Monthly Archives: November 2020

Interview with Chris Hollins

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

To put a bow on this long, strange trip that was the 2020 election season, I have a couple of interviews to bring you with key players from the election. The first is with Chris Hollins, the now-former Harris County … Continue reading →

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

Crossing a red line

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Will Greg Abbott notice? North Texas crossed a critical threshold in the number of hospital patients fighting COVID-19 that could trigger bar closings and lower occupancies at stores and restaurants if such cases don’t decrease within a week. With more … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Let’s please find more opportunities to avoid using unpaid prison labor

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, in other words. As Houston officials hashed out the budget last spring, City Council members Abbie Kamin and Carolyn Evans-Shabazz quietly asked to send a routine contract back to the Turner administration. The $4.2 million deal was needed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Weekend link dump for November 29

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“Every single person I have encountered who was misinformed on COVID-19 referenced the president’s dishonesty on Fox News or social media. For Americans to believe a politician over experts is horrifying to us nurses on the front lines. This is … Continue reading →

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So now we start to prep for redistricting

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna make for a long session, or more likely sessions. Wielding the map-drawing power will not be entirely painless for Republicans, who have seen their grip on dozens of state and federal districts erode since the last round of … Continue reading →

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

More on police oversight boards

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ours in Houston isn’t very good. Some other cities do it better. We can learn from them. Houston’s police oversight board is the weakest among Texas’ five largest cities and suffers from “a complete lack of transparency and public reporting,” … Continue reading →

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

There sure were a lot of named storms this year

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Thirty of them, in fact. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had a record 30 named storms. Twelve made landfall in the continental U.S., including five in Louisiana. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30 (that’s next week, so fingers crossed there isn’t … Continue reading →

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I remain pessimistic about the chances of good voting bills passing

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story suggests that with Republicans doing well in the high turnout 2020 election, and with the emergency measures that were implemented to expand voting access, the odds of getting a bill passed to make some forms of voting … Continue reading →

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No Walmart liquor stores

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some non-election litigation news of interest. Texans still won’t be able to purchase liquor at Walmart, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by the retail giant that would have allowed the booze to be sold at stores in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“COVID-killing machines”

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of that. The George R. Brown Convention Center was built to hold Houston’s biggest crowds, but during the pandemic its halls have grown quieter. In reviving the center, Houston First squared off with a problem facing … Continue reading →

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What the Early Voting Ballot Board does

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They were especially important this year. In the wake of the Nov. 3 general election, the air is filled with an overwhelming amount of disinformation about vote counting, specifically as it relates to mail ballots and provisional ballots. In Michigan, … Continue reading →

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

A different kind of COVID tracking

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. Harris County Public Health will survey residents for COVID-19 antibodies in an effort to determine how many people already have been infected with the novel coronavirus, the department said. Beginning Sunday, health workers will visit randomly selected … Continue reading →

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

The last whistleblower

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like a fully cleaned house. The Texas attorney general’s office has fired the last remaining whistleblower who alleged Ken Paxton broke the law in doing favors for a political donor — just days after aides had sued the agency … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving video break: At least we still have old favorites

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I think we can all agree that this is not the Thanksgiving we thought we were going to get when the year started. So let’s be thankful for the things we do have, like the comfort of the familiar. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Early voting starts today for District B runoff

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the voters in District B will get to elect a new City Council member. . Over the weekend we mailed out 12,000 mail ballots for the December Runoff Election. In person Early Voting starts Wednesday! #HarrisVotes #HouNews … Continue reading →

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Please stay socially distant this Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what we have to do. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday urged residents to limit Thanksgiving gatherings to immediate family to limit the spread of COVID-19. The county will send an emergency cell phone alert to all residents … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of November 23

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy, safe, and socially-distant Thanksgiving as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Counties of interest, part four: Around Bexar

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 – Counties around Harris Part 2 – Counties around Dallas/Tarrant Part 3 – Counties around Travis Pop quiz, hotshot: Close your eyes, or cover the table below, and name for me the seven counties that border Bexar. Go … Continue reading →

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

The vaccine distribution challenge

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Having a vaccine for COVID-19 is wonderful. Being able to make it available to everyone who needs it is a big challenge. With cases spiking to over 10 million, the virus is everywhere, and spreading deeply into every corner of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We might get better Census apportionment data

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. The Census Bureau has identified issues in the data from the 2020 decennial census that will take an additional 20 days or so for it to fix, and thus delay the release of survey’s apportionment data until … Continue reading →

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Counties of interest, part three: Around Travis

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 – Counties around Harris Part 2 – Counties around Dallas/Tarrant Travis County has been at the forefront of the Democratic renaissance in Texas, punching well above its weight with both performance and turnout. Its blue essence has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Our nanny state and vote by mail applications

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Paul Bettencourt purses his lips and wags his finger and is very disappointed in your county government. Republican state lawmakers have filed bills to codify the Texas Supreme Court decision that blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

An ounce of cure

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s certainly nice to have this, it’s just that there isn’t nearly enough of it. Texas has received 5,800 doses of the newly approved coronavirus treatment that Gov. Greg Abbott heralded on Thursday and will receive even less next week, … Continue reading →

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DPS needs to do better with data protection

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. You’ve been hacked. We’ve all been hacked. No one else has said it, but The Watchdog will. This is likely the largest and one of the more significant data breaches ever to hit Texans. About 27.7 million Texas driver’s … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for November 22

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Three reasons why Joe Biden won back Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. A few words from Alex Trebek’s widow, thanking people for the nice things they’ve had to say about her husband. “Early in President Trump’s term, McSweeney’s editors began to … Continue reading →

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Beware color-coded county maps

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I spotted this on Twitter the other day and it got me thinking: . Biden now leads by 3.86 points nationwide, per @Redistrict popular vote tracker, matching Obama’s 3.86 pt win in 2012. He’ll exceed it soon. They won by … Continue reading →

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Remote learning has been hard for many students

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is a problem that I don’t think we’re prepared to deal with. Students across Greater Houston failed classes at unprecendented rates in the first marking period, with some districts reporting nearly half of their middle and high schoolers received … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The entire NCAA men’s tournament in one place

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re able to have an NCAA basketball season at all, then something like this makes some sense. The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced today the relocation of 13 predetermined preliminary round sites for the 2021 Division I … Continue reading →

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Prevention > treatment

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, more treatments for COVID is a good thing, but you know what’s better? Not getting COVID in the first place. Maybe we can try doing better on that? Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to Lubbock on Thursday to tout … Continue reading →

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

Not everyone wants to skip the STAAR

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There are no kids in this group. Fourteen Texas school superintendents, including those leading Dallas, Fort Worth and Aldine ISDs, joined with several business and education advocacy organizations Thursday to voice support for continuing to give standardized tests to students … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Hall of Fame 2021 ballot

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Always a favorite time of the year. While the 2021 ballot announced Monday features former All-Stars such as Torii Hunter, Tim Hudson, Mark Buehrle and Barry Zito, none of its first-timers is an obvious Hall of Famer. The crowded crush … Continue reading →

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A high level look at the changing suburbs

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a broad and high-level look at what I’m digging into now. Although they didn’t get the blue wave they expected, Democrats narrowed the gap with Republicans in five of the most competitive and populous suburban counties in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Matthew McConaughey?

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I’m required to have an opinion about this. Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey isn’t gearing up to run for governor in Texas, but he certainly did not rule it out during a radio interview this week. “I don’t … Continue reading →

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Legislators call for no STAAR test this year

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me, and very fine by my kids. A bipartisan group of 68 Texas House representatives signed a letter calling on the Texas Education Agency to cancel the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam or at minimum … Continue reading →

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