Monthly Archives: February 2007

Last word on Old Spanish Trail

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, it is finished. There’s good news for rodeo fans, barbecue lovers and thousands of drivers tired of jolting like a bull rider along Old Spanish Trail near Reliant Park and the Texas Medical Center. A repaving job … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

Making pharmacists fib

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little late to the party on the demerits of HB23, which would force pharmacists to read a “warning” about the morning after pill to purchasers, as well as post a sign and keep records like they do for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Making pharmacists fib

Rent to own, Lege-style

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The Star Telegram takes a close look at why some legislators love the concept of separate property. It’s illegal for Texas lawmakers to use campaign funds to buy real estate or enrich themselves, but several legislators have used a loophole … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 4 Comments

Meet Rep. Rick Noriega

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, my social calendar is a bit curtailed these days. But that shouldn’t stop you from making it to a fine event such as this: The Houston Democratic Forum invites you to a Casual Q&A with Our Special … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on Meet Rep. Rick Noriega

CHIP Day – March 1

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I expect to have more on this soon, but I have been told that Rep. Patrick Rose, the chair of the Human Services Committee, will have a meeting on March 1 to hear testimony about CHIP and the various bills … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

Pay or play

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

First mentioned in his State of the City address, Mayor White has unveiled the outline of his pay or play proposal for contractors that do business with the city. In an effort to reduce the estimated 1.2 million county residents … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on Pay or play

Want to ask the candidates a question?

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’m about to start doing interviews with the candidates for the City Council special election on May 12. I hope to interview all of them, and will ask each of them a number of the same questions. I’m in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 3 Comments

The budget bungle

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Paul Burka, who says it feels like May in the House, previews the next budget atrocity about to be visited upon us. Democrats believe that the play is that [Appropriations Chair Warren] Chisum will bring a bill to the floor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 3 Comments

More on the TXU ruling

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Inside the Texas Capitol had a bit of an epiphany regarding the TXU fast-track matter, for which Governor Perry was slapped down on Tuesday. He’s seeing a cap-and-trade angle that TXU might be trying to exploit while it still can. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on More on the TXU ruling

Exploring the Neartown options

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Christof continues his tour of the Universities line route options, this time with a look at the Neartown area, which as we know wants the line built on Richmond. He’s got the usual maps and diagrams to make everything clearer, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on Exploring the Neartown options

Will Eckels’ departure be a twofer?

Posted on February 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I still don’t care what Robert Eckels will or will not be doing now that he’s cashed in and moved on. But there is an item of interest at the very end of this story, and it has to do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Gus Wortham: Still for golf

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like the golf-or-soccer conundrum regarding the Gus Wortham golf course has been resolved in favor of the fairways. Mayor Bill White on Tuesday all but ruled out use of the Gus Wortham Golf Course on Houston’s East End as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on Gus Wortham: Still for golf

So long, spending cap

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you heard yesterday was the spending cap being officially busted. It took a GOP majority and the need to subsidize billions of dollars in promised local school property tax relief for the Texas Legislature to vote for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Neartown Association endorses Cummins route for Universities line

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The Neartown Association, which includes multiple neighborhood associations, has sent a letter to Metro in which they “fully endorse and support” the Cummins route for the Universities line. They also characterize the Montrose route that’s being championed by Rep. Culberson … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on Neartown Association endorses Cummins route for Universities line

Leave a “Get Well” message for Debra Danburg

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Former State Rep. Debra Danburg, who underwent cancer surgery yesterday, has a blog that is tracking her progress and serving as a collection point for well-wishes. If you would like to send a Get Well Soon sentiment to her, here’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Leave a “Get Well” message for Debra Danburg

Craig Watkins

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I loved this profile of new Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins that ran in yesterday’s Chron. It’s truly refreshing to see a DA who’s more interested in getting it right than in racking up statistics. When DNA evidence exonerated … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Craig Watkins

Bill to extend early voting filed

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a big fan of early voting. I vote early in every election, and if I had my way, we’d extend the “voting center” concept of early voting to Election Day. If I had a complaint about Early Voting, it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

One, two, three, what are we selling the Lottery for?

Posted on February 21, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got to give the Senate Finance Committee credit here – they asked some pretty good questions about the proposed Lottery sell-off. Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, wondered whether a private company operating the lottery might view slot machines as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | Comments Off on One, two, three, what are we selling the Lottery for?

Dedicating the sporting goods tax

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

South Texas Chisme looks at the headline Legislature to debate the use of sporting goods tax for parks and wails in despair “WHY IS THERE EVEN A DEBATE? WHY WASN’T THAT TAX USED FOR PARKS BEFORE?” I don’t have a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Dedicating the sporting goods tax

City WiFi on the agenda

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s some more info about the the citywide WiFi initiative, which was on today’s City Council agenda. Houston officials and the contractor they chose last week for the project say they have learned from other cities’ mistakes. “We’re learning some … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Perry’s TXU order shot down

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A state district judge today blocked Gov. Rick Perry’s executive order creating a fast-track permitting process for coal-fired electric generating plants, a ruling that also could impact the debate over Perry’s order requiring cervical cancer vaccinations for pre-teen girls. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 1 Comment

HB2: Property tax cuts uber alles

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday, the House picked up where the Senate left off on the issue of busting the spending cap to fund the excessive property tax cuts. After a mostly harmonious debate concerning extending the tax cut from the last special session … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on HB2: Property tax cuts uber alles

Eckels: It was all about me

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t really care who Robert Eckels is going to work for. It was a safe bet it was going to be something high-powered and high-paying, it was just a matter of which big-name firm would be signing his checks. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 5 Comments

How do you TiVo?

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Dwight has a question for all you TiVo and TiVo-like users: So how about you? Like commercials or hate ’em? If you own a DVR, do you watch the ads or zap through them? If you like them, ‘fess up: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 2 Comments

Get well soon, Debra Danburg

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Debra Danburg was my State Rep for most of the 90s when I lived in Montrose. I’m very sorry to hear that she has cancer of the bile duct and is scheduled for surgery today. I join Rep. Hochberg and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Get well soon, Debra Danburg

Still more on Old Spanish Trail

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Rad Sallee must have really struck a nerve with his columns about the sorry state of Old Spanish Trail because he’s gone back to the well for a third time. Texas Department of Transportation area engineer Maureen Wakeland had briefly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on Still more on Old Spanish Trail

Onion Creek goes smokefree

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Marty Hajovsky brings me some good news about my neighborhood pub. Following its inception in the fall of 2002, Onion Creek Coffee House has been an innovator, being the first establishment of its type in the area, and also being … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Onion Creek goes smokefree

City Council redistricting: Back on the agenda?

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, the City of Houston will be required to redraw City Council boundaries, adding in two new single-member districts, when its population hits 2.1 million. It looked like that process was going to get started last August, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on City Council redistricting: Back on the agenda?

This is not your father’s Fort Bend County

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Juanita notes something that bears repeating. Here we are in what is assumed to be the conservative stronghold of America. It’s Tom DeLay’s old district, for Pete’s sake. Yet all three of the Congressmen from Fort Bend County – Al … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 3 Comments

Dynamo Stadium: Not on the golf course

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

We now have some official opposition to the proposal that’s been floated to turn the Gus Wortham golf course into a soccer facility for the Houston Dynamo. Walter Boyd makes the case for saving the Wortham course in this Sunday … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 4 Comments

Forty-one

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Today is my 41st birthday. I started the celebration early by changing Audrey’s diapers at 2 AM and 4 AM, and by reassuring Olivia after she had a bad dream at 3 AM. Do I know how to party or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 7 Comments

Is that a Bigfoot foot?

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

You all know how I feel about claims regarding Bigfoot. Am I about to be proven wrong? When the foot turned up at the Spotsylvania County, Va., landfill, the first thought was that someone had committed a brutal crime. Deputies … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Skepticism | Comments Off on Is that a Bigfoot foot?

NCAA to change clock rules again

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

If you hated the new clock rules that the NCAA implemented for football this past season, then this will warm your heart. Upon review … college football’s rules-makers found evidence to overturn last season’s controversial efforts to speed up games. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on NCAA to change clock rules again

Once more with toll road math

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not the Trans-Texas Corridor, but this report on how much you’ll pay to drive on the new toll roads in Central Texas illustrates a point I’ve made several http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/008494.html#008494. So, what does it cost you to drive on Central … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment