Monthly Archives: June 2010

Who wants to answer for Rick Perry’s policies?

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was a hearing of the House Public Education Committee yesterday to discuss the Texas Education Agency’s controversial methodology for rating school districts, but the person responsible for that metric declined to show up to explain it. Rep. Scott Hochberg, … Continue reading →

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Hurricane Alex

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe, everyone. Heavy downpours and possible coastal flooding are forecast for the next few days in the Houston area as Hurricane Alex churns in the Gulf of Mexico and then slams ashore along the northern Mexican coast south of … Continue reading →

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Feds fine Texas for food stamp failures

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Our longstanding food stamp problems continue to cost the state of Texas millions of dollars. Federal officials have fined Texas $3.96 million for errors in issuing food stamp benefits, according to a letter sent to House Speaker Joe Straus. The … Continue reading →

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

Poll says people prefer slots to taxes

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think that’s a great revelation – I’d think many people would claim to prefer a bout of the flu to having their taxes raised – but for obvious reasons, this is a noteworthy finding. A new poll conducted … Continue reading →

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Another setback for DART

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More bad news from Dallas. Dallas Area Rapid Transit can’t afford to build light-rail service to D/FW International Airport by 2013 as it has long said it would, the agency’s chief financial officer said Tuesday. The news comes as a … Continue reading →

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Green Party appeals to Supreme Court

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Even if allegations about an illegal petition drive are true, knocking Green Party candidates off the November general election ballot before they can be proven imposes “a death penalty,” lawyers for the party argued Monday in a written … Continue reading →

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Opinions mixed on Terry Grier

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So not a surprise. I’ve expressed similar feelings a time or two myself. To [HISD Superintendent Terry] Grier’s supporters, his thick skin, independence and kids-come-first mantra are proving a successful recipe for shaking up the status quo in Texas’ largest … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

68 is a difficult number to work with

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The poobahs of the NCAA are gathering this week to discuss the nuts and bolts of the new 68-team basketball tournament, and they’ve got a challenge on their hands. After meeting in May, the [10-member Men’s Basketball] committee asked NCAA … Continue reading →

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Carless in Dallas

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Patrick Kennedy, the best-known non-driving person in Dallas. Kennedy moved to Dallas in 2002, after growing up in Pennsylvania and earning a landscape architecture degree at Penn State University. After living in parts of East Dallas and Uptown, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Kinky/Strayhorn effect

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As I did my analysis of the Latino vote in the 2006 election, it occurred to me that I had stumbled across a framework for trying to understand what the effect was of Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn’s candidacies … Continue reading →

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Tell me again why there can’t be instant replay in soccer?

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Item one, Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal for England against Germany: Note how utterly out of position the official’s assistant was for this. Seems to me that if you’re going to have a camera in the goal, you may as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Solomons and Berman, not BFFs

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This may be my favorite letter from one legislator to another of all time. Any time a missive starts with “You are a liar”, you know it’s going to be fun. By my count, Rep. Burt Solomons used the words … Continue reading →

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Texas keeps growing

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas has four of the fastest-growing cities in the country, according to current Census reports. Among cities with more than 100,000 residents, four of the top 10 that experienced the greatest percentage increase in population were in Texas: Frisco, McKinney, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 27

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime… Reform the credit card industry. An ode to Frito pie. Apparently, muting commercials makes you some kind of commie. Guess we TiVo owners are really in the soup. Do you ever find yourself at the … Continue reading →

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Richie re-elected as TDP Chair, Two-Step survives

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The first, Boyd Ritchie’s re-election as TDP Chair, was expected. The second was more unexpected. Texas Democrats this afternoon overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to scrap the Texas Two-Step system of awarding presidential delegates through both a primary and caucuses. Those … Continue reading →

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Sugar Land stadium site selected

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The location for the Sugar Land baseball stadium has been chosen. Sugar Land City Council has chosen an area near the northeast corner of Hwy. 6 and U.S. Hwy. 90A as their preferred site for a minor league baseball stadium. … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Elections administrator proposal will get a study

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Like it or not, Commissioners Court is going to consider the possibility of creating an appointed elections administrator position. The Court orders studies as preludes to formally adopting a public policy change. Dick Raycraft, director of management services, was charged … Continue reading →

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

Smoke-Free San Antonio update

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the city of San Antonio is working on updating its ordinance that restricts smoking. The first draft of that has emerged from committee, and it’s got some teeth to it. The strengthened recommendations, which will be considered … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Life’s great mysteries

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you of a certain age, the following needs no introduction: I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even know there was an extended version of this commercial. Truly, the Internet is a marvelous thing. In case … Continue reading →

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Corpus coverage

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Due to unavoidable schedule conflicts, I’m not down in Corpus Christi this weekend for the TDP convention. Here are some of the places where I’ll be following what’s going on: The Trib’s liveblog Abby Rapoport Bob Moser John Coby David … Continue reading →

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Do we really want to save the Dome?

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to the Department of Anecdotal Evidence, we do. Respondents to an online survey run by Reliant Park’s landlord “overwhelmingly” support saving the Astrodome, according to the official in charge of the survey. Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

TPJ files ethics complaint against Perry

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit watchdog group, filed a complaint [Wednesday] urging the Texas Ethics Commission to require Gov. Rick Perry to provide detailed reports of campaign spending on … Continue reading →

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Please don’t play with the alligator

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You would think that this would be self-evident, but I guess not. For the most part, encounters between alligators and humans are harmless. Already this season in Harris County, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has logged more than 25 … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Three cheers for the red, white, and blue, part 1

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For a Fourth of July threefer, here are ten red songs: 1. 99 Red Balloons – Nena 2. Fishbone Is Red Hot – Fishbone 3. Ida Red – Hot Club of Cowtown 4. Little Red Corvette – Big Daddy 5. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

HISD strategic direction meetings

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From an HISD press release: HISD will be holding two interactive, live TV shows to gather comments and feedback from the community. The first will be on Monday, June 28, from 7:00–8:00 p.m., on the HISD channel, and will be … Continue reading →

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Redistricting hearing in San Antonio

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s that time of the decade again. Monday’s joint hearing of the House Committees on Redistricting and Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence — on the University of Texas at San Antonio’s downtown campus — marked the unofficial kickoff for that process. … Continue reading →

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City gets OK on water rate hike

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One obstacle cleared. In a letter to lawyers representing the city and conservative activists Bruce Hotze and Paul Bettencourt on Monday, state District Judge Stephen Yelenosky said the rate increases do not violate a charter amendment approved by voters in … Continue reading →

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Score one for science

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. On its website, the Institute for Creation Research promises an education that is “Biblical. Accurate. Certain.” But there’s one thing they can’t promise: a master’s degree in science education. In 2008, after the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board denied … Continue reading →

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Greens booted from the ballot

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A judge in Austin has ruled in favor of the Texas Democratic Party in a motion to bar the Green Party from the ballot this fall on the grounds that the funds used to collect their signatures were illegal corporate … Continue reading →

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

Cuts for thee but not for me

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice! That comes courtesy of the Back to Basics PAC, and the Trib says they’ve bought $250K in airtime for it. More like this, please.

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

Mayor Parker’s first budget passes

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The deed is done. We know the basic shape of the budget from earlier stories, so I just want to highlight a couple of things. First, an amendment to trim Council members’ budgets that ultimately was defeated: City Councilman Al … Continue reading →

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Statesman slaps Harper-Brown

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I guess they weren’t terribly impressed by her video defense against the hand in the cookie jar accusations. It’s going to be tough to top Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, and her YouTube response to a Dallas Morning News/WFAA-TV report about … Continue reading →

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

Was there no one in Texas that could tell us about our broadband situation?

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little late in picking this up, so bear with me. Last week, the Texas Department of Agriculture published a map detailing where broadband access exists and doesn’t exist in Texas. Democratic candidate for Ag Commish Hank Gilbert, after … Continue reading →

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

Montgomery County wants in on rail district

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Get on board, Montgomery County. Montgomery County may join a regional rail group to upgrade freight lines and add commuter services throughout the Houston area. “It’s time that we need to be a part of this,” said Commissioner Ed Chance … Continue reading →

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