Monthly Archives: February 2010

Judicial Q&A: Ursula Hall

Posted on February 23, 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 , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Star-Telegram for White

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The last of the major dailies to endorse in the Governor’s primaries goes with the crowd. The best choice for Democrats in the gubernatorial primary becomes more obvious by the day. Former Houston Mayor Bill White has been the front-runner … Continue reading →

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Longer school year for some?

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, for some schools whose students lag behind, as a way to catch up. [HISD] is designing a pilot program to allow a handful of struggling schools to adopt an extended-year calendar starting this fall. The reform effort — estimated … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court petitioned to hear the Charles Hood case

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Grits, one of the more embarrassing rulings from the Court of Criminal Appeals – and you know how much that is saying – has been appealed to the US Supreme Court. A former governor, a former district attorney, a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Land Commish and Ag Commish

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two more endorsements from the Chron, both for the Democratic primary. First, for Ag Commish: In the Democratic primary contest to select an opponent to face Republican incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples in November, the Chronicle recommends native Houstonian and … Continue reading →

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Rick Molina campaign kickoff

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was a lot of good news for Democrats in Harris County in 2008, but one place we fell short was in HD144, which had been left open by Robert Talton’s decision to try to be the Republican nominee in … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Janiece Horn

Posted on February 22, 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

Judicial Q&A: Damon Crenshaw

Posted on February 22, 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 , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Statesman for LCT

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman endorses Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lite Gov. We believe longtime labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson can do the most for the Democratic ticket, perhaps especially for Bill White, the party’s probable gubernatorial nominee. Through her inspiring life story — as … Continue reading →

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The county budget blues

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The news keeps being bad. Not unexpected, but bad. During hearings last month, department heads said worst-case scenarios could mean layoffs, less mosquito spraying, tax office closures and fewer resources to serve a still-growing county population. County Auditor Barbara Schott’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HBA 2010 Judicial Candidate Qualification Questionnaire

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Hair Balls, we find the 2010 version of the Houston Bar Association Judicial Candidate Qualification Questionnaire, in which the HBA’s membership rates judicial candidates, plus candidates for County Judge and District Clerk, as “Not Qualified”, “Qualified”, or “Well Qualified” … Continue reading →

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Early voting humpday

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today was Day Six of early voting for the primaries, so we are now more than halfway through. Here’s a look at how it’s gone so far. For Democrats: In person early votes so far – 11,533 In person early … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for February 21

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Did you remember to wish Cindy Crawford and Justine Bateman a Happy Birthday? Ever wonder why some people worship Rachel Maddow? This is a good part of the reason. With all the denial of how things were under the last … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Family district courts

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another batch of Chron judicial endorsements. Here are their recommendations for the Family District Courts in the Democratic primary: 245th District Court: Janiece Horn 247th District Court: Clinton “Chip” Wells 308th District Court: Bruce Kessler 310th District Court: Judy Dougherty … Continue reading →

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

D Magazine on John Carona

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting profile, worth a read, on State Sen. John Carona, who’s become somewhat of a radical in his party for actually being old-fashioned enough to try to solve problems and make government work. I think he’s right about this: With … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Red light camera referendum may be coming

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been expecting this to happen for awhile now. Two lawyers who are suing the city over Houston’s red-light camera program and their supporters said Friday they need 20,000 signatures for a citywide referendum to end what they called a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mayor and Metro spar over fares

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Soon-to-be-former Metro Chair David Wolff has sent a letter to Mayor Parker in response to her recent comments about possibly reducing fares as a way of increasing ridership. Eliminating fares on Metro buses and trains, as Mayor Annise Parker recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

HCDP 2010 Campaign Kick-Off Event

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox:

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Saturday video break: Birthday time

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the things you learn when you reach a certain age is the extent to which children’s television has completely taken over your brain. It’s the times when you’re by yourself and you find yourself humming or even singing … Continue reading →

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Special Saturday random (more than) ten: Olympics

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Linkmeister throws down the gauntlet. The Olympics motto is “Swifter, Higher, Stronger.” Here are songs from my iTunes library which have those words, synonyms, or root forms in their titles: Click the link to see his list. Here’s mine, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Juvenile courts, criminal district courts

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More judicial endorsements from the Chron. Here are their recommendations for juvenile courts in the Democratic primary: 313th District Court: Marc Isenberg 314th District Court: David Longoria 315th District Court: Keith Branch In the Republican primary for the 313th, they … Continue reading →

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Radack’s Hill gets set to debut

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Anybody feel like doing a little soapbox derby racing? If so, County Commissioner Steve Radack has got what you need. Radack’s crew is putting the finishing touches on a $2.3 million soapbox derby park. The first races are scheduled for … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Chron for SJL

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron recommends keeping Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in office. Over time, and with the Democratic takeover of the House, Jackson Lee has accumulated seniority and influence on a number of congressional committees and says she has used that added … Continue reading →

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How you can tell when someone isn’t serious about making budget cuts

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

An inability to prioritize is a pretty strong indicator. The $135 million budget cut proposal from the Texas Education Agency includes one item that will probably not please Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. The agency suggests eliminating the $1 million needed … Continue reading →

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

What Katrina crime wave?

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So remember how there was this big increase in crime in Houston in the months after Katrina evacuees arrived here? Well, it turns out that the crime data indicates otherwise. Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Friday random ten: Birthday time

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is my birthday, so to celebrate I’m going to be lazy and just repeat last year’s birthday-themed Friday random ten, with one addition: 1. Birthday – The Beatles 2. Rock and Roll Never Forgets – Bob Seger 3. Happy … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

RIP, Sister Damian Kuhn

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is the sweetest story you’ll read all week. One spring season when the Astros were in a particularly bad slump, Sister Damian Kuhn made her way to owner Drayton McLane’s office, dressed in her traditional blue habit and veil. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judicial Q&A: John Stephen Liles

Posted on February 19, 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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Judicial Q&A: Olan Boudreaux

Posted on February 19, 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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Endorsement watch: Another split for the Lite Guvs

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor, the Chron goes with Ronnie Earle. As lieutenant governor, Earle says, he would be able to work across party lines to reach consensus and avoid paralyzing the legislative process. “I have a long … Continue reading →

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Sugar Land moves forward on getting a baseball team

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They couldn’t get the Dynamo, but the city of Sugar Land is making progress on landing a baseball team. The city council of Sugar Land agreed this week to work with a company that specializes in getting cities to build … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bill Watterson speaks

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The reclusive “Calvin & Hobbes” creator gives his first public interview in 20 years. I had hoped they’d ask him about those “peeing Calvin” stickers, but according to Wikipedia, he has actually addressed that before, so no big deal. (See … Continue reading →

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CD18 public forum at Rice

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Forum Houston Enriches Rice Education (HERE) Speaker: Robert Stein – Moderator Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science Rice University District 18 Congressional Political Forum Monday, February 22, 2010 6:00 PM  to 9:00 PM Rice Memorial Chapel  RMC/Ley Student … Continue reading →

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

Objections to Special Master’s findings on Sharon Keller filed

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was the deadline for the examiner in the Sharon Keller case to file objections to the Special Master’s report. The examiner did have some objections, and they have now been filed. The prosecutors’ objection said the special master who … Continue reading →

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