in January. A dozen candidates running for elected positions at Houston City Hall failed to file required campaign finance reports in July, continuing a sloppy reporting period for the slate of candidates hoping to lead … Continue reading →

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So how much money does Whitmire have available for his mayoral campaign?

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already a lot, and it could be a whole lot more. State Sen. John Whitmire is kicking off his mayoral campaign with a $10 million war chest, most of it drawn from the money he has amassed over decades … Continue reading →

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The Housing and Community Development mess

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A review of headlines from last week, which I did not have the brain space to do anything with: Turner fires Houston housing director who accused him of ‘charade’ bid process to benefit developer Turner names interim housing director in … Continue reading →

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Inflatable gorillas win one in court

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How often do you get to write a headline like that? U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore ruled that a 1993 city ordinance restricting the use of attention-getting devices, such as the giant balloons atop businesses, violated the due process and … Continue reading →

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Here we go again with City Council redistricting

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Or at least, here we go again with arguing about when we should be redrawing City Council lines. Mayor Bill White’s decision to delay redrawing the boundaries of City Council districts has angered numerous community activists, who say his stance … Continue reading →

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