Monthly Archives: June 2020

What should Joe Biden do in Texas?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“Win” would be my preferred answer, but it’s more complicated than that. No matter how frequently it happens, it’s always a bit startling. Ever since February 2019, polls have been coming out indicating that former Vice President Joe Biden is … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Hey, how about trying that local control thing again?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like it might be worth a shot to led Mayors and County Judges lead on coronavirus response again, since they’ve done so much better a job of leading than Greg Abbott has. As Texas grapples with soaring coronavirus cases … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Kaylynn Williford

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Goodbye, and good riddance. The head prosecutor for Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s trial division resigned Monday after posting a meme on Facebook last week that equated protesters who remove Confederate statutes with Nazis. The meme posted by the … Continue reading →

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

Ready or not, here we vote

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope it goes all right. Poll workers [began] greeting voters from behind face masks and shields as early voting begins in primary runoffs that will look and operate differently from any Texas election in the past 100 years. Although the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Rep. Marc Veasey

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

When I came up with the idea to do a series of interviews about redistricting, Rep. Marc Veasey was among the first people I wanted to talk to. He was a State Rep in 2011 when the original maps were … Continue reading →

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

Judges added to felony bail reform lawsuit

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This could be a sign that things are about to happen. All 23 Harris County felony judges have been added as proposed defendants in the lawsuit alleging that the region’s felony bail practices are discriminatory and damaging to poor defendants. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Is this convention really necessary?

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously. I know they don’t care about anyone else, but maybe the state GOP might think about the health and well-being of their own people? As the coronavirus pandemic engulfs Texas’ metropolitan areas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has left the … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Weekend link dump for June 28

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“The Anti-Vax Movement’s Radical Shift From Crunchy Granola Purists to Far-Right Crusaders”. How to read the polls like a pro. “It might seem like a small scandal in the context of everything else Trump has done, but it’s actually a … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

No relief from SCOTUS on vote by mail

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is not really a surprise. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an initial bid by state Democrats to expand voting by mail to all Texas voters during the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Samuel Alito — whose oversight of federal courts … Continue reading →

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

Runoff reminder: Judicial races

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Statewide, Congress, SBOE and State Senate, State House, county races. Let’s begin with this, because if you only vote in one judicial primary runoff, this is the one to vote in. An incumbent judge who is under indictment and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The pause effect on bars and restaurants

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I feel terrible for them, but what could we do at this point? Ed Noyes was trying to get some shut-eye when he woke up to seven different texts Friday morning. Three of the five bartenders at his Fort Worth … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Early voting for primary runoffs starts tomorrow

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the runoffs? It’s time we settle who our nominees are. Who can vote in the runoffs? Texas has open primaries, meaning you don’t have to be a registered member of either party to cast a ballot in a primary … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fox: Biden 45, Trump 44

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Man, if we keep getting polls that show Joe Biden leading in Texas, we just might have to rethink where this state is politically. Texas is a tossup, as Democrat Joe Biden tops President Donald Trump by a percentage point, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Put a pause on that reopening

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At this point, we had no other choice. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday took his most drastic action yet to respond to the post-reopening coronavirus surge in Texas, shutting bars back down and scaling back restaurant capacity to 50%. He … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Masks for Metro confirmed

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. Metro riders need to cover up to hop on, following a decision by the transit agency’s board Thursday to require masks on its buses and trains. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members approved the requirement at their monthly meeting … Continue reading →

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So how safe are those driverless cars?

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Safer than human-driven cars, but maybe not by as much as you might think. A new study says that while autonomous vehicle technology has great promise to reduce crashes, it may not be able to prevent all mishaps caused by … Continue reading →

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Straight ticket voting lawsuit tossed

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a big surprise. A federal judge on Wednesday threw out Democrats’ effort to reinstate the straight-ticket voting option in Texas. Siding with the state, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo found that Democrats lacked standing to challenge Texas Republicans’ … Continue reading →

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

Here comes the police task force

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now let’s see them do something. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday announced the appointment of 45 people to a task force that will review Houston Police Department policies for potential reforms. Laurence “Larry” Payne, a former staffer of Mayor Kathy … Continue reading →

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

We need to understand what we did wrong

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So yeah, we need this. Two of the nation’s most influential experts on the coronavirus pandemic, both based in Texas, are calling for an independent, nonpartisan investigation of the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus. “We must prevent this from … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Back to Collin County for the Paxton trial

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Where it all began. Years after it was sent to Harris County, the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will move back to his native Collin County, a Harris County judge ruled Thursday. Paxton, a Republican, was indicted … Continue reading →

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Who needs testing?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great idea. The Trump administration is planning to end federal support for some coronavirus testing sites across the nation at the end of the month — including seven in Texas, where confirmed cases of COVID are spiking. An … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Have we gone from “concerned” to “alarmed” yet?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting there. With cases of the coronavirus surging to record levels in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott recommended Tuesday that Texans stay home as much as possible and for the first time moved to allow the tightening of two kinds … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

MLB is on its way back

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

What a long, strange trip it was, and who knows how successful any of it will ultimately be. But here we are. The lack of a deal between MLB and the MLB Players Association led to the league imposing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of June 22

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance does not speak in riddles when it brings you its weekly roundup.

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Who gets displaced by I-45?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping in mind, the cost of expanding I-45 is more than just dollars. The I-45 project’s toll on local property owners would be unprecedented for TxDOT in Houston, potentially relocating hundreds of families and businesses. Estimated to cost at … Continue reading →

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

PPP/PT: Trump 48, Biden 46

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Time for another poll. Today, Progress Texas released statewide Texas voter poll results, showing Democrats are within striking distance in both the Presidential and U.S. Senate races in Texas. What does this mean? Texas voters are fed up with Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The county races in which the precinct chairs get to pick the nominees

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There are two Harris County races on the ballot this year – one that was always going to be there, and one that was unexpected – in which Democratic precinct chairs will have the task of picking the nominees. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can we make it past July?

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s when it looks like we’ll hit the peak of the pandemic here. And it could be ugly. A surge in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day could set the Houston area on track for a peak of 2,000 daily hospitalizations … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In case you needed another reminder that this coronavirus thing is dangerous

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. The Orlando Pride have withdrawn from the upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup after six players and four staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, a significant setback for a league attempting to become the first in American professional team … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Runoff reminder: County races

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Statewide, Congress, SBOE and State Senate, State House. There were a ton of contested county race primaries in Harris County, with all of the countywide offices except one HCDE position featuring at least three candidates. When the dust settled, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How bad is it going to get in Houston?

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m worried, y’all. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas continued to reach record highs over the weekend while new cases also climbed in the Houston area. The new figures come as County Judge Lina Hidalgo and leaders in other … Continue reading →

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

Maybe we should have had this election in May

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, the irony. When the coronavirus threat was newer and seemed more immediate, Texas postponed its May elections to pick winners in several party primary runoffs, fearing the health risks of exposing voters and poll workers. With those statewide elections … Continue reading →

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Masks for Metro

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. Metro riders soon may need more than their Q card or $1.25 to board buses and trains as transit officials weigh making face coverings mandatory for all bus and rail users in a new set of safety procedures. … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Michael Li

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, among the many monumental tasks that the Legislature has before it in 2021 is redistricting. That will almost certainly be done in a summer or even autumn special session, since Census data will be delayed by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments