Monthly Archives: July 2019

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 8

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance fondly recalls the story of Washington crossing the Jersey Turnpike to surprise the British at the Battle of Newark Airport as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The Fifth Circuit Obamacare hearing

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember, the Fifth Circuit is where hope goes to die. Adjust your expectations accordingly. On the left was Judge Carolyn Dineen King, an appointee of Jimmy Carter; on the right sat Judge Kurt Engelhardt, a nominee of Donald Trump, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Some Census shenanigans short-circuited

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The head, it spins. In a scalding order that called the Justice Department’s motion to change lawyers “patently deficient,” a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday blocked the move by the Justice Department to withdraw several of its attorneys from … Continue reading →

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

Ed Emmett is not a fan of SB2

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

So he opines. At its core, SB 2 continues state leaders’ war against local governments. For years local governments have had to make up for the state’s underfunding of public education. But the state’s top elected officials, Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The lawsuit to kill Obamacare has its hearing at the Fifth Circuit today

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Last year, after a federal judge in Texas declared the entirety of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, throwing into question millions of Americans’ health coverage, the state’s Republican leaders promised they would come up with a plan to … Continue reading →

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

TxDOT wants H-GAC to commit money to the I-45 project

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t understand this. To demonstrate local support for the mega-project, the Texas Department of Transportation is asking the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council, the committee that doles out state and federal money controlled by local officials, to commit … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

David Temple re-trial is now underway

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to be fascinated by this. It’s 1999 in Katy, Texas. A seemingly perfect couple is falling apart at the seams. David Temple, a high school football coach, is having an affair with a beautiful teacher on campus. His … Continue reading →

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Another cure for partisan redistricting

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the Brennan Center, written before SCOTUS lit a match to judicial remedies for partisan redistricting, and even more relevant now. Congressional redistricting is broken. In most states, districts are drawn by partisan lawmakers, and the manipulation of district boundaries … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

San Antonio bans scooters from sidewalks

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Speaking of where scooters do and do not belong: Dockless electric scooters can’t be ridden on San Antonio sidewalks, per a new City ordinance that went into effect Monday, but many say they’re concerned about how well it will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Biking and breweries

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Actually, this makes perfect sense. This started off in the gray area between a good idea and a bad one. Two years ago, Jason Buhlman and Brian Kondrach got about 30 of their friends together for an afternoon of two-wheel … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Food, glorious food, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for July 7

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

“Does anyone doubt that despite his seemingly good-faith call for Congress to eliminate gerrymandering, that any kind of national law seeking to overturn the practice would make its way back to the Roberts Court? Does anyone trust this court to … Continue reading →

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You want to be President, you’ve got to come to Houston

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And so they are. No Democratic candidate for president has won Texas in over 40 years, and yet the flow of Democratic contenders coming through the state, and Houston specifically, has been unusually strong in 2019. Just since March, 14 … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Yeah, scooters are going to come to Houston

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The question is when, not if. [E]ven though there’s a growing interest in alternate forms of transportation, you still can’t rent a scooter in Houston. Maria Irshad, assistant director of the City of Houston’s Parking Division, said Houston’s infrastructure has … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Do we still want to go to Mars?

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hot take: I dunno. Before the U.S. put the first man on the moon, before the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, people thought aliens lived on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor. The belief sparked fear in some — and outright … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Yeah, we spoke too soon about the Census citizenship question

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s maximum chaos time. The Justice Department affirmed Friday that it still is pursuing a path for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, according to a filing in federal court in Maryland. The filing followed statements earlier in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

A look at the Constitutional amendments we will see this November

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are ten of them, including a couple I will vote against as hard as I can. House Joint Resolution 4 would let the Texas Water Development dole out dollars from a flood infrastructure fund — created by Senate Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Two Geto Boys are better than one

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Again I say, sure, why not. William James Dennis, a rapper who goes by the stage name Willie D, has filed a campaign treasurer’s report to run for city council, becoming the second member of the Houston-based hip-hop group Geto … Continue reading →

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Did the Lege sort of decriminalize marijuana?

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, sort of. Because of a new state law, prosecutors across Texas have dropped hundreds of low-level marijuana charges and have indicated they won’t pursue new ones without further testing. But the law didn’t decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for … Continue reading →

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CM Steve Le not running for re-election

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We have another open seat, in District F. Houston City Councilman Steve Le announced Wednesday he will not seek a second term in November, leaving an open race for his District F seat and ensuring the southwestern district will get … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Uber’s vision for the future

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this is more wishcasting than real planning. Still, some of it may happen, and if nothing else we should be aware of what it’s all about. When Uber envisions the future, it not only wants to put … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bell says he’s in for Senate

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We have a competitive primary now. Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate, joining what could be a crowded field of candidates looking to oust incumbent Republican John Cornyn. Bell on Tuesday filed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

No Census citizenship question

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hallelujah. The Trump administration is dropping plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday just days after the Supreme Court described the rationale for the question as “contrived.” The decision to back away … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

The Chron covers the #BoycottBoykins story

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t mention the hashtag, though. Houston city councilman and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins is facing backlash for a recent incident in which he allegedly advised a group of students to “keep their legs closed,” among other comments that some … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Chip off the old block

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Chip Roy, that is, the Ted Cruz minion in the House that no one said they needed. Freshman Rep. Chip Roy, who squeaked into office last year, has spent his first months in Congress establishing himself as a brash and … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 1

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy Trump-free Independence Day as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Sue Lovell announces for Mayor

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Former Houston city councilwoman Sue Lovell announced Monday she is running for mayor, becoming the fourth major candidate aiming to deny Mayor Sylvester Turner a second term in November. Lovell made the announcement in a news release … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A preview of the joint primary

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Like Campos and John Coby, I recently had the opportunity to visit the Harris County Clerk and get a preview of the proposed joint primary. Coby describes it in some detail, with pictures, so I won’t duplicate his effort. Basically, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Downtown post office redevelopment update

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the big post office at the north end of downtown? It was sold a few years ago and slated for redevelopment, and after a few years that project is getting ready to get started. Lovett Commercial, the Houston-based company … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Rep. Jon Rosenthal

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I had the opportunity to talk with State Rep. Jon Rosenthal after the HCDP precinct chairs meeting on Saturday. Rosenthal is of course the freshman State Rep in HD135, one of two longtime Republican-held seats that Dems flipped in 2018. … Continue reading →

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#BoycottBoykins

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The headline is a hashtag started on Twitter as a result of this. Several Sugar Land families say they’re stunned and upset with how city council member and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins addressed a room of teenagers Friday, even starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Another look at scooter mayhem

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the Associated Press: As stand-up electric scooters have rolled into more than 100 cities worldwide, many of the people riding them are ending up in the emergency room with serious injuries. Others have been killed. There are no comprehensive … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment