Monthly Archives: November 2010

Stipeche wins HISD Trustee runoff

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From School Zone: Juliet Stipeche has won the Houston ISD District VIII school board runoff election by 48 votes, according to the unofficial results. Stipeche, an attorney, beat Judith Cruz, a stay-at-home mom and former HISD teacher, with 51 percent … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day in HISD VIII

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day of the runoff election for HISD Trustee in District VIII between Judith Cruz and Juliet Stipeche. According to School Zone, only about 1000 votes were cast during early voting, so if you live in this district, … Continue reading →

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State auditor to look at Emerging Technology Fund

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Auditor John Keel will perform an audit on the state’s Emerging Technology Fund to see if the money is being used and distributed properly. State Auditor John Keel said Wednesday that his office will review the monitoring of the … Continue reading →

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More on Houston’s sustainability efforts

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story about Houston Sustainability Director Laura Spanjian and her efforts to make our fair city a greener place, which also appeared in the Sunday New York Times, can be considered a companion piece to the earlier CultureMap story … Continue reading →

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

Dynamo Stadium on the agenda

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Sports Authority will meet this week to try to hammer out a lease agreement for the Houston Dynamo in their future stadium. The Sports Authority will meet Dec. 2, but it won’t meet again until February, which is partly … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 29

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes you got your recommended allowance of tryptophan last week as it brings you the blog highlights.

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RIP, Leslie Nielsen

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As Mel Brooks said when his friend Harvey Korman passed away, the world is a more serious place today. Leslie Nielsen, the actor best known for starring in such comedies as Airplane! and the Naked Gun film franchise, died Sunday … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Because that’s who he is

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before Thanksgiving, Ezra Klein asked “Why does Gov. Rick Perry want more uninsured Texans?” Consider the case of Texas, which with 25 percent uninsured, leads the nation in not providing for its residents. If the state pulls out of Medicaid, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Off to the appeals courts for DeLay

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever sentence awaits Tom DeLay – I strongly suspect it will be probation, but you never know – it will be a long time, if ever, before he begins serving it. DeLay’s lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, expressed confidence on Friday … Continue reading →

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

UIL on UT TV

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When the UT TV network was created, I wondered just how the heck one school could fill out its programming schedule. Turns out there’s a lot of potential content available thanks to UT’s historic ties to high school athletics. “We’re … Continue reading →

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We’re #1 in misleading rankings on annoying lists

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So what else is new? Mayor Annise Parker lashed out at an controversial annual study released Monday that placed Houston among the most dangerous cities in the United States with a population of 500,000 or higher. “Crime Rankings 2010-2011,” published … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for November 28

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The leftovers are always the best part… Got computer problems? Read this, because they’re not always what you think they are. It’s always best to get your excuses prepared beforehand. Texas hasn’t grown any faster than California. Someone should tell … Continue reading →

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The Grand Parkway takes another inevitable step forward

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No money to fix traffic lights, but there’s always money for the Grand Parkway. Commissioners Court on Tuesday authorized the Harris County Toll Road Authority to negotiate with the Texas Department of Transportation over the development of three Grand Parkway … Continue reading →

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

Time for the annual “Someone said something stupid about the BCS” kerfuffle

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was going to write something about Ohio State President Gordon Gee and his obnoxious remarks about Boise State, TCU, and the BCS, but Mean Green Cougar Red covered all the of the ground that I would have, so I’ll … Continue reading →

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An early peek at the Sugar Land baseball stadium

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the city’s web page: Sugar Land recently began the process to select a final design-build contractor for the construction of a minor league baseball stadium northeast of State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 90A. A final decision is expected … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Won’t I get a reputation for being soft on turkeys?

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

President Bartlett, doing his Constitutional duty: There’s also the classic Butterball hotline sequence if you want more. Happy Saturday!

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From the “What Greg said” department

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Among the things I’m thankful for at this time of year is that Greg is back to blogging. In particular, I’m grateful that he said what needed to be said about Bill King’s ridiculous column that advised Democrats to lay … Continue reading →

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County buys more eSlates

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the election is over and all those borrowed voting machines need to be sent back to their owners, Harris County needs to buy replacements. Commissioners Court has approved an expenditure of $19 million to buy some 4600 eSlate … Continue reading →

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

More on Amazon and the sales tax

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Slate: Amazon has aggressively fought state efforts to impose sales tax on its operations. In 2008, New York passed a law that required online companies to collect taxes if they had deals with marketing affiliates based in the state. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Friday random ten: The Top 500, part 3

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing on with the songs in my collection from the Rolling Stone Top 500 list. 1. Long Tall Sally – The Beatles (#56, orig. Little Richard) 2. A Whiter Shade of Pale – Annie Lennox (#57, orig. Procol Harem) 3. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

More stories about building food

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After having turducken for your Thanksgiving dinner, how can you not have something like this for dessert? A Los Angeles man named Charles Phoenix has created the turducken of Thanksgiving desserts and dubbed it the cherpumple. Turduckens are pretty commonplace … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Recount sought in HD48

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Given how close this one was, a recount was to be expected. Republican Dan Neil is seeking a recount in his challenge to state Rep. Donna Howard in the District 48 seat that represents part of Travis County. Neil has … Continue reading →

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This is what happens when budget cuts are the only tool in your bag

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You get the government you’re willing to pay for. [F]rom Oct. 23 to Oct. 30, [Peter] Wang counted a total of 12 [traffic signal] outages at various intersections, from Barker Cypress down to Telge Road. He initially thought it was … Continue reading →

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

Special Thursday video break: It’s not the name of the restaurant, it’s the name of the song

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You can get anything you want at you-know-where: I did this last year and figured I’d do it again this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Smoked beer can turkey

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you with an engineering bent and a large enough grill, I give you smoked beer can turkey, based on a popular grilling technique for chickens. Bon appetit!

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ortiz concedes

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz on Monday conceded the loss of his 27th District seat that he held for nearly three decades. A recount netted him more than 100 votes in Cameron County but left him still hundreds of … Continue reading →

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

Another story about solar energy in Texas

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They keep writing them, I’ll keep blogging about them. Dallas renewable energy investor Panda Power Funds is developing one of the country’s largest solar power plants in sunny New Jersey. Not Texas. And Texas’ second-largest power generator, NRG Energy, is … Continue reading →

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DeLay convicted

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for the holiday. Tom DeLay, the former U.S. House majority leader whose name became synonymous with the Republicans’ controversial rise to power in the Texas House, was found guilty today of laundering money in connection with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Still no verdict in the DeLay trial

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two days of deliberation, lots of questions being asked, but still no decision from the DeLay jury. They’ll try again today, and I’ll be a little surprised if they strike out again. Having said that, a hung jury is certainly … Continue reading →

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

There’s no such thing as a rainy day

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rainy Day Fund? What Rainy Day Fund? State budget writers will propose eliminating agencies, cutting others to a quarter of their current size and laying off state employees to balance the budget without raising taxes or using the state’s Rainy … Continue reading →

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The cost of closing the beaches

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The recent Supreme Court ruling predictably leads to the enrichment of a lucky few. Although Carol Severance’s lawsuit killed the largest beach resanding project in Texas history, her four Galveston beach properties won’t suffer. Instead, she could walk away with … Continue reading →

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Baby, you can charge my car

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Plug it in, plug it in. The city of Houston will make it easier for locals to buy and own electric cars, including speeding up permitting of home charging stations and opening up HOV lanes to the vehicles. Mayor Annise … Continue reading →

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

What about red light cameras elsewhere?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before the election, I noted a DMN story about how the red light camera referendum in Houston might spur opponents in other cities to try their luck with a similar ban. This DMN story discusses that, but you have to … Continue reading →

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

We can learn from Indiana’s example

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Indiana decided a couple of years ago that it was paying too much for Medicaid, so they created to create a program called Healthy Indiana that provided vouchers for low income people to use to purchase private … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments