Monthly Archives: September 2011

Credit card security

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another thing the rest of the world does better than we do. The United States is the only developed country still hanging on to credit and debit cards with those black magnetic stripes, the kind you swipe through retail … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Friday random ten: Gone too soon, again

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I heard “Rehab” on the radio the other day, and it got me thinking once again about musicians who left this planet way too soon. 1. Back To Black – Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) 2. Statesboro Blues – The Allman Brothers … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Changes will be coming

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Miller has a look at who we know won’t be back in the Lege for 2013. It’s a list that’s sure to get longer – I’m aware of a few more rumored retirements, and there’s already numerous primary challenges … Continue reading →

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Eversole expected to take a plea

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think this comes as a surprise to anyone. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, who on Monday announced his resignation from office, is expected to plead guilty to one count of making a false statement to FBI agents in … Continue reading →

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Keep an eye on El Paso

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

While we celebrate the advancement of civil rights in San Antonio, we must keep in mind that these fights are never truly over. The El Paso City Council voted to extend health insurance to domestic partnerships in 2009, but that … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Where the congestion is

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the On The Move blog: Dallas motorists suffer the most highly congested road conditions in Texas, says a recent report from the Texas Department of Transportation. The state’s top three bottlenecks are all located in Dallas County, according to … Continue reading →

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Davis files anoter redistricting lawsuit

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

After the Justice Department declined to object to the new State Senate map under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Sen. Wendy Davis filed a lawsuit in the federal court in San Antonio challenging it on other grounds. State … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Amy Price

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Also running in At Large #4 is Amy Price, who is running under the auspices of the Green Party. Price is a violin teacher and professional musician who has performed with such bands as Gordian Knot, The Buddhacrush, and Orange … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Everybody loves Ed

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Everybody who hopes to be appointed to Commissioners Court, anyway. In the hours after [Commissioner Jerry] Eversole’s announcement [that he would resign as of October 1], hopeful appointees pressed the flesh with local Republican leaders and scrambled to see whether … Continue reading →

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

From the “Sacrifice for thee but not for me” department

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry sure does like to travel. At a time when state budget reductions were used to help offset a multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall, taxpayers were billed in excess of $294,000 in security detail expenses for out-of-state trips by Gov. Rick … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 19

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is still wondering what this wet stuff falling from the sky is as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Louis Molnar

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Moving over to At Large #4, one of the candidates hoping to unseat CM Bradford is Louis Molnar. Molnar is a small business owner and realtor who also teaches law, ethics, and urban planning at the Spencer School of Real … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

PPP: Perry takes lead on Obama in Texas

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not by that much, however. Rick Perry has an under water approval rating in Texas and he’s leading Barack Obama by a smaller margin than John McCain won the state by in 2008…but at least he is leading Obama, which … Continue reading →

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Trader Joe’s makes its move

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Alabama Theater, here they come. Trader Joe’s is officially considering the historic Alabama Theatre for its first Houston outpost. The proposal is on the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission, which would have to … Continue reading →

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UT will start conference shopping

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More dominoes. University of Texas President William Powers Jr. was given the authority Monday to explore changing conferences, and Texas will seriously consider trying to join the Pacific-12 and the Atlantic Coast conferences if not other possibilities, sources close to … Continue reading →

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DA won’t bring charges against CM Jones

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Politics: Harris County prosecutors who reviewed ethics complaints against City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones have concluded that criminal prosecution is not warranted. In a letter to the City Attorney David Feldman the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said it had … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Interview with Don Cook

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Also running in At Large #1 is Don Cook, who does not currently have a website. Cook ran for this office in 2009 as a member of the Progressive Coalition. He was also the Green Party candidate for Harris County … Continue reading →

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What I want from the next HCDP Chair

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So by now you know that HCDP Chair Gerry Birnberg will step down in December. The precinct chairs will select an interim Chair at that time, and a new Chair will be elected in the March primary. Lane Lewis has … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

DOJ pushes back on State House and Congressional maps

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Justice Department said Monday that Texas’ state House and congressional redistricting plans didn’t comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Not a drop to drink

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have two questions regarding this Trib story about the dire drought situation in Odessa. The city of Odessa, facing a dire drought situation, is looking to an unlikely example for help in finding water: the desert city of El … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Eversole to resign

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole has submitted his resignation, county officials said, effective Oct. 1. Representatives in Harris County Judge Ed Emmett’s office confirmed Eversole submitted his resignation shortly after 2 p.m. today. Eversole represents about 1 million constituents … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Interview with Scott Boates

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will run interviews with some candidates who are challenging Council incumbents, some of whom entered their races more recently in the cycle. I will finish the Council races with At Large #5 next week, then the Mayor … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Justice Department urged to block voter ID law

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m all in on this. A coalition of civil rights groups is urging the Obama administration’s Justice Department to reject Texas’ voter-ID law, charging that the measure advocated by Rick Perry intentionally discriminates against black and Hispanic voters. The Legislature … Continue reading →

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The districts in dispute

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The redistricting lawsuit in San Antonio wrapped up on Friday, so at this point all we can do is wait for the three-judge panel to issue its opinion, and for the DC Circuit Court to have it say on preclearance. … Continue reading →

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

How’s that Texas miracle going?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not so good. The Texas unemployment rate reached 8.5 percent in August, its highest rate since June of 1987. That’s an increase from 8.4 percent in July. Those numbers come from the U.S. Department of Labor. The numbers were confirmed … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 18

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Day Before International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Sneakerware will never truly go out of style. (See here or here for the definition if it’s unclear to you.) Apparently, having an aol.com email address is now considered a status … Continue reading →

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Perry’s email purging on hold

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Never underestimate a truly determined hacker. Gov. Rick Perry’s state office has temporarily stopped deleting emails every seven days — as its official document retention policy allows — thanks to the efforts of a Wisconsin-based political activist who thinks they … Continue reading →

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San Antonio City Council extends domestic partnership benefits to city employees

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. On Thursday, words like “abomination,” “sin” and “Satan” were commonplace in City Council chambers as the audience weighed in on a tiny portion of San Antonio’s $2.2 billion budget. The council listened to three hours of public … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Can we have some of your rainwater?

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is just crazy enough that you would hope it might work, but it probably can’t. As the soggy East tries to dry out from flooding and Texas prays for rain that doesn’t come, you might ask: Isn’t there some … Continue reading →

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

Amazon cuts a deal with California

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Amazon.com cut a tentative deal with legislative leaders Wednesday night that would allow it to postpone collecting sales taxes from Californians for another year. The company in turn would drop its battle to overturn the state’s new law that … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Alone

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So I’ve been thinking about the Popdose Top 100 Covers list, and I knew I wanted to do something with it for the blog, but another set of Friday Random Ten lists didn’t seem to do it justice. Then I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Metro officially back on track with the FTA

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The “Buy America” nightmare is now history for Metro. In September 2010, the FTA announced that the process Metro had used to award a rail car contract to CAF USA, the U.S. subsidiary of a Spanish company, violated federal law … Continue reading →

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There’s an app for reporting crimes

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron’s Newswatch blog: The Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Adrian Garcia has launched a series of free smartphone apps that will allow residents to report any crime tips or suspicious activities by sending text messages, emails, photos … Continue reading →

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High school firefighting classes

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. Seeking to tighten spending, the Austin Fire Department last year decided to ax a program at LBJ High School that allowed students to become certified to be firefighters upon graduation. But the Austin school district has decided … Continue reading →

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