Monthly Archives: April 2011

Lege loosens graduation requirements

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A sign of the times. The Texas House tentatively approved legislation Wednesday to make it easier for high school students to pass end-of-course exams, a move critics called “a substantial retreat” from school accountability. “This bill creates a clear, understandable … Continue reading →

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The redistricting process gets started in the Lege

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: The public version of drawing new congressional maps for Texas started [Thursday] morning with committee hearings and the unveiling of a proposal from a coalition that insists at least two of the four new districts should have … Continue reading →

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A matter of perspective

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib’s Thursday morning brief begins as follows: Competing rallies on Wednesday provided a stark backdrop to the House vs. Senate tug-of-war playing out in the Capitol. While one group of protesters called on the Legislature to roll back its … Continue reading →

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“Born To Be Wild”

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The family and I had the chance to see a preview of “Born To Be Wild”, a 3D IMAX movie at the Museum of Natural Science about saving orphaned elephants and orangutans on Thursday evening. We all loved it. I … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: You’re so fine you blow my mind

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We were at a fundraiser for Olivia’s school last Saturday. They had a DJ playing music to appeal to a bunch of mostly 40ish married people, along with videos on a big screen. Which is to say, 80s music in … Continue reading →

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HISD cuts 277 jobs

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more of this to follow. The Houston school district will have fewer bus drivers, construction workers, finance employees and other staff next year under budget cuts the board approved on Thursday. Trustees, expecting a severe shortfall in … Continue reading →

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Death from above, feral hog edition

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege takes action on the feral hog problem with a bill that would allow more people to shoot them from helicopters. The Texas House [Monday] gave preliminary approval to House Bill 716. The measure passed 137-9 with no debate. … Continue reading →

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Measles

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Something we haven’t seen around here in awhile. The Houston Area Health Alert Network sent an e-mail on Friday noting that an 11-month-old child, who attended the Cirque du Soleil performance at Sam Houston Race Park on March 20, developed … Continue reading →

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Senate says “good-bye” to Railroad Commission

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Something like this has been talked about for a long time, now we’ll see if it actually happens. The Senate approved a bill [Monday] that would change the name of the Railroad Commission to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission … Continue reading →

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What Planned Parenthood actually does

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since the only thing apparently holding up a deal to prevent a government shutdown is the GOP’s mulish insistence on de-funding Planned Parenthood, perhaps it’s time we all understood what Planned Parenthood actually does. Ezra Klein gives the explanation, with … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: The 1970s

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The 70s. What can I say? You had to be there. 1. Are You Ready? – Pacific Gas & Electric (1970) 2. American Pie – Don McLean (1971) 3. I Didn’t Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock … Continue reading →

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I’ll take that bet

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jason Embry sums it up. Nearly every Republican in the Texas House placed a bet Sunday night that the residents of their district will support taking billions of dollars out of the public school system. In voting for the House’s … Continue reading →

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More on the new Council map

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the proposed new Council map. Reactions were about what you’d expect for the most part. “There’s two Latino council members and you have, currently, nine districts,” [District I Council Member James Rodriguez] said. “We’re moving … Continue reading →

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School finance reform bills on tap

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Whether you look at the House budget or the slightly less drastic Senate version, public schools will not get the funding they are due under the current defined formulas. That means that how the funds are distributed needs to be … Continue reading →

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Senate pushes back on House efforts to redirect family planning funds

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A little sanity is always nice to see. State budget cuts taking aim at Planned Parenthood may limit the availability of family planning services for many poor Texans and have the unintended consequence of increasing unwanted pregnancies, two key lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Patrick’s blackmail bill goes to the House

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The assault on the will of the voters takes another step forward. The Texas Senate voted 30-1 for Sen. Dan Patrick’s bill to broaden the exemption from Houston’s drainage fee to cover non-profit groups and expansion by churches and schools. … Continue reading →

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Tax breaks are spending, too

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s see who among the “we have to live within our means” crowd opposes this. Faced with a looming budget shortfall, the Senate’s most powerful member is carrying legislation that would cap state spending on school property tax breaks that … Continue reading →

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Drainage fee passes with exemptions

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Council has passed the drainage fee ordinance required by Renew Rebuild Houston, with exemptions for existing church and school properties. The fee will apply to all future “impervious cover” at church and school buildings, such as roofs and parking lots. … Continue reading →

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SAISD’s Trustee elections

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know much about San Antonio ISD or the makeup of its board, but I know they’re about to have some very interesting elections next month. Name the ills of a typical inner-city school district and San Antonio has … Continue reading →

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MALC files redistricting lawsuit

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is the second lawsuit that has been filed in the state of Texas related to the Census and redistricting. And to think, we don’t even have a map produced by the Redistricting Committee yet. A group of Hispanic lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 4

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance would have voted against HB1 as well as it brings you this week’s blog roundup. Off the Kuff notes that when one Bradley goes away, another one gets nominated. Three Wise Men examines the possibility of … Continue reading →

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Proposed new City Council map is out

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Feast your eyes: Numbers and a sideways view of the map can be seen here. You can also see these docs plus a map of current Council districts at Houston Politics. A few rough observations: – The first thing you … Continue reading →

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Harris County prepares to get hammered

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House budget will cost Harris County a bundle if it passes as is. Harris County health care providers would lose more than $2 billion in Medicaid funding under the Texas House budget that passed Sunday night, according to an … Continue reading →

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Smith v. Barton on redistricting

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Politico: A bitter, behind-the-scenes fight has broken out among Texas Republicans over redistricting, pitting Rep. Lamar Smith against longtime colleague Rep. Joe Barton. The dispute is over the makeup of four new congressional districts for the Lone Star State, … Continue reading →

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The arbitrariness of our tax code

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wick Allison points out the winners and losers in Texas’ tax code. Suppose you’re a young artist and you want to create a video installation. To do it, you have to buy lighting equipment. You will pay a sales tax. … Continue reading →

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Why demolishing the Dome would be so expensive

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is primarily about what a bunch of notable people would like to see happen to the Astrodome. That isn’t terribly interesting to me, but it did contain this tidbit, which answers a question I’ve wondered about and … Continue reading →

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Compromise microbrew bill voted out of committee

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Brewed and Never Battered: Congrats to Brock Wagner, the folks at St. Arnold, and all the other Texas brewers, distributors and retailers supporting HB 602 which today passed the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee by a vote of … Continue reading →

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Voter ID bill to conference committee

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Postcards: The Texas Senate just refused to agree to changes in the controversial Voter ID bill — Senate Bill 14 — that were made by the House of Representatives. That means the final version of the measure will be worked … Continue reading →

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From the “Capitalism is scary!” files

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve been following the brewpubs’ efforts to get a bill passed that would allow them to sell their wares elsewhere in Texas then this Statesman story doesn’t bring much new to you. What it does do is cleanly capture … Continue reading →

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Trying Eversole, take 2

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The two sides in County Commissioner Jerry Eversole’s trial are planning for the sequel. The biggest help to each side, seasoned trial lawyers said, are the jurors who sat through three weeks of testimony. “I relied a lot on input … Continue reading →

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SBOE map approved by House committee

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One down for the House Redistricting Committee. A House Redistricting Committee approved a new map for the State Board of Education [Friday] afternoon on a vote of 12-4. The map now moves to the full House. State Rep. Carol Alvarado, … Continue reading →

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HIDS community conversations about possible school closures

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the HISD news page: HISD has scheduled a series of community conversations to discuss the possibility of closing four small elementary schools. The district administration is faced with making some difficult budget decisions to cover an expected $171 million … Continue reading →

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House passes its budget

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a good writeup of how it went down on Sunday. Mot of the heavy lifting was done before then, in the bills that closed the books on the previous biennium and allocated Rainy Day funds for them … Continue reading →

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How does school finance work, anyway?

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a useful guide to this incredibly complex topic. Here’s our layman’s guide to figuring out the current system, compiled with the help of experts at the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, the Equity Center and the Texas … Continue reading →

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