Monthly Archives: December 2006

No more jails!

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Three cheers for John Whitmire. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said there is no need for local government to spend at least $267 million building two jails when it could cut the inmate population at the county jail by allowing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Robinson Warehouse: What a difference a week makes

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

After taking these pictures last Monday, I was unable to get back to the Robinson Warehouse at all this week. As you’ll see, there’s been quite a bit of progress in the demolition since then. But before I get to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Robinson Warehouse: What a difference a week makes

Clinton and Cisneros

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Were you not able to be in San Antonio for the get-out-the-vote rally with Bill Clinton and Henry Cisneros? Have no fear, PM Bryant was there, and he’s got pictures and video from the event for you. A quick review … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on Clinton and Cisneros

Just say no

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I swear, people find the silliest damn things to worry about. In the centuries before party invitations were pinged across cyberspace, invitees did not feel compelled to explain in depth how a soiree conflicted with their Lamaze class, spa weekend … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Comments Off on Just say no

So long, Shelley

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

And thanks for all the speeches. She marched into Congress determined to help cut taxes and reform immigration despite the fact that she was only serving out a lame-duck term. But after two weeks of legislative business on Capitol Hill, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on So long, Shelley

Pennywisdom, pound-foolishnes, and Pettite

Posted on December 10, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t doubt that the Yankees did everything they could to bring Andy Pettite back to the Bronx. (And as a lifelong Yankee fam I appreciate that effort.) But let’s face it: The Yankees didn’t win Pettite so much as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 3 Comments

HOV history

Posted on December 10, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Christof has a couple of good posts about the history and future of HOV/HOT lanes. Good stuff in there, so check it out. One of the themes in Christof’s second post is the effect of access to and from HOV/HOT … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on HOV history

Saint Arnold’s roundup

Posted on December 10, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of reporting and bloggage on the Saint Arnold legislative project. As I hoped, it’s all positive. For those who missed it in my previous post, here’s a statement from them about what in particular they want. So … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Reaction to Woodlands deal

Posted on December 9, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I had noticed that there was no negative reaction to the Houston/Woodlands non-annexation deal in yesterday’s story. Today we get some. Two local lawmakers, though, said they expect to give the deal a close look before backing enabling legislation. “From … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Fourteen for 07

Posted on December 9, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Now that hurricane season is officially over, we can begin hurricane prediction season for 2007. Colorado State forecaster William Gray has predicted 14 named storms for next year, including three major hurricanes and four other hurricanes. He and fellow researcher … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Comments Off on Fourteen for 07

Star Trek: A new beginning?

Posted on December 9, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Pete brings the news of the latest Star Trek movie. Although many have suspected it to be the case for months now, it’s finally official: J.J. Abrams will be directing Paramount’s planned reboot/prequel of “Star Trek”. Abrams has long been … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Comments Off on Star Trek: A new beginning?

Stars over Kirby

Posted on December 9, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

You know that Kirby Drive Storm Sewer Relief Project that is slowly making its way north like an invading army? Via Houstonist, I see that it will have an aesthetic component to it as well. Prominent Texas-star inlays at eight … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A deal for the Woodlands

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

So the Woodlands may not become part of Houston after all. Voters in The Woodlands could decide as early as next year whether to take the first steps toward self-government under a deal that also would remove the possibility of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

HD29 weekend activities

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

CD23 isn’t the only election going on this month – the special election to fill the vacant HD29 is Tuesday, December 19, with early voting going on Monday through Friday of next week. There’s phonebanking and blockwalking going on this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on HD29 weekend activities

Saint Arnold Goes To Austin

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this previously on Kuff’s World, but now I can present to you the official unveiling of the effort by Saint Arnold and other Texas microbrewers to change the law in Texas to give them the same rights as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Lights in the Heights 2006

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Once again Lights in the Heights is upon us. Houstonist has a summary, while the Chron has all you need to know. “This year we are doing it a little differently, running from 6-10 p.m.,” said Sharon Greiff, who co-chairs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Fix that sidewalk!

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Miya Shay highlights an issue on which I’d like to see some action. Yesterday, between all the babble about employee unions, several council members actually talked about something that you and I use daily: sidewalks! Mainly, Council Member Sue Lovell’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on Fix that sidewalk!

CD23 roundup

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of stuff happening in the CD23 runoff as early voting draws to an end. Here’s a link dump for you so you can keep up: Henry Bonilla goes very negative amid rumors that his lead over Ciro Rodriguez is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on CD23 roundup

Still debating Andrea Yates

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I did read this op-ed from Sunday by Michael Welner, the highly-paid prosecution expert in the Andrea Yates retrial, and I remember thinking “wow, what a pompous ass”, but for whatever the reason I never got around to blogging about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Dewhurst gets on board the “End TAKS” train

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

In the matter of Sen. Florence Shapiro’s stated desire to end TAKS as we know it, she now has an ally in David Dewhurst. “Our interest is to be able to move away from the test to end-of-course exams and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

What to do with sex offenders

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The following was forwarded to me by a reader. I thought it was provocative. I present it here in the interest of starting a conversation. Warning to Texas residents: a group of individuals, still at large, poses an imminent threat … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 2 Comments

(Still) Spamming the globe

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, you’re getting more spam. Hearing from a lot of new friends lately? You know, the ones that write “It’s me, Esmeralda,” and tip you off to an obscure stock that is “poised to explode” or a great deal on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on (Still) Spamming the globe

RIP, “Foxtrot”

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another popular comic strip artist is planning an early retirement. FoxTrot, the popular comic strip that runs in more than 1,000 newspapers – including the Chronicle – will end daily production Dec. 30, as its creator joins the growing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 3 Comments

Bob’s your moneyman

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Must be nice to have sixteen million dollars to invest in political giving. Houston home builder Bob Perry poured $16 million into state and federal races during the recent election cycle, apparently making him the biggest individual political contributor in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 2 Comments

Perry: We don’t need no stinking fence

Posted on December 7, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Now that he has safely been re-elected, Governor Perry can finally say what anybody with two brain cells to rub together already knows, which is that building a fence along the US-Mexico border is “preposterous”. Gov. Rick Perry, who built … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 1 Comment

“Not necessary to toll”

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Paul Burka attended a committee meeting by the Study Commission on Transportation Financing, at which David Ellis, a co-author of a report by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M, gave some interesting testimony about road funding. Executive summary: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

2006 Texan of the Year: ParentPAC and Carolyn Boyle

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has named Carolyn Boyle and Texas Parent PAC its “Texan of the Year” for 2006. Which is to say we got smart this time and picked someone who couldn’t get Leiningered in the next primary. Of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 5 Comments

Feel the power

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Sweet. I didn’t even have to blog about this. Texas bloggers: Retract your claws. Vicki Truitt means you no harm. The Keller state representative has been public enemy No. 1 for bloggers for the past three weeks because of a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

SurveyUSA says: Bonilla leads by seven

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

We have a poll for the runoff. In a runoff election today, 12/4/06, in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla appears to edge Democrat Ciro Rodriguez, 53% to 46%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WOAI-TV … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 1 Comment

Targeting 2008: Congress

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I think we can all agree that the 2006 strategy among the powers that be among Texas Democrats, which was to focus on the State Legislature while largely ignoring the statewide races, was a success on its own terms. Dems … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 5 Comments

The HDCC

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

BOR has done a series of posts on how the Dems made gains in this last election cycle. The latest entry gives props to the least well known of the factors, the House Democratic Campaign Committee, or HDCC. Check it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Advertising the TTC

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Christof notes that the much-derided Trans Texas Corridor is the subject of a fawning (and, not surprisingly, deceptive) billboard in Midtown. I’ll leave the fact checking to Christof, but the very existence of such a thing raises an obvious question: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 6 Comments

Robinson Warehouse – Moving around to the back

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

As you can see, the sliding floor has slid. With that, the action has moved around back, to the south end of the warehouse. Click on for more. Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

The best and worst of 2006

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Vince has put together a Best and Worst of 2006 survey that’s worth checking out. I just finished filling in my responses – click on the More link to see what I entered., or click here to see PDiddie’s. Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on The best and worst of 2006