Tag Archives: Dallas

Dispatches from Dallas, August 29 edition

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth we have a lot of budget news in Dallas, the suburbs, and almost every taxing agency in … Continue reading →

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On expansion and realignment

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Some big changes could be coming to MLB in the next couple of years. In an interview during ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast from the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa. on Sunday night, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated his … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, August 15 edition

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: more about redistricting; the good, bad, and indifferent about the first draft of Dallas’ budget; trouble in … Continue reading →

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The (driverless) trucks at night, are big and bright

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I regret nothing. Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora has expanded its driverless freight operations to include nighttime travel on Texas highways, according to the company’s announcement Wednesday. In late April, the self-driving 18-wheeler service was launched without a safety driver in partnership with Uber … Continue reading →

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Waymo to come to Dallas

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Arriving next year. Why it matters: North Texas has been an early proving ground for autonomous technology. Autonomous trucking companies are testing their fleets on the region’s highways and Lyft plans to offer self-driving taxis in Dallas next year. The intrigue: Waymo said the high traffic fatality rate in … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, August 8 edition

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have redistricting; what Dallas city council is up to and facing now that it’s back from … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 25 edition

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: another very bad bid for the Dallas Morning News; Dallas is under the Death Star’s eye; more … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 18 edition

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: one of our state senators is going for AG; more about the sale of the DMN to … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 12 edition

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: an attack on an ICE facility near Fort Worth; what’s being done about flooding and emergencies in … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 4 edition

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, it’s time to catch up on all the things that have been happening since I took the … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s State Fair gun ban lawsuit tossed

Posted on July 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Dallas County district judge dismissed state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s suit against the State Fair of Texas and the City of Dallas, for gun restrictions that were enacted following a 2023 shooting that injured three people at the … Continue reading →

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Flock responds

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Reporting gets results. Or at least a response. The CEO for Flock cameras has pushed back on recent reporting, including a Chronicle investigation, about the surveillance technology used by Houston police, saying it’s up to local law enforcement to decide … Continue reading →

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Beware of Flock

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It started with this. Flock, the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company whose cameras are installed in more than 5,000 communities in the U.S., is building a product that will use people lookup tools, data brokers, and data breaches to “jump from … Continue reading →

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The death of bad bills is always worth celebrating

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good, good, good. A handful of bills that would have stopped local governments from enacting their transportation priorities and hamstrung local transit efforts are likely dead. The measures failed to pass before key deadlines as the legislative session draws to … Continue reading →

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What’s next for Aurora’s driverless trucks

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Expansion coming soon. Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation plans to expand on the success of its first driverless commercial launch and add night driving to its operations. Aurora said Thursday that in the second half of 2025, it will … Continue reading →

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More on the visa issues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a problem for Houston, too. Experts are now raising questions about America’s ability to receive such an influx of people, however, as some tourists wait months to obtain a visa, and the Trump administration strains relations with international allies … Continue reading →

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Houston hospitals have done worse with the abortion ban than Dallas hospitals have

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Unacceptable. Nearly four years ago in Texas, the state’s new abortion law started getting in the way of basic miscarriage care: As women waited in hospitals cramping, fluid running down their legs, doctors told them they couldn’t empty their uterus … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, May 16 edition

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have: May election outcomes and the meanings thereof; who dumped money into PACs and what they … Continue reading →

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We’re sinking

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I think at some level we all knew this was true. Groundwater and oil extraction are causing the ground beneath Houston to sink faster than any other major city in the U.S., according to a new study in Nature Cities. … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, May 2 edition

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth we have: early voting turnout news for the Saturday election; local issues raised in the Lege; PACs … Continue reading →

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San Marcos and Austin marijuana ordinances struck down

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Strike one. A state appeals court has shot down a voter-approved ordinance that decriminalized marijuana in San Marcos. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals last week overturned a ruling that denied a temporary injunction to block the law’s enforcement in the … Continue reading →

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More on the Aurora rollout

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Axios. Drivers along a 200-mile stretch of I-45 between Dallas and Houston should get ready for something new: The semi-truck in the next lane might not have anyone in the driver’s seat. […] What they’re saying: “Everybody is looking at … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 25 edition

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: protests; the Lemon on Stemmons; deaths at both the Dallas and Tarrant County jails; the firestorm surrounding … Continue reading →

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On immigration and the 2026 World Cup

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, there are some big issues that we need to talk about. Last month, Dallas officially announced the procurement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center. It will turn downtown’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center into a “nerve center” for … Continue reading →

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CityCast Houston talks to Recall Houston

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked before about Recall Houston and how that effort may play out, given the many obstacles that any such effort faces. I’ve been very curious to learn more about who is behind this effort and where they believe they … Continue reading →

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Early voting for the May elections starts today

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a written press release from the Harris County Clerk about early voting for the May 3 election to share with you, but they did send out this all-graphics email that tells you what you need to know. … Continue reading →

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Federal grant to Amtrak for Texas high speed rail planning rescinded

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

My reaction to this was “bad”, but I might be wrong. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday terminated a federal grant to help fund a long-sought high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston — saying that if the embattled project … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 19 edition

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have measles, but not an epidemic (yet); new police and fire chiefs in Dallas; Ken Paxton … Continue reading →

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Fully autonomous trucks set to hit the road

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For realsies. Autonomous freight trucks are slated to hit the Dallas highways this month. The self-driving heavy-duty semi-trucks running on technology formulated by Aurora, a Pittsburgh-based self-driving vehicle tech company, will roll back and forth along the Interstate 45 corridor connecting Dallas … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 4 edition

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, the governor goes full Islamophobe; Dallas gets ready to pick a new police chief; Neiman Marcus in … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 29 edition

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag: congressfolks on both sides of the aisle making controversial statements; we may … Continue reading →

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Council to vote on short-term rental ordinance

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I confess, I missed that this was in the works. Sebastien Long’s Lodgeur Inc. leases dozens of Houston apartments on a short-term basis, serving business travelers, recovering cancer patients, professional baseball players and people going through divorces or remodeling a … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 14 edition

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have updates around the May elections and moving them to November; Mayor Johnson turns up in … Continue reading →

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Waymo robotaxis are now officially available in Austin

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

If that’s the sort of thing you’re into. Uber will shift into a new gear in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday when its ride-hailing service will begin dispatching self-driving cars to pick up passengers. The autonomous option is being provided through … Continue reading →

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