Monthly Archives: June 2014

Saturday video break: Car Wash

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Time for another episode of Same Name, Different Song. Here’s Bruce Springsteen singing “Car Wash” in Germany: This was off of his “Tracks” multi-CD set of B-sides and previously unreleased material, which is why you’ve probably never heard of it. … Continue reading →

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Being an idiot, on the other hand, is totally treatable

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s actually a little amazing that stuff like this doesn’t happen more often. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaking in San Francisco on Wednesday night, said the U.S. would better serve its diverse population by letting the states handle many economic … Continue reading →

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Two million Texans used healthcare.gov

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, we had lots of demand for health insurance. That’s what happens when you have so many uninsured people in a state. Almost all adult Texans knew of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace before its open enrollment ended … Continue reading →

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Steve Stockman ethics update

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He still doesn’t have any, but I’m talking about the investigation into his highly questionable campaign finance activity. The House Ethics Committee extended its probe into U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman on Wednesday, releasing a report detailing allegations that he tried … Continue reading →

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Here comes the 346

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting another area code. Starting July 1, Houston area residents might see phone numbers that begin with 346, when a new area code comes to town. The Public Utility Commission of Texas last year announced a new area code … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: Dave’s not here, man

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Four or five songs into the D list, I said to myself “You know, I can probably do this entirely with singers named Dave or David”. And lo, so it was. 1. Three To Get Ready – Dave Brubeck Quartet … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib poll: Abbott 44, Davis 32

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Republican Greg Abbott leads Democrat Wendy Davis by 12 percentage points in the race for governor, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. That result is close to the 11-point spread, also in Abbott’s favor, in the … Continue reading →

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More plaintiffs respond to Abbott’s recusal motion

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I think it’s fair to say that the plaintiffs are strongly opposed to Greg Abbott’s attempt to get Judge Dietz recused in the school finance trial. Lawyers representing hundreds of school districts pushed back Thursday against Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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City reaches contract agreement with firefighters

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Give a little, get a little. Houston firefighters would give up some of their ability to schedule time off in return for a pay hike under a tentative new labor contract that city officials hope will enable them to rein … Continue reading →

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Good times for the craft brewers

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot more growth to come for the craft brewing industry. Texas’ smaller craft breweries increased production last year by nearly half and made deeper gains in the overall beer market, suggesting the industry’s growth spurt will continue. “Yes, … Continue reading →

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Vehicles for hire vote put off till end of July

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? The Houston City Council delayed a vote until July 30 on regulations for the vehicles-for-hire industry, keeping Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.’s legal status in Houston in limbo. Council member Mike Laster proposed an initial delay of 60 … Continue reading →

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Yes, Greg Abbott owns the RPT platform

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Greg. You can mumble all the vague platitudes you want, but this baby’s all yours. In the wake of the GOP’s approval of a platform that includes a hardline stance on immigration, Attorney General Greg Abbott finds himself at … Continue reading →

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Digital textbooks are on their way

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

HISD is on the leading edge. HISD is the first of Texas’ large districts – and among the first large districts in the nation – to radically rethink the way it buys new high school instructional materials, shifting from printed … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of June 9

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance will never forget what happened on Normandy Beach 70 years ago as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Here comes the Uber and Lyft vote

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything unexpected, today is the day that Houston City Council settles – for now, anyway – the Uber/Lyft issue. Houston is not the only place where transportation network companies are seeking to do business in Texas, of course. The … Continue reading →

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HISD magnet funding vote delayed till next week

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You still have time to talk to your trustee about this. Superintendent Terry Grier’s administration has proposed standardizing how the programs are funded – a plan that would result in some schools losing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars … Continue reading →

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Culberson versus Poe on University line funding

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, Culberson has won again. In a repeat of last year, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, took their dispute over the Metropolitan Transit Agency’s University Line to the floor of the House on Monday. Culberson, as … Continue reading →

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Some things are worth paying more for

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How much would you pay for fewer faulty convictions? Prosecutors say the state’s new Michael Morton Act, a measure designed to prevent wrongful convictions by forcing district attorneys to be more transparent in criminal cases, is driving up evidence costs. … Continue reading →

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When might marijuana be legalized in Texas?

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting debate going on in the Baker Institute Blog about when marijuana might be legalized in Texas. Here are the posts they’ve published, in decreasing order of optimism: Texas will legalize medical marijuana in 2015 and regulate marijuana similarly … Continue reading →

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More reaction to the HPD no-investigations report

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not the only one that wasn’t impressed by Chief McClelland’s response. [Burglary victim Heather] Heinke’s experience is not unusual in the nation’s fourth-largest city. A recent HPD staffing study says that 15,000 burglaries and thefts, 3,000 hit-and-run crashes and … Continue reading →

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Competition is good, except when it isn’t

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I honestly don’t get this. As the Houston City Council prepares to vote Wednesday on whether to make its longtime back-tax collector share the lucrative work with a rival, city officials are getting ample pushback from the man responsible for … Continue reading →

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Texting 911

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is clearly the way of the future, though I admit that I myself would be a bit leery of using it right now. With eight of 10 Americans using their cellphones to send or receive text messages, some emergency … Continue reading →

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Christof Spieler: On reimagining the bus network

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

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A tale of two perspectives

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Democratic perspective. Much has been written about the importance of groups like suburban women and Hispanics in the 2014 Texas governor’s race. But Democrat Wendy Davis said this week in her first interview of the campaign focused on LGBT … Continue reading →

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We’ve got slogans, yes we do

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve also got No Limits, apparently. Alex Tonelli, a 2011 graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a San Francisco entrepreneur, has never visited Houston. But he has impressions: Extreme heat, strip clubs, NASA and an oil-dominated economy. … Continue reading →

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Almost nobody is following Rick Perry’s lead in defying the Prison Rape Elimination Act

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Emily dePrang has the story. Back in March, Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declaring his intent to defy a federal law designed to reduce sexual assault in prison. It was a very Perry … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for June 8

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How not to get hired by the firm that brought you in as a summer intern. “It may be too soon to know if the Affordable Care Act is making Americans healthier. But there’s a smattering of data that suggests … Continue reading →

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We missed you, Bill Watterson

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Stephan Pastis wins the Internet, and pretty much everything else, this week. Let me tell you. Just getting an email from Bill Watterson is one of the most mind-blowing, surreal experiences I have ever had. Bill Watterson really exists? And … Continue reading →

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McClelland’s response

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have to say, I’m not impressed. Defending his department’s failure to investigate thousands of crimes last year, Police Chief Charles McClelland on Thursday said the understaffed Houston Police Department does not and should not have a goal of aggressively … Continue reading →

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County to challenge vacant lot appraisals

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Harris County is challenging the local appraisal district’s valuation of vacant commercial land after a study it commissioned concluded the agency had undervalued those properties by more than 80 percent this year. The finding was based on … Continue reading →

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It takes time to park, too

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Atlantic Cities had an article a couple of weeks ago about light rail in Houston. It’s an overview written for people who aren’t from Houston, so other than the extremely high opinion of themselves of some rail opponents – … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One of the best songs Paul Simon ever wrote, and he wrote it for Art Garfunkel’s voice. Hard to top that, but you can approach it with your own sense of style. That’s what Johnny Cash did. I’ll say again, … Continue reading →

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Culberson’s attempt to kill the Universities Line about to come up for a vote

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston Tomorrow: US Representative John Culberson has pushed an amendment through to the floor of the US House of Representatives to specifically deny Houston federal funding for rail transit in two corridors, according to the text of the bill … Continue reading →

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TPJ files amicus brief in DeLay appeal

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s almost time for Tom DeLay to go to court again. A government-watchdog group on Tuesday petitioned the state’s highest criminal court to reinstate the money-laundering and conspiracy convictions of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay, moving to join … Continue reading →

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