Monthly Archives: May 2008

Put that BlackBerry down!

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Via JK On the Phone, here’s a story that’s close to my heart. CANADIAN bureaucrats’ use of BlackBerry mobile devices and similar gadgets has become so prevalent that their union today called for extra wages for workers connected 24/7 to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Put that BlackBerry down!

Gotta watch those nuns

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I nominate these ladies as the poster children of the voter ID debate. About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn’t have state or federal identification bearing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on Gotta watch those nuns

Abbott makes hash of needle-exchange program

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Ridiculous. The only government-funded needle exchange program in Texas was quashed before it could even begin, after Attorney General Greg Abbott said today that the law wasn’t clear enough for a new Bexar County pilot program to move forward. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Abbott makes hash of needle-exchange program

The jail overcrowding blues, part whatever

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the same old story. With the Harris County Jail already filled to the brim and an influx of inmates expected this summer, the sheriff’s department is asking Commissioners Court for permission to send another 1,130 more inmates to Louisiana … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on The jail overcrowding blues, part whatever

RIP, Mildred Loving

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Mildred Loving, one-half of the Virginia couple whose Supreme Court case struck down laws against interracial marriage, has died at the age of 68. Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on RIP, Mildred Loving

New flash: Trial lawyers weren’t the problem

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, Monday’s Chron sure was full of head-slappers, wasn’t it? Suburbs have traffic! Professors are people! Tort “reform” hasn’t done squat about the high cost of medical insurance! In 2003 doctors, insurance companies and state leaders sold the voters on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 10 Comments

News flash: Professors are people, too

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

There’s slow news days, and then there’s slow news days. Texas university professors overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates in their campaign contributions, a Houston Chronicle study of Federal Election Commission records has found. Faculty members have contributed $406,384 to Democratic candidates … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of May 5

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Still pondering what this year’s NBA playoffs might have been for the Rockets with a healthy Yao Ming? I can’t help you with that – I’m right there with you, in fact – but I can tell you that politics … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of May 5

Some good poll news from Rasmussen

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. It’s time to add United States Senator John Cornyn to the list of potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents in Election 2008. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

News flash: Suburbs have traffic, too

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I keep trying not to say “DUH!!!” as I read this story about suburban traffic woes, but it’s hard not to react that way. Traffic congestion, long the bane of downtown workers and residents living near the city center, afflicts … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

Next up for Lloyd Kelley

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Having successfully wrung a settlement out of Harris County in the Ibarra case – making a nice piece of change in the process – you’d think Lloyd Kelley would be done making headlines for awhile. You’d be wrong about that. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Next up for Lloyd Kelley

The next frontier for innocence

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Grits says that now that the number of innocence-related cases for which DNA evidence still exists are rapidly declining, the next frontier may be arson convictions: [Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas] predicted that beyond DNA cases, which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on The next frontier for innocence

Geothermal and solar

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve spent a lot of time cheering for the expansion of wind energy in Texas, but that’s far from the only renewable energy source out there. There’s other forms out there, and they deserve support as well. The HMNS blog … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Geothermal and solar

That other border

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Great article in Salon about how our current obsession with border security is damaging our relationship with Canada, and directly harming businesses on both sides of the US-Canadian border, which for years have thrived on easy crossings. If the tighter … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on That other border

Form and zoning

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

David Crossley uses the recent Houston Area Survey results on attitudes towards city planning as a starting point for this op-ed about a favorite topic of his, form-based codes. [T]he question that has stirred debate was “Are you in favor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Form and zoning

Higher gas prices, more transit riders

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

When I blogged about the new light rail proposal for Austin, I noted that an argument being made in its favor by one of its proponents on Austin City Council was that as gasoline prices continued to climb, they had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

Score one for the Visitors Bureau

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. The president of CityPass wasn’t convinced there was much to do in Houston. Mike Gallagher had been to Houston 25 years ago on business, and as far as he could tell, about the only attraction was Johnson Space Center. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Score one for the Visitors Bureau

The highbrow Hooters

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

According to an ad I saw in the Houston Press the other day, this place opened for business last Friday. There are rumors circulating about changes at Zula restaurant, Capitol at Main, Houston. Wondering if there was any truth to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Comments Off on The highbrow Hooters

“Free-range kids”

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

So I’ve been thinking about this whole “free-range kids” thing – see the Newsweek column that started it all, and the accompanying blog for background – and I think there’s nothing shocking about it. As I think back on it, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 4 Comments

Mincberg goes after Emmett on ethics

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how I said the County Judge race would be high-profile? And so it is. The Democratic candidate for chief of Harris County government criticized the Republican incumbent’s approach to ethics reform Friday in a demonstration of how Democrats plan … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Comments Off on Mincberg goes after Emmett on ethics

Shocked? No, not really

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

While it’s true that some officials may be shocked to see the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) come out in favor of the big polluters in their lawsuit against the city over its air quality ordinance, I don’t think … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on Shocked? No, not really

Our weak laws and our bad air

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

We already knew we had bad air quality in Texas. The reason for it is simple: There’s very little incentive for the polluters to clean up their act. Texans cannot count on existing state and federal laws to protect them … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

Mrs. Medina released on bail

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina, accused of burning down the couple’s Spring home and damaging two others, surrendered to authorities Thursday and was released on bail, her attorney said. Francisca Medina posted $42,000 bond … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Mrs. Medina released on bail

Patriots’ Spygate moves closer to resolution

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t actually care that much about the former Patriots coach reaching a deal with the NFL to talk about whether or not he spied on other teams, though if it turns out that they’re a bunch of cheating cheaters, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

More on the HCDE and Wolfe

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The School Zone blog has a nice account of the marathon Harris County Department of Education meeting at which HCDE Trustee/bad boy Michael Wolfe was censured and asked to resign (the official letter of censure can be found here). This … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on More on the HCDE and Wolfe

“Kuff and the Buttheads”

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Just so we’re clear, I have no connection to these guys. I mean, they’re Mets fans, for crying out loud. Having said that, “Kuff and the Buttheads” is now my favorite band name of all time. In the absence of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 3 Comments

We’ve got bad air, yes we do!

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

How about you? Pittsburgh overtook Los Angeles in the category that measures short-term particle pollution or soot. Los Angeles, the country’s longtime soot and smog leader, has enacted aggressive measures to tackle sources of pollution, resulting in a substantial drop … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

School districts predict financial disaster in their futures

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

A little cheery news for your morning. Spring Branch ISD Superintendent Duncan Klussmann said recently that every school district in the state faces bankruptcy in three to seven years unless the Legislature makes changes when it convenes next year. Klussmann … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on School districts predict financial disaster in their futures

The Texas Justice Newsladder

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

With the news of yet another innocent man being released from prison in Dallas, this announcement from John Terzano of The Justice Project is timely. A large part of our work involves educating citizens and criminal justice stakeholders about the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on The Texas Justice Newsladder

Good times in Ireland are bad times for the pubs

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Behold the dark side of prosperity. As recently as the 1980s, young people had to leave Ireland to find work and millionaires were as rare as hen’s teeth, as the Irish say. But by 2005, according to the Bank of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | 1 Comment

HCDE trustees demand Wolfe’s resignation

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Time for another update on Michael Wolfe, Harris County’s wackiest Department of Education trustee. Previous installments are here and here. After months of talking about it, his fellow HCDE Trustees have made it official: They want him to resign. After … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on HCDE trustees demand Wolfe’s resignation

Still more me on your TV

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Tonight at 7:30 PM Central time, those of you who get KNCT, the PBS station in Central Texas, can see me on your TV – once again in a suit and tie – as a guest on Mary Beth Harrell’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Still more me on your TV

Early overview of the Sheriff race

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Unlike the DA race and the County Judge race, both of which feature candidates that have a number of similarities, the race for Harris County Sheriff has two contenders with vast differences. Incumbent Sheriff Tommy Thomas has been around forever, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

Give it away now

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

There’s something deeply ironic about this: U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., introduced the hearing, titled “Walls and Waivers,” as a forum on the expedited construction of the border fence and its affect on the environment along the border. During the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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