Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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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Fifth Circuit partially upholds ruling that ordered library books back on shelves in Llano County

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a lot. Eight books dealing with subjects including racism and transgender issues must be returned to library shelves in a rural Texas county that had removed them in an ongoing book banning controversy, a divided panel of three … Continue reading →

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Mayor Whitmire wants to get rid of ShotSpotter

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Mayor John Whitmire revealed plans to scrap the city’s $3.5 million ShotSpotter program, positioning Houston as the latest city government to abandon the controversial gunshot detection technology after a brief experiment. “I think it is a gimmick,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for June 9

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“No one has ever sold out a hundred shows at Madison Square Garden, and I don’t think anybody ever will.” Cool story about Dat Nguyen, College Football Hall of Famer at Texas A&M, first Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL, … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the HISD bond proposal

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the Houston Landing, which put together five highlights from the proposal. 1. Elementary and middle schools to see the biggest upgrades All schools will see some level of investment under the bond plan, but elementary and middle schools will … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Uvalde parents sue FedEx and UPS over gun shipment

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The lawsuit alleges that FedEx was used to ship the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting, and UPS was used for the shipment of a bump stock, which was found at the scene. According to the lawsuit, … Continue reading →

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National attention on the Allred-Cruz race

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Things are a little different now than they were in 2018. Also, Dems have very few even remotely realistic pickup opportunities this cycle, so. With more than four months left before Election Day 2018, Democrat Beto O’Rourke had campaigned in … Continue reading →

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June HCAD special election runoff early voting Day Five: The pace of the mail ballots

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get right to it, here’s your Day Five EV report for the June HCAD runoffs. I’ve said before in these recaps that I don’t often have much to say about them because there’s not much of a basis for … Continue reading →

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Another statewide improvement effort

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let a thousand flowers bloom, I say. A team of Democratic strategists unveiled a new group Thursday that aims to turn Texas blue by building up the party’s campaign infrastructure over multiple elections — offering a more practical outlet, in … Continue reading →

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All Texas Republicans vote against bill to protect contraception

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The headline speaks for itself. The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would prevent states from banning birth control, though nearly the entire Republican delegation from Texas voted against it. The bill, which faces far more hurdles passing through … Continue reading →

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June HCAD special election runoff early voting Day Four: Keep those mail ballots coming in

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t been giving a day-by-day update on the early voting numbers for the HCAD runoff elections – it’s a little harder to say something interesting when there are no similar elections to compare the current one to. But here … Continue reading →

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Harris County settles sexual misconduct lawsuit against Precinct 1 Constable’s office

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

An ugly chapter. Harris County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to pay four women $1.5 million, settling a civil lawsuit that alleged an array of sexual misconduct and exploitation during so-called “bachelor party” stings while working as rookie Precinct 1 constable … Continue reading →

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HISD reports improvements on high school end of course exams

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. More Houston ISD students met or exceeded grade level on the English I, English II, Algebra I and biology end-of-course exams that are required for high school graduation, according to figures released by the district. HISD saw a 3 … Continue reading →

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

Dispatches from Dallas, June 7 edition

Posted on June 7, 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 short post due to the weather, which is one of the major items in … Continue reading →

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Firefighter deal details released

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for the start of budget talks. A proposed settlement between Mayor John Whitmire and the city’s firefighters union could result in major changes to the Houston Fire Department beyond the deal’s $1.5 billion cost. Under the terms … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks SCOTx to dismiss the disciplinary lawsuit against him

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just surprised it took him this long. State Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling that kept active a disciplinary proceeding and potential future punishment for his effort to overturn … Continue reading →

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“Like ‘Succession’ with turkey legs and jousting”

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All right, I guess I should watch that HBO doc on the Texas Renaissance Festival and its founder, George Coulam. To label George Coulam eccentric is such an understatement that it’s like calling Houston summers hot. Yes, it’s true, but … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 3

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance says “GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!” as it … Continue reading →

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A look at recent trends in early, mail, and Election Day voting

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve noted before how I completely overestimated Election Day voting totals in the November/December 2023 and March 2024 races, based on recent past data from similar elections. I’ve tentatively concluded that even for races where a lot of Election Day … Continue reading →

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Harris County seeks a new direction for HART

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully a solid reset and restart. Possibly even with the same vendor, if they can make the best offer and no other questions come up. Harris County officials on Tuesday began making new plans to extend a program that sends … Continue reading →

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