Monthly Archives: October 2016

Republicans remain concerned about their turnout in Texas

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Exhibit A: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is stepping up his travel for state Republicans amid concerns about GOP turnout in November. Cruz is set to attend a trio of events next week in North Texas aimed at getting out … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Brownsville over bag fee

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is wading into another fight over local control; this one about plastic bags at grocery stores. The Republican on Wednesday sued the city of Brownsville over its $1 per-bag fee, started … Continue reading →

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The Reliant Stadium area is ready for its closeup

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For the Super Bowl, of course. Gotta look pretty, you know. Currently, the area surrounding NRG Park, which includes NRG Stadium and the Astrodome, is “functional” but hardly an impression-maker for a throng of out-of-town guests, said Ed Wulfe, chairman … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for October 16

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

“Walk-to-School Day also is also a reminder of the many ways we’ve engineered walking out of the lives of children, and how forbidding our culture and environment can be toward walking.” What James Madison said, or at least what he … Continue reading →

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Flipping Fort Bend

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

FiveThirtyEight projects a national insight down to the local level. In August, Nate Cohn of The New York Times put it well when he wrote: “The simple way to think about Mr. Trump’s strength is in terms of education among … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Commissioners Court Precinct 3 race

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lower profile, and less competitive, but still worth paying attention to. Steve Radack has built close to five dozen parks and spent millions of dollars expanding road and trail networks in 28 years as Harris County commissioner for Precinct 3. … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee Mike Lunceford to resign

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This came as a surprise. Mike Lunceford — who has represented Bellaire on the Houston ISD Board of Education for seven years — made a surprise announcement at Thursday night’s board meeting that he is resigning, effective immediately. He had … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: More courts

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a bunch of judicial race endorsements to make, beginning with the First and 14th Courts of Appeals. 1st Court of Appeals, Chief Justice: Sherry Radack Both Republican incumbent Sherry Radack and challenger Jim Peacock strongly agree that … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Mine

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

How about a little old school Taylor Swift? We were so young and innocent then, weren’t we? I confess, I like Taylor Swift (*), and I doubt I’d have ever listened to any of her music if it weren’t for … Continue reading →

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WFAA/SurveyUSA: Trump 47, Clinton 43

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The margin keeps narrowing. After perhaps the most damaging week of his campaign, Donald Trump’s lead in Texas has slipped to four percentage points – within the margin of error – according to a new poll released Thursday night. The … Continue reading →

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KHSPVA

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That will be the new acronym for the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. After impassioned debate, the Houston school board voted 7-2 Thursday to accept a $7.5 million gift for the district’s renowned arts high school and … Continue reading →

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Three State Rep race overviews

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In the order of their publication, beginning with HD149: For more than a decade in Texas House District 149 – where Harris and Fort Bend counties meet – a growing, ethnically diverse voting population has done something rare for the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: More State Reps

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Part 2: State Representative, District 135: Jesse A. Ybanez Consider this an endorsement against Gary Elkins. The Republican incumbent has been in office for 22 years, and his greatest claim to fame is a consistent self-serving advocacy for payday lenders … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Ladies’ night, part 17

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so fancy. You can see it on my list. 1. Diga Diga Do – Hot Club of Cowtown (Elana James) 2. (Keep Feeling) Fascination – The Human League (Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley) 3. The Body Electric – … Continue reading →

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Interview with David Cay Johnston

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This interview is a little different than the ones I usually present. Barbara Radnofsky got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to say that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Cay Johnston was going to be in … Continue reading →

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Statewide registrations top 15 million

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. Texas has a record-breaking 15 million people registered to vote ahead of the November election, the Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday. Texas has 15,015,700 voters registered according to a preliminary estimate — over 777,000 more than … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick doesn’t care about sexual assault

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Such a moral exemplar you are, Danno. Amid a wave of reports of women alleging Donald Trump kissed or groped them without their consent, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrickmaintained Thursday that the Republican presidential nominee has effectively pushed the issue behind … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Back to the State House, part 1

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron ventures outside Houston to make some Legislative endorsements. State Representative, District 13: Cecil R. Webster As an engineer who worked in weapons testing and procurement, retired Col. Cecil R. Webster knows his way around a firearm. But decades … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Herb Ritchie

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As … Continue reading →

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CCA declines to take Paxton off the hook

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. The highest criminal court in Texas said Wednesday it will not hear Ken Paxton’s appeal of securities fraud charges, putting the attorney general on a path to facing a trial in the coming months. “Today’s ruling marks an … Continue reading →

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Record registration numbers for Harris County

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. As registration closed, Harris County’s voter roster had grown by more than 6 percent since 2014, the steepest increase in 16 years. More than 323,890 new names have been added, bringing the county voter roll to more than 2.2 … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of October 10

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has never said anything like what Donald Trump said to Billy Bush when they thought no one was listening, not in a locker room and not anywhere else. No decent person says things like that because … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jay Aiyer

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

On Monday, I published an interview with David Thompson, the general counsel for the HISD Board of Trustees, about the forthcoming recapture referendum. Thompson, who said in the interview that he would vote against the referendum, joins a long list … Continue reading →

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The Trump dilemma

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’d almost feel pity for them, if they hadn’t brought this on themselves. Leading GOP elected officials — including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn — condemned the words but continued … Continue reading →

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State moves to withdraw Syrian refugee lawsuit

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good, though at this point it probably doesn’t matter. A week after the state officially withdrewfrom the nation’s refugee resettlement program, Texas has moved to end its legal battle over Syrian refugees. In a short, three-page motion, Texas on Friday … Continue reading →

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The cost of defending HB2

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It was quite expensive. Texas could be on the hook for more than $4.5 million as part of its failed legal battle to defend its 2013 abortion restrictions, which the U.S. Supreme struck down as unconstitutional in June. The Center … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Judicial Q&A: Judge Maria T. Jackson

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Harris County Sheriff race

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a good look at the race for Sheriff. Policing Texas’ most populous county is just one item on a laundry list of challenges facing Harris County’s next sheriff. Voters next month will choose between the appointed Republican … Continue reading →

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HEB confirms interest in Heights location

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As rumored. Residents have seen and heard speculation and rumors for months, wondering what the fate would be regarding H-E-B’s potential Heights move. Well wait no more. After the rumor mill ran wild following the No-Dry Vote petition spearheaded by … Continue reading →

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Appeals Court judge Terry Jennings switches parties

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. It was just after presiding over a same-sex wedding, in January, that the formerly Republican Justice Terry Jennings, of the Texas First Court of Appeals, started thinking more seriously about changing his party affiliation. Jennings had been considering becoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with David Thompson

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You’re probably aware of the HISD referendum on the ballot this fall, which authorizes the Board of Trustees to pay $162 million to the state of Texas to comply with recapture, a/k/a Robin Hood laws. There’s a lot of opposition … Continue reading →

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KTVT/Dixie Strategies: Trump 45, Clinton 38

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is post-debate but pre-“grab her by the pussy”. In a state where it is generally accepted that a GOP nominee is almost guaranteed a win in a presidential election, real estate mogul and presidential nominee Donald Trump has “under-performed” … Continue reading →

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Council approves city cab-hailing app development

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes. Houston residents soon will be able to hail a city cab via smartphone app, after City Council signed off on a plan Wednesday to consolidate dispatching in a single program. The Arro app, already operating in New … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: In case you didn’t hear us the first time

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its opposition to the HISD recapture referendum. Statewide property taxes are unconstitutional in Texas, but don’t tell that to the legislators in Austin. For decades, the Legislature has been shifting its obligation to fund public education to … Continue reading →

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