Monthly Archives: February 2012

Interview with Patty Quintana-Nilsson

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My final interview with the Democratic hopefuls for State Board of Education District 6 is with Patty Quintana-Nilsson. She is a UH graduate with a degree in Radio & Television Communications, and she is a 15-year employee of the Spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lampson saddles up

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to have him back. On Monday, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson told a crowd of about 40 supporters gathered at Texas City’s city hall that he was running in the newly drawn 14th District “because Congress is too … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We have a long history of screwing public schools in this state

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been meaning to post about this Texas Observer story about the current status of school finance, the litigation challenging it, and the story of how we got here. Here’s a little local angle to illustrate one of the many … Continue reading →

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Who uses the white pages these days?

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m an old fogey. I read the dead tree version of the newspaper. I’ve installed no apps on my cellphone. I drive a minivan. Yet even I couldn’t tell you the last time I used a phone book. When was … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

We have maps

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From The Trib: Federal judges in San Antonio unveiled maps for the state’s congressional delegation and for the state House this afternoon, and they did it in time to allow the state to hold its delayed political primaries on May … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Interview with David Scott

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for State Board of Education District 6 is David Scott. Scott ia an A&M graduate who has a Masters of Library Science from the University of North Texas. He worked a variety of jobs in several industries, including … Continue reading →

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

It’s all about Helena

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, we have been living in Helena Brown’s world all this time. District A Councilwoman Helena Brown has voted against spending money on the renovation of a women’s shelter, a street’s reconstruction, the purchase of a police boat, payment to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

UH moves closer to Tier I status

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The University of Houston is on the verge of accessing additional state money that could help catapult the school closer to prestigious Tier 1 status, according to a preliminary report from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How you can help support policies and funding for public schools

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, sent by Sue Dimenn Deigaard: Over the past week I have heard several legislators make the misleading claim that they increased funding for public education this past session.  As a parent with a child that is in … Continue reading →

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

More on uniform start times and other options HISD is considering

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD is contemplating uniform start times as a way to save a few bucks for the next fiscal year. They do have some other ideas going, as well as a possible property tax rate hike, and they … Continue reading →

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Interview with Traci Jensen

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We now move on to the State Board of Education, the one entity affected by legislative redistricting that is not at issue in the current litigation, as the new SBOE map was precleared. I don’t think I need to explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who cares about women, anyway?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas certainly doesn’t. If there was any hope that the state was seeking a compromise with the federal government over Texas’ Women’s Health Program, it’s fading fast. At the direction of lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HISD to contemplate uniform start times again

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They’re back. Bleary-eyed teenagers in Houston ISD could sleep later, but not everyone is cheering a budget-cutting proposal that would change school hours and bus schedules next year. The school board last year rejected a plan to tinker with the … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

School finance lawsuit #5

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The plaintiffs keep on coming. A lawsuit by a small group of parents claims Texas is not getting enough bang for its educational buck, and asks the state’s courts to address inefficiencies in how education funding is spent. Attorneys plan … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for February 26

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I hope your Valentine’s Day was not as exciting as theirs was. A proper apology for an honest screwup is never a bad idea. I guess investing in North Korea could be a good idea. Seems awfully risky to me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dry, not drought

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yippie! It’s official: According to the latest iteration of the U.S. Drought Monitor just released, the drought is over for most of eastern Harris County. Here’s the picture: Compare that to where we were at the beginning of the year … Continue reading →

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More than five million trees lost in the cities

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More depressing numbers from the drought. It was a sight more common than usual this past summer: a tree too thirsty to live became another casualty to the drought. City workers would either remove the tree, or, if they were … Continue reading →

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Snorting caffeine

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The next frontier in caffeination: Caffeinated air. U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement. … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

One good thing will come out of Craig James’ Senate campaign

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

He apparently won’t be brought back by ESPN. Sportwriters and fans alike rejoice.

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

Saturday video break: We Can Work It Out

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #80 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “We Can Work It Out”, by The Beatles, and covered by Stevie Wonder. Here’s the original: I trust everyone is familiar with that song. Here’s Stevie’s version: Pretty cool to … Continue reading →

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Property tax revenues still a year away

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Getting better, but not quite there yet. Local governments should not expect an influx of property taxes to solve their budget woes this year, Harris County Appraisal District officials said Tuesday. Assistant Chief Appraiser Guy Griscom estimated the countywide tax … Continue reading →

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Buddymentum!

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For the three of you reading this who know who Buddy Roemer is and were aware that he was running for President (other than Greg, who of course already knew), this announcement from his campaign may possibly be of interest … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Corpus Christi discusses plastic bags

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Add another city to the list of those seeking to reduce plastic bag usage and litter. [Corpus Christi] Mayor Joe Adame wants the community to work together on a solution within the next two to three months. “The easy decision … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: Tongue twisters

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow I got to thinking this week about songs that are challenging to sing because of lyrical density and/or complexity. Tongue-twisting songs, in other words. I came up with ten from my collection: 1. Mari Mac – Flying Fish Sailors … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Who’s on the Perry 2014 bandwagon?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not so many people. If he really wants to run for another term as governor — as he told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday — Rick Perry has some work ahead of him. While 39 percent of Texas voters … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

More fun with Helena

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

When I saw the headline about a clash between Mayor Parker and an unnamed Council member, I was pretty sure I knew before I clicked the link which Council member it was. I was right. District A Councilwoman Brown tried … Continue reading →

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

The “Moneyball” approach to public education

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Via Lisa Falkenberg on Facebook, SBOE member Thomas Ratliff uses the philosophy from Moneyball to analyze the accountability system for Texas public schools. The book says, “One absolutely cannot tell, by watching, the difference between a .300 hitter and a … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Petition for safer walking and biking

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Marty Hajovsky: Stephanie Riceman with the Heights Kids Group, a 900-strong (at least) group of families in and around the greater Houston Heights, has put together an interesting online petition that says as much about how many new families there are in … Continue reading →

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

Still no voter registration cards yet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about this before, but apparently there are some rumors running around regarding voter registration cards. Central Texas elections officials are warning against a rash of emails spreading false information about voter registration — an already confusing issue for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

No, there won’t be a special session to help the public schools

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Someone managed to catch Rick Perry during the few minutes he was in the office this week to ask about about having a special session to appropriate some of the extra Rainy Day funds to mitigate the cuts to public … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Harris County GOP to harass Mayor Parker about gay marriage

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it. The Harris County Republican Party is calling on its members to tell the mayor to back off on same-sex marriage. In an email blast sent out Monday, Chairman Jared Woodfill asks recipients to call or email the mayor … Continue reading →

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

Let’s party like it’s 2007!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good news: The improving economy and steadily increasing sales tax receipts may mean that we won’t have another budget apocalypse in 2013. Bad news: The Republicans in the Lege will use this as an excuse to avoid fixing the state’s … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 20

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance will never be able to say the word “surging” again with a straight face as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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InnerVIEWS

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats to Ernie Manouse for reaching this milestone: Houston-(February 15, 2012) Over the past 10 seasons, the nationally syndicated award-winning series,  InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse hasentertained and informed audiences with interesting, intimate, and revealing conversations with some of today’s most captivating notables. … Continue reading →

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