Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Still talking about connecting Texas to the national grid

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a compelling idea. Still not sure if it’s a good idea, but it is compelling. If the Texas power grid had been connected to neighboring systems in early 2021, the likelihood of deadly blackouts during Winter Storm Uri would … Continue reading →

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

HPD to expand “AI surveillance”

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have many questions. An AI technology firm will install 64 new cameras throughout the city to improve public safety as Houston Police Department officials say they are facing staffing shortages. In a $177,483 contract approved Wednesday by City Council, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 17

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has reported every free luxury vacation it has received from a wingnut billionaire (unlike some Supreme Court justices we could name) as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Firefighter deal certified and approved

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

That’s that. Houston City Council approved the $1.5 billion settlement and labor contract with the city firefighters union on Wednesday, a deal that now forces Mayor John Whitmire to quickly find new sources of revenue to help pay for it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Paxton lawsuit to nullify marijuana ordinances tossed

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A state district judge in Travis County has dismissed a lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Paxton that sought to nullify voter-approved ordinances in Austin and a few other cities that effectively decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana. In a … Continue reading →

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Bird flu found in Houston wastewater

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

No need to panic, but good to know. Bird flu has been detected in wastewater around the Houston area, Harris County Public Health officials said Tuesday. The source of the Bird flu, or H5N1, found in Houston water between March … Continue reading →

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

Abbott appoints first judges to new statewide business appeals court

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’d forgotten about this. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday appointed three conservative justices to the new 15th Court of Appeals, which lawmakers created last year to oversee appeals involving the state, challenges to the constitutionality of state laws and cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Annunciation House hearing

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This one is on the merits, to determine if Ken Paxton has any evidence to support his outlandish claims that the religious charity is engaged in “human trafficking”. An El Paso judge will rule within two weeks on the attempt … Continue reading →

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The DFW high speed rail line hits a bump

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whoops. Dallas City Council members hit the brakes on a proposed elevated high-speed passenger rail line that would connect with Arlington and Fort Worth. The council, including Mayor Eric Johnson, approved a resolution 14-0, with council member Jaime Resendez absent. … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declines to take up IVF appeal

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A small victory. The Texas Supreme Court has declined to take up a major in vitro fertilization case that could have potentially upended access to the procedure. The justices allowed a lower court’s opinion to stand, and, for now, sidestepped … Continue reading →

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Federal judge strikes down Florida laws against gender-affirming care for minors and adults

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest, for obvious reasons. Florida can no longer enforce its ban against transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care, or its restrictions against adults accessing gender-affirming care, after a federal district court ruling on Tuesday found those rules to be unconstitutional … Continue reading →

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

B-Cycle’s reprieve runs out

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sad to see it go. Houston’s long-struggling system of on-demand bicycles is reaching the end of the trail. BCycle, the system of kiosks with available bikes spread around downtown, Midtown and other locations will close June 30, officials with the … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 16

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“How Donald Trump Could Weaponize US Surveillance in a Second Term”. “The Scottish woman who claims to be the inspiration for Richard Gadd’s hit Netflix “Baby Reindeer” has sued the streamer, seeking monetary damages of at least $170 million.” “Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

Scott and McCrutcheon win HCAD runoffs

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not much to say, you can see the live results. There were 12,479 total mail ballots, so another 1,436 were received after Tuesday. A bit more than 11K votes had been counted as of 10 PM and two thirds of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Controller Hollins has not certified the firefighter deal yet

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. Hours after Mayor John Whitmire told City Council members on Friday that Controller Chris Hollins plans to certify the mayor’s landmark contract with the Houston firefighters union, Hollins walked back that claim, saying his review … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Uplift Harris remains on hold

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t look good for them. The Supreme Court of Texas ruled against Harris County’s guaranteed income program Friday, continuing to block the county from sending checks to participants. In an opinion written by Justice James D. Blacklock, the court said … Continue reading →

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HCAD Runoff Day is today

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth announced that the June 15 Uniform Runoff Election Day is this Saturday. There are 131 Election Day vote centers open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across Harris County. “A runoff election … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Board of Managers passes Mike Miles’ budget

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It was a close vote, but as we kids used to say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. In their most divided vote taken to date, members of Houston ISD’s state-appointed school board on Thursday narrowly approved a … Continue reading →

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Rep. Nehls accused of stolen valor

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. House Republicans are accusing Rep. Troy Nehls of “stolen valor” for continuing to wear a lapel pin for infantrymen or Special Forces who fought in active combat. “It matters. As a former commander, it matters what you … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCOTUS swats away that bogus mifepristone case

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A good and expected result, though the door for future challenges remains open. A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the anti-abortion doctor plaintiffs in a major mifepristone case lack standing to reimpose restrictions on the drug. The case presented … Continue reading →

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

On the bonds and closing or not closing schools

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a very complicated issue. Two decades ago, children crowded the halls of Houston ISD’s Attucks and Cullen middle schools, historic campuses located two miles apart on the city’s south side. Since then, hundreds of families have fled the … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mayor criticized for Gulfton comments

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Community Leaders Demand Apology from Mayor Whitmire for Offensive Remarks About Gulfton Houston, TX – A coalition of over 20 community leaders and organizations has released a letter (see attached PDF) calling on Mayor Whitmire to retract … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, June 14 edition

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag. Catch up on: storm aftermath; primary aftermath; bigots and other troublemakers; school … Continue reading →

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Council approves bond deal for firefighter back pay

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big component of the firefighter pay deal, just not the whole thing. Houston City Council approved Wednesday a historic bond deal, estimated to cost taxpayers over $1 billion, to spread $650 million in backpay to firefighters over … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Miles to decimate wraparound services

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bad idea. State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles said social work services for students will be provided by a trimmer team of wraparound specialists who will each serve multiple campuses and refer students to off-campus support centers. Houston ISD … Continue reading →

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

I-45 construction set to begin

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here it comes. Houston’s largest-ever freeway project is one step closer to starting construction, with crews poised to begin digging in the dirt along Interstate 69 by fall. After years of planning and sometimes fiery debate, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 10

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a nice time in El Paso as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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June HCAD special election runoff early voting Day Nine: On to Saturday

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

And we are done with early voting for the HCAD runoffs. Here’s the final EV report. Let’s have another chart, shall we? Month Mail Early Total ============================== May 14,152 19,500 33,652 June 11,043 18,048 29,091 As predicted yesterday, we have … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hollins not ready to certify firefighters’ deal

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The proposed $1.5 billion settlement and labor contract with the Houston firefighters union appears unlikely to be certified in time for Wednesday’s scheduled City Council vote because a lengthy list of questions Controller Chris Hollins sent Mayor John Whitmire … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Cruise returns to Houston

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack… Houston, we missed you! Today we’re resuming driving in Houston where we’ll build on the knowledge collected last year. We’ll start with human driven vehicles and move to supervised autonomous driving with a safety driver behind the wheel … Continue reading →

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June HCAD special election runoff early voting Day Eight: Let’s not be too pessimistic about turnout

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I was struck by the following passage in this Houston Landing story about the HCAD runoff elections. Turnout in the Place 1 race was just 2.1 percent of Harris County’s 2.56 million registered voters, according to Harris County Clerk’s Office … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Greg Abbott’s fault if your school district is facing a budget crunch

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

News item #1: Houston-area school districts brace for big budget cuts. Staring down a $100 million deficit budget, even after deciding to close three campuses in February, Aldine ISD trustees have a difficult decision to make this week. Voting on … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Once again we ask, what’s up with that FBI investigation of Ken Paxton?

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Who knows? Federal agents were still actively investigating Paxton for alleged corruption after he was acquitted of related impeachment charges last year, according to multiple sources who spoke with The Texas Newsroom in recent weeks. Among Paxton’s potential crimes listed … Continue reading →

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June HCAD special election runoff early voting Day Seven: Two more days to go

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your Day Seven EV report for the June HCAD runoff. And just for kicks, let’s do a comparison with the May election for this day in the EV process. Month Mail Early Total ============================== May 13,446 10,282 23,728 June … Continue reading →

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