Tag Archives: local option election

Bus service in new places

This is a good first step, which I hope begets a second step. Harris County has extended bus service to Channelview, Cloverleaf and Sheldon, using $3.8 million in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery money to jump-start the new routes. Service started … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

More info on the school finance bill

Here’s what we know. Before final negotiations, the House’s version of HB 3 cost $9.4 billion, and the Senate’s cost a whopping $14.8 billion, according to Texas Education Agency calculations. The final cost is around $11.6 billion, according to lawmakers, … Continue reading

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

Our increasingly non-dry state

There are now only five counties in Texas where you can’t buy alcohol. On Election Day in Stanton, just north of Midland, Ron Black was skeptical that a particular measure on the ballot would pass. “Well, I think at first … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No charter amendments on the fall ballot

Just bonds, school board and HCC races, and the mostly boring constitutional amendments. Oh, and Heights Alcohol 2.0, if you live there. Houston voters will face $1.5 billion in city bonds and nine community college or school board races this … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Petitions have been submitted for Heights alcohol vote 2.0

That was quick. Voters in the Heights will likely have the opportunity to further loosen alcohol restrictions in the neighborhood this November now that activists have secured more than the 1,500 signatures required to get a measure on the ballot. … Continue reading

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More on Heights alcohol vote 2.0

From the Heights Examiner (now a section of the Wednesday Chron), the reasons why restauranteurs want in on the action. But the possible reversal of the century-old prohibition on restaurants would mean more than just no longer having to sign … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We could have another Heights alcohol vote

Sure, why not? Heights voters last fall lifted a 105-year-old ban on the sale of beer and wine at grocery stores, but customers still must join a private club if they want to drink alcohol at area restaurants or bars. … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Senate proposes to make our tax system more broken

That’s what this will surely do. The Texas Senate on Tuesday approved a controversial bill that seeks to curb the growth in property taxes that local government agencies like cities and counties levy on landowners. Senate Bill 2, which passed … Continue reading

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

Chron overview of Heights dry referendum

For an issue that directly affects a few thousand people, this sure had gotten a lot of attention. [Bill] Baldwin is part of the “Keep the Heights Dry” movement, a group of individuals urging residents who live in the dry … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The dry debate

The Chron hosted a mini-debate about the vote to change the Heights dry ordinance on its Monday op-ed pages. Bill Baldwin represented the status quo, for keeping the Heights (the original Heights) dry. With the stark reality of land use … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Interview with Bill Baldwin of Keep Heights Dry

As you know, there will be a referendum on the ballot for a very limited electorate this year, to alter the existing ordinance that enforces a dry zone in the historic Houston Heights to allow the sale of beer and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interview with Steve Reilley

By now you are aware of the effort to alter the historic regulations that keep the part of town that was once the independent city of the Houston Heights dry. The dry designation, in the area you see in the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A brief summary of the effort to make the Heights less dry

The Heights Life provides a fact sheet: The petition is backed by HEB, who hired a law firm to handle the drive. Some of the canvassers, who are paid and may or may not be your neighbors or Heights residents, … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For making the Heights less dry

The Chron is rooting for that petition effort to change the alcohol rules in the historic Heights. Today, sitting down in some of the restaurants in the Heights is like slipping through a wormhole into a bygone era when respectable … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on the effort to make the Heights less dry

From the Chron: With the intention of building a new store in the Heights, H-E-B said Wednesday that it has been working with a political consulting firm in Austin to help change a law precluding beer and wine sales in … Continue reading

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Making the Heights a little less dry

From Swamplot: A GROUP CALLED the Houston Heights Beverage Coalition PAC is hoping to bring about a vote on allowing beer and wine sales in the technically dry section of the Houston Heights. The group published a notice on May 5th announcing an application to the city to … Continue reading

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