Monthly Archives: June 2016

Misdemeanor charge dropped against video fraudster Daleiden

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just the misdemeanor charge, not the felony. A Harris County judge has dropped one of the criminal charges against an anti-abortion activist who was indicted after making undercover recordings of a Houston Planned Parenthood facility. David Daleiden, one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Dan Patrick’s hostility to the LGBT community

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey sums up the Dan Patrick tweetorrhea situation and tries to make sense of it. Lately, the lieutenant governor has been focused on transgender Texans and which bathrooms they should use — those of their identity or those of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pension progress report

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Our favorite subject, back in the news. Mayor Sylvester Turner and the leaders of the city’s three pension boards made clear to a visiting group of state lawmakers on Monday that they agree a fix to the city’s growing pension … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judicial Q&A revisited: Jim Evans

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, in addition to selecting a Democratic nominee for County Commissioners Court in Precinct 1, precinct chairs everywhere in Harris County will get to select two judicial nominees, for newly-created courts. There are six people who have expressed … Continue reading →

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You support Trump, you own Trump

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is what I’m talking about. A group of Democratic state lawmakers from along the Texas-Mexico border is applying pressure to a bank whose CEO is helping raise money for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. In a letter … Continue reading →

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What a free market in ridesharing looks like

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It looks like Austin right now. When Uber and Lyft left Austin last month, they thought they were sending a message to the Austin City Council and other local governments looking to regulate them. Instead, their departure may pave the … Continue reading →

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What do you want in the next Precinct 1 County Commissioner?

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one way to figure it out if you’re not sure. Harris County Democrats have sent a questionnaire to Precinct 1 commissioners candidates, setting up one of the few instances in an unusual race where the public can compare candidates’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Steve Reilley

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are aware of the effort to alter the historic regulations that keep the part of town that was once the independent city of the Houston Heights dry. The dry designation, in the area you see in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Former drivers sue Uber and Lyft over leaving Austin

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. A pair of former drivers for Uber and Lyft filed dual class action lawsuits Thursday against the ride-hailing companies over their abrupt exit last month from the Austin market. The lawsuits, filed in the U.S. … Continue reading →

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Hotze and Woodfill take their hate statewide

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

These guys, I swear. The conservative organizers who helped topple Houston’s equal rights ordinance are pledging a $2 million advertising campaign against Target over the big box store’s transgender bathroom policy. Jared Woodfill and Steven Hotze of Conservative Republicans of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Woodland Heights neighborhood traffic management plan

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of primary interest to the folks in my neighborhood only, though I will note that as Mayor Turner has made it easier for neighborhoods to request traffic-calming measures like speed cushions, this could be in your future as well. Tonight … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Weekend link dump for June 12

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the family of Syrian refugees that freaked so many people out a few months ago. “After controlling for other factors known to affect health, especially tobacco use and socioeconomic status, marijuana use had no negative effect on any measure … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Uptown BRT construction officially begins

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Crews are relocating trees in preparation for two years of construction, starting in July. The Uptown Dedicated Bus Lanes Project will unfold in three phases, moving from north to south and starting with the West Loop to … Continue reading →

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An early look ahead to the legislative races

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a look at the legislative races that could end with a seat changing parties. • HD-23. Freshman state Rep. Wayne Faircloth, R-Dickinson, against former state Rep. Lloyd Criss, R-La Marque. • HD-43. State Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville, … Continue reading →

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Driverless trucks

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Coming to a highway near you? Picture an 18-wheel truck barreling down the highway with 80,000 pounds of cargo and no one but a robot at the wheel. To many, that might seem a frightening idea, even at a time … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Rodney racks ’em up

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

One more to a long list. The widow of the late Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee has endorsed state Sen. Rodney Ellis for the seat that her husband held for decades, the senator said Friday. A letter dated Tuesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: Lady Luck

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of newer songs from my collection. The first one called “Lady Luck” is by Pickwick, featuring Sharon van Etten: That’s from a South by Southwest sampler I got via Paste magazine. Don’t ask me how I came to … Continue reading →

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The Trump University origin story

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Ars Technica a few weeks ago, before the whole Trump University thing really blew up: In 2005, both of us became fixated on a late-night infomercial that promised access to “hundreds of billions of dollars” in “free government money.” … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner asks for Zika help

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox. With members of the local legislative delegation at his side and an illegal tire dump as the backdrop, Mayor Sylvester Turner called on the state of Texas to declare the Zika virus a public health emergency and … Continue reading →

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

Alabama-Coushatta casino opens

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Get your gamble on, y’all. Fourteen years after it was forced to close under threat of legal action by the state, the tribe’s modest casino reopened three weeks ago with little fanfare but great expectations. Now, the vast, once empty … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: In the city, part 14

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering where that other Staten Island song was: 1. Staten Island Baby – Black 47 2. TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) – MFSB Fet. The Three Degrees 3. Tupelo Honey – Gordian Knot 4. U.M.M.G. (Upper … Continue reading →

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Paxton moves to dismiss SEC charges against him

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if he has any more luck with this than he has had with the state charges. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have asked a federal court to dismiss the federal securities fraud charges against him. […] … Continue reading →

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Carrin Patman’s vision for Metro

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I commend you to read Christopher Andrews’ report of a recent meeting between Metro Board Chair Carrin Patman and group of local transportation-interested bloggers. I quote here from his recap of what Patman has in mind for Metro while she … Continue reading →

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Just waiting on SCOTUS’ HB2 ruling

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll know by the end of the month, one way or the other. In the next few weeks the U.S. Supreme Court, in one of the most significant reproductive rights cases in more than two decades, is expected to determine … Continue reading →

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Darlie Routier, 20 years later

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on one of the more notorious murder cases in recent history. If it hadn’t been for that crazy Silly String, Darlie Lynn Routier might be a free woman today. At least, that’s what many people believe about … Continue reading →

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First rideshare legislative hearing

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There will be a lot more where this came from. Representatives from Uber and Lyft urged lawmakers to adopt statewide regulations for the ride-hailing industry during a Texas Capitol hearing on Wednesday, citing what they called burdensome local ordinances that … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A brief summary of the effort to make the Heights less dry

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Heights Life provides a fact sheet: The petition is backed by HEB, who hired a law firm to handle the drive. Some of the canvassers, who are paid and may or may not be your neighbors or Heights residents, … Continue reading →

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We could be #3!

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In a decade or so! If current trends hold. Chicago, the only city among the nation’s 20 largest to see population loss in 2015, could be overtaken in a decade by Houston as the third-most-populous city if the trend continues, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 6

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the life and achievements of Muhammad Ali as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Abbott, Patrick, and Trump

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

William Saletan: Republicans who have sworn allegiance to Donald Trump—the majority leaders of the United States House and Senate, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and numerous governors and members of Congress—don’t think this country can return to the … Continue reading →

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Hanen stays his sanctions

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas-based judge that last year put a hold on President Obama’s executive order on immigration decided on Tuesday to also suspend a controversial punishment he had recently issued to the administration’s attorneys. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen asserted in … Continue reading →

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The Florida-Trump U plot thickens

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Florida’s attorney general personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates The new disclosure from Attorney General Pam Bondi’s spokesman … Continue reading →

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Sonia Cacy

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A long-time-coming story of actual innocence. A judge has ruled that Sonia Cacy, a West Texas woman convicted of setting her uncle on fire, is innocent of murder, basing his decision on new analysis of evidence presented at her 1993 … Continue reading →

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What do we really want from rideshare regulations?

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Medium: To help ensure people have a fair chance at earning a living, Uber’s screening process embraces protections codified in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other similar laws, ensuring lookback periods are reasonable and arrests without convictions or … Continue reading →

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