Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Amtrak gets some federal high speed rail funds

It’s something. Amtrak has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to further study and develop a proposed high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas, a long-envisioned plan that until earlier this year had appeared to have fizzled out. Amtrak, the national … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SJL files for re-election

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

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Kate Cox leaves Texas to get her abortion

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

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The state of healthcare for trans kids today

It’s bad. In the past three years alone, life as a young transgender person in the U.S. has changed dramatically. Before 2021, gender-affirming medical care was legal in all 50 states. None had even tried to ban it. Today, 22 … Continue reading

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Get ready for the SD15 special election

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

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

So now what for SJL?

At least one big question about what comes next for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after losing the Mayoral runoff should be settled today. Following her decisive defeat in Saturday’s mayoral runoff, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee now has less than … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023, Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Two Loving County 2022 elections overturned

Wow. State District Judge David Rogers ruled that 10 Loving County voters did not have enough connection to the area to legally vote there. As a result, two local November 2022 elections must be redone because the number of ineligible … Continue reading

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Weekend link dump for December 10

“It would be nice if real life worked like this story. The world would be a better place if otherworldly spirits troubled the sleep of mercilessly exploitative men and gave to them all a vision of the celebration destined to … Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

2023 runoff results: Whitmire and Hollins win

I’m writing this at about 11:30 PM, with 169 of 450 voting centers reporting results. One race is very much in the balance, one other could possibly swing. Keep all that in mind. John Whitmire led 65-35 in Harris County … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Would you please fix that Verizon debacle, HISD?

It sure would be nice. Twelve state legislators representing the Houston ISD area sent a letter to Superintendent Mike Miles on Monday asking him to reconsider a decision to end a program that provided free Verizon internet access to tens … Continue reading

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Montana TikTok ban blocked

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Paxton asks SCOTx to stop the emergency abortion

Welp. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and stop a Dallas woman from having an abortion. Paxton’s office petitioned the high court just before midnight Thursday, after a Travis County district judge granted … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit on hold as federal courts screw around with VRA

Frustrating. A federal lawsuit that aims to change Spring Branch ISD’s election system to bring more representation to the school board will likely be delayed for months, pending decisions in several other cases that could impact the legality of the … Continue reading

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On “active shooter” training and what happened at Uvalde

You may not want to read this story, which is part of a package that includes a TV documentary. It’s about the Uvalde massacre and how it could be that so many law enforcement officers were just standing around doing … Continue reading

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Today is Runoff Day 2023

You know what to do if you haven’t already. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth reminds voters that Election Day for the Joint Runoff is tomorrow, Saturday, December 9. There will be 450 vote centers across the county open from 7 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Emergency abortion approval granted

Good, with the obvious proviso that no one should ever have to go through this. For the first time in at least 50 years, a judge has intervened to allow an adult woman to terminate her pregnancy. When Travis County … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State GOP sues the lawyer who led their sore loser election contest lawsuits

Oh my God, this is hilarious. The Republican Party of Texas is suing a lawyer who helped write the state’s recent election reform law and who they claim duped several former Republican candidates into believing they could prove election fraud … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The recent history of runoff early voting

I brought this up in yesterday’s post, so let’s take that look at how much of the runoff vote has been cast early in the last few Mayoral elections. Year Early E-Day Total EV % ======================================= 2003 77,984 138,804 216,788 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dispatches from Dallas, December 8 edition

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: Mark Cuban sells the Mavericks and a lot of filing activity in the Metroplex. Plus, the Fairfield … Continue reading

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2023 final runoff Early Voting totals

Early voting has ended. Early takes are flowing in. As of Tuesday night, nearly 132,000 votes – 120,155 in-person ballots and 11,732 mail ballots – had been recorded in Harris County, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office. That compares … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Candidate Agwan sued by former staffer for sexual harassment

Not good. A former campaign worker has sued a progressive Democratic challenger to Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances toward her after she complained about another staffer sexually harassing female campaign workers. The lawsuit accuses Pervez … Continue reading

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State abandons effort to retake Fairfield Lake State Park

Of interest. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has effectively thrown in the towel on a monthslong battle to buy or seize a 5,000-acre property that includes the now-closed Fairfield Lake State Park in Freestone County. Dallas-based developer Todd Interests … Continue reading

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 4

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes Henry Kissinger a nice warm eternity in hell as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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One weird trick to make those election lawsuits go away

Worth a shot. Maybe it’ll work. State officials have apparently found a legal tactic to prevent a slew of election contest lawsuits from derailing the constitutional amendments that voters overwhelmingly approved in November. The state argued in court filings Tuesday … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: At Large #4

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 At Large #2 At Large #3 After that nine-candidate pileup in AL3, At Large #4 and its four contenders is a much more sedate affair, and a lot … Continue reading

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Galveston ordered to use its current map for 2024

Pending the Fifth Circuit, of course. A federal judge ruled Galveston County must keep its old commissioner precinct map in place for the 2024 election while a federal appeals court mulls overturning its precedent and allowing new maps which do … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas woman seeks emergency abortion approval

Boy howdy is this a big ol’ can of worms. A Texas woman is asking a judge to allow her to get an emergency abortion after learning that her baby has a rare and typically fatal condition. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit, … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Precinct analysis: At Large #3

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 At Large #2 At Large #3 had the largest non-Mayoral field on the ballot, with nine candidates. Five candidates finished with at least ten percent of the vote, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor proposes his water bill fix ordinance

This sure got a lot of late momentum. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is adding water bill reform to his to-do list as he approaches the end of his eight years in office. Turner announced at a Monday news conference nine … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Jim Leyland elected to the Hall of Fame

Congratulations! Jim Leyland, the longtime manager who guided the Florida Marlins to the 1997 World Series title, was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Sunday. Leyland was named on 15 of 16 ballots in the election process during a … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: At Large #2

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 Dist Davis Hellyar Coryat Bess Holly Obes ========================================================== A 5,494 3,854 1,580 2,112 1,830 1,184 B 5,834 800 1,286 5,148 658 1,211 C 7,921 13,067 2,477 4,679 4,923 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

8 Day runoff 2023 campaign finance reports

The last campaign finance reports for the year are the 8 day reports for the runoff elections. These were mostly filed on Friday, so let’s have a look at them. The 8 Day reports from November for the Mayor’s race … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

2023 runoff early voting: With two days to go

I changed up the schedule of posting early voting daily totals because I realized that the EV periods for the three years I’m comparing are all different, which makes the comparisons a little screwy. At this point in all three … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for December 3

““Stranger danger” swept America in the ensuing decades, and like any fear, some of its founding myths were just that, myths, like the stories of fiends who hid razor blades in Halloween candy, or Satanic cults that ran daycare centers. … Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments