Monthly Archives: June 2013

Back to court for the school finance lawsuit

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like deja vu all over again. State district court Judge John Dietz likened the state’s school finance case to the soap opera As The World Turns when he opened Wednesday’s hearing on whether to reconsider evidence in the trial that … Continue reading →

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Drinking water from the Gulf

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Well, there is a lot of water there. The wicked drought gripping Texas has made one thing clear to Bill West: There is not enough water to meet new urban demands and competing environmental needs. So in his search for … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: With A Little Help From My Friends

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Song #14 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “With A Little Help From My Friends”, originally by The Beatles and covered by Joe Cocker. Here’s the original: One thing I’ve always liked about that song is that it’s … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting and abortion bills

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The House has passed SB 3, the redistricting bill for the state house map, on third and final reading. There was one last floor amendment today offered by State Rep. Toni Rose (D-Dallas), which moved Rose’s mother and … Continue reading →

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More on the New Dome Experience

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s subscription site story adds some more details to the news about the New Dome Experience. [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett said that if the court signs off on the plan next week, it likely would ask the county … Continue reading →

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I love it when anti-GLBT candidates lose

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A good runoff result in San Antonio. Ron Nirenberg, once an underfunded dark-horse, secured the District 8 seat in [last] Saturday’s runoff, overwhelmingly defeating establishment candidate Rolando Briones. “It feels good knowing that in San Antonio, the message of grassroots, … Continue reading →

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Marfreless will be back

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an unexpected surprise. We are thrilled to announce our reopening this summer at our same 2006 Peden location in River Oaks. Although we will be under new ownership, we promise the same unique atmosphere, premium menu, friendly staff, and … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: The city never sleeps, part 10

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

One last tour of musical cities. 1. UMMG (Upper Manhattan Medical Group) – Joe Henderson 2. Vienna – Billy Joel 3. Walkin’ In Jerusalem – Eddie From Ohio 4. Walking In Memphis – Marc Cohn 5. Weekend In Austin – … Continue reading →

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Targeting Farenthold

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. Democrats are trying to exact a political price for Texas Republicans’ votes to restart deportations of so-called “DREAMers” — the children illegally brought into the U.S. by their parents. The target of the latest ad buy is Corpus … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting bills

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They accepted a couple of amendments but otherwise the process wasn’t much different from the Senate or the House committee. A daylong debate on redistricting maps in the Texas House drew frustration from Democrats and growing concern from Republicans on … Continue reading →

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Seniors get a tax cut from Council

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Houston City Council voted to provide property tax relief to seniors Wednesday, one of many votes at a marathon meeting at which council unanimously approved a $4.5 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. … Continue reading →

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What do you have against yarn?

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a shame. An International Yarn Bombing Day installation on a park trellis in the Heights was partially torn down Saturday after it was only up for a week, since June 8. The project was headed by Heights … Continue reading →

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The trend matters as much as the average

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I would characterize this Politifact analysis as basically accurate but not particularly meaningful. Republican consultant Karl Rove thinks Georgia Republicans need to be more like their Texas counterparts. In a May 18 speech at Georgia’s GOP state convention, Rove said … Continue reading →

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The New Dome Experience

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Behold: If the future of the Astrodome has been keeping you up at night, you’ll rest easy knowing that a major step was taken in favor of preservation at a board meeting on Wednesday afternoon: The Harris County Sports & … Continue reading →

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Maybe they shouldn’t have listened to Abbott

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re a Republican involved in redistricting and you’ve begun to wonder why you ever took AG Greg Abbott’s legal advice on redistricting, I can’t blame you. All spring, Attorney General Greg Abbott had argued to Perry, Lt. Gov. David … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 17

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance dismayed but not surprised by the hard right turn of the special session as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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HISD contemplates tax hike

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not as much as they once thought they would raise them, since enough money was restored by the Legislature to stave off the need to raise taxes for that purpose. Superintendent Terry Grier’s budget proposal, released Monday, would increase … Continue reading →

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Getting out the “hard-to-motivate Latino vote” in Farmers Branch

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Great story about Ana Reyes, the first Hispanic person elected to City Council in Farmers Branch, in the first election after a lawsuit forced the city to adopt single-member Council districts, and how she actually got elected. “What happened here … Continue reading →

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Transportation funding advances

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Between redistricting and abortion, transportation funding has taken a bit of a back seat in the special session despite being the first additional item on the agenda. The Senate took the first step on that yesterday. Despite concerns raised by … Continue reading →

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Would you pay more for pre-K in Harris County?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You might get the chance to vote on it. The recently formed Harris County School Readiness Corp., a group whose membership includes former Houston first lady Andrea White, is circulating a petition calling for the placement of an item on … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect much from the review of Judge Edith Jones

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

History says that nothing much will happen. Federal judicial disciplinary action is extremely rare in the United States, where district and circuit judges enjoy lifetime appointments and more than 95 percent of complaints are dismissed. However, some jurists have been … Continue reading →

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Some are elected to do things, others are elected to not do things

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the opposite ends of the spectrum in the Legislature. They were the freshest of the freshmen — the two youngest members of the largest freshman class of the Texas House in 40 years. And even before they took office, … Continue reading →

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Monday House action

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The main action on Monday in the House was the House Redistricting Committee hearing. Where there’s a redistricting hearing, there’s Greg with a liveblogging session. Pay close attention to the stuff Greg writes about the questions that the Dems, in … Continue reading →

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Perry still leads Abbott in UT/TT poll

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I remain unconvinced that Greg Abbott is a sure thing to be the GOP nominee for Governor next year. Only 25 percent of Texas voters — Republicans and Democrats — are ready to give Perry another term, saying they would … Continue reading →

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Turner seeks a way to get around Public Integrity Unit de-funding

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Sylvester Turner takes aim at one of Perry’s vetoes. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said he would propose a House Concurrent Resolution advocating restoration of funding for the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office, which was … Continue reading →

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Craft beer bills now officially the law

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever you think of the vetoes or the special session action, this is unequivocally good news. Happy hour started Friday afternoon for Texas brewers. Gov. Rick Perry signed five bills representing the most comprehensive overhaul in two decades of how … Continue reading →

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City seeks One Bin For All RFQs

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Calling all vendors. The city of Houston took a step forward on its “One Bin for All” project this week. The project would allow residents to discard trash and recyclables in one bin to be sorted at a new $100 … Continue reading →

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Tesla will be back

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This story was from earlier in June. Texas’ state legislature failed to vote on a bill backed by Musk’s Tesla Motors (TSLA) that would have loosened the state’s restriction on dealerships owned by automakers. The legislature concluded its most recent … Continue reading →

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Remember, drowning doesn’t look like drowning

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve posted about this before, but as summer is now upon us, it seems like a good time to go over it again. Former Coast Guard rescue swimmer Mario Vittone’s iconic article about how to recognize the signs of drowning … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 16

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The difference between “geek” and “nerd”, in a detailed discussion that is both geeky and nerdy. The Longhorn Network really isn’t working out as planned, is it? Putting your favorite MLB team’s draft picks in perspective. You know, accurate sex … Continue reading →

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Perry goes on a veto spree

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full list. Among the victims are the omnibus ethics bill HB217, thus giving Allen Blakemore his fondest wish; two bills aimed at reducing the number of standardized tests some students must take, one of which will make William … Continue reading →

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HISD moving forward with North Forest annexation

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Despite some legal uncertainty, they pretty much have to keep moving forward. The Houston Independent School District moved forward Wednesday with its takeover of the beleaguered North Forest school system even as state education officials prepare for a Thursday hearing … Continue reading →

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Review ordered for Jones allegations

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Moving forward. Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court formally ordered on Wednesday that a rare public judicial misconduct complaint against 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones be reviewed by officials in a different circuit … Continue reading →

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What we missed by not getting a payday lending bill

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Better Texas Blog reminds us of what could have been SB 1247, the omnibus reform bill filed by Sen. John Carona … included the ability to repay standards, loan limits, and refinance limitations, among numerous other provisions. According to the … Continue reading →

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