Monthly Archives: May 2005

Prosecution rests in Enron Broadband trial

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The prosecution took longer than they thought they would to put on their case, a development which almost led to a juror revolt and which did lead to the defense making the slightly bizarre offer to help pay their salaries, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Prosecution rests in Enron Broadband trial

April traffic report

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The hit count was about 52,000 for the month of April, with fairly steady daily totals throughout. I can’t actually remember anything exciting from a traffic-watching point of view for the month, so I’ll take this opportunity to say thank … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | 4 Comments

It’s Tampa

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

In a surprise move, the NFL owners have awarded Super Bowl 43 to Tampa. The owners eliminated Houston first and Miami second with Tampa beating out Atlanta for the winning bid. Atlanta and Houston had been considered the favorites, with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on It’s Tampa

Texas has an erotic bakery in it!

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

All together now: Lord have mercy on our souls. Yes, Texas has an erotic bakery in it. Specifically, Sugar Land has an erotic bakery (moderately NSFW) in it. And some people are not happy about that. Juanita tells the sad … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 6 Comments

Budget update

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill: Progress is being made on tax and school finance issues. Both chambers are committed, differences remain but we’re all confident, we know time is running out, blah blah blah. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Budget update

Today’s the day

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s the day for the NFL owners to decide who gets to host Super Bowl 43 (sorry, but any Roman numeral with more than three letters in it is too big a pain in the butt to write). The four … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Hardberger leads in new poll

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The runoff race for San Antonio’s mayor just got more interesting, as a new poll has Phil Hardberger taking a lead over former frontrunner Julian Castro. In poll results that are to be released on News 4 WOAI tonight, Hardberger … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2005 | Comments Off on Hardberger leads in new poll

The Latest On HB 2702

Posted on May 25, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Eye on Williamson County points to the current status of HB2702, the bill that has so far survived the process to clean up stuff from last session’s HB3588, which created the Trans-Texas Corridor. The Senate version of House Bill 2702 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Time for another Texas political blogs update

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been another outbreak of new and new-to-me blogs on the scene lately, so I’m overdue for an update on the Texas political bloggers page. I promise to try and have some action on this by the weekend, but it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 5 Comments

Another contender in HD143

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Still no word from the Governor’s office as to when there will be an election to replace the late Rep. Joe Moreno in HD143. In the meantime, Rob Booth reports that the Harris County GOP has passed a resolution (Word … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2005 | 1 Comment

Reconsidering Whitmire

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got a long memory. Having a blog with categories and archives helps, since I can easily search for stuff I know I’ve written about in the past. One of the things I remember well is how State Sen. John … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 5 Comments

Will probation get reformed?

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Scott says that HB2193, a bill to reform the state’s probation system is up for debate today. The main opposition to this bill appears to be coming from the District Attorney for Williamson County. Here’s what he’s arguing against: Academic … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Voucher bill fails in the House

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

What, you didn’t know there was a school voucher bill in the House? I’ve been trying to keep up with so many other (mostly bad) bills that this one almost slipped right by me. Thankfully, it died in the House … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

RIP, Thurl Ravenscroft

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The wonderfully named Thurl Ravenscroft, who gave voice to Tony the Tiger, has died at the age of 91. Ravenscroft died Sunday of prostate cancer, said Diane Challis Davy, director of Laguna Beach’s Pageant of the Masters. For more than … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 4 Comments

Steve Miller, Incorporated

Posted on May 24, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

There’s something amusing about the concept of Steve Miller being the CEO of his own musical moneymaking empire. He entered the rock pantheon as a joker, smoker and midnight toker. But sitting in a business suit in front of 400 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 3 Comments

Followup on judges post

Posted on May 23, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

My post on the 2005 HBA judges’ poll has generated a fair amount of interest, with a lively comment thread here. I want to clarify a few points about this poll: 1. As I said in the comments, nearly every … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 5 Comments

Ten years of megaplexes

Posted on May 23, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

We passed a milestone last week – the ten-year anniversary of the first megaplex movie theater. While it seems as if gigantic movie theaters have been with us forever, the megaplex theater — defined as having 14 or more screens … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 2 Comments

It’s SBC over TWC in the House

Posted on May 23, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

After losing on more points of order than I can count, Rep. Phil King finally got his bill to allow telcos into the cable-TV biz passed out of the House. The measure was included in a larger bill that extends … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

“Baseball as America”

Posted on May 23, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks to my friend Andrea, I got in to the Members Preview party for Baseball as America at the Museum of Fine Arts on Friday. It’s definitely worth seeing. There’s so much stuff that it’s hard to boil it down … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 1 Comment

Super Bowl decision this week

Posted on May 23, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The NFL owners will get together on Wednesday and vote on who gets to host the Super Bowl in 2009. Houston and Atlanta are reported to remain the favorites for Super Bowl XLIII. Houston, Atlanta, Tampa and Miami are finalists … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

HJR6 and common-law marriage

Posted on May 22, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

So now that we’re on the brink of enshrining a bit of bigotry in the state Constitution, it might be wise to ask: What are the unintended consequences of this? Will the proposed amendment affect common-law marriage? One person who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 5 Comments

Ron Paul

Posted on May 22, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday’s Chron had a front page piece on the gentleman from CD14, Ron Paul. It’s mostly about he’s Not That Kind Of Republican, in the sense that he actually does vote independently some of the time – according to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 4 Comments

Streaking

Posted on May 22, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

My sister Eileen sent me this article in which the Ten Greatest Individual Streaks in Sports are named, and she asked me what I thought of it. Bearing in mind that this sort of thing is always extremely subjective, I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 15 Comments

Judging the judges

Posted on May 21, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Bar Association has published its annual poll (PDF) in which judges’ performances are rated by HBA members. From the press release: Every two years, the HBA asks its members to evaluate all members of the judiciary that serve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 9 Comments

TIERS implementation slowed down

Posted on May 21, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Though a bill to force a slowdown on the implementation of the Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS) died in committee, the rollout will be slowed down after all. From the Quorum Report: Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) just amended a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Poker tournaments: Still illegal

Posted on May 21, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Poker may be very popular these days, but as the Susan G. Komen Foundation found out recently, poker tournaments, even for charity, are still illegal in the state of Texas. Despite proceeds expected to near $300,000, Houston police and the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on Poker tournaments: Still illegal

HJR6 passes the Senate

Posted on May 21, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

It started with a favorable committee vote and was boosted by the flip–flop of Sen. Frank Madla, and now Byron reports that the Double Secret Illegal anti-gay marriage HJR6 has been approved by the Senate, meaning it will be on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 3 Comments

Plunk Biggio in the news

Posted on May 21, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Plunk Biggio gets itself a couple of mentions in the press, from Rich Connelly in this week’s Press and from Jacob Luft on SI.com. A schtick is a good thing to have in the blog world, and Plunk Biggio has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments

Back on the air

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

After a rerun last week, Kevin and I will be back on the air tomorrow circa 10:15-10:30 for the Carter and Carter show on BizRadio 1320. I feel pretty confident that the subject of crazed grackles will come up. If … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 3 Comments

Aren’t you overlooking someone?

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Kristen Mack says the following in regards to the possibility that County Judge Robert Eckels will not run for reelection in 2006: Potential candidates — so far all Republicans in the GOP-dominated county — are already making the rounds hoping … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

These are not the workers you’re looking for

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad that someone finally tried to quantify this. [A] survey released by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas…estimated U.S. employers could lose as much as $627 million from employee absenteeism on Thursday and today, thanks to the mid-week … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 2 Comments

My head is spinning

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Man, you blink and you miss a change in status on HB789. On Wednesday, it was dead again: The plan is a centerpiece of efforts by state Rep. Phil King to overhaul state laws on regulating the telephone and television … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

HJR6 in the Senate

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Despite there being a letter from 11 Senators stating opposition to the Double Secret Illegal anti-gay marriage HJR6, the measure was “debated” in the Senate yesterday. I put “debated” in quotes because as In the Pink documents, what took place … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

And it begins

Posted on May 20, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

This is precisely the sort of tut-tutting I was talking about. Earle’s attendance and remarks attacking DeLay at a Democratic fund-raiser last week in Dallas damaged the credibility of his investigation with a stunning display of prosecutorial impropriety. […] In … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment