Monthly Archives: January 2010

Here comes Powerball

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Powerball will come to Texas as soon as January 31 after a unanimous vote approving sales of its tickets by the Texas Lottery Commission. “What the Legislature has charged us to do is to raise revenue, and this is going … Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for January 10

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Are you still writing “2009” on your checks? The story of Esperanto. No, I’ve never heard anyone actually speak it, either. It’s a Y2KXVI bug. Or something like that. RIP, Curtis Allina. If you’ve ever collected a PEZ dispenser, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 3 Comments

We have our candidates, now we have to make our decisions

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So we have our primary lineups, and now we need to start making our decisions about which candidates to support. Many of these races are easy calls – the Lite Guv primary is the toughest non-judicial one for me right … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The gentleman from ESPN

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this. Former SMU football star and ESPN Analyst Craig James has made news recently regarding his role with his son and former Texas Tech Football Coach Mike Leach. But James could be making … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Space travel: Not as high tech as you might think

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It may be the final frontier, but that doesn’t mean we’re using bleeding edge technology. [The International Space Station’s] 44 primary computers that do everything from guide the station around Earth at 17,000 mph to monitor for fires are powered … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

This implosion is brought to you by…

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Only in Dallas… Texas Stadium will come down this spring in a “Cheddar Explosion.” That’s the name that Kraft Foods has given to its promotional campaign for the implosion of the iconic structure. In its last act of 2009, the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: Never was a cloudy day

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Got myself another iTunes gift card for Christmas this year, and I’ve decided that I’m going to spend some of that money on songs from the 2009 Coverville Countdown. That’s the top 40 cover songs as voted by the listeners. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Sales taxes still sliding

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no sign of a turnaround in many Texas cities. Municipal sales tax collections across Texas fell 11.4 percent in November, raising new economic worries amid signs of recovery in housing and other industries. The declines are discouraging to city … Continue reading →

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Wilson will contest being dumped from the ballot

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised. If Dave Wilson had taken getting booted from the ballot lying down, he’d be the first candidate in my memory to have done so. “I’m almost embarrassed for Gerry Birnberg,” Wilson said. “He’s jumped to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Of smog and hot air

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready for the upcoming fight over Texas’ – and Houston’s – air quality. The federal government proposed a tougher limit on ozone pollution Thursday that will force Houston to make deeper emissions cuts just as the former smog capital … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Abbott’s bogus health care claims

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If there’s an opportunity to play politics, you can be sure AG Greg Abbott will take it. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Tuesday that the push in Washington to force most Americans to buy health insurance may violate the … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Wilson booted from ballot

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HCDP Chair Gerry Birnberg has sent a letter to noted hatemeister Dave Wilson telling him that he did not qualify for the Democratic primary ballot because his application did not list his residential address, as required by law. Assuming Wilson … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

There’s a fix for that

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Harris County has a budget shortfall of its own to deal with. So the fact that the Sheriff’s Office is spending more than it was allotted is drawing some scrutiny. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is projected … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday random ten: The months go by

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So what do we have to look forward to in this new year? Let’s check the calendar: 1. January – Rachael Davis 2. Twenty Fourth of February – Flying Fish Sailoers 3. Waters of March – Holly Cole 4. April … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 3 Comments

HCDP Message re: Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following is a message from Harris County Democratic Party Chair Gerry Birnberg regarding the endorsement list of the Coalition of Harris County Democratic Elected Officials. Now that the filing deadline has passed and we have a record number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas Monthly on Abby Johnson

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall the story of Abby Johnson, the former employee at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan that quit her job and joined up with a local anti-choice group. She’s been on TV quite a bit telling a story … Continue reading →

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Silvia Mintz

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing I need to do now that the filing deadline has passed is try to learn about some of the late entrants. It turns out that Silvia Mintz, who filed to run in HD132, has a heck of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sportsmanship

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll say this much in defense of Yates basketball coach Greg Wise: I don’t think it’s any less humiliating for the opponent that you’ve thoroughly dominated if you tell your team to just stop playing like they care about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Car2Go

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve heard of Zipcars, you’ve heard of CarShare, now meet CarsGo. The city of Austin and car2go have embarked on a car-sharing project that allows city employees access to 200 Smart Fortwo cars for business or personal use. The project … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Erica Graham

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

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The SBOE slate

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Martha has a great rundown of the slate of candidates for the State Board of Education, along with some partisan index numbers for the districts, which you should check out. The best part about this is that with Michael Soto … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Playoff PAC

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The battle for a college football playoff took to the air this week. Playoff PAC says it will run the 30-second ads in Dallas-Fort Worth and Boise, Idaho, into the homes of fans of TCU (12-0) and Boise State (13-0), … Continue reading →

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HISD and CEP

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I think this is a good idea. The wide disparity in principals’ use of schools run by Community Education Partners has caught the attention of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who questions whether schools are kicking out too many students on … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The vehicle miles tax

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For all the talk about the need to raise the gas tax in Texas to meet our transportation needs, there is another possible way to do it, which is now under study: The vehicle miles tax. The Texas Transportation Commission … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Hawk enters the Hall

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to Andre Dawson for his election to the Hall of Fame. I’ll be honest, I don’t know how you can induct Dawson when guys like Bert Blyleven, Roberto Alomar, Tim Raines, Allen Trammell, and Barry Larkin are on the … Continue reading →

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For Judith Snively

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One other thing that came out of that Chron story on Dave Wilson was this nugget about a different Democratic primary. [Harris County Democratic Party Chair Gerry] Birnberg said he also asked two state agencies whether he could prevent lawyer … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

White gets down to the business of being a candidate

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Bill White spent his first full day as a former Mayor in the Rio Grande Valley. It was a productive trip for him. Power brokers in one of the state’s most Democratic regions Tuesday pledged to throw their weight behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Chip Wells

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How Dave Wilson snuck into the race against Eversole

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Right wing hatemonger Dave Wilson’s last minute filing in the Democratic Party against County Commissioner Jerry Eversole caused a lot of confusion yesterday as people tried to figure out just who it was that filed. Wilson himself didn’t show his … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The high rise versus the bar

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is just bizarre. A long-standing feud between Rice-area bar owners and their neighbors in a high-rise condo has escalated from egg throwing, water spraying, laser pointing and name calling to assault lawsuits. Just off Kirby Drive on Quenby a … Continue reading →

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Thinking small on commuter rail

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Christof says that the Houston-Galveston commuter rail study that’s currently in progress has a rather limited vision. Commuter Rail Alternative provides service along the Galveston Houston & Henderson (GH&H) Railroad between Galveston and Houston. The GH&H is a freight rail … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of January 4

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is still somewhat amazed to be living in the year we make contact, and we hope we’re all still going strong when Odyssey Three rolls around. Click on for the first set of highlights for this … Continue reading →

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Ankrum explains why he’s running again in CD10

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Go read it. Ted’s a good guy, and he’ll do an honorable job on the trail. He’s unlikely to have anything like the resources Jack McDonald had, and as such he’s unlikely to be on anyone’s radar, but he’s worth … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Reginald McKamie

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

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