Tag Archives: Dallas County

SCOTx does what SCOTx does

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Room service, as always. The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday temporarily blocked mask mandates in Dallas and Bexar counties, marking a pivotal moment in the showdown between state and local government as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge in Texas. The … Continue reading →

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And it’s off to SCOTx for the mandate stuff

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s where it was always headed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking the mask mandate battle to the state Supreme Court after the state was defeated in its attempts to overturn such mandates in San Antonio and other municipalities. … Continue reading →

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Harris County gets its restraining order against Abbott

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Step one. A judge in Travis County on Friday granted Harris County a temporary restraining order, blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local COVID-19 restrictions. The decision by Judge Jan Soifer of the 345th Civil District Court provides legal cover … Continue reading →

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Harris County sues Abbott and issues a mask mandate

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Quite the busy day yesterday. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday issued a mandatory mask order for Harris County schools and daycares, joining the chorus of elected officials in the Texas’ larges cities in defying Gov. Greg Abbott’s order … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend joins the lawsuit parade

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Come on in, the water’s fine. As the Delta variant drives a pandemic surge, Fort Bend County officials on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning local government from implementing public health mandates. “I’ll do all … Continue reading →

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More lawsuits against Abbott’s ban on mask mandates

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Dallas County: Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins filed a legal challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local mask mandates Monday, the North Texas official said on Twitter. Jenkins said he’s asking for a court to rule that Abbott’s prohibition on … Continue reading →

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Judges in Harris County implement mask mandate

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what all the responsible public officials are doing. State judges in Harris County voted unanimously Tuesday to implement a mask mandate in courthouses that will supersede Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on such mandates, according to three judges who participated … Continue reading →

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There needs to be more defiance of Greg Abbott and his no-mandates mandate

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I find a bit of a pattern in this story and wonder if there may be something to it. School districts, local officials and hospitals are pushing back on Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order barring mask and vaccine mandates, setting … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Mayor Turner tells city employees to mask up

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Mayor Sylvester Turner told city employees Monday that they again must wear masks when they are at work and unable to socially distance, a requirement that could run afoul of Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest executive … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State House district changes by demography

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading →

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We’re (sort of) halfway vaccinated

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It depends on how you’re measuring it. And it’s still not enough, no matter how you look at it. Texas has hit the halfway point. As of Friday morning, 50.1 percent of Texans 18 and older are fully vaccinated from … Continue reading →

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An alternate route to Medicaid expansion

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Texas Democrats have tried for years to convince Republican state leaders to increase access to Medicaid. Now they think they have found a way to do it with or without their help. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett … Continue reading →

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Dallas County Democrats have a new Chair, too

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations and best of luck to Kristy Noble, the new Chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party. Dallas businesswoman Kristy Noble was sworn in Thursday morning as the new chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party. Noble, 50, emerged victorious … Continue reading →

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The voting location restrictions of SB7

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As Michael Li said on Twitter, this is breathtaking, and not at all in a good way. The number of Election Day polling places in largely Democratic parts of major Texas counties would fall dramatically under a Republican proposal to … Continue reading →

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Republican bail reform bill passes House

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Meh. The Texas House on Tuesday passed a bill to alter the way criminal defendants can be released from jail before trial. The priority legislation would, in part, require judicial officers to use a risk assessment tool when making bail … Continue reading →

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Making voting worse

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve spent a lot of time this year writing about how Republicans in the Legislature want to make it harder to vote. That’s undeniably true, but it doesn’t fully capture what’s going on. Voting is a thing that most of … Continue reading →

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The Republican war against Harris County

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, it’s not just Harris County that’s in the crosshairs, it’s the big urban counties, and cities in general. But it’s real and it’s dangerous and it’s anti-democratic. Republicans in the Texas Legislature are gearing up to bar … Continue reading →

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There is a website for COVID vaccine signups in Houston

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You can’t use it right now, but it’s there. Houston’s Health Department launched an online portal for residents to apply for an appointment at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic Monday but quickly ran out of available slots for the remainder of … Continue reading →

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Crossing a red line

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Will Greg Abbott notice? North Texas crossed a critical threshold in the number of hospital patients fighting COVID-19 that could trigger bar closings and lower occupancies at stores and restaurants if such cases don’t decrease within a week. With more … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

A high level look at the changing suburbs

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a broad and high-level look at what I’m digging into now. Although they didn’t get the blue wave they expected, Democrats narrowed the gap with Republicans in five of the most competitive and populous suburban counties in … Continue reading →

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Counties of interest, part two: Around the Metroplex

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 – Counties around Harris Dallas and Tarrant Counties are two big squares right next to each other, so I’m combining them into one post. County Romney Obama Trump Clinton Trump Biden Shift ========================================================================= Collin 196,888 101,415 201,014 140,624 … Continue reading →

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A first response to the Latino voting (and polling) question

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

For your consideration: . Fixating on Zapata County and saying Dems have a Latino problem in Texas is inaccurate. The reality is Latino voter participation broke records and expanded the democratic vote margins in the state. #Texas #LatinoVote Thread 1/5 … Continue reading →

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Don’t look now, but COVID numbers are ticking up again

Posted on October 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In the state as a whole. Texas reported more than 4,100 people hospitalized with the coronavirus on Wednesday, its largest total in six weeks and one that comes amid rising infections in El Paso and North Texas. Hospitalizations hit a … Continue reading →

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Abbott to allow bars to reopen

Posted on October 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sort of. It’s kind of the most Abbott thing ever. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that bars in Texas can reopen for in-person service next week — as long as their county governments choose to allow it. Effective Oct. 14, … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed against Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff order

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Chuck Lindell on Twitter, on Saturday afternoon: We have a 2nd federal lawsuit against Gov. Abbott’s order limiting counties to 1 drop-off location for mail-in ballots, this one from the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. Petition: https://democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2020/10/Straty-v.-Abbott.pdf Background: — … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Abbott’s order to limit mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Voting rights advocates and civic groups have rushed to the courthouse in a bid to block Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Oct. 1 order allowing Texas counties no more than one drop-off location for voters casting absentee ballots, calling … Continue reading →

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The case for voting in person

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Wired, an argument for worrying less about voting by mail because voting in person is still a fine way to do it. Casting a ballot in person, it turns out, isn’t so dangerous after all. Early in the pandemic, … Continue reading →

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COVID executive order lawsuit update

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to keep track of all these, I know. The state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott have denied a Dallas salon owner’s allegations that COVID-19 emergency orders suspending state laws are unconstitutional. Abbott and the state specifically denied allegations … Continue reading →

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Despite it all, voter registration keeps increasing

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You love to see it. Not even the worst pandemic to hit Texas in a century was enough to stem the surge in voter registrations that has remade the state’s electorate over the past four years. Just since March, Texas … Continue reading →

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An analysis of that Paxton opinion about schools and county health authorities

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Short version: That’s just, like, his opinion, man. The law should mean what it says. Rule §97.6(h) of the Texas Administrative Code says: “The health authority is empowered to close any public or private child-care facility, school or other place … Continue reading →

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Abbott finally speaks about schools

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Of course, he mostly says weasel words. Gov. Greg Abbott clarified Friday that Texas schools will be required to provide in-person instruction this fall, but that some districts may be eligible for extended waivers on a “case-by-case basis.” In a … Continue reading →

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The school situation remains a big ol’ mess

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You can blame Greg Abbott for all this confusion. After weeks of confusion and conflicting signals, Texas has settled into policies that effectively compel schools to reopen their classrooms this fall no later than eight weeks after the academic year … Continue reading →

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Paxton overrides county health orders on schools

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So much concern for the children here. Local health officials do not have the authority to shut down all schools in their vicinity while COVID-19 cases rise, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in nonbinding guidance Tuesday that contradicts what … Continue reading →

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Harris County issues school closure order

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. Harris County and Houston health authorities on Friday ordered all public and non-religious private schools to delay opening for in-person instruction until at least Sept. 8 — a date likely to be extended unless the region sees … Continue reading →

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