Tag Archives: Liberty County

Colony Ridge developers sue Alex Jones

Posted on May 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. The developers of a Houston-area residential community are suing far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, after comments he made in a February video in which he called the community a “mortgage scam” that was … Continue reading →

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Feds aim to screw Colony Ridge residents in their settlement

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Totally on brand. In December 2023, the U.S. Justice Department sued a Texas land developer it accused of duping tens of thousands of Hispanic residents into predatory mortgages, a landmark case for the Biden administration. Colony Ridge, which sold plots … Continue reading →

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A followup on turnout and early voting preference

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of followup items for things we discussed during early voting, now that we have more complete data. The first was about how much of the vote would be cast early, and whether Republicans were waiting until Election … Continue reading →

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A statewide comparison

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this yesterday, so here it is. I decided to look at the most recent early voting turnout numbers I could find for the counties, and then compare them to the final turnout numbers from the 2022 election. I’ll … Continue reading →

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Colony Ridge developers settle with the state

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This more or less wraps up the story. The owners of Colony Ridge, a Houston-area developer accused of running a predatory lending scheme that deceived Latinos, agreed to a sweeping legal settlement that will require them to invest in law … Continue reading →

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Feds settle lawsuit with Colony Ridge developers

Posted on December 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Federal authorities and the Houston-area developer Colony Ridge have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which the government accused the company of duping Latino homebuyers into seller-financed mortgages that many defaulted on in a scheme that … Continue reading →

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The Pauline Road Fire

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a little close for comfort. Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough declared a local state of disaster as a 2,000-acre wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest prompted over 900 home evacuations and school closures. The disaster declaration comes as … Continue reading →

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Some kind of immigration action happening at Colony Ridge

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Could be a big deal, or could just be Monday. Hard to say for sure. A state and federal law enforcement operation targeting “criminals and illegal immigrants” in Colony Ridge took place Monday morning, according to a social media post by Gov. … Continue reading →

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What happens now with Colony Ridge?

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Probably nothing good, but how much of that remains to be seen. A newly elected state representative this week suggested Colony Ridge, a 33,000 acre majority-Latino residential development in Liberty County, will be a focus of immigration enforcement for President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration. … Continue reading →

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Bringing back black bears

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. It’s difficult to visualize these days, what with the light pollution, overdevelopment and sprawl that have come to define the greater Houston area, but the ground we now stand on was once the domain of 5’ 6” black bears. … Continue reading →

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“Reverse redlining”

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. A novel legal argument is at the heart of a federal lawsuit against the sprawling Colony Ridge housing development in Liberty County that could prove a test case for similar claims around the country, experts say. The lawsuit … Continue reading →

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Now the state sues the Colony Ridge developers

Posted on March 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Following in the footsteps of the feds. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Houston-area developers of Colony Ridge on Thursday, accusing them of deceptive sales, marketing and lending practices that allowed their sprawling housing development to flourish. Residents of … Continue reading →

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Nikki Haley’s best counties

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Both Stace and I have noted the handful of counties in which President Biden underperformed in the primary election. That led me to wonder what the analogous situation was like on the Republican side. Where did Nikki Haley overperform her … Continue reading →

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A closer look at Colony Ridge

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There have been problems for awhile. Not the kind of problems that got the wingnuts all frothed up, but problems nonetheless. When the fast-growing Colony Ridge development outside Houston became a fixation of right-wing media last year, Texas’ Republican leaders … Continue reading →

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Apparently that challenge to the 2023 Constitutional amendment elections just went away

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering about this. Legal challenges that threatened to upend Texas voter-approved property tax cuts and increases to retired teachers’ pensions appear to have been squashed by a coordinated effort between the governor, the attorney general and the secretary … Continue reading →

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We’re going to be electing what now?

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea about this. It sure wasn’t covered in the runup to this past election. In a state known for too many elections, there’s another one coming to Texas’ 50 largest counties. This May, voters in those most … Continue reading →

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DOJ sues Colony Ridge developers

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Major plot twist. The federal government is suing Colony Ridge, accusing the Houston-area developer of using fraudulent lending practices targeting tens of thousands of Latino buyers with false statements and predatory loans in rural Liberty County. The U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

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One weird trick to make those election lawsuits go away

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Worth a shot. Maybe it’ll work. State officials have apparently found a legal tactic to prevent a slew of election contest lawsuits from derailing the constitutional amendments that voters overwhelmingly approved in November. The state argued in court filings Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Apparently there’s a lawsuit challenging the 2023 constitutional amendment elections

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’m running out of synonyms for “deranged” and “absurd”. Lawsuits based on false claims about voting equipment could delay millions of dollars in cost of living increases for retired teachers expected to arrive in January. The lawsuits … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember Colony Ridge?

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What if I told you that it was all a big nothing? Gov. Greg Abbott named Colony Ridge a top state priority when he placed it on the third special legislative session agenda — heeding calls by right-wing media to … Continue reading →

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The facts about Colony Ridge (that Greg Abbott and the other Republicans will ignore)

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the Liberty County Sheriff says: On a Sunday evening before Labor Day, Liberty County Sheriff’s Cpl. Robert Whitesel maneuvered his patrol car through the sprawling development known as Colony Ridge, humming along to a Guns N’ Roses power ballad. … Continue reading →

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From the “I gave you a million bucks and this is the thanks I get?” department

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is buck wild. Colony Ridge, a massive residential development north of Houston, has quickly taken center stage in Texas politics. After weeks of reports in conservative media portraying the development as a “magnet for illegal immigrants,” followed by state … Continue reading →

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What I want from the next HCDP Chair

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Harris County Democratic Party will soon have a new Chair. And as you know, I am a Democratic precinct chair, which means I’m one of the several hundred people that will vote on who that is. … Continue reading →

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Et tu, H-GAC?

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

WTAF? Houston is slated to get just 2 percent of the regional council’s $488 million tranche for storm mitigation, angering city leaders who say the city consistently has been shorted when it comes to the federal money. The Houston-Galveston Area … Continue reading →

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What will Harris County do about rising case numbers?

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m afraid we’ll find out soon enough. The Harris Health System’s COVID-19 ward was down to just one patient at the beginning of July. Anxious to hit zero COVID-19 patients, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, the hospital system’s CEO, purchased and stored … Continue reading →

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When the vaccine problem becomes more about demand than supply

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Or to put it another way, what are we gonna do with the people who refuse to get vaccinated? Low vaccination rates in counties that are whiter and more conservative could be impairing Texas’ ability to quickly reach herd immunity … Continue reading →

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Harris County considers its ERCOT responses

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe ERCOT isn’t right for us. Harris County should consider leaving the state’s main power grid after it failed to prevent widespread blackouts for more than half of Houston-area residents last week, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said Monday. Garcia … Continue reading →

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More vaccination hubs

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. State health officials Saturday announced 79 hub providers that are expected to receive allotments of COVID-19 vaccines this week, including newly designated hubs in some suburbs of Houston. The hub providers include two in Galveston County, one … Continue reading →

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The regional COVID situation

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not great, Bob. COVID-19 is surging across southeast Texas, especially in the suburban counties outside of Houston, which have seen a steady increase in the number of new cases, data show. Galveston, Chambers, Brazoria, Liberty, and Montgomery counties have all … Continue reading →

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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 one: Around Harris

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been so much focus in the past couple of years about the suburbs and how their traditional voting patterns have changed. I wanted to use the election results we have to take a closer look at what that means. … Continue reading →

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Younger people get coronavirus, too

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because that’s how viruses work. More Houstonians younger than 60 are testing positive for the novel coronavirus than those who are most at risk of developing serious complications from the illness. Of that number, middle-aged adults — those in their … Continue reading →

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The rest of the H-GAC region

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As long as we’ve been talking about Waller County and Montgomery County, I thought I’d check in on the other members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council region. Harris County and six of its seven neighbors – Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, … Continue reading →

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What’s up, Waller County?

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the lone holdout county in the Houston area. Waller County Judge Trey Duhon says he expected to announce a stay-at-home order for his rural county this week, following the lead of other major counties in the region. But then … Continue reading →

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