Monthly Archives: September 2018

No, really, nobody likes Ted Cruz

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Womp, womp. President Donald Trump’s budget chief said Saturday that Republican U.S. Sen Ted Cruz could lose his seat in the November elections, suggesting that he is not likable enough, The New York Times reported. According to the Times report, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Weekend link dump for September 9

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Nice try, guys, but this is not how you “fix” baseball. “It turns out Lisa didn’t get sung ‘Happy Birthday’ by Michel Jackson on that episode of The Simpsons.” “But as is so often the case, the accusation that was … Continue reading →

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Harris County 2018 voter registration numbers

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Thank you Harris County Voter Registration Division and Harris County Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars for your passion, dedication, and commitment in registering eligible voters! Current number registered: 2,291,037 Voters registered in 2017: 67,753 Voters registered in 2018: … Continue reading →

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How many police forces do we need?

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an age-old question. Harris County could save millions of dollars a year by consolidating overlapping law enforcement agencies, from sharing technological resources to reallocating duties from constables to the sheriff’s department, according to a report by the Kinder Institute … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The beer boom continues

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Raise a glass. There were a dozen craft breweries across the Houston metro before 2013, and that seemed like a lot at the time. Now, there are 52. The new breweries have added 344,487 square feet of industrial space — … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Atlantic on CD07

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: On a Saturday morning in Houston, the high was 94 degrees with a chance of rain. It was hardly friendly weather for canvassing—the door-knocking, yard sign–delivering, get-out-the-vote efforts that define a politician’s … Continue reading →

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Four makes seven

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Four Price files for Speaker, making him the sixth Republican and seventh member to do so. State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, filed Thursday for speaker of the Texas House, making him the sixth Republican to enter an already crowded … Continue reading →

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Ron Reynolds reports to jail

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how long a year lasts. State Rep. Ron Reynolds has turned himself in to authorities in Montgomery County to begin serving his year-long jail sentence. Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, was convicted in 2015 on misdemeanor charges … Continue reading →

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How can Beto win?

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is from the weekly newsletter put out by G. Elliott Morris: Let’s talk about voter turnout in Texas. The statewide voting-agedpopulation is a mixed bag, made up of 45% White, 37% Hispanic, 11% Black, and 6% Asian/other residents, according to projections from the Center … Continue reading →

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The hearing for the lawsuit to kill Obamacare

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. At the hearing Wednesday, Texas aimed to convince U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to block the law across the country as it continues to fight a months- or years-long legal case that could land before the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The city has its own bail lawsuit

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not going well. Houston city officials intentionally destroyed evidence, wiping crucial data from the computer drives of top police commanders that is potentially relevant to a lawsuit about the detention of suspects beyond the 48-hour deadline for a magistrate … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lisa Seger

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Seger, who is running for HD03 in Montgomery and Waller Counties, is an uncommon candidate in an unexpected place. She and her husband have owned and operated Blue Heron Farm in Field Store Community of Waller County since 2006. … Continue reading →

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HFD Chief warns of layoffs

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, this isn’t the first time we have heard this. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña on Tuesday warned of dire consequences — including possible layoffs of more than 800 firefighters and deferred maintenance or upgrades on aging equipment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Fetal remains” law tossed

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Very good. U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra struck down a Texas law on Wednesday that would have required hospitals and clinics to bury cremate fetal remains, causing another courtroom setback for state leaders and anti-abortion groups. Under Senate Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 3

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy Labor Day week as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The 2006 question

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It always comes back to turnout. It was the worst day of the worst month of the worst season in years for Republicans hoping to mitigate political damage in this fall’s midterm elections. And Texas political operatives were left stunned … Continue reading →

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“The Rise and Fall of Dockless Bike Sharing in Dallas”

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Amazing story. Several dockless bike-share companies first converged on Dallas last August after promising local officials that their services would come at no cost to taxpayers, and the impact was immediate. The dockless feature allowed bike-share companies to distribute its … Continue reading →

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Town hall meetings for city referenda

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: MAYOR TURNER INVITES CITY RESIDENTS TO TOWN HALL MEETINGS ABOUT THE 2 PROPOSITIONS ON THE NOV. 6 CITY BALLOT Mayor Turner urges all voters who live in the city to learn about the Rebuild Houston and fire … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Mike Collier

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We are a day past Labor Day, which means we are officially in campaign season. As is the tradition around here, I’ll be presenting interviews with a variety of candidates for November. Generally speaking, these will cover races and candidates … Continue reading →

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Looking beyond HISD’s one year reprieve

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD has been in danger of sanctions from the TEA, which could include a state takeover of the district, because of several schools that had rated as “improvement needed” for multiple years in a row. They managed … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

#TrumpTruckTweet

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I love this. Deep in the heart of Texas, a billboard truck will soon hit the road with a curated list of President Donald Trump’s tweets — attacks on Sen. Ted Cruz, a former political foe. Trump popularized the term … Continue reading →

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Autonomous cars in Arlington

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Who wants a robot to drive them to a Cowboys game? Arlington visitors and residents will soon be able to request an autonomous vehicle on demand in the city’s entertainment district. The city approved a one-year contract with Silicon Valley-based … Continue reading →

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“How Chinese Baseball Came to North Texas”

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating story. The Texas AirHogs are members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, a federation of twelve, mostly Midwestern, teams unaffiliated with Major League Baseball. Inning breaks are punctuated with water-balloon-toss competitions and mascot races. The level of … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 2

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

“The Untold Story of NotPetya, the Most Devastating Cyberattack in History”. Brian Kemp – Republican Secretary of State of Georgia, and nominee for Governor – Enemy of Democracy. “Giraffes, the gentle giants of the African savanna, are undergoing a silent … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 7 Comments

And then there were six

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Five Republicans for Speaker, six in total. State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, filed on Friday to run for speaker of the Texas House. “After prayerful consideration, discussions with my family, and at the urging of my House colleagues, today … Continue reading →

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Emmett speaks post-bond

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

With the flood bond referendum safely passed, we now turn to what comes next. Land and housing preservation is key to the Houston region becoming more resilient, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Tuesday, on the heels of last weekend’s … Continue reading →

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Jeff Skilling released from prison

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the end of an era. Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former Enron CEO sentenced to a long prison term for his role in one of most notorious corporate fraud cases in history, was recently released from a minimum security federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

DACA lives another day

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

But don’t relax just yet. A federal district judge on Friday denied the state of Texas’ request that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program be put on hold after Texas and nine other states sued to halt the Obama-era … Continue reading →

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Trump administration denying passports to US citizens born near the border

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is infuriating. On paper, he’s a devoted U.S. citizen. His official American birth certificate shows he was delivered by a midwife in Brownsville, at the southern tip of Texas. He spent his life wearing American uniforms: three years as … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another look at MJ Hegar

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of this is stuff we’ve seen before, but there are a couple of points worth mentioning. Flipping a conservative stronghold like Texas’ 31st Congressional District, centered on Round Rock, would qualify as the high-water mark of any “blue wave” … Continue reading →

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