Monthly Archives: February 2009

Lawsuit filed to force city to redistrict

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former City Council Member Carroll Robinson, who has been a strong proponent for redistricting City Council boundaries and drawing two new districts now rather than waiting till 2011, has said that the city should not fear any litigation that might … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed to force city to redistrict

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Former City Council Member Carroll Robinson, who has been a strong proponent for redistricting City Council boundaries and drawing two new districts now rather than waiting till 2011, has said that the city should not fear any litigation that might … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

House committee assignments are out

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, we know who’ll be working on what in the House. The full list is here (PDF); a list of chairs only is beneath the fold. Evan notes that Dems got 16 of 18 chairs. The main concern … Continue reading →

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House committee assignments are out

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

At long last, we know who’ll be working on what in the House. The full list is here (PDF); a list of chairs only is beneath the fold. Evan notes that Dems got 16 of 18 chairs. The main concern … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on House committee assignments are out

More on Schieffer

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still not sure what I think about potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer, but at least as long as he’s out there at least there will be someone who can provide some counterweight to the Rick ‘N’ Kay Show. Although … Continue reading →

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More on Schieffer

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Still not sure what I think about potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer, but at least as long as he’s out there at least there will be someone who can provide some counterweight to the Rick ‘N’ Kay Show. Although … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | 4 Comments

Strip club fee back in court

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

You may recall that in the last legislative session, a bill (HB1751) was passed that imposed a $5 per customer fee on strip clubs, with the revenue going to a sex assault prevention fund, among other things. That fee was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 7 Comments

Strip club fee back in court

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that in the last legislative session, a bill (HB1751) was passed that imposed a $5 per customer fee on strip clubs, with the revenue going to a sex assault prevention fund, among other things. That fee was … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Video report from UH-Downtown renaming meeting

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Con Frijoles has a video clip of his testimony last Friday before the UH-Downtown Board of Regents concerning the name change saga. I just want to add that while I think Houston Metropolitan University is a perfectly decent name despite … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Video report from UH-Downtown renaming meeting

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Con Frijoles has a video clip of his testimony last Friday before the UH-Downtown Board of Regents concerning the name change saga. I just want to add that while I think Houston Metropolitan University is a perfectly decent name despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Video report from UH-Downtown renaming meeting

Debutant posts

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This may not look like much, but given that Debutant has been in the ICU at MD Anderson since Thanksgiving and has nearly died multiple times, I think it’s pretty damn amazing. Please go leave some good thoughts for an … Continue reading →

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Debutant posts

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This may not look like much, but given that Debutant has been in the ICU at MD Anderson since Thanksgiving and has nearly died multiple times, I think it’s pretty damn amazing. Please go leave some good thoughts for an … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Debutant posts

Wilshire Village update

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot has more on the Wilshire Village Apartments situation; apparently, there’s some question as to the legality of the eviction notices that the residents received. Meanwhile, Hair Balls satisfies my curiosity with some interior photos of the place. It does … Continue reading →

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Wilshire Village update

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Swamplot has more on the Wilshire Village Apartments situation; apparently, there’s some question as to the legality of the eviction notices that the residents received. Meanwhile, Hair Balls satisfies my curiosity with some interior photos of the place. It does … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Wilshire Village update

If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I agree with State Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson that the way we elect judges in Texas needs reform. I just don’t think he’s proposing a real fix for the problem he’s identified. Texas remains one of only seven states … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I agree with State Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson that the way we elect judges in Texas needs reform. I just don’t think he’s proposing a real fix for the problem he’s identified. Texas remains one of only seven states … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on If you’re going to reform it, reform it right

District H candidate forum in Shady Acres

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The following came to me via Facebook: The Shady Acres Civic Club is hosting a Candidate Forum for District H. We would like to have an opportunity for community members to meet and hear candidates\’ vision for our neighborhood. We … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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District H candidate forum in Shady Acres

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The following came to me via Facebook: The Shady Acres Civic Club is hosting a Candidate Forum for District H. We would like to have an opportunity for community members to meet and hear candidates\’ vision for our neighborhood. We … Continue reading →

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More transportation conversation

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some good comments and followup to my earlier post about traffic in the inner core. I want to address Cory’s questions regarding BRT. The short answer is that I have no particular objection to BRT – it’s a perfectly fine … Continue reading →

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More transportation conversation

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Some good comments and followup to my earlier post about traffic in the inner core. I want to address Cory’s questions regarding BRT. The short answer is that I have no particular objection to BRT – it’s a perfectly fine … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 4 Comments

Close enough for computer work

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Very cool. Engineers have long lived by a simple, seemingly obvious rule when designing new computers: The machines have to deliver correct answers. If asked to compute two plus two, a computer should answer four. But what if computers didn’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Close enough for computer work

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. Engineers have long lived by a simple, seemingly obvious rule when designing new computers: The machines have to deliver correct answers. If asked to compute two plus two, a computer should answer four. But what if computers didn’t … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 9

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Blog roundup time for the Texas Progressive Alliance again. You know the drill. (Meant to post this yesterday but forgot. Oops!)

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 9

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Blog roundup time for the Texas Progressive Alliance again. You know the drill. (Meant to post this yesterday but forgot. Oops!) Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of February 9

SJL rumors

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Vince reports that “sources tell him” that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who happens to be my Congressperson, is going to leave that job to work for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I suppose that’s plausible – as Vince notes, SJL … Continue reading →

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SJL rumors

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Vince reports that “sources tell him” that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who happens to be my Congressperson, is going to leave that job to work for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I suppose that’s plausible – as Vince notes, SJL … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Roy is in

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been counting him as a candidate, if not a particularly serious one, since he had filed a treasurer’s report, but Roy Morales has now officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of Houston. He Twittered about it last night, but … Continue reading →

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Roy is in

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I’d been counting him as a candidate, if not a particularly serious one, since he had filed a treasurer’s report, but Roy Morales has now officially announced his candidacy for Mayor of Houston. He Twittered about it last night, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | 5 Comments

We’ll always have bottlenecks

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Andrew Burleson points out an ugly fact. Has anyone else noticed that traffic on I-10 is still not great? I have a ‘reverse’ commute on I-10 every day. Before the expansion traffic was fine inside the loop outbound in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 9 Comments

We’ll always have bottlenecks

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson points out an ugly fact. Has anyone else noticed that traffic on I-10 is still not great? I have a ‘reverse’ commute on I-10 every day. Before the expansion traffic was fine inside the loop outbound in the … Continue reading →

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Deregulation fail

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that electricity deregulation working for you, Texas? In the decade since Texas deregulated its retail electricity market, rates have skyrocketed higher than any other state with such open competition, according to a report released today. Commissioned by the Cities … Continue reading →

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Deregulation fail

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

How’s that electricity deregulation working for you, Texas? In the decade since Texas deregulated its retail electricity market, rates have skyrocketed higher than any other state with such open competition, according to a report released today. Commissioned by the Cities … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Deregulation fail

Cleaning up the bay

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Greg Wythe

There’s been plenty of action on land cleaning up after Hurricane Ike. Now there’s going to be a similar amount of action in the water. The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for protecting the coast, has pinpointed nearly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | 1 Comment

Cleaning up the bay

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been plenty of action on land cleaning up after Hurricane Ike. Now there’s going to be a similar amount of action in the water. The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for protecting the coast, has pinpointed nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Cleaning up the bay