Monthly Archives: August 2011

School bus ads come to Comal County

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Given the budget cuts from the Legislature, I figure we’ll see a lot more school districts hop on the bus, as it were. This year, 10 Comal school district buses that deliver students to school and home also will be … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Ellen Cohen

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We move now into District C, where a newly-drawn inner Loop district has drawn a fair amount of interest. First up is former two-term State Rep. Ellen Cohen, who represented a fair piece of this district while serving in HD134. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A peek behind the scenes

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Want to know what the Republicans were thinking during redistricting? Here you go. Emails unsealed by a federal judge show that key Republicans involved in Texas congressional redistricting bickered over strategy and actively considered bypassing the Justice Department two months … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Houston to get 2013 NBA All Star Game

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming the lockout has ended by then, of course. The game will be played Feb. 17 at Toyota Center, which also hosted the 2006 game. “It’s a done deal,” a person familiar with the bidding process told the Chronicle on … Continue reading →

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Another story about plastic bags

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No news on the bag-banning front, though officials in the D/FW area quoted in this Star-Telegram story seem open to the idea, but what interested me was the numbers mentioned: Estimates show that each person now uses about 130 plastic … Continue reading →

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

Mayor orders water conservation measures

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Parker Orders Mandatory Water Conservation Measures Due to persistent drought conditions and continuously decreasing water levels in Lake Houston, as of Monday, August 15, 2011, Mayor Annise Parker has mandated the implementation of the City of … Continue reading →

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Boney to run for HCC Trustee

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first contested race for a non-city of Houston office as former Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Jew Don Boney has announced his candidacy for the HCC Trustee District IV seat. You can see his press release … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My one piece of advice to Barack Obama in re: Rick Perry

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably heard about Rick Perry’s long-anticipated announcement that yes indeedy, he is running for President. I plan to avoid this subject as much as possible, because there’s only so much blogging about Rick Perry one can do … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

No SEC for A&M

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For now, anyway. The Southeastern Conference is not extending an invitation to Texas A&M to become its 13th member, but isn’t ruling out adding the Aggies in the future. University of Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen said the conference’s presidents … Continue reading →

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DeLay files appeal of his conviction

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The man has been a boon for the defense bar, I’ll say that much for him. Tom DeLay’s appellate lawyer tapped a movie musical and Shakespeare in a wide-ranging appeal that argues the former U.S. House majority leader was wrongly … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for August 14

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The game theory case for caving on the debt ceiling. And what it all means for 2012. You had me at “glow in the dark shark”. The invisibility part was just gravy. The rise of the ape movies. “I like … Continue reading →

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Red light cameras may get a Council vote

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Houston’s red-light camera vendor said on Friday that Mayor Annise Parker is trying to turn the cameras off again, and it has asked a federal judge to stop her from doing so. City Attorney David … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Noted for 2013

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When the next Texas Legislature gets gaveled in and hears the bad news about the ten-figure budget shortfall it will have to deal with, remember that at least one Republican involved in the budget-writing process this year says we won’t … Continue reading →

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Video game incentives

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about film incentives, the story noted that the video game industry was a big player in getting those funds. They’re set to get more of them now. In an effort to keep attracting video game jobs … Continue reading →

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New Braunfels bans bottles and cans

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On the river, that is. City Council gave preliminary approval on Monday to a controversial rule prohibiting disposable containers — bottles and cans — from the ecologically sensitive Comal River. The first reading of the proposal, amending an existing ordinance, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

RIP, Dr. Eugene Carinci

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Via my Trinity classmate Patrick Pringle, I just learned the sad news that Dr. Eugene Carinci, who was the band director at Trinity while we were there, has passed away. Dr. Carinci died at his home in Macon, Ga., on … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: We’re off to see the Wizard

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bobby McFerrin sings “The Wizard of Oz” in seven and a half minutes. It’s even more awesome than it sounds. There’s a more recent version of this performance, with somewhat better video (not having been ripped from someone’s VHS tape, … Continue reading →

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Fighting blight

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker has proposed a new city department to combat the problem of blight. “We for years have said that we’re a city of neighborhoods and we care about neighborhoods. Well, budgets don’t lie. And we have shortchanged neighborhoods,” Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

NCAA officially nixes high school programming on the Longhorn Network

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. The NCAA made official Thursday what most suspected would happen: It won’t allow programming involving high school athletics on university- or conference-affiliated television networks. That means the new Longhorn Network’s plans to carry about 18 high … Continue reading →

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Cameras everywhere

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Red light cameras get all the attention, but there are a lot more cameras in Houston. This story about the city’s network of surveillance cameras that have been installed by the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security gives … Continue reading →

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

Roads don’t pay for themselves

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ezra Klein: The 18.4-cents-per-gallon tax is already inadequate to fund current infrastructure obligations, not least because, in recent years, Americans have been driving less and buying more fuel-efficient cars. The good news is that we’re using less gasoline. The bad … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Songs of the Century, part 11

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And we wrap it up with the Songs of the Century as compiled by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. 1. That’s The Way (I Like It) – KC and the Sunshine Band (#303) … Continue reading →

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Council approves IAH/United deal

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The deal is done. The deal calls for United to put in $686 million and the Houston Airport System $288 million. Although the airport system is a city government function, it runs as a separate business and will not use … Continue reading →

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

Brown versus gray

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is an old, familiar story, but it really can’t be said often enough: When Gov. Rick Perry showed up in San Antonio earlier this summer to deliver brief remarks to the annual gathering of the National Association of Latino … Continue reading →

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DPS loses lawsuit over drivers license rules

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This happened the week before last, but I’m not sure it will matter at this point. On [July 29], Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled against the Texas Department of Public Safety and said that the agency could no longer require those … Continue reading →

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Wouldn’t it be nice to have solar panels on your roof right now?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Some people do. More people should. Despite Houston’s sweltering heat, Grady Hill hasn’t paid an electric bill since 2009. He keeps his thermostat set at a comfortable 78 degrees when he’s home, but a combination of solar panels and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Where the line is

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Me, July 17: I disagree that anyone who might think about challenging the Mayor will wait two years before taking action. They’ll simply wait to see how Parker does in November. Like all three of her predecessors in the term-limits … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another entrant in CD23

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Democratic field in CD23 has gotten bigger, and may grow again. Manny Pelaez, a trustee of VIA Metropolitan Transit, has filed a statement of candidacy for Congressional District 23, a seat held by U.S. Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco, R-San … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sugar Land prison set to close

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a long time coming. Texas joins a nationwide trend of shutting expensive state prisons, driven partly by red ink in state budgets, partly by a drop in convict numbers (with the lowest crime rate since 1973) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of August 8

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Having been raptured in May, the Texas Progressive Alliance was ready for The Response as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Laying track

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a long time coming. For the first time in 10 years, workers this morning poured concrete for a new section of Metro light-rail track. The 80-foot section of steel rail will be part of the 6.6-mile Southeast … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Larry Green

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

District K is one of the two new Council seats that resulted from the redistricting plan this year. You’d think a brand new seat like that would draw a crowd, but this new district has basically drawn a crowd of … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against business margins tax

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Allstate Claims Service, L.P., which is based in Boerne, has filed a lawsuit alleging that the business margins tax is an illegally-passed income tax in Texas. Oh, boy. Nikki Laing, a CPA and third-year Baylor law student, studied the structure … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HISD to hire back some teachers

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. More than 300 teachers and other educators in the Houston Independent School District have been rehired since the massive round of layoffs in the spring, according to newly released data. Additional HISD teachers could get their jobs … Continue reading →

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