Monthly Archives: June 2023

There’s still more Paxton stuff to investigate

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the grift that keeps on giving. The Texas House investigation into impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton has reportedly widened to include a series of property purchases he made as he faced a federal probe over allegations that he abused … Continue reading →

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Dallas improves its cybersecurity

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. The Dallas City Council approved a nearly $4 million deal Wednesday to get a new system that alerts the city’s information technology department of possible cyber attacks. The approval comes as the city is nearly two months … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, June 30 edition

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from the Metroplex: updates on the Dallas cyberattacks and two other hacks with DFW connections you may not have heard … Continue reading →

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Talarico Time

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. The representative and aspiring preacher hadn’t planned to deliver a sermon when he went to work at the state capitol that morning. Sitting in a drab committee room last month, Texas Rep. James Talarico, … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP’s lawsuit to be considered by SCOTx

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The end of the line one way or the other. The Texas Supreme Court will review a case involving a Waco justice of the peace’s refusal to perform same-sex weddings. McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley sued the … Continue reading →

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How hot is it?

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Too damn hot. Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials. Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 26

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had as good a Pride month as was possible as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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City to sue over mandatory arbitration law

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Add it to what is likely to be a substantive list. Houston city attorneys said Monday they plan to challenge the constitutionality of a new Texas law that gives Houston firefighters mandatory arbitration in their long-running contract stalemate. Lowell Denton, … Continue reading →

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The Chron asks the “will what Mike Miles is doing actually work” question

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Join the club. Superintendent Mike Miles has swept into Houston in recent weeks with confident claims that his strategies to overhaul the largest school system in Texas can quickly spur positive results at long-struggling schools. That’s mostly because his agenda … Continue reading →

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Project Texas versus Project Texas

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gotta suck. Kendall Hill was in a meeting at Pegasus Park as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of Congress on March 23. As Chew spoke to U.S. officials, Hill received a vague message from a friend. … Continue reading →

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Louisiana’s turn to (maybe) fix its racial gerrymander

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the clock. The Supreme Court on Monday denied Louisiana’s attempt to block a lower court’s order that it redraw its congressional maps. That court found that the state had likely diluted the power of Black voters in violation … Continue reading →

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No pay for Paxton while he’s on the sidelines

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. The Texas attorney general’s office attempted an end-run around a ruling from the state’s top accountant to pay Attorney General Ken Paxton despite his impeachment, documents indicated. Paxton has remained suspended from duty since the House overwhelmingly voted … Continue reading →

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Add Stephen F. Austin University to the list of recent cyberattack victims

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not a lot of detail here, but these things are never good. More than a week after Stephen F. Austin State University was hit with a cyberattack, leaders at the public university in the East Texas Pineywoods are still working … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton roundup

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The hits keep on coming… So, just how transparent is this Senate trial going to be? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has promised maximum transparency in the impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, but trial rules recently adopted by … Continue reading →

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The smallest possible loosening of abortion restrictions

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Better than nothing, but not by much. Doctors will have more legal protections to perform emergency abortions under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, following numerous reports of medical care being delayed due to confusion over the state’s abortion … Continue reading →

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“Family events” announced so you can learn more about what the hell is going on at HISD

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. Superintendent F. Mike Miles announced dates for a series of family events to share more information about his vision for HISD and to meet families from schools across the district. “When I accepted this appointment two weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for June 25

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The coming enshittification of Reddit. “Of all the Garfield Minus Garfield strips, the following 15 stand out as some of the darkest to ever be created.” “Let’s put a very fine point on it: Showgirls is a ’90s id fantasia; … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rules ERCOT can’t be sued over the 2021 freeze

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A split ruling, which in my kind could have gone either way. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that ERCOT, the operator of Texas’ power grid, is a government entity, granting the organization immunity to lawsuits stemming from 2021′s deadly … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Half of Texans think Paxton impeachment was “justified”

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s one poll, yadda yadda yadda, but here you go. As the Texas Senate begins the historically unprecedented process of trying the suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton on 31 articles of impeachment, a majority of Texas’ registered voters think the … Continue reading →

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From the “Obvious reactions to dumb things” department

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Item 1: Former Congressman Will Hurd is running for President. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, announced Thursday he is running for president, becoming the first Texan with experience in elective office to enter the Republican primary. Hurd, who represented … Continue reading →

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Another look at Texas redistricting litigation after the Alabama SCOTUS ruling

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An explainer from the Trib. The state faces an assortment of legal challenges to its congressional and statehouse maps, including allegations of intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering. For example: In the Rio Grande Valley, the plaintiffs allege map-drawers … Continue reading →

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I still don’t get how Mike Miles is going to do what he says

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the big plans that appointed HISD Superintendent Mike Miles is touting. Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles unveiled a dramatically expanded plan for the district at a Thursday board meeting, announcing 150 schools will see “wholesale systemic reform” … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

COVID immunity update

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating stuff. Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were present in the blood of 96.4% of Americans over the age of 16 by September 2022. That’s according to a serosurvey – an analysis testing for the presence of these immune defense molecules … Continue reading →

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Here are the Senate impeachment rules

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will answer to 16 of 20 articles of impeachment at a trial to begin Sept. 5, the Texas Senate said Wednesday night after spending about 20 hours drafting the trial rules in private. … Continue reading →

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A long look at Spring Branch ISD

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing goes deep. With only a week left before the May 6 election, school-board candidate David Lopez and a team of volunteers set out to block walk in the Spring Branch neighborhoods north of Interstate 10, trying to accomplish … Continue reading →

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

Dispatches from Dallas, June 23 edition

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week (and from last week) in news from the DFW area: election results from the June 10 runoff; the Dallas short-term rental ordinance; … Continue reading →

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State Rep. Julie Johnson announces for CD32

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Carrollton, announced Tuesday she’s running to replace U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, kicking off her campaign with a significant show of support from inside her party. In an announcement video, Johnson highlighted her experience … Continue reading →

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Arkansas law banning gender affirming care ruled unconstitutional

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal. A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions. U.S. … Continue reading →

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Freestone County opposes use of eminent domain on Fairfield Lake State Park

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Plot twist. The Freestone County commissioners are decrying the state’s decision to move forward with eminent domain to seize the Fairfield Lake State Park property in their county. At a Wednesday morning meeting, the five commissioners voted unanimously to send … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 19

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance keeps all of its top secret document boxes in the master suite for ease of access, not the guest bathroom, which is how it can bring you this week’s roundup.

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Sen. Angela Paxton will be one of her husband’s jurors

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Really, there was no other way this could have ended. After weeks of speculation, state Sen. Angela Paxton announced late Monday that she will attend the impeachment trial of her husband, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the McKinney Republican said … Continue reading →

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Funding for child DNA ID kits quietly dropped

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a weird story. For months, Texas lawmakers were on track to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to continue distributing child identification kits to Texas schoolchildren, a program championed by state officials. In April, both the Texas House and Senate approved preliminary … Continue reading →

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Kubosh drops out of Controller’s race

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In other city election news. Michael Kubosh, an outspoken member of Houston City Council since 2014, withdrew his candidacy for the city’s controller position Monday following a “series of health-related issues.” Kubosh, who is 72, in a news release said … Continue reading →

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Edwards drops out of Mayor’s race, to run for CD18

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Another shakeup. Former Houston city council member Amanda Edwards announced Monday she would withdraw from the mayoral race to instead vie for the Texas congressional seat currently held by Sheila Jackson Lee, who previously announced her intention to run for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments