Monthly Archives: November 2011

It’s about the referenda

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Statesman story about the can ban battle in New Braunfels illustrates something I was getting at in my post about Houston turnout rates in the 90s. Voters have flocked to the polls in early voting, with more than 4,800, … Continue reading →

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

Why 18?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The legal voting age has been 18 for forty years now, but some people would like it to be lower, at least for their local elections. Critics of the young people sleeping on cardboard at Occupy Wall Street argue the … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Confederate flag license plate decision coming

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here it comes. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is scheduled to debate [this] week whether to create a state license plate with a rebel flag that commemorates Confederate soldiers. The new agenda posted for the Nov. … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Elections from a bygone era

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

All through the Early Voting period, I’ve been comparing turnout this year to elections from 2005 through 2009. It’s not like we didn’t have elections in this city before then, of course. Obviously, the city now is different than it … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Drainage madness

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A year ago, Taxpayers for Financial Accountability campaigned against Houston’s Proposition 1, which called for a pay-as-you-go fund to shore up the city’s drainage infrastructure in part through a monthly fee on … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Big XII says it’s set with IX or X for next year

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

But who knows what they’ll do beyond that. Interim Big 12 Commissioner Chuck Neinas said Saturday the conference has no plans to expand further prior to next season, although that doesn’t mean a move back to 12 teams couldn’t happen … Continue reading →

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New filing dates announced

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has taken the first steps towards defining what the 2012 election will look like in Texas. A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio on Friday changed key rules for some candidates for … Continue reading →

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Chron retracts Rodriguez endorsement

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Earlier this campaign season, we endorsed Manuel Rodriguez Jr. for another term on the board of the Houston Independent School District. We now retract that endorsement in the race for HISD Position III trustee. A last-minute campaign … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for November 6

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Have you voted yet? Well, nobody truly understands the Scots, anyway. I want to see these punctuation marks on my next keyboard. And I want Victor Borge to come up with sounds for them. The making of the Statue of … Continue reading →

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Final early vote total

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting ended Friday, with the last day repeating the 2007 pattern of roughly doubling earlier numbers from the week but never taking big jump as was seen in 2005 and 2009. Here’s the final daily EV report from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Still nothing interesting in the 2012 Presidential polls of Texas

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a new UT/Texas Trib poll of the Presidential race in Texas, and while most of it is about the Republican nomination, the bit that interests me as always is regarding the general election: Perry would do better in a … Continue reading →

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

HISD Trustee Rodriguez sends anti-gay mailer

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I figured there was going to be more anti-gay stuff in this election. I just wasn’t expecting it in an HISD Trustee race. Some Houston residents are calling for the resignation of Trustee Manuel Rodriguez from the Houston school board … Continue reading →

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

Construction pains

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I feel for the people and businesses that are being affected by Metro’s light rail construction. I wish that these large construction projects could be done without that kind of disruption, but it happens, and it sucks. What amazed me … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Baby, Now That I’ve Found You

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Song #93 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You”, originally by The Foundations and done is a very different style by Alison Krauss. Here’s the original: And here’s Krauss’ cover: The Popdose writer’s … Continue reading →

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The 8 day non-filers

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Eight day campaign finance reports were posted on the city website on Monday and Tuesday. As of today, the following candidates do not have an 8 Day report available: Amanda Ullman, Mayor James Partsch-Galvan (*), At Large #1 Elizabeth Perez, … Continue reading →

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

Big XII expects WVU for 2012

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Big East is no obstacle. Interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said Tuesday he fully expects West Virginia to start play next season despite a hard-line stance from the Big East. Neinas attended a reception in Morgantown officially welcoming … Continue reading →

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Get them while they’re HOT

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Metro is set to open its HOV lanes to single occupancy vehicles, but you’ll pay for the privilege if you choose it. The Metropolitan Transit Authority board Thursday set a range of tolls from $1 to $10, depending on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Friday random ten: Semana de los Muertos

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sure as November follows October, so does Dia de los Muertos follow Halloween. In that spirit, I offer ten songs about death and dying. 1. The Long Black Veil – The Chieftains with Mick Jagger 2. Very Fine Funeral – … Continue reading →

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Eight day finance reports, part II

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Finishing what I started… – Fernando Herrera‘s report appeared on Tuesday. He raised $15,835, spent $27,185, and has $242.87 on hand. There were several expenditures on signs and a couple for “Advertising” that didn’t give me much of a clue … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s not “he said, she said” if one of them is factually correct

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story from Monday about a mishap at the County Clerk’s office really annoys me for what it doesn’t say. A manual being using to train election judges for next week’s elections contains inaccurate information, reflecting a new voter … Continue reading →

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Early voting totals, Days 10 and 11

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Eleven days of Early Voting down, one to go. Here’s the Early Voting daily report from Day 11, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet, and our old friend the comparison chart: Type … Continue reading →

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The Chamber of Commerce tax cut gets extended

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the Chamber of Commerce tax cut from the 2009 legislative session? Ed Sills of the Texas AFL-CIO has an update on it: Much to our chagrin, the 2009 Texas Legislature approved a law that exempts local Chambers of Commerce … Continue reading →

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Interim maps and the DC preclearance case

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has been hearing arguments about proposed interim Congressional maps this week. Michael Li summarizes the plaintiffs’ case for why the map adopted by the Lege cannot be used, even as a starting point. Right … Continue reading →

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When prosecutors get in trouble

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You know, this grand jury investigation of the Harris County DA’s office is starting to look like a full-fledged scandal. Two Harris County prosecutors are facing contempt charges after a judge learned that members of the District Attorney’s Office were … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

I-45 is back on the agenda

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: After several years of the I-45 project being on hold, public meetings are now being scheduled by TxDOT. TxDOT is about to significantly change the I-45 project TxDOT has provided NO advance information on exactly what the … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of October 31

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone had a happy Halloween as we bring you this week’s roundup.

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Early voting totals, Days 8 and 9

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Running a little late on these – it’s been that kind of a week – but here are your Early Vote totals through Tuesday, Day 9, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet, … Continue reading →

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

Eight day reports, part 1

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The eight day finance reports started getting posted on the city’s campaign finance page yesterday. I’m still working through putting them on my 2011 Election page, but here are a few highlights so far: – Next to Mayor Parker, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

West Virginia sues Big East

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The divorce just got ugly. West Virginia filed a civil lawsuit against the Big East on Monday in an attempt to exit the conference in 2012 to join the Big 12, squarely blaming commissioner John Marinatto for the instability of … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Overview of the Constitutional amendments

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron gives an overview of the Constitutional amendments on this year’s ballot. College students, veterans’ widows and land owners who conserve water could be among the beneficiaries if voters approve 10 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on Nov. … Continue reading →

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

Good enough to do it twice

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I confess I did not follow the World Series very closely this year. I caught a few bits and pieces of games, including the latter innings of Game Six, but for the most part missed them. My first thought after … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Disciplining deputies

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a long story about the disciplinary issues at the Sheriff’s Department. A Houston Chronicle review of Sheriff’s Office discipline reports from 2007 to August provides a sobering look into a department plagued by deputies, jailers and civilians … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Redistricting action this week

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a busy week for redistricting lawsuit action, as the federal court in San Antonio is having hearings on the proposed interim maps that were submitted by the various parties to the suits. The Statesman has an overview of the … Continue reading →

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More school districts looking at school finance lawsuit

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio. Trustees of the area’s two largest school districts — North East and Northside — on Tuesday deliberated about joining a lawsuit against the state over what some consider to be an inadequate and inequitable education funding system. … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments