Monthly Archives: March 2008

Rep. Cohen responds to court ruling on HB1751

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Ellen Cohen, author of HB1751, which assessed a $5 per-customer surcharge on strip clubs to fund a sex assault prevention fund among other things, sent out the following press release in response to the court ruling that declared the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Higher cost projections for new light rail lines

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news and some not-so-good news for Metro. The Metropolitan Transit Authority got federal permission last week to move forward with preliminary engineering on its planned North and Southeast lines, work that was halted in November while Metro revised … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 6 Comments

Early voting for runoffs begins today

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting for the primary runoff elections begins today. Unlike the primary itself, there are some rules governing how you can vote. Voters who participated in a March 4 primary can vote in the second round only in the runoffs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Early voting for runoffs begins today

A new Republican name to replace Janek

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a little hard to remember amid all the primary excitement that we’re going to have a special election sometime this year to replace State Sen. Kyle Janek, who announced his resignation in January. Janek hasn’t formally resigned yet, so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 2 Comments

The Census and the Congress

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Texas cities on top in population growth. The Houston metropolitan area ranked fourth in the nation for overall population growth between 2006 and 2007, according to new census data — an increase demographers attributed largely to the region’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 2 Comments

New frontiers in outsourcing

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Giving “Made in India” a whole new meaning. Clinics that provide surrogate mothers for foreigners say they have recently been inundated with requests from the United States and Europe, as word spreads of India’s mix of skilled medical professionals, relatively … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Comments Off on New frontiers in outsourcing

The Senate conventions

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron story on the Democrats’ Senate conventions yesterday is pretty much in line with what I’ve heard from folks who attended theirs – some were chaotic, some went smoothly, all had a lot of people and took a long … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 14 Comments

KTRK on Skelly versus Culberson

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the video from a story Miya Shay did on Thursday: I’d argue that Jim Henley was a serious challenger to Culberson in 2006, but obviously Henley didn’t have Skelly’s fundraising capacity. Believe me, that makes a difference. You can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

Endorsement watch: The Chron and the AusChron

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Austin Chronicle makes its runoff recommendations. Railroad Commissioner: Dale Henry We endorsed Dale Henry in the initial primary voting, and we’re happy to endorse him again, after he finished second to advance to a run-off against Mark Thompson. Either … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: The Chron and the AusChron

The sellout that wasn’t

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This may be the last time I beat this particular horse, though I can’t promise that. Texas coach Rick Barnes never has been one to tell 299-pound sophomore center Dexter Pittman to take advantage of his weight. But the UT … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

Pasty time

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

With all their setbacks in court, the local strip clubs are contemplating other options. Eric Langan says he may respond to the U.S. Supreme Court with pasties. Langan, 39, is the chief executive officer of Houston-based Rick’s Cabaret International Inc., … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Judge fines Rosenthal for contempt

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Slap! A federal judge on Friday ordered former Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to pay $18,900 in sanctions after finding him in contempt of court for deleting more than 2,500 e-mails that had been subpoenaed for a federal civil … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

The new DA’s new direction?

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This article is about a guilty plea being entered by two of the four former staffers of the Mayor Pro Tem’s office who were arrested for improperly giving themselves bonuses, but the most interesting bit in the story to me … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on The new DA’s new direction?

Friday random ten: Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

No intro, just random music… 1. “The Rainbow Connection” – Kermit the Frog. From The Muppet Movie, of course, probably the first truly quotable movie I ever saw. “Bear left!” “Right, frog!” “You, you with the banjo, can you help … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Friday random ten: Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

Lastest Ashby plans nixed

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The developers may be moving forward, but the city is saying “not so fast”. City officials have rejected the latest permit applications for the controversial Ashby high-rise, saying the developers must provide more information about traffic impact and take other … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Lastest Ashby plans nixed

Freight rail versus light rail

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

And freight rail wins, for now. The Metropolitan Transit Authority may cut six blocks off its planned East End light rail line, leaving passengers short of the Magnolia Transit Center and much of the developing commercial area around Harrisburg and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

Is that all there is?

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, as of Monday, some 31,000 tickets had been sold for the NCAA Regional Finals at Reliant Stadium, which includes at least one game featuring the UT Longhorns. The presence of the Horns makes this a very desirable … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on Is that all there is?

“Am not!” “Are too!”

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

You know, I’m enjoying the GOP DA runoff as much as the next political junkie, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve seen the last original episode and are now just watching reruns. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 4 Comments

Macias still loses after HD73 recount

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The recount in HD73 has been completed, and the result is the same. The unofficial recount results in the Dist. 73 state representative race indicate that Doug Miller will be the Republican nominee on the ballot in November; Miller now … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

Density and walkability on Montrose and Studemont

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned before that I lived in Montrose for nearly ten years, before I bought a house in the Heights. From 1993 to 1997, I lived on the northern end of Montrose, near Montrose and West Dallas. There wasn’t much … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 9 Comments

Council OKs contract with HOPE

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The collective bargaining agreement that was ratified by HOPE last week has now been officially accepted by City Council. Houston municipal workers celebrated Wednesday after the City Council approved a union contract that will give 13,200 employees an immediate 3 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

More cameras, fewer tickets

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I would classify this as good news. Red-light camera citations have decreased steadily since Houston police boosted their monitoring at intersections six months ago, newly released records show. The number of citations declined by a third, to 17,000 last month … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 5 Comments

Vote early in the runoff

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I know, everyone including me bombarded you with Vote Early! messages during the primary. The reason for that as we know was because of the high turnout that we expected, which turned out to be even higher than … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Vote early in the runoff

“Privatization failure is taxpayers’ burden”

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This Statesman editorial nails it. Because of an effort five years ago to run part of state government more like a business, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is struggling to provide food and medical services to some of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on “Privatization failure is taxpayers’ burden”

Lottery privatization still lurking out there

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I thought the idea of privatizing the Lottery was pretty much dead after it went over with such a thud last year, but apparently some bad ideas never truly go away. Texas would have to expand gambling to see the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | 1 Comment

A new leader for the Hall of Fame

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

David Pinto brings the news. Dale Petroskey stepped down as president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame after the museum’s executive committee found his financial and business decisions weren’t in the best interests of the organization. Petroskey had been … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on A new leader for the Hall of Fame

Vote early, and vote often

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, some people took the “Texas Two-Step” thing a bit too literally. Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman will provide the Harris County District Attorney’s office today copies of the Democratic and Republican poll books that show 1147 names of individuals … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

More on a public defender’s office for Harris County

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg keeps the ball rolling on the public defender’s office for Harris County idea by asking a few candidates for countywide office where they stand on it. The Democrats seemed uncharacteristically united and on message. “It promotes fairness and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Harris County juvenile facilities criticized

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Given the state of the jails, this should not come as a surprise. Local judges, probation employees and others are operating under a patchwork of sometimes quirky standards for deciding which youths get sent to Harris County’s crowded juvenile detention … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Harris County juvenile facilities criticized

NCAA regionals: Did we mention there are still tickets available?

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The first-ever NCAA Regional Finals in Houston continues to provide me with easy entertainment. From the moment tickets went on sale March 19, 2007, through the run-up to the 2008 Tournament, upward of 31,000 tickets were sold for this weekend’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

West U cellphone ban ordinance passed

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The proposal by the city of West University Place to ban cellphone use in school zones has been unanimously adopted by their City Council. The ordinance must be approved a second time to become law. It would go into effect … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

Noriega wins Progressive Patriots poll

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent news from Sen. Feingold: I’m proud to announce that the Progressive Patriots community has chosen U.S. Senate candidate of Texas Rick Noriega as our first ‘Progressive Patriot’ of 2008. Of the thousands of progressives who cast their vote, Rick … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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On the road to victory with Rick Noriega

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Tiffany Tyler

The DSCC continued their “Road to Victory” series this week with a pretty rockin’ look at the Noriega campaign. Having spent a good amount of time at Noriega HQ and having declined invites to their early morning runs, I don’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on On the road to victory with Rick Noriega

WiFi bubbles

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, after EarthLink officially defaulted on its contract with the city to provide municipal WiFi and paid a $5 million penalty for doing so, the city announced a pilot project to provide WiFi hotspots in certain neighborhoods, to be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on WiFi bubbles