Monthly Archives: May 2007

Keffer files for Speaker

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

No maybes about it, we have ourselves an official, unprecedented-for-this-time-of-year Speaker’s race. Via Quorum Report, here’s Jim Keffer’s statement: “State Representative Jim Keffer (R-Eastland) announced today that he has filed his candidacy paperwork for Speaker of the Texas House of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Voter ID chaos in the Senate

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

How wrong I was to think that this week was going to be the calm before the storm. Chaos broke out in the Texas Senate on Tuesday as Democrats blocked consideration of a voter identification bill after successfully arguing that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

The state of the Speaker’s race

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

So do we have a real anti-Speaker insurgency in the House or is it just noise? “Maybe,” says the Chron. One anti-Craddick faction includes the dissident Democrats and Republicans in the House minority who tried unsuccessfully to unseat him in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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And speaking of cameras

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Well, if you don’t like red light cameras, you certainly won’t like downtown surveillance cameras. [The Houston Police Department] is pushing ahead with plans to install more than a dozen closed-circuit video cameras downtown and across Houston, hoping the devices … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Still more red light cameras

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles has the latest batch of red light camera locations around town. I’m fascinated at how many of them overall so far have been at freeway intersections. I presume these are all TxDOT right-of-ways, which means that their revenues … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Prom night

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I never went to a prom – it wasn’t that big a deal at Stuyvesant back when I attended – so perhaps I’m the wrong person to comment on this story, since my general reaction is “who really cares?” But … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 3 Comments

How about best five out of nine?

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

So one of the local referenda on last Saturday’s ballot was a smoking ban ordinance for Baytown. It passed, just as it had passed last November when it was voted on previously. That hasn’t stopped the opponents of said ban … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More city pension woes

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

This doesn’t look good. Short of layoffs, the city won’t meet its full obligation to the municipal pension fund in the next fiscal year, Mayor Bill White says, citing rising public safety and health care costs that are expected to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Lobbying for Craddick

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

If my previous entry isn’t enough to convince you that House Speaker Tom Craddick’s closest buddies are worried about his existential future, consider the following email, which was sent today to all members of the Lege: From: Texas Alliance for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 3 Comments

Speaker’s Race II: The Wrath of Tom

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Clay Robison looks back at last week’s parliamentary revolt in the House and speculates about Speaker Tom Craddick’s future. A speaker’s race, with or without Craddick, is all but assured in advance of the next regular session two years from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Weingarten begins process for River Oaks demolition

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Houstonist brings the latest update on the River Oaks Shopping Center redevelopment: Weingarten Realty Investors, which owns all three properties, on Monday began the process to get approval to demolish the curved section of the River Oaks center on the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

More public funding for the Astrodome Hotel?

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

When last we looked, there was talk of Harris County being the financier for the proposed Astrodome Hotel, as private financing had not come through. Now there may be another public avenue for the project, thanks to the Legislature. Sen. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Talking ’bout my generation

Posted on May 14, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I love this. Pete Townshend probably never imagined this generation singing his song. A group of 40 British seniors (average age: 78) called The Zimmers scored a YouTube hit, gleefully singing The Who’s My Generation in a video that has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 1 Comment

The commercial side of the Art Car Parade

Posted on May 13, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I took Olivia to her first Art Car Parade yesterday. She really enjoyed it, as did I. It’s a great event, one of the things that really makes Houston what it is. It’s grown phenominally in recent years, and with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Election wrapup: Farmers Branch

Posted on May 13, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As predicted, the city ordinance to make renting an apartment to an undocumented immigrant was ratified by the voters in Farmers Branch. With all votes counted, the bitterly contested ordinance passed by 67 percent of the vote. “We are fed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Election wrapup: New Braunfels

Posted on May 13, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The tubers won a victory yesterday as the recall effort against New Braunfels City Council member Ken Valentine was a success. Voters turned District 6 Councilman Ken Valentine out of office Saturday in a successful recall effort spurred largely by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Election wrapup: Houston City Council

Posted on May 13, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Melissa Noriega came close to getting a clear majority of the vote in yesterday’s City Council special election, but fell just short. She will be in a runoff with Roy Morales. Noriega, a Houston Independent School District … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 3 Comments

Runoff coming

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Melissa Noriega came close to winning outright today, but fell a little short. Here are the totals. She got 46.5% of the vote, with Roy Morales coming in second at 18.7%. Total turnout was a shade over 4%. The runoff … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 1 Comment

Here come the bikini bars

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As predicted, the local strip clubs have a Plan B: Reinventing themselves as bikini bars. Topless and fully nude clubs could avoid regulation altogether if their dancers wear bikinis, or even skimpier opaque coverings, allowing them to get around the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Get out there and vote!

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

It’s May 12. You know what that means. Vote first, then go to the Art Car Parade. Polls are open until 7 PM. Continue reading →

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Farmers Branch mayor: Vote against the ordinance

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never, I guess. The mayor of the first city in Texas to forbid landlords from renting apartments to illegal immigrants is urging voters to strike down the ordinance. It’s the first time Mayor Bob Phelps has taken … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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One bourbon, one scotch, and one lottery ticket

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

You know what I was thinking? I was thinking that what our great state’s watering holes really needed was the ability to sell lottery tickets. And now, they may just get it. The House gave final approval this afternoon to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | 1 Comment

Forty-one cents

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready for another postage increase on Monday. Come Monday, postage for a first-class letter will rise to 41 cents. The last increase also was a 2-cent bump in January 2006. For Mary Bermudez, 67, standing in line at the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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HB1892 veto coming

Posted on May 12, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday threatened to veto a transportation bill that includes a moratorium on toll roads and to call the Legislature back into special session even if lawmakers override his veto. The bill — House Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Exporting our bad ideas

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Remember Rick Perry’s grand idea to sell the Lottery? Perhaps you’ve forgotten, since the last I can recall hearing about it was in February, and as far as I can tell it’s deader than Generalissimo Franco. But just to prove … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | 2 Comments

City to SOBs: Move it or lose it

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The long-awaited crackdown on sexually oriented businesses is officially underway, and it’s aggressive. The city has ordered more than 100 adult cabarets, bookstores and other so-called sexually oriented businesses to close down their operations or face criminal and civil penalties, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Care to revise and extend your turnout estimate?

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when the Harris County Clerk’s office projected eight percent turnout for tomorrow’s election? How optimistic they were. A turnout of 5 percent to 6 percent is expected for Saturday’s joint election based on the number of people who voted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 1 Comment

Metro “lawsuit” hearing on Tuesday

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Via my comments and my email, it looks like there will be a hearing for the Section 202 petition against Metro that anti-rail crusader Daphne Scarbrough filed recently. The details, as I understand them: Cause No. 2007-22066 Case link: http://apps.jims.hctx.net/courts/CaseInquiry.do?casenum=200722066 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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CHIP administrative issues

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Garnet Coleman explains why legislative policies aren’t the only reason why CHIP enrollment drops. Administrative directives are policies that govern the administration of CHIP. These policies are not state laws, which must be established by the Texas Legislature, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Burka on SB1317

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Paul Burka delves into the politics of anti-clean air bill SB1317 and how it wound up in the wrong committee in the House. The bill addresses a legitimate issue, which is how far cities should be able to extend their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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HB159 goes down

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Good. An attempt to overturn a groundbreaking 2001 Texas law allowing certain illegal immigrants to receive cheaper in-state tuition rates at state universities all but died in the House late Wednesday. After Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, upheld a challenge to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

Rep. Farrar’s personal privilege speech on HB1098

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The following speech was delivered on the floor of the House by Rep. Jessica Farrar after HB1098 became law without Governor Perry’s signature: Mr. Speaker and Members- I come before you today to deliver the first personal privilege speech of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Targeting 2008: CD10

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

BOR lists “Five Things You Can Do To Help Win TX-10”. We know there’s two announced candidates on the Democratic side, and we know that incumbent Michael McCaul won with a modest 55% in 2006. What else do we know … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Feds keep circling around Tom DeLay

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Poor Tom DeLay. He’s just a little ol’ citizen-journalist now, but those nasty ol’ Feds won’t leave him alone. DeLay said he has given the FBI documents exonerating his wife, but an associate of the former lawmaker said that agents … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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