Category Archives: Uncategorized

Stand up and be counted

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Please participate in the Census. Nothing good happens when you don’t. When the new, condensed census form arrives in the mail during the second week in March, each recipient’s decision about whether to toss it in the trash or fill … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Stand up and be counted

Parker’s police plan in practice

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think we’re all reasonably familiar with the basics of Mayor-Elect Parker’s plan for the police force, which includes more and better coordination between the various local law enforcement agencies. This story, which perhaps ought to have been run before … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Parker’s police plan in practice

Early voting starts today

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today marks the start of early voting for all of the runoff elections, which include Houston, Bellaire, and HISD. Early voting schedule and locations can be found here; remember that EV locations outside of Houston city limits are mostly closed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shapleigh’s successor

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Greg, the El Paso Times runs down the possible contenders for the to-be-vacated Senate seat of Eliot Shapleigh. Potential Democratic candidates include County Attorney José Rodríguez and state Reps. Joe Pickett and Norma Chávez. Two Republicans, businessman Dee Margo … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Shapleigh’s successor

Harris County voter registration issues get national coverage

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lou Dubose, onetime editor of the Texas Observer and Tom DeLay biographer has written a story for the Washington Spectator about the shenanigans in the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office with voter registration. You can read it here (PDF), thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Harris County voter registration issues get national coverage

An early assessment of the Mayor’s race

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Marc Campos writes: H-Town’s Mayoral candidates still do not want to SHOW ME THE TV so I have to give the advantage at this time to Annise Parker. The later the ad wars get going, the better for Annise. Let’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Kirk Watson not running for Governor

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Phooey. There’s been a lot of speculation about my plans for the next election. Well, I’ve decided what I’m going to do, and I want to announce it to you all first. I will run for re-election to the Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

At Large action

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve certainly got a fascinating Mayor’s race going on this year, with three viable candidates that can all plausibly claim a path to victory, but it seems to me that there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in the At … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lawrence looking at Commissioners Court

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Something I’d realized recently is that almost everyone in city government who is or would have been term-limited out is running or has run for another office. Mayor White is running for Senate. City Controller Annise Parker is running for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Strip club fee appealed to Supreme Court

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The legal battles continue to spin around Texas’ so-called “pole tax,” a $5 entrance fee at strip clubs that has been ruled an unconstitutional regulation of free expression. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and state Comptroller … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Strip club fee appealed to Supreme Court

Runoff Day in District H

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today is Runoff Day for the District H special election. Polls are open from 7 AM till 7 PM. Voting locations are here; if you’re not sure what precinct you’re in, go here. Early voting was heavier than I expected … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Runoff Day in District H

Juvenile justice in Harris County

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Is rather an oxymoron, it seems. Apparently, the process for certifying juveniles to be tried as adults, which according to the DA’s office is supposed to be only done on “the worst of the worst”, is a mere formality. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shorter to challenge Lovell

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Isiah Carey reports. The Insite had a brief conversation with Houstonian Rozzy ‘Roz’ Shorter. She’s not quite given up on her political career. You may remember Shorter as the local woman chosen by the Barack Obama camp to get the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Son of Speaker complaining

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So yes, even in the post-Craddick era, there are still complaints about the Speaker by Democrats. Some of this is to be expected: You can’t satisfy everyone. Some of it is probably the result of over-inflated expectations. And some of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Son of Speaker complaining

Swearingen gets a stay

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Thank goodness. Accused killer Larry Swearingen has been granted a second stay of execution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit handed down the ruling this morning. Swearingen was set to be executed by injection on Tuesday. “We’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Swearingen gets a stay

Not so Tolerance Bridge

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Remember Tolerance Bridge? When it was first announced, a lot of people expressed ambivalence (at best) about the name. Now the city has joined in on that. “It has too many hints of negativity,” said Councilman Jarvis Johnson. “It’s like … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not so Tolerance Bridge

More on Larry Swearingen

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve blogged before about Larry Swearingen, who is on death row and is scheduled for execution on January 27 even though forensic evidence clearly demonstrates his innocence of the murder of Melissa Trotter. Multiple experts, including the Harris County medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on Larry Swearingen

Evolution remains legal in Texas

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Whew! That was a close one. In a major defeat for evolution critics, a sharply divided State Board of Education voted Thursday to follow the advice of a panel of science educators and drop a long-time requirement that “weaknesses” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Evolution remains legal in Texas

UH-Downtown to move ahead with name change

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

They still don’t know what they want to be called, however. School leaders are going ahead with plans to rename the University of Houston-Downtown, despite opposition from students, alumni and some faculty members. “If it has its own distinctive name, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on UH-Downtown to move ahead with name change

You there! Stop evolving this minute!

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Someone once said that no one’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. I’d extend that observation to note that no one’s intelligence or education is safe when the SBOE is in session. For those … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on You there! Stop evolving this minute!

And now the real work begins

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? (Well, for most of us, anyway.) I suspect there was a pretty big dip in productivity right around 11 AM at most workplaces. But now that the pomp is over, it’s time … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on And now the real work begins

Hello world!

Posted on January 20, 2009 by admin

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

See ya, Vito

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

If I were still living on Staten Island, this guy would be my soon-to-be-former Congressman. Speculation on the political future of Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) is running rampant today after he acknowledged that he is the father of a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

RIP, Maury Maverick, Jr.

Posted on January 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Attorney and writer Maury Maverick, Jr., died Tuesday at the age of 82. SAN ANTONIO — Attorney Maury Maverick Jr., a descendant of early Texas settlers and known for his passionate legal defense of the downtrodden, feisty wit and unrelenting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Saying “No”

Posted on September 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Matthew Yglesias notes that the eeeevil liberal media may be growing a backbone over Priscilla Owen, the judicial activist judge from Texas that Bush wants to install on the federal bench. May the Democrats on the judiciary committee be similarly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Saying “No”

Operation Moon Rocks

Posted on July 22, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The FBI has busted up a moon-rock-selling operation by arresting four former employees of Johnson Space Center in a sting operation. Sometimes, when the Dow is again in the crapper, and there’s not much interesting going on at work or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Operation Moon Rocks

Take two

Posted on July 19, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

This is a second test to see if the blog body will increase in size. I want to get all the archive and link stuff off to the right rather than underneath. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Is this thing on?

Posted on July 19, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

This is a test of Movable Type. If this had been…oh, hell, you know the drill. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Is this thing on?

The Bachelor Strikes Back

Posted on May 1, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Alex Rubalcava responds to my objections regarding the provocative email purportedly from Alex Michel of the ABC reality show The Bachelor. He also forwarded me the email he himself had received. I still can’t say for sure that the mail … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Bachelor Strikes Back

Referrals, we get referrals

Posted on February 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve come here via the link on Matt Welch’s Warblog, please note that his URL contains a typo, which is why you’re here at the top of the page instead of here, which is where he intended to send … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Referrals, we get referrals