Author Archives: Greg Wythe

So much for the Fort Bend-Medical Center shuttle

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Well, that didn’t last long. After just six months, the Texas Medical Center has pulled the plug on subsidized express bus service to and from Fort Bend County. Fort Bend County Commissioners Court members approved an agreement with the Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on So much for the Fort Bend-Medical Center shuttle

District Clerk update

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Nice article in Texas Lawyer about what’s been going on in the Harris County District Clerk’s office under Loren Jackson. Lawyers handling civil suits in Harris County district courts will soon have fewer excuses for missing a court hearing. On … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on District Clerk update

On rudeness

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

John has a thoughtful post on the nature of rudeness and how he’s recently learned to deal with it. It’s good stuff, especially the bit on driving behavior. Check it out. Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Comments Off on On rudeness

Committee assignment reactions

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Rather than update the earlier post, I thought I’d do a new one rounding up various reactions to the committee assignments in the House. Matt says the Republican “Gang of 11” won big, but Democrats got little respect. Phillip is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed to force city to redistrict

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Former City Council Member Carroll Robinson, who has been a strong proponent for redistricting City Council boundaries and drawing two new districts now rather than waiting till 2011, has said that the city should not fear any litigation that might … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

House committee assignments are out

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

At long last, we know who’ll be working on what in the House. The full list is here (PDF); a list of chairs only is beneath the fold. Evan notes that Dems got 16 of 18 chairs. The main concern … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More on Schieffer

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Still not sure what I think about potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer, but at least as long as he’s out there at least there will be someone who can provide some counterweight to the Rick ‘N’ Kay Show. Although … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | 4 Comments

Strip club fee back in court

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

You may recall that in the last legislative session, a bill (HB1751) was passed that imposed a $5 per customer fee on strip clubs, with the revenue going to a sex assault prevention fund, among other things. That fee was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 7 Comments

Video report from UH-Downtown renaming meeting

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Con Frijoles has a video clip of his testimony last Friday before the UH-Downtown Board of Regents concerning the name change saga. I just want to add that while I think Houston Metropolitan University is a perfectly decent name despite … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Video report from UH-Downtown renaming meeting

Debutant posts

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This may not look like much, but given that Debutant has been in the ICU at MD Anderson since Thanksgiving and has nearly died multiple times, I think it’s pretty damn amazing. Please go leave some good thoughts for an … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Wilshire Village update

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Swamplot has more on the Wilshire Village Apartments situation; apparently, there’s some question as to the legality of the eviction notices that the residents received. Meanwhile, Hair Balls satisfies my curiosity with some interior photos of the place. It does … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Wilshire Village update

If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I agree with State Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson that the way we elect judges in Texas needs reform. I just don’t think he’s proposing a real fix for the problem he’s identified. Texas remains one of only seven states … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

District H candidate forum in Shady Acres

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The following came to me via Facebook: The Shady Acres Civic Club is hosting a Candidate Forum for District H. We would like to have an opportunity for community members to meet and hear candidates\’ vision for our neighborhood. We … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More transportation conversation

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Some good comments and followup to my earlier post about traffic in the inner core. I want to address Cory’s questions regarding BRT. The short answer is that I have no particular objection to BRT – it’s a perfectly fine … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 4 Comments

Close enough for computer work

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Very cool. Engineers have long lived by a simple, seemingly obvious rule when designing new computers: The machines have to deliver correct answers. If asked to compute two plus two, a computer should answer four. But what if computers didn’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of February 9

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Blog roundup time for the Texas Progressive Alliance again. You know the drill. (Meant to post this yesterday but forgot. Oops!) Continue reading →

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SJL rumors

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Vince reports that “sources tell him” that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who happens to be my Congressperson, is going to leave that job to work for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I suppose that’s plausible – as Vince notes, SJL … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Roy is in

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I’d been counting him as a candidate, if not a particularly serious one, since he had filed a treasurer’s report, but Roy Morales has now officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of Houston. He Twittered about it last night, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | 5 Comments

We’ll always have bottlenecks

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Andrew Burleson points out an ugly fact. Has anyone else noticed that traffic on I-10 is still not great? I have a ‘reverse’ commute on I-10 every day. Before the expansion traffic was fine inside the loop outbound in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 9 Comments

Deregulation fail

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

How’s that electricity deregulation working for you, Texas? In the decade since Texas deregulated its retail electricity market, rates have skyrocketed higher than any other state with such open competition, according to a report released today. Commissioned by the Cities … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Cleaning up the bay

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

There’s been plenty of action on land cleaning up after Hurricane Ike. Now there’s going to be a similar amount of action in the water. The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for protecting the coast, has pinpointed nearly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 1 Comment

Over/under

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Some East End residents are still unhappy about the way the Harrisburg light rail line is shaping up. East End residents overwhelmingly supported the rail line in a 2003 referendum, thinking it would boost the redevelopment already taking place. Back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 5 Comments

Will we get a piece of the stimulus?

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Maybe, maybe not. Many states, running short of cash, may jump at the chance to spend federal stimulus money. In Texas, though, the executive and legislative branches may not jump in unison. Several Democrats and even a few Republicans are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 3 Comments

Locke is in, Hall is out

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This comes as no surprise. It went as expected at this morning’s press conference. Former City Attorney Gene Locke is running for mayor of Houston in the November election. Former City Attorney Benjamin Hall III, who never officially declared his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | 1 Comment

District H CIP meeting report

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Here’s the Chron story on that CIP meeting for District H that took place last week. The highlights: Jane Cahill West, president of the combined Washington Avenue/Memorial Super Neighborhood Council, said she was glad to see the MKT (Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on District H CIP meeting report

“Highway piracy”

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Appalling. A two-decade-old state law that grants authorities the power to seize property used in a crime is wielded by some agencies against people who are never charged with, much less convicted, of a crime. Law enforcement authorities in this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 2 Comments

Give bikes a little space

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Greg Wythe

MTBLawGirl passes on word of a bill that will be of interest to bicyclists. Earlier this month, Texas Senator Rodney Ellis and Representative Linda Harper-Brown filed the Safe Passing Bill in the Senate (SB 488) and House (HB 827) respectively. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Monday morning Mayoral intrigue

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The following just hit my Inbox: Benjamin Hall and Gene Locke Announce Joint Press Availability When: 9:30 a.m. Monday, February 10, 2009 Where: 530 Lovett Boulevard, Houston, 77006 Ben Hall and Gene Locke invite you for a press availability Monday … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The reason we need a credible Democratic candidate for Governor, in a nutshell

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

In case you missed it, the far right wing Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina offered an amendment to the economic stimulus bill during all the sausage-making last week. Here’s what he proposed: o Permanently repeal the alternative minimum tax … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for February 8

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The three sweetest words in the English language right about now: “Pitchers and catchers”. The wonderful legacy of the Terrible Towel. Eight six seven five three oh nine. You want it, you can have it. For a price, anyway. Apparently, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The ongoing UH-Downtown renaming saga

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Still going nowhere fast. University of Houston System regents Friday decided to wait for more suggestions before choosing a new moniker for UH-Downtown, concerned that “South Texas” made no reference to the city and overlaps with South Texas College of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 4 Comments

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

You know, if they’d given me books like this to read in high school, I might have actually read them. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Lege versus the BCS

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

It’s always heartwarming to see the Lege pay attention to the really important stuff. Take a look at HCR35, for the purpose of “Urging the institution of a playoff system to decide the NCAA football national championship in place of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports, That's our Lege | Comments Off on The Lege versus the BCS

Jim Sharp investiture

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Jim Sharp, who was elected to the First Court of Appeals in November, has asked me to pass along an invitation to his investiture, which will be held this Thursday, February 12, at 4 PM in the Gerald Treece Courthouse … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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