Monthly Archives: June 2013

Weekend link dump for June 30

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A photographic look at Staten Island in the 1980s. Really takes me back, I have to say. “Scientists are in awe after discovering a Queensland lake that has barely been affected by changes in climate for 7,000 years.” The NBA … Continue reading →

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Full speed ahead for Parks By You

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Houston City Council on Wednesday approved an agreement with the Houston Parks Board to tackle the ambitious trails plan voters approved in a $166 million bond issue last November. The Bayou Greenways 2020 project fulfills a century-old vision first … Continue reading →

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Burnam to re-file marriage equality bill for Special Session 2

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Upon the announcement [Wednesday] of a second special legislative session by Governor Rick Perry, as well as the Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Act, State Representative Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) today announced his intention … Continue reading →

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Enrolling the uninsured

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be such a huge job. Fresh produce wasn’t the only thing you could find at the Farmers Market [last] Saturday. Volunteers with the Get Covered America campaign were passing out flyers and letting people know that … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Proud Mary

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Song #13 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Proud Mary”, originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival and covered by Ike & Tina Turner. Here’s CCR: Great band, and I love John Fogerty’s voice, even if some of his enunciations … Continue reading →

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Time to lace up your Mizunos and head back to the Capitol

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Special Session 2 starts today. If you can be there to watch the proceedings in the Legislature, that would be great. RSVP here, and while you’re at it, give a Like to the Stand With Texas Women Facebook page. The … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves HCSCC Astrodome plan for further review

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I noted this briefly in an update to my interview with Willie Loston, but on Tuesday Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the proposal by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation to redevelop the Astrodome for further study. Commissioners … Continue reading →

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Clock strikes midnight for North Forest

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This was a tough blow for NFISD. North Forest school officials lost one of their final court battles Wednesday, making the district’s state-ordered merger into HISD five days from now increasingly likely. U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected the last-ditch … Continue reading →

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One thing Wal-Mart could be good for

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They could wreak havoc on payday lenders. Raj Date says that with modern data analysis banks could offer payday loans on much less extortionate terms. Felix Salmon retorts that banks don’t actually want to do business with poor people unless … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Going deep

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

My inspiration this week comes from John Scalzi: Name a favorite “deep cut” from a band you like. A “deep cut” meaning a track that was never a single or radio/video hit and wouldn’t generally be known to people who … Continue reading →

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What the future may hold for Wendy Davis

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart has her take on the Wendy Davis phenomenon, including the reaction of some Republicans to it. For both proponents and opponents of SB 5, the legislation that would have banned abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy and … Continue reading →

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The 2011 maps are officially dead

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry has signed the redistricting bills, thus making the 2012 interim maps the official state-sanctioned maps and thus dropping any further pursuit of the maps drawn by the 2011 Lege. On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry signed all three redistricting … Continue reading →

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Patrick is in for Lite Gov

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were three challengers to David Dewhurst. Citing the need for “authentic conservative leadership” in Texas, state Sen. Dan Patrick announced on Thursday that he would run for lieutenant governor against incumbent David Dewhurst. “Today begins roughly 18 … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The firefighters still don’t like the Mayor

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the Ben Hall campaign teased on its Facebook page that it was about to get a “game-changer” endorsement. This week, that endorsement was announced. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association announced they will be endorsing Ben Hall in … Continue reading →

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Still standing with Wendy

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let me just say that I hope Sen. Wendy Davis slept in yesterday, and did nothing more strenuous than channel surfing and ordering takeout. She’s earned a lazy day, and a lot more than that. And while she (hopefully) took … Continue reading →

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Patrick and Williams keep squabbling

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just as a reminder that Senate Republicans don’t need Democrats to stir up trouble, here’s a flare-up of an earlier kerfuffle. Fire one. In a recent interview with The Texas Tribune, my colleague, state Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the … Continue reading →

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Not so fast on voter ID enforcement

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Top Texas leaders acted without legal authority when they claimed to be moving forward with implementing the state’s controversial voter ID law, a veteran Supreme Court watcher said today. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Secretary of State John … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 24

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is once again ready to wish the Legislature a happy summer as far away from Austin as possible as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Smitherman says he’s in for Attorney General

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman is running for the 2014 Republican nomination for Attorney General, he confirmed to the Tribune. Public announcements via social media are planned for Monday. Smitherman told the Tribune he hopes to continue the … Continue reading →

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A woman for the Governor’s Mansion

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Annie’s List sent out the following email last week: We’ve had it with Rick Perry.  First he added insulting anti-choice legislation to the Special Session agenda while ignoring funding for our schools. Then he did the unthinkable–vetoing the Texas Lilly … Continue reading →

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Filibusted

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I figure this is about how the Republicans think of Sen. Wendy Davis right now: Well, they probably think a few more things, too, but this is a family blog. If you didn’t stay up late last night and follow … Continue reading →

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RIP, Section 5

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are well aware that SCOTUS has dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. They actually left Section 5, which is what requires certain parts of the country (including Texas) to get preclearance on voting-related changes, intact, … Continue reading →

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HISD budgets for teacher pay raise and more Apollo

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whether that will mean a tax hike, and if so how much, remains undetermined. Houston ISD employees will see a 2 percent pay raise and many schools will receive more money to help struggling students under the budget that trustees … Continue reading →

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Interview with Willie Loston

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Willie Loston is the Executive Director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, which is the not-for-profit company that operates and maintains the public facilities at Reliant Park, including Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome. It was the HCSCC that … Continue reading →

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No action on SB5 in the Senate

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The name of the game is running out the clock. Texas Democrats, far outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, are nonetheless on the verge of killing one of the most restrictive abortion proposals in the nation … Continue reading →

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Chron wonders where B-Cycle is going

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week in an unsigned editorial, the Chron asked a provocative question about B-Cycle. Are bicycle rental programs supposed to be legitimate transportation or merely toys for urban bohemians? New York Times writer Ginia Bellafante revealed Friday that her city’s … Continue reading →

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Skilling gets resentenced

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

He got the minimum of what he could have gotten. The long-running battle between federal prosecutors and former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling formally came to an end Friday when U.S. District Judge Sim Lake signed off on a negotiated sentence … Continue reading →

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Two contradictory polls about abortion

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The UT/Texas Trib poll painted a not-so-rosy picture for reproductive choice in Texas. Texas voters remain split on the permissibility of abortion but favor banning the procedure after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas … Continue reading →

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More on the rejected Dome ideas

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron pays some attention to the 19 ideas that were submitted to the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation for what to do with the Astrodome. Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., said … Continue reading →

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Last redistricting bill passes Senate, House debates abortion bills

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It was destiny. The Texas Senate on Sunday wrapped up final redistricting loose ends by concurring with changes made by the House to political boundaries for the lower chamber. In an 18-11 vote, the Senate signed off on a series … Continue reading →

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Patrick versus Ratliff

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

TFN Insider: Texas State Board of Education Vice Chairman Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, has already made clear his disgust over the political witch hunt that forced the state’s Education Service Centers to stop writing lesson plans in their CSCOPE curriculum … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 23

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime… We may never get the flying cars we were once promised, but flying bicycles appear to be a possibility. Vota por un gato! I’ll bet Eric Dick is wondering how it is that he didn’t … Continue reading →

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No override of Public Integrity Unit funding veto

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. A legislative move to restore state funding for the ethics-enforcing Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office died Friday afternoon. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said no vote is expected on House Concurrent Resolution … Continue reading →

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More on the HCDE pre-k proposal

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some more details on that pre-k proposal being pitched to the HCDE. It raises more questions than it answers. Members applauded the effort by the recently formed Harris County School Readiness Corp., a non-profit group whose membership includes business, philanthropic … Continue reading →

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