Monthly Archives: November 2010

Preservation reconsideration

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One of the pieces to the new historic preservation ordinance was the designation of a period in which already-existing historic districts could submit a petition to have the city reconsider their status. The deadline for that has passed, and 8 … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 22

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is slightly distracted by thoughts of pie but still brings you this week’s blog roundup.

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DeLay jury deliberating

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No verdict yet, and the jury has been sent home for the night. Prosecutors and the defense made closing statements to the jury about whether a $190,000 corporate money swap between DeLay’s Texas committee and the Republican National Committee actually … Continue reading →

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As goes Harris, so goes CC2

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just as HD133 was a microcosm of Harris County in 2008, Sylvia Garcia’s County Commissioner precinct was a miniature version of the county as a whole in 2010. Take a look at how Democratic candidates did in County Commissioner Precinct … Continue reading →

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From the “Be careful what you wish for” department

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The state wants to reduce its workforce as part of the cost savings needed to balance the budget. But what it saves now it may pay for later. Ann Fuelberg, executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, warned … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Redistrict-a-palooza

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Greg attends the Houston redistricting hearing so you don’t have to, and liveblogs it till the bitter end, then follows it up with a summary report. The Chron has a bunch of related Tweets from the hearing here. And Michael … Continue reading →

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DeLay trial: Defense rests, summaries to begin

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Thursday was a wrap, at least as far as evidence and testimony go in the Tom DeLay trial. This much both sides seemed to agree on: DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, negotiated a deal with the Republican National Committee … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for November 21

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Thanksgiving… A long time ago, I came across a rant by Pat Metheny about Kenny G. I just came across it again, and figured it was worth linking to again. Yes, having having … Continue reading →

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First they came for Medicaid

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Then they came for public education. School districts are being told they should expect to get an estimated $3 billion to $5 billion less in the next two-year budget as lawmakers begin wrestling with a $24 billion revenue shortfall in … Continue reading →

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Cutting the cord on cable

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have no plans to change the way I watch TV any time soon, but a lot of other people are at least thinking about it. The Convergence Consulting Group of Toronto predicts that about 1.6 million U.S. households will … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Leo Berman addresses the serious, pressing needs

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Elect crazy people, get crazy public policy. Crazy in, crazy out. State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would require future presidential and vice-presidential candidates to provide the Texas secretary of state with “the original birth … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: It gets worse

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when being a maverick meant something? The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

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The county’s financial picture is pretty grim, too

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This, too, is ugly. County budget officials are looking for more than $130 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year that begins on March 1. Budget officials and county government department chiefs have three months to come up with … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gambling proponents still optimistic for some reason

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The conventional wisdom, to which I subscribe, says that the results on this election are bad news for proponents of expanded gambling. One reason for this is that the Republican wave means more socially conservative members. Gambling proponents are doing … Continue reading →

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No more White Pages

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is long overdue. You won’t be getting the residential White Pages in February, and if recent evidence is any guide, you won’t miss the annual thud on the doorstep. AT&T, the nation’s largest distributor of the telephone directories, has … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Runoff reiteration

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its endorsement of Judith Cruz in the HISD Trustee runoff. To a large degree, the solution to the United States’ education problems is being worked out here in Houston. We’re the birthplace of some of the nation’s … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: The Top 500, part 2

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The next ten of my songs from the Rolling Stone Top 500 list: 1. Sympathy For The Devil – Blood, Sweat, and Tears (#32, orig. Rolling Stones) 2. River Deep, Mountain High – Ike & Tina Turner (#33) 3. You’ve … Continue reading →

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Lineup set for HD44 special election

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your candidates for the special election to replace the late Rep. Edmund Kuempel of Seguin. Tony Gergely, a Seguin business owner, is the Libertarian in the race. The Democrats are Daniel Rodriguez Andrade of Seguin, who lists his … Continue reading →

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

The Bill King alternative to light rail

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, Bill King wrote a column lat week that was based on an email exchange he had with me awhile back in which he laid out his alternate vision for what Metro ought to be doing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

More on KBH 2012

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Fix on our senior Senator and her next electoral challenge. Hutchison, who previously broke a term-limit pledge when she ran for reelection in 2006, had been saying since 2007 that she would not seek another term in the Senate. … Continue reading →

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Facebook mail

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about this. On Monday, Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the world’s largest social network plans to launch an updated version of its messaging service that will allow users to send emails … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Are you ready for some redistricting?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If you have some free time this Saturday, Greg tells you that there will be a redistricting committee hearing here in Houston: Saturday, November 20, 2010 10:00 am University of Houston Athletic/Alumni Center O’Quinn Great Hall 3100 Cullen Boulevard Houston, … Continue reading →

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DeLay trial: The prosecution rests

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The prosecution has rested its case in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay. Visiting Judge Pat Priest today denied former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s motions for a directed verdict of innocent in the political money laundering trial against … Continue reading →

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Who cares about the will of the voters?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Prop 1 opponents don’t. Opponents of Proposition 1 are planning to lobby the state legislature to strike down the controversial drainage fee, even after voters narrowly approved it earlier this month. Don Hooper, who organized a political action committee blasting … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

More pushback from the medical community on Medicaid

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Doctors and medical associations had a big effect on public opinion during the fight over the Affordable Care Act. We’ll see whether that is true during the fight over Medicaid. “Unless our state leaders can come up with a financing … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 15

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is beginning to feel the holiday spirit as it brings you this weeks’ blog roundup. Off the Kuff discusses the issue of Latino turnout in the wake of last Tuesday’s elections. This week on Left of … Continue reading →

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Early voting information for the HISD VIII runoff

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One more election to go this year, the runoff for the open HISD Trustee seat in District VIII. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, early voting begins tomorrow and runs through next Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know from the … Continue reading →

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Thibaut versus Murphy, third time around

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the story of HD133, which has now been won twice by Jim Murphy and once by Kristi Thibaut, is one of turnout. With sufficient turnout in the Democratic part of the district – that is, the precincts … Continue reading →

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The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

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

What’s next for Bill White?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not a campaign. In the nearly two weeks since his decisive loss to Gov. Rick Perry, he’s had time to begin planning a family Christmas trip to a yet-to-be-decided Spanish-speaking country, to indulge his penchant for exploring new and interesting … Continue reading →

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What the Planning Department says about the new preservation ordinance

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via The Heights Life, here are a series of YouTube videos produced by Planning & Development Director Marlene Gafrick to explain what the new preservation ordinance is all about: Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRJrDd6cb7A Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae5DyFiwuk4 Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp81p1Yq2HQ Part 4: … Continue reading →

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Partisan breakdown for the city propositions

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that I have addressed the question of the effect of straight ticket voting on the city propositions, the next question is to figure out how they did in Republican and Democratic areas. To try and get a handle on … Continue reading →

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So what about that elections administrator?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about Abe Simpson Don Sumners, our new Tax Assessor, is this little nugget: So, if [County Judge Ed] Emmett insists on putting the election administrator position on a Commissioners Court agenda, Sumners said, “I think we … Continue reading →

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Medicaid: Ideologues versus experts

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fascinating thing in this story about the Republican plan to kill Medicaid is just how half-baked the idea is. GOP Gov. Rick Perry, fresh off a big re-election win and touting his new book on states’ rights, is among … Continue reading →

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