Monthly Archives: January 2009

Here we go again with City Council redistricting

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Or at least, here we go again with arguing about when we should be redrawing City Council lines. Mayor Bill White’s decision to delay redrawing the boundaries of City Council districts has angered numerous community activists, who say his stance … Continue reading →

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Here we go again with City Council redistricting

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Or at least, here we go again with arguing about when we should be redrawing City Council lines. Mayor Bill White’s decision to delay redrawing the boundaries of City Council districts has angered numerous community activists, who say his stance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on Here we go again with City Council redistricting

Armstrong versus secondhand smoke

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron had an interview earlier this week with Lance Armstrong, in which they discussed his current focus on getting a statewide ban on smoking in public places passed. Q: What made you want to join the Smoke-Free Texas initiative? … Continue reading →

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Armstrong versus secondhand smoke

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The Chron had an interview earlier this week with Lance Armstrong, in which they discussed his current focus on getting a statewide ban on smoking in public places passed. Q: What made you want to join the Smoke-Free Texas initiative? … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege, The great state of Texas | 3 Comments

The Speaker speaks

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Evan Smith had a sit-down with new Speaker Joe Straus, which was broadcast Thursday on KLRU in Austin. You can watch the video of it at that link; it’s a little less than 30 minutes. Straus has made a good … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Speaker speaks

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Evan Smith had a sit-down with new Speaker Joe Straus, which was broadcast Thursday on KLRU in Austin. You can watch the video of it at that link; it’s a little less than 30 minutes. Straus has made a good … Continue reading →

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Chron coverage of yesterday’s SBOE actions

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about yesterday’s happenings at the State Board of Education, in which the good news was that the anti-science “strengths and weaknesses” language had been removed from the curriculum, and the bad news was that a subsequent … Continue reading →

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Chron coverage of yesterday’s SBOE actions

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Here’s the Chron story about yesterday’s happenings at the State Board of Education, in which the good news was that the anti-science “strengths and weaknesses” language had been removed from the curriculum, and the bad news was that a subsequent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Not so Tolerance Bridge

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Remember Tolerance Bridge? When it was first announced, a lot of people expressed ambivalence (at best) about the name. Now the city has joined in on that. “It has too many hints of negativity,” said Councilman Jarvis Johnson. “It’s like … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Not so Tolerance Bridge

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Remember Tolerance Bridge? When it was first announced, a lot of people expressed ambivalence (at best) about the name. Now the city has joined in on that. “It has too many hints of negativity,” said Councilman Jarvis Johnson. “It’s like … Continue reading →

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HIWI presents “Ike: The Book”

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The folks at ttweak, who created Houston: It’s Worth It, have an announcement. From their press release: Dear HIWI contributors and fans, Thanks to all of you, we have had not one, but two, extremely successful holiday seasons with HIWI: … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Hurricane Katrina | Comments Off on HIWI presents “Ike: The Book”

Update on yesterday’s evolution happenings

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the comments to yesterday’s post about the vote taken by the State Board of Education that stripped out “strengths and weaknesses” language about evolution, Martha noted that there was another vote on this to be taken today. I haven’t … Continue reading →

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Update on yesterday’s evolution happenings

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Greg Wythe

In the comments to yesterday’s post about the vote taken by the State Board of Education that stripped out “strengths and weaknesses” language about evolution, Martha noted that there was another vote on this to be taken today. I haven’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: We the people

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This just seems appropriate: And now a brief break from all the new music for a selection of patriotic tunes from my collection. 1. The Star Spangled Banner – Eddie from Ohio 2. America the Beautiful – Ray Charles 3. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: We the people

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This just seems appropriate: And now a brief break from all the new music for a selection of patriotic tunes from my collection. 1. The Star Spangled Banner – Eddie from Ohio 2. America the Beautiful – Ray Charles 3. … Continue reading →

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Beware Lt. Govs bearing gifts

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Greg Wythe

On the surface, hearing that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst now favors tuition re-regulation sounds like a good thing. A lot of people, Democrats especially, have been screaming about this for months. But as always, the devil is in the details. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Beware Lt. Govs bearing gifts

More on Larry Swearingen

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I’ve blogged before about Larry Swearingen, who is on death row and is scheduled for execution on January 27 even though forensic evidence clearly demonstrates his innocence of the murder of Melissa Trotter. Multiple experts, including the Harris County medical … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

More on Larry Swearingen

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve blogged before about Larry Swearingen, who is on death row and is scheduled for execution on January 27 even though forensic evidence clearly demonstrates his innocence of the murder of Melissa Trotter. Multiple experts, including the Harris County medical … Continue reading →

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We have the beginnings of a budget

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And with it, some idea of how deep the hole is. Maintaining basic state services over the next two years will cost Texas almost $84 billion, $3.7 billion more in general revenue than the state expects to raise during that … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We have the beginnings of a budget

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Greg Wythe

And with it, some idea of how deep the hole is. Maintaining basic state services over the next two years will cost Texas almost $84 billion, $3.7 billion more in general revenue than the state expects to raise during that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on We have the beginnings of a budget

Evolution remains legal in Texas

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Whew! That was a close one. In a major defeat for evolution critics, a sharply divided State Board of Education voted Thursday to follow the advice of a panel of science educators and drop a long-time requirement that “weaknesses” in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | 7 Comments

Evolution remains legal in Texas

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Whew! That was a close one. In a major defeat for evolution critics, a sharply divided State Board of Education voted Thursday to follow the advice of a panel of science educators and drop a long-time requirement that “weaknesses” in … Continue reading →

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When you look up “short-sighted” in the dictionary, this will be cited as an example

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s our Governor, for whom the expression “penny-wise and pound-foolish” is a way of life. Nearly a year ago, Gov. Rick Perry trumpeted $90 million in savings to businesses by temporarily suspending some of the burden of paying unemployment insurance … Continue reading →

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When you look up “short-sighted” in the dictionary, this will be cited as an example

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Greg Wythe

That’s our Governor, for whom the expression “penny-wise and pound-foolish” is a way of life. Nearly a year ago, Gov. Rick Perry trumpeted $90 million in savings to businesses by temporarily suspending some of the burden of paying unemployment insurance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

More on streetcars and sidewalks

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson had a couple of good posts last week that followed up on Christof’s streetcar suggestions and my post about a KIrby light rail line. Here they are: West Gray Streetcar, in which he takes Christof’s concept for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on streetcars and sidewalks

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Andrew Burleson had a couple of good posts last week that followed up on Christof’s streetcar suggestions and my post about a KIrby light rail line. Here they are: West Gray Streetcar, in which he takes Christof’s concept for a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 6 Comments

Beware Lt. Govs. bearing gifts

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On the surface, hearing that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst now favors tuition re-regulation sounds like a good thing. A lot of people, Democrats especially, have been screaming about this for months. But as always, the devil is in the details. … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Beware Lt. Govs. bearing gifts

UH-Downtown to move ahead with name change

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

They still don’t know what they want to be called, however. School leaders are going ahead with plans to rename the University of Houston-Downtown, despite opposition from students, alumni and some faculty members. “If it has its own distinctive name, … Continue reading →

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UH-Downtown to move ahead with name change

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Greg Wythe

They still don’t know what they want to be called, however. School leaders are going ahead with plans to rename the University of Houston-Downtown, despite opposition from students, alumni and some faculty members. “If it has its own distinctive name, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

How many wrongly convicted people are there in prison?

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

A new study takes a crack at quantifying it. Criminal justice scholars often say that the true number of innocent people convicted of crimes is unknown–in fact, unknowable. A new University of Michigan study challenges that belief in one important … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

You there! Stop evolving this minute!

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Someone once said that no one’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. I’d extend that observation to note that no one’s intelligence or education is safe when the SBOE is in session. For those … Continue reading →

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You there! Stop evolving this minute!

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Someone once said that no one’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. I’d extend that observation to note that no one’s intelligence or education is safe when the SBOE is in session. For those … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on You there! Stop evolving this minute!

And now the real work begins

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? (Well, for most of us, anyway.) I suspect there was a pretty big dip in productivity right around 11 AM at most workplaces. But now that the pomp is over, it’s time … Continue reading →

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And now the real work begins

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Yesterday was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? (Well, for most of us, anyway.) I suspect there was a pretty big dip in productivity right around 11 AM at most workplaces. But now that the pomp is over, it’s time … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on And now the real work begins