Monthly Archives: June 2014

Petition deadline coming

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Braddock takes a look at the petition effort to repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which must turn in its homework this week. Opponents led by longtime – and now former because he was recently ousted – Harris County … Continue reading →

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A step forward for Uptown BRT

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Progress. Texas transportation officials Thursday kicked in $25 million to build a dedicated bus lane along Loop 610, ensuring the second piece of a planned bus rapid transit corridor in the Uptown area. As part of a larger statewide transportation … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott sure doesn’t like whistleblowers

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He sure does seem to have a lot of them, though. The office of Attorney General Greg Abbott — the Republican gubernatorial candidate — is appealing a whistleblower’s lawsuit and $1.2 million verdict, arguing that an El Paso jury was … Continue reading →

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On e-cigarettes

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Rivard Report: After a 2011 ordinance banned indoor smoking in public places around San Antonio, some smokers were left trying to find options to leave tobacco behind. In the ensuing three years, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers have seen … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 29

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the You Keep Using That Word – I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means department. These are the people you should sit next to if you don’t want to get bitten by mosquitoes. “If bad behavior—using … Continue reading →

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Convention coverage

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wendy and Leticia and a whole host of others rally the crowd in Dallas. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte shared the spotlight at the Texas Democratic Party convention on Friday night, promising to change the direction of the … Continue reading →

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The enduring mystery of Lawrence Meyers

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

People are still speculating about why the enigmatic CCA Judge switched parties. Lawrence “Larry” Meyers did something last year that no other politician in Texas has done in nearly two decades: He became a statewide Democratic officeholder. As Democrats gather … Continue reading →

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Grits on the HPD staffing debate

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Grits weighs in on the HPD no-investigations story with some suggestions for how to proceed. Here’s how to boost the number of police officers available on patrol while freeing up officers to work as detectives in the burglary and other … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Casey Jones

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And we go back even farther, to the early 70s and one of the enduring hits of the Grateful Dead: I figure with all the bootlegs out there, there are probably more live recordings of songs like “Casey Jones” than … Continue reading →

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Three new judges coming

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Breaking a longstanding logjam, President Obama announced nominees for three vacant Texas federal court benches late Thursday. If confirmed, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of San Antonio, Texarkana lawyer Robert Schroeder III, and Sherman Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant III will … Continue reading →

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City exploring new pension for new firefighters?

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Long concerned about the cost of Houston’s pensions and stymied in her attempts at reform, Mayor Annise Parker is considering a dramatic step to place new firefighters into a separate, less generous pension plan, sources with knowledge of the … Continue reading →

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Construction of joint processing center and forensics facility approved to begin

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Several major building projects – including a state-of-the-art facility for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and a voter-approved jail inmate processing center – officially are in the pipeline after Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a $305 million … Continue reading →

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A poison plan for feral hogs?

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It could work, though probably not any time soon. A preservative used to cure bacon is being tested as poison for the nation’s estimated 5 million feral hogs. […] The USDA program that began in April includes $1.5 million for … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: F that

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No single name dominates the Fs like it did the Ds and Es, but there are plenty of interesting names. 1. One’s Too Many – Fabulous Thunderbirds 2. Love Is Expensive And Free – Fastball 3. Man On The Moon … Continue reading →

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The fire still burns

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As an addition to my own response to Lisa Falkenberg’s column about the one-year anniversary of Sen. Wendy Davis’s historic filibuster and the popular uprising around it, I want to call your attention to Andrea Grime’ piece in RHRealityCheck. It’s … Continue reading →

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What would you have done differently?

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg remembers the Wendy Davis filibuster and complains about what has and hasn’t happened between then and the one-year commemoration of it. You don’t just dust off a social movement because a year has passed and you need to … Continue reading →

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The bricks of Freedmen’s Town

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Surely we can do something about this. Most in the Fourth Ward community know the lore – that freed slaves and descendants first laid the bricks on the streets 100 years ago. Now most agree the roads need repairs, but … Continue reading →

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Get ready to go inspection sticker-free

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Things are gonna be different next year. Texas drivers will have a little less clutter on their windshield next year when the familiar green inspection sticker goes away, but it comes at the price of requiring inspections in order to … Continue reading →

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Environmental impact studies can begin for Texas high speed rail

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. The Federal Railroad Administration published a document on its website Wednesday officially kicking off a highly anticipated environmental review of a proposed high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. The document, called a Notice Of Intent … Continue reading →

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Tenth Circuit upholds same-sex marriage

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A huge step forward. A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that states outlawing same-sex marriage are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. By upholding a Utah judge’s decision, the a three-member panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in … Continue reading →

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The people who signed up for insurance via Obamacare got themselves a pretty good deal

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It worked the way it was supposed to work, in other words. Texans who received financial assistance to purchase health coverage through the federal insurance exchange are paying less in monthly premiums than individuals in most other states using that … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 23

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance managed to tear itself away from watching the World Cup just long enough to bring you this week’s roundup.

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The filibuster one year later

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It still resonates. And I believe it will continue to resonate for a lot longer. The thousands of Texans whose screaming protest of anti-abortion legislation brought the Capitol to a standstill June 25 will mark the one-year anniversary much more … Continue reading →

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Motion to recuse Judge Dietz denied

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. State District Judge John Dietz will not be forced off Texas’ ongoing school finance case, a San Antonio judge ruled Monday, handing a victory to school districts suing the state over what they call an unconstitutional lack of adequate … Continue reading →

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If Louisiana can do it…

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

By “it” I mean expand Medicaid. What’s Texas’ excuse if that happens? Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter on Monday left open the possibility of expanding Louisiana’s Medicaid program to cover more of the working poor. Vitter, a candidate for governor … Continue reading →

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Billboards above the trees

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Is this really necessary? In the latest conflict, billboard opponents are objecting to a proposed policy change that would allow billboards as high as 65 feet – taller than a typical six-story building – in spots along Texas highways. The … Continue reading →

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Another win for the EPA at the Supreme Court

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And thus another loss for Greg Abbott and Rick Perry. The Supreme Court on Monday mostly validated the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to regulate power plant and factory emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming while imposing some limits … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion: Still a great deal, especially for cities

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So many uninsured people could get covered if Medicaid expansion were universal instead of just here and there. Expanding Medicaid under the new health care law would do a lot to slash the number of uninsured people, at least in … Continue reading →

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Great moments in false equivalence

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The headline reads Money from disputed tax bills flowing to candidates for top tax chief, and then the story tells us that more than 99% of that money is going to one of those candidates. Business entities and taxpayers are … Continue reading →

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Teacher health insurance costs

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing on the list of things the Legislature needs to deal with but won’t. Health care insurance costs for hundreds of thousands of Texas teachers and other public school employees are scheduled to go up again this fall, prompting … Continue reading →

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We need more context to the HPD no-investigations issue

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Regular commenter Steven Houston left this feedback on my “More reaction to the HPD no-investigations report” post. It raises some good points and helped me focus my thinking on a couple of things, so I wanted to reproduce it and … Continue reading →

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Equality is about more than marriage

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about families, and lots of other things, too. Joe Riggs and Jason Hanna never expected to make national news after a surrogate mom gave birth to their twins. Riggs, 33, and Hanna, 37, have been together almost four years. … Continue reading →

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Perry grand jury may be winding down

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We are getting close to some action on this. A grand jury looking into whether Gov. Rick Perry abused his power with a veto threat appears closer to wrapping up after current and former Perry staffers were behind closed doors … Continue reading →

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North Line ridership continues to be strong

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome! Nearly six months since trains began rumbling north of the central business district along Main and Fulton on the north side, residents and community leaders said the train is becoming a valued part of the neighborhood and a critical … Continue reading →

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