Tag Archives: Commerce Department

Lots of broadband funding on the way

Nice. Texas will receive more than $3.3 billion in federal money — the most of any state — to help expand broadband availability statewide, the Biden administration announced Monday. The money will be distributed from the $42.45 billion in the Broadband Equity, … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Lots of broadband funding on the way

Of course the Census undercounted people of color

This was the Trump administration’s goal from the beginning. The 2020 census continued a longstanding trend of undercounting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, while overcounting people who identified as white and not Latino, according to estimates from a report the U.S. … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Of course the Census undercounted people of color

“Unprecedented” meddling in the Census

They weren’t subtle about it. A newly disclosed memorandum citing “unprecedented” meddling by the Trump administration in the 2020 census and circulated among top Census Bureau officials indicates how strongly they sought to resist efforts by the administration to manipulate … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Census Bureau will miss deadline that would allow for apportionment shenanigans

Good. The Census Bureau will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a delay that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCOTUS mostly punts on Census apportionment shenanigans

They seem to be hoping that the problem will solve itself, while applying a partisan litmus test to when it is appropriate for them to step in. The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Donald Trump’s final sabotage of the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTUS mostly punts on Census apportionment shenanigans

We might get better Census apportionment data

Some good news. The Census Bureau has identified issues in the data from the 2020 decennial census that will take an additional 20 days or so for it to fix, and thus delay the release of survey’s apportionment data until … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still worried about the Census

There’s this. The census came to an abrupt halt Thursday after a pandemic and a legal tug-of-war threw the massive survey into chaos. Officials around the country now fear they’ll lose their fair share of federal funding and political representation … Continue reading

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

October Census deadline restored

Good news, though as with everything we can’t be sure just yet that it’s for real. A federal judge in California late Thursday blocked the Trump administration from stopping the 2020 Census count next week, saying it should continue until … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on October Census deadline restored

Scrambling to finish the Census

It’s a hell of a job, and it’s so important. With a deadline looming for local governments to complete a population count for the 2020 Census, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is warning that the city could miss out on billions … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scrambling to finish the Census

Census shenanigans halted for now

Good. [On] Saturday, US District Judge Lucy Koh issued a temporary restraining order to stop Census Bureau officials from winding down door-knocking and online, phone, and mail response collection by September 30—a month early—writing that the shortened census timeline could … Continue reading

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

Wait, there’s a Census going on?

I smack my forehead so hard. Through a small notice tucked into the state’s business register, Texas appears to have acknowledged that the 2020 census count is going badly. With just a month of counting to go in the crucial … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawsuit filed to restore original Census deadline

Good. Citing the high stakes of a botched census, Harris County and two of its Democratic county commissioners have signed on to a federal lawsuit trying to block the Trump administration’s efforts to end counting for the 2020 census a … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Lawsuit filed to restore original Census deadline

More on the potential delay of redistricting

Some further details from the Statesman. On Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, all Census Bureau field operations would be canceled until June 1, and the agency would not be able to … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on the potential delay of redistricting

Coronavirus and the Census

Oh, man, does this have the potential to be devastating. In some corners of the state, the meticulous planning spanned more than two years. Detailed maps of Texas communities were pored over. A ground game to knock on doors was … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The next Census threat

From TPM: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has directed the Census Bureau to prepare to offer states the data they’d need to do a redistricting overhaul that would boost “Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites,” in the words of a deceased GOP consultant. That … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The next Census threat

Of being “White” or “Other” on the Census

Here’s something I hadn’t thought about before. When Randa Kayyali reached the race and ethnicity portion of the 2010 Census, she stared at the form for a while. Her options were white, Hispanic and/or Latino, black/African-American, Asian, Native Hawaiian and … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Some Census shenanigans short-circuited

The head, it spins. In a scalding order that called the Justice Department’s motion to change lawyers “patently deficient,” a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday blocked the move by the Justice Department to withdraw several of its attorneys from … Continue reading

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

Yeah, we spoke too soon about the Census citizenship question

It’s maximum chaos time. The Justice Department affirmed Friday that it still is pursuing a path for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, according to a filing in federal court in Maryland. The filing followed statements earlier in … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

No Census citizenship question

Hallelujah. The Trump administration is dropping plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday just days after the Supreme Court described the rationale for the question as “contrived.” The decision to back away … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Next up for the Census lawsuit

Before the Trump administration can take a second shot at SCOTUS with the Census citizenship question, the federal court in Maryland will be revisiting their case with some new data. [The SCOTUS] decision came two days after a federal appeals … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Next up for the Census lawsuit

Census citizenship question stopped for now

“For now” being the key point. The Supreme Court on Thursday put on hold the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form sent to every household, saying it had provided a “contrived” reason for … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

How to rig the Census

This is how you would do it. The Trump administration’s controversial effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was drawn up by the Republican Party’s gerrymandering mastermind, who wrote that it “would clearly be a disadvantage to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Third Census lawsuit ruling against Trump administration

Once, twice, three times an injunction. A federal judge in Maryland ruled Friday against the government’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, The Washington Post reported Friday. Judge George J. Hazel found that in deciding last year to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Third Census lawsuit ruling against Trump administration

A second win for plaintiffs in Census citizenship question lawsuit

It’s all up to SCOTUS now. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross acted in “bad faith,” broke several laws and violated the constitutional underpinning of representative democracy when he added a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. In finding … Continue reading

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

MALDEF Census lawsuit in court

Census lawsuit #2. In a federal courtroom in Maryland on Tuesday, lawyers representing the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the Senate Hispanic Caucus and several Texas-based nonprofits that advocate for Latino and Asian residents will set out to convince U.S. District … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on MALDEF Census lawsuit in court

Plaintiffs win in Census citizenship question lawsuit

Very good news. A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, with an opinion that found the move by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Furman’s … Continue reading

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

Trump administration seeks to dismiss MALDEF lawsuit over Census citizenship question

It’s hard to keep all these Census lawsuits straight. As multiple court fights over the addition of a citizenship question to the once-a-decade census heat up, the Trump administration is working to keep several Texas groups representing Latino and Asian … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Trump administration seeks to dismiss MALDEF lawsuit over Census citizenship question

Census lawsuit proceeds

Good. A federal judge in New York on Thursday allowed a lawsuit challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the Census to move forward. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman’s decision rejected the Trump administration’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Census lawsuit proceeds

Census lawsuit may proceed

Good. A federal judge said Tuesday that there was a “strong showing of bad faith” by the Trump administration in adding a controversial question about US citizenship to the 2020 census. The judge hinted that he would allow the case to move forward … Continue reading

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

Concerns about the Census

We need to pay attention to this. Latino leaders are warning of a developing crisis in the 2020 census and demanding that the Census Bureau act aggressively to calm fears in immigrant populations about data misuse. Citing focus groups and … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Who’s ready for the Census?

The good news is that Houston is in pretty decent shape, at least as far as big cities go, in being ready for the 2010 Census. The bad news is that a lot of other big cities aren’t ready at … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Who’s ready for the Census?

Fish farming in the Gulf?

Not sure what I think about this. Regional fishery managers have a plan to open the Gulf to the first industrial-scale fish farms in federal waters. The proposal — intended to help reduce the nation’s reliance on imported seafood — … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fish farming in the Gulf?