Monthly Archives: April 2012

Interview with Joaquin Castro

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas will elect at least six new members of Congress this year, as there are four new seats and two members have retired. Contested primaries may produce other new members, but for sure there will be six new faces. We … Continue reading →

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Metro comes to a fork in the road

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Which way will they go? It’s up to them, and it’s up to us. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is preparing for a referendum, likely to be on the November ballot, asking voters to decide whether to put millions more of … Continue reading →

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Another way Obamacare is helping Texas right now

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Insurance rebates. Texas consumers and businesses are poised to receive an estimated $186 million in rebates from health insurers under a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, according a study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The health care act’s medical loss … Continue reading →

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The battle for Williamson County DA

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Outside of the Congressional races, the hottest primaries this year are District Attorney races. We’ve got them in Harris County, in Travis County, and of course in Williamson County. An 11-year Republican incumbent who hasn’t faced an opponent since 2002, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for April 29

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

No, you’re not imagining it. That Sunday talk show you watched this morning always has more Republicans on it. The “choices” women make around childrearing and career are often not really choices at all. Why did the Pioneer spacecraft slow … Continue reading →

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The other PPP April polls

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to their Presidential poll, Public Policy Polling asked about the Senate race and the future of Rick Perry. In their poll of the GOP Senate primary, they see things tightening up. Every time PPP polls Texas the Republican … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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

Residency is more state of mind than anything else

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Home is where you say it is” department. Her dogs live there, her mail arrives there, and her “stuff” is still there. But Delicia Herrera insists she no longer lives at the home she owns on SW 39th … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Jealous Guy

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Song #71 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Jealous Guy”, by John Lennon and covered by Roxy Music. Here’s the original: That’s apparently one of Lennon’s more widely covered songs, but I can’t say I’d heard it before. Here’s the … Continue reading →

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Amazon settles up with Texas

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Amazon.com will start collecting sales taxes from Texas customers this summer and agreed to make capital investments of $200 million and create 2,500 jobs in the state over the next four years, Comptroller Susan Combs announced this morning. In … Continue reading →

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Shrinking the Astrodome

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You know what we need? Another crazy scheme to save the Astrodome, that’s what. Houston architect Imad Abdullah presented the most recent plan to save the Astrodome to Harris County Commissioners recently. But the same question remains: How to pay … Continue reading →

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Fighting identity theft

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The U of Texas is studying it. Identity theft is a cradle-to-grave problem that costs U.S. businesses $50 billion and affects at least 10 million consumers each year. At least 1 million children’s identities are stolen over the course of … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Here there be randomness

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Feels like the kind of week for some old school random ten-ness. 1. Dancing Barefoot – U2 2. San Lorenzo – Pat Metheny Group 3. Race Car Ya-Yas – CAKE 4. I’m In The Mood – John Lee Hooker 5. … Continue reading →

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Here come the lobbyists

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting real in the United versus Southwest fight. Both sides have enlisted A-list lobbying teams. United’s includes Marty Stein, who until little more than a year ago was Mayor Annise Parker’s agenda director; former City Attorney Anthony Hall and … Continue reading →

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Rep. Reynolds busted for barratry

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, for crying out loud. State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, was arrested Tuesday evening [for barratry, the unlawful solicitation of clients by lawyers] and posted $5,000 bail shortly after midnight. A former associate municipal judge for the City of … Continue reading →

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Bike sharing is officially almost here

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Citizens Net: Beginning Wednesday, May 2, 2012, Houston will be one of only 15 U.S. cities to launch a bike share program to make getting around downtown a whole lot easier. The bike share program, known as Houston B-cycle, … Continue reading →

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Your voter registration card is in the mail

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Someone was just asking me about this, so I’m glad to see that they’re on their way. Harris County officials prepared to ship out 1.7 million voter registration cards Tuesday – after an unprecedented nearly five-month delay resulting from a … Continue reading →

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“Bum Phillips: The Opera”

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Would you like to see an opera based on the life of legendary former Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips? Of course you would. And you can make it happen. BUM PHILLIPS is a world premiere operatic work inspired by … Continue reading →

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PPP’s April poll of Texas

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s Public Policy Polling’s latest snapshot of Texas heading into May and the primaries. If Newt Gingrich was going to win a big victory anywhere between now and the Republican convention Texas would be a logical candidate…but it doesn’t look … Continue reading →

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Our long Amazonian nightmare may finally be over

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Negotiations are in progress to get Amazon to pay something like its fair share. Amazon.com is negotiating with the state to start paying Texas sales taxes on online sales and to create some jobs in the state, reviving talks that … Continue reading →

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Delay in voter ID trial requested

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Li: Intervenors in the Texas voter ID case asked the court today to delay the scheduled July 9 start of trial in the case, citing discovery delays by the State of Texas.  The intervenors said the delays had … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 23

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance honors the life of Dick Clark by bringing you a weekly roundup with a good beat that you can dance to.

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Interview with Anthony Troiani

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview in CD34 today, and will be back next week with three more interviews. I’m still working on getting more lined up. Today’s subject is Anthony Troiani, who is currently serving as City Commissioner At Large … Continue reading →

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Brown’s staff departures

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Normally there’s nothing terribly newsworthy about a couple of Council staffers moving on, but there’s never been anything normal about CM Helena Brown’s office. Councilwoman Helena Brown’s two highest-ranking staff members have resigned less than four months into her two-year … Continue reading →

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

Houston area transit preferences in 2012

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The 2012 Houston Area Survey is in the can, and though the data has not been published to their website yet, there have been a few preview tidbits tossed out to whet everyone’s appetite. One of them has to do … Continue reading →

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Urban chickens update

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From TM Daily Post: A survey of Texas chicken husbandry regulations showed an overall tolerance for backyard fowl as long as the noise and smell don’t offend your neighbors (although some cities, like Plano, forbid chickens). The regs require considerable … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ramiro Garza

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Next I have two interviews from a seat that’s new in number but not really in composition. CD34 is the updated version of what was CD27, now with no incumbent, and as an open seat it has attracted a large … Continue reading →

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We really don’t know anything about the “Ministers for Keryl” email

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s something I recently learned: You can create a free account on MailChimp, the bulk mailer used by the Keryl Douglas campaign and also by whoever sent that awful “Ministers for Keryl” email. You can do this pretty much anonymously, … Continue reading →

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

How Perry punked the GHP

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I wrote about Rick Perry’s budget suicide pact and how it was endorsed by the Greater Houston Partnership in a credibility-killing move. Turns out, according to Patti Hart, Perry didn’t exactly tell them what it was they were … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles of Lykos and Anderson

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already had an overview of the GOP DA primary, but that race is apparently too big for just one story, so now we have profiles of the two candidates, Pat Lykos and Mike Anderson. I figure if you’re following … Continue reading →

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Interview with Marc Veasey

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In Week 2 of my contested Congressional tour of Texas, I have one interview from the most heavily populated primary, and two from the second most heavily populated. First up is State Rep. Marc Veasey, who is running in the … Continue reading →

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Ending the Lottery?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Seems unlikely, but that won’t stop some folks from trying. As lawmakers look at whether the Texas Lottery Commission is operating effectively, influential Baptists are suggesting that the lottery shouldn’t merely be tweaked. They want it abolished. “Ask the pertinent … Continue reading →

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Collecting unpaid red light camera fines update

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that when the city settled its lawsuit with red light camera vendor ATS, they agreed to pay a certain amount of money that would be generated by collecting still-unpaid red light camera fines. Ted Oberg has an … Continue reading →

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Homeless feeding ordinance town hall tonight

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s at 6:30 PM at the Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 8300 Katy Freeway. You can see a map here and the flyer for the town hall here. Judging by the organizers and the fact that the email I was forwarded … Continue reading →

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