Monthly Archives: July 2005

Texas Supremes Get Some Oral

Posted on July 6, 2005 by admin

Arguments, that is. Today’s the day the Texas Supreme Court will hear from both sides of the school finance case. The latest Supreme Court case began in 2001, when a group of property-wealthy districts known as the West Orange-Cove plaintiffs, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Texas Supremes Get Some Oral

All Eyes On the Gulf 2005: The Fun is Just Beginning

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

This year’s hurricane season has already set a record, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cindy is expected to be more wet than windy and Dennis is not yet a serious menace to anyone, but together the two tropical storms churning … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 3 Comments

So Who Does 911 Call For An Emergency

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

Audit warns staffing shortage hampering Houston’s 911 center City Controller, Anisse Parker, has put out the results of her audit on the Houston Emergency Center and the results aren’t good: Parker’s report cites “pervasively” low morale among the center’s employees, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on So Who Does 911 Call For An Emergency

Aiyer on Public Safety

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

JayForHouston.com :: Houston’s Public Safety Crisis Now THIS is what I’m talking about … I’ve staked my claim as a supporter of Jay Aiyer for City Council from the get-go. The biggest part of this was due to the depth … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2005 | 5 Comments

Perry v Bush: The Clawback

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

The new Medicare drug benefit that goes into effect in January will cover “dual eligibles”, which are people on both Medicare and Medicaid. This group is generally in worse health and is costlier than either people on Medicaid only or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on Perry v Bush: The Clawback

Even Legislators Need Love

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

Intro: Hello, OTK readers! I’m Hope. I blog in an extremely random fashion at the Appalachia Alumni Association. I went to the LBJ School, worked two sessions as a Texas Senate staffer (for former Senator Mike Moncrief) and spent over … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | Comments Off on Even Legislators Need Love

I, the Jury

Posted on July 5, 2005 by admin

Intro: I’m Matt Cohen, occasionally referred to in this space as “buddy Matt“. Despite working professionally with the Internet since 1989, this is my first blog post. Tomorrow morning (Tuesday, July 5th), I start a two month term on a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 2 Comments

Independence and Patriotism

Posted on July 4, 2005 by admin

Following up on Julia Sisyphus’s post, a new poll shows patriotism remains near an all-time high in America: Whether or not “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” as the British writer Samuel Johnson observed more than 200 years … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Independence and Patriotism

lest we forget

Posted on July 4, 2005 by admin

the annotated Declaration of Independence, on its birthday How’s it going edition. IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on lest we forget

All Out War, Redux: Can You Hear Me Now?

Posted on July 4, 2005 by admin

Since today feels like a Sunday, I thought it’d be as good a time as any to engage in a longwinded magazine-style blog post on a topic that Kuff and I have been doing a bit to emphasize. That point, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on All Out War, Redux: Can You Hear Me Now?

Back to Consensus-ville

Posted on July 4, 2005 by admin

Gloom clouds special session So how is that special session going for Governor Perry? “I don’t think people are overly enthusiastic about being here,” said Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte. “The mood I sense is everybody’s pretty skeptical about being … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Back to Consensus-ville

Blue genes?

Posted on July 3, 2005 by admin

Quick intro and hello: I’m Ellen, from Hello Helliemae, and am thrilled to be a guest at Off the Kuff. Now back to the regular programming… “Issues do not explain Americans’ politics.” Boy, that’s an understatement. But what does? Last … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Comments Off on Blue genes?

New York City: One of life’s winners

Posted on July 3, 2005 by admin

Brad DeLong points us to a new paper which attempts to explain how New York got so big, and stays so big: For 200 years, New York City has been the largest city in the nation, and it continues to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | 2 Comments

Hermann Park

Posted on July 2, 2005 by admin

I’ve never really been down there before tonight; a friend of mine decided he wanted a picnic for his birthday. I highly recommend doing that. In the winter, when it’s not so derned hot. Good times. Especially the “playing chicken … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Hermann Park

Kinky vs. Obscene

Posted on July 2, 2005 by admin

One unexplored reality of the possibility that John Sharp may be soon entering the race for governor is that it changes the ballot-access calculus drastically for the Kinkynauts. I fully intend to support the Democratic candidate next November. Until recently, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 8 Comments

Arianna’s Oddball Friends: The Ted Poe Edition

Posted on July 2, 2005 by admin

I knew I’d have to go easy on making jokes at Arianna Huffington’s expense once she signed up some quality like Harry Shearer. But not being content to merely lure one of my own faves, Andrei Cherny, out of a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Arianna’s Oddball Friends: The Ted Poe Edition

Is This Thing On?

Posted on July 2, 2005 by admin

Well, since Chucky has fled the Lone Star State to prevent a quorum of revellers for the I-day celebration, it looks like he’s made the grand mistake of entrusting me as part of his cadre of pinch-hitters. So, by way … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 1 Comment

A little time with my family

Posted on July 2, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to be taking a few days off to spend with my family. We’ll be taking off later today to fly to Portland to spend the week with my parents and various other members of the Kuffner clan. Since … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 1 Comment

Trouble for prosecutors in Kenny Boy case?

Posted on July 2, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

I scanned this story yesterday but didn’t have much time to think about it. In an unusual move, a federal judge Thursday let lawyers for former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling ask the attorneys for the 15 people … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Trouble for prosecutors in Kenny Boy case?

Taxing cigarettes

Posted on July 2, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Since various cigarette tax proposals have been floated around during the school finance reform debate, I thought this story on Michigan’s experience with a tax hike on tobacco would make for some useful reading. Cigarette sales in Michigan are on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Accenture takes over

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

After much hemming and hawing over how it was awarded, Accenture has officially won the bid to take over the state’s health and human services screening. State officials claim the new system, which will begin processing CHIP applicants in November, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

The Senate passes its bill

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Wrapping things up for the week before the holiday weekend… The Senate has passed its form of school finance reform. The Senate measure would raise teacher pay by at least $500 in 2006 and an additional $1,500 in 2007, restore … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on The Senate passes its bill

One question about the crime lab problems

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve scanned through the introduction to the Phase I report of the HPD Crime Lab investigaton and will try to read it all the way through soon (we’re about to leave town, so don’t hold me to the “soon” part) … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Blogging the Lege

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Governing Magazine has a cover story on political blogs in Texas, in particular blogs that focused on the State Legislature. Eileen Smith is the cover girl and main focus of the piece, but they did talk to a few other … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 2 Comments

Where the growth is

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here – Houston’s suburbs have rapid growth rates. Between the 2000 head count and July 1, 2004, Houston’s population increased by 3 percent, according to the new estimates. During the same period, populations in Missouri City and League … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Sharp to enter the race?

Posted on July 1, 2005 by Charles Kuffner

Karl-T has it on good authority that John Sharp is finally ready to officially announce his intention to run for Governor. With all due respect, we’ve been seeing these straws in the wind for awhile now, so until I hear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments