Monthly Archives: September 2007

Yanez announces for Supreme Court

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that Court of Appeals Judge Linda Yanez has announced her intention to run for the State Supreme Court. From her press release: Yanez, a Democrat and the Senior Justice on the 13th Court of Appeals, said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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“The Evolver”

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve probably heard about Robert Draper’s book Dead Certain, in which the author got a remarkable amount of access to President Bush. If you haven’t bought the book yet, you can read an excerpt from the excerpt that Texas Monthly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment

Another year, another dollar coin design

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

And the great dollar coin experiment continues on. Congress on Tuesday approved a redesign of the Sacagawea dollar in hopes of enticing consumer and business use of the gold-colored dollar. Under legislation passed by voice vote in the House and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 1 Comment

EZ Tag traffic down

Posted on September 6, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Traffic in Houston’s EZ Tag lanes was down 7 percent on Tuesday after the 25 cent toll increase went into effect compared to the week before. Officials attributed the dip in part to some commuters stretching out their Labor Day … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The filing deadline approacheth

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Only three hours till the filing deadline for the November city elections. Here’s the candidate list (PDF) as of this morning – Matt Stiles has it in sorted Google docs format here. Despite his earlier press release, Roy Morales has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 7 Comments

It’s Time For HISD’s “Reach Out To Dropouts” Effort

Posted on September 5, 2007 by admin

Houston City Council Member Adrian Garcia sent this message out, and Rick Noriega got it and sent it to me: We are all aware that the back-to-school time is upon us. Many students and parents are very busy looking for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Prop 15 campaign kickoff at Rice today

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The following is a press release from State Rep. Ellen Cohen: In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued his challenge to land a man on the moon by the decade’s end at Rice Stadium. The same week, 45 years later, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2007 | 1 Comment

Only six more to go

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Six more hurricanes, that is. Hurricane expert William Gray downgraded his 2007 Atlantic storms forecast slightly Tuesday, but he still predicted above-average activity for the remaining three months of the season, with six more hurricanes, three of them major. One … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 1 Comment

Que Quechup?

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

One other thing I generally don’t do while I’m out of town is deal with email that requires anything more than a read and maybe a quick response. That was a good thing this weekend, because I had three invitations … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Que Quechup?

Why is Kinky Friedman still in my newspaper?

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Oh good Lord, are we going to be subjected to this same story every time he opens his mouth near a reporter? Kinky Friedman is considering entering the campaign for Texas governor in 2010 as a Democrat. Friedman said the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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“Dirty Jobs”

Posted on September 5, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Have I mentioned that we love the show “Dirty Jobs” at the Kuffner household? Here’s a nice feature story about this show, which captures part of the reason why we like it so. It’s a crystal clear afternoon here, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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HFD Intern blogging

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Tobias Schafer, who is a firefighter from Germany here visiting Houston as an intern with HFD and blogging about his experiences. It’s pretty interesting reading, both in terms of seeing what firefighters do and seeing our city through a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Olivo gets primaried again

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Hal reports on the announcement that Fort Bend activist Ron E. Reynolds will challenge State Rep. Dora Olivo for the Democratic nomination for HD27 next year. District 27 has been represented by state Rep. Dora Olivo (D – Rosenberg) for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

And so the demolition begins

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know when exactly it happened, since I was out of town for a few days and just drove past it for the first time in nearly a week today, but demolition has finally begun on the River Oaks … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Tolling the interstates?

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a story from the weekend that I daresay raised an eyebrow or two. The Texas Department of Transportation is pushing Congress to pass a federal law allowing the state to “buy back” parts of existing interstate highways and turn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

Is it a surcharge if no one pays it?

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve blogged before about the “Texas Driver Responsibility Act of 2003”, which added large surcharges to various traffic offenses. Turns out, quite a few people aren’t paying them, even though they risk arrest for not doing so. Passed in 2003, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Is it a surcharge if no one pays it?

Jack comes to the radio dial

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve got ourselves a new station format in town. The eclectic, iPod shuffle-like music format known as Jack FM [made] its Houston debut at 10:37 a.m. Friday at 103.7 FM. The Cumulus Media station, now known as KIOL or Rock … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 4 Comments

Q&A on the Universities line

Posted on September 4, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Some good questions and interesting answers concerning the Universities line, all of which arose during last week’s public hearing. A couple that caught my eye: Q: Christof Spieler and Daphne Scarbrough asked why plans do not show a station serving … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 3

Posted on September 3, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Even though it’s Labor Day, we’ve still got a Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round-Up for the week. This Labor Day edition was compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex. Take it away, Vince! Continue reading →

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Hello, Felix

Posted on September 3, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

We were out of town this weekend, and as is often the case when we travel I lose track of what’s going on in the world. So, I was a bit surprised to pick up today’s Chron upon our return … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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From the “Things My Parents Didn’t Have To Deal With” Department

Posted on September 3, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

We visited Austin over the weekend to attend a wedding, and stayed at a hotel. I was carrying Olivia as we were waiting for the elevator to go back to our room. When the elevator arrived, Olivia decided to climb … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on From the “Things My Parents Didn’t Have To Deal With” Department

TAB indictment thrown out again

Posted on September 2, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The second time is not a charm for Ronnie Earle. A judge in Travis County, for a second time, has thrown out an indictment accusing the Texas Association of Business of breaking state election law during the 2002 legislative campaigns. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A candidate for HD144

Posted on September 1, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

After State Rep. Robert Talton announced his intention to run for Congress, a Republican candidate to replace him popped up quickly. Now there’s a Democrat to join him, a fellow named Bob Sonnier. I don’t know a thing about him … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on A candidate for HD144