Tag Archives: The Lege

More on why we need a split primary

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Votebeat fills in some blanks. Some Texas election officials are running out of time before the March 5 primary to find sufficient polling locations, equipment, and election workers mandated by a new Republican-backed election law, and may not be able … Continue reading →

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We’re beginning to quantify the effect of the abortion ban

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Three stories from the Chron about abortion and forced births. The first one involves rape victims. Read carefully. More than 26K rape-related pregnancies estimated after Texas outlawed abortions. Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after … Continue reading →

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No, really, Paxton ordered to sit for deposition

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Oh yeah. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to end a whistleblower lawsuit against him has been dealt another blow after a Travis County judge denied his attempt to end the case without being deposed. The ruling, which Paxton’s office publicized … Continue reading →

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The Woodfill/Pressler story keeps getting uglier

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Truly gross. In 2017, a Houston college student wrote to the family of Paul Pressler, warning them that the former Texas judge and Southern Baptist leader was a pedophile. “There is a serious issue at hand,” he wrote in an … Continue reading →

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On HISD’s budget issues

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They’re Mike Miles’ problem now. It would be nice if he shared with us how he intends to deal with them. Last fall, when Houston ISD’s new superintendent, Mike Miles, first laid out his expensive plans for Texas’ largest district, … Continue reading →

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HISD Board declines the use of chaplains

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good call. Houston ISD’s Board of Managers voted unanimously Thursday to approve a resolution preventing chaplains from serving as hired or volunteer school counselors in the district. Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 763 in June, which requires each school … Continue reading →

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On hiring more cops

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not as easy to do as you might think. Halfway through his inaugural speech, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the city made it far too hard for people to join the Houston Police Department. As an example, Whitmire pointed out … Continue reading →

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

Paxton ordered to sit for deposition anyway

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bwa ha ha! A Travis County judge issued an order Friday for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit for a deposition on Feb. 1 in the lawsuit brought by four of his former employees. However, some of those plaintiffs … Continue reading →

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The Texas Freedom to Read Project

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. A group of Texas parents has a mission: Let their kids follow their curiosity in school libraries. The Texas Freedom to Read Project launched in December to counter the statewide surge in book challenges and removals in public … Continue reading →

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Paxton will no longer fight the whistleblower lawsuit

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Kind of stunning, definitely a stunt, and also his latest and most desperate ploy to avoid being deposed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his agency will stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit by four former top executives who … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds injunction in book rating lawsuit

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a new Texas law that requires bookstores to rate books for sexual content and prohibits any deemed “sexually explicit” from the state’s public schools. A panel of three judges … Continue reading →

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Texas Medical Board asked to clarify abortion exceptions

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If the Supreme Court won’t do it, then what else is there? Two attorneys have asked the Texas Medical Board to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws, following the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection last … Continue reading →

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We will have a joint primary this year

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This solves a problem we had only begun to realize we had. Harris County Republicans and Democrats plan to hold a joint election during the upcoming March primaries after years of the parties conducting separate contests, County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth … 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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It’s official, Paxton will get deposed

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Attorney General Ken Paxton and his top aides will be forced to testify in a lawsuit accusing Paxton of violating the state’s whistleblower protection law after the Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency motion to block the … 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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Paxton tries his whistleblower deposition luck with SCOTx

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This should be the end of the line, one way or another. Embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shield him from being deposed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former agency employees. … Continue reading →

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Paxton again ordered to sit for whistleblower deposition

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Keep on losing, Kenny. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could have to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit that prompted his impeachment last year. In a one-sentence order issued Friday evening, Texas’s Third Court of Appeals denied Paxton’s challenge … Continue reading →

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Elevated Access

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

More great reporting from Texas Public Radio about the brave and creative ways that people in Texas are finding to help others get the health care they need outside the state. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading →

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Justice Department sues over SB4

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As they had threatened to do. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas on Wednesday over a new state law that allows Texas police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. “Texas cannot disregard the United States … Continue reading →

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Paxton still desperately trying to avoid being deposed

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

And still failing. The Texas Third Court of Appeals denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an emergency stay of impending depositions in the whistleblower lawsuit that sparked his impeachment this year, according to a Wednesday court filing. The whistleblower … Continue reading →

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Southern Baptist Convention settles Paul Pressler sexual abuse lawsuit

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A big deal. The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual … Continue reading →

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Whitmire officially resigns from the Senate

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let the election-palooza to replace him begin! Mayor-elect John Whitmire has submitted his resignation from the Texas Senate days before he will take over the state’s largest city. Whitmire, the Senate’s longest tenured member, served for 50 years under seven … Continue reading →

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It’s a matter of trust

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a long story that recaps what incoming Mayor John Whitmire promised to do as Mayor, with a bit of analysis about how and when he might try to do them. It’s a good review for anyone who slept … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A crime threefer

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston on pace to post 20% decline in homicides in 2023 Houston’s homicide rate is down 20% compared to the year before, outpacing a historic decline in killings nationwide. The city logged 339 homicides thorough Dec. 18, down from 425 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Paxton and aides ordered to sit for depositions on whistleblower trial

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Travis County district judge has ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and three top aides to sit for depositions in the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against him. At a hearing Wednesday in Austin, Judge Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ motion … 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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ACLU and immigrants rights groups sue over our latest legislative atrocity

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Immigrant rights organizations have sued Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott approved one of the strictest state immigration enforcement laws, which authorizes police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. In their lawsuit, the American Civil … Continue reading →

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Republicans are not going to do anything to loosen abortion restrictions

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Even those who want to do so will be forced to back down. The only way forward is to win more elections. When the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last year, strict abortion bans in more … Continue reading →

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The Texas Medical Board can’t do anything about abortion

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sorry, but this is a complete waste of time, and everybody involved knows it. In its ruling this week denying a Dallas woman’s petition for an emergency abortion, the Texas Supreme Court said it was the responsibility of physicians … Continue reading →

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School safety funding is still a farce

Posted on December 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Blame Greg Abbott and his voucher monomania. Public school administrators were well aware that the Texas House’s vote to block a school voucher program last month would likely mean getting no new money for teacher raises and inflation adjustments this … Continue reading →

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SJL files for re-election

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have our answer. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee will run for reelection in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, shaking up a Democratic primary that’s been in limbo since her resounding defeat in the race for Houston mayor on Saturday. Harris … Continue reading →

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Kate Cox leaves Texas to get her abortion

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

My heart goes out to her and her family. After the Texas Supreme Court temporarily put a pregnant woman’s efforts to get an emergency abortion on hold, her lawyers said Monday that she had left Texas to get care in … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the SD15 special election

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s closer than you think. The candidates looking to replace Mayor-elect John Whitmire in the Texas Senate may have to win as many as five elections next year before they ever get to vote on a piece of legislation. Whitmire, … Continue reading →

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