Tag Archives: Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas

Do I really need to worry about West 11th Street?

I dunno, man. Houston Mayor John Whitmire is reevaluating several street infrastructure projects for effectiveness, including the completed 11th Street redesign despite the controversy surrounding the recent removal of pedestrian and cyclist upgrades on Houston Avenue. Whitmire, who took office … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Paxton escapes open records lawsuit

Sheesh. The Travis County district attorney’s office will not proceed with a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for refusing to release his communications around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite determining that the attorney general … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton escapes open records lawsuit

Paxton thumbs his nose at open records demand

Water is wet. The sun rises in the east. Ken Paxton DGAF about government, ethics, accountability or any of that other namby-pamby stuff. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Travis County district attorney’s determination that Paxton violated open records laws … Continue reading

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

Paxton accused of violating open records law

Put it on his tab. The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated the state’s open records law by not turning over his communications from last January, when he appeared at the pro-Trump rally that … Continue reading

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

What is Ken Paxton hiding?

I was almost tempted to start this post with the rhetorical “Just when you think Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower” gambit, but then I realized I have never thought Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower. Even with that, this … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What is Ken Paxton hiding?

We don’t know enough about what’s happening at nursing homes

We’ve talked before about two of the main coronavirus hotspot types in Texas, prisons and meat processing plants. Now we’re going to talk about that third type, nursing homes. As the death toll grows at Texas nursing homes, so has the … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Bills to restore Open Meetings Act filed

This is good to see. Two state legislators are aiming to restore a provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that was struck down last week by the state’s highest criminal court. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Dade Phelan, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not so open meetings

We’ll have to see how big a deal this is. In a major blow to the state’s government transparency laws, Texas’ highest criminal court has struck down a significant provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act, calling it “unconstitutionally vague.” … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not so open meetings

Darian Ward indicted on charge of violating public information laws

Wow. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s former press secretary, Darian Ward, was indicted by a grand jury this week for failing to turn over public records in response to a reporter’s request late last year. The indictment, handed up Tuesday but released … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More questions about body cameras and video accessibility

Still sorting it all out. Months after statewide body camera legislation took effect and the Houston Police Department outlined its policies regarding the devices, local criminal justice watchdogs worry that some video from high-profile incidents may never see the light … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A setback for transparency

I don’t care for this. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday limited the public’s right to know about private groups that get government funds. In a 6-3 opinion, the court sided with the Greater Houston Partnership, agreeing that GHP doesn’t … Continue reading

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

Texas Watchdog followup on HCC reports

So after I published those HCC Trustee campaign finance reports, I got an email from Jennifer Peebles of Texas Watchdog, who asked me if I had redacted the files to hide the mailing addresses of the trustees and their donors. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Texas Watchdog followup on HCC reports