Monthly Archives: July 2021

Are the college conference dominoes set up for a tumble again?

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a big deal. A decade after major conference realignment shook up college football, big changes might again be on the horizon. Texas and Oklahoma of the Big 12 have reached out to the Southeastern Conference about joining … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Day 9 quorum busting post: See you in August

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your endgame, more or less. Texas House Democrats will not return to the state until after the special session of the Legislature is over, one of the leaders of their walkout confirmed Tuesday. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San … Continue reading →

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Abbott affirms he will take no action to mitigate future COVID waves

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s on brand, that much is for sure. Gov. Greg Abbott says he will not impose another statewide mask mandate, despite COVID-19 cases being on the rise again. “There will be no mask mandate imposed, and the reasons for that … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Federal judge halts Arkansas law against gender affirming care for trans kids

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. In an in-person hearing in Little Rock on Wednesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to block an Arkansas law that criminalizes gender-affirming care for transgender kids. U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr.’s bench ruling was … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 19

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is cheering on the quorum-breaking legislators as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The ultimate inducement to getting vaccinated

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Winning college football games. I mean seriously, if that doesn’t do it then literally nothing will. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey calls it the “vaccination motivation” — in urging the league’s programs to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before the season kicks … Continue reading →

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Are any state leaders going to talk about the rising COVID rate?

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just curious. With less than half of Texans vaccinated and the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreading, the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive in the state has climbed to a rate unseen since winter. As of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Michelle Beckley announces for Congress

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. State Rep. Michelle Beckley, one of the House Democrats who is camped out in Washington, D.C., announced Tuesday that she is challenging U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, a national Democratic target. Beckley unveiled her plans in a video … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

County Court judge Barnstone resigns

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A Harris County civil court judge has resigned amid several allegations of judicial misconduct, including showing bias or prejudice toward litigants and attorneys on the basis of race, sex or socioeconomic status, according to the State Commission on Judicial … Continue reading →

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

Your thermostat may be plotting against you

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to 2021. Amid [recent] sweltering temperatures in Houston, the agency that operates the state’s power grid asked residents to cut back on how much electricity they used to help it meet demand. That’s how some people apparently learned the hard way that their … Continue reading →

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

Day 7 quorum busting post: Don’t mess with Rep. Garnet Coleman

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Respect, always. For a week now, state Rep. Garnet Coleman has been hiding out in Texas, wondering if police are going to track him down. While dozens of other Texas House Democrats fled to Washington, D.C. to block a Republican … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Abbott preps another shot at trans kids

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What an asshole. Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he was preparing to take action to restrict transition-related medical care for transgender minors in Texas after legislation to do so failed during the regular session. “I have another way of achieving … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Virus And The Vote

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, there were a lot of concerns going into the 2020 election about the potential for things to go horribly wrong. Books were written about the weak points in our bizarre and super-distributed system for running and … Continue reading →

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P Bush slightly outraises Paxton

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Meh. Land Commissioner George P. Bush kicked off his attorney general campaign by outraising the incumbent, fellow Republican Ken Paxton, and another primary challenger, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. But Paxton has more money saved up for the … Continue reading →

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Council will decide when charter amendment votes will be

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Fine, but they should be this year. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday promised to bring a charter amendment petition to City Council before a key August deadline to order an election for this year. A diverse coalition of groups, including … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

How HISD intends to spend its COVID relief money

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seems reasonable. Houston ISD expects to spend $1.2 billion of federal relief shoring up academic losses from the pandemic under a wide-ranging plan that would target accelerated instruction to kids that have fallen behind, bolster tutoring and after-school services, seek … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for July 18

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

“Lower vaccination rates among young adults in the United States are resulting in anxiety and painful decision-making for those who are vaccinated but have friends, family, loved ones and colleagues who aren’t.” Don’t be like Missouri. Parts of Texas are … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

The DACA ruling

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A federal judge in Texas ruled Friday that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that allows certain immigrants to temporarily avoid deportation and receive renewable work permits, is illegal and ordered the Biden administration to stop granting new … Continue reading →

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

GLO defends P Bush in Congressional hearing

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Dude couldn’t be bothered to show up himself, so he had someone else there to defend him. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush did not play a role in the process that left Houston and Harris County without any federal … Continue reading →

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

What will Harris County do about rising case numbers?

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m afraid we’ll find out soon enough. The Harris Health System’s COVID-19 ward was down to just one patient at the beginning of July. Anxious to hit zero COVID-19 patients, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, the hospital system’s CEO, purchased and stored … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A portrait of David Adickes

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Nice feature story on my favorite sculptor, who is 94 years old and still making art. Not the giant Presidential head kind of art, sadly, but art nonetheless. At 94, [David] Adickes takes measured, shuffling steps. But his output remains … Continue reading →

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P Bush files a Paxton-style lawsuit

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What a wannabe. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, claiming the president is illegally preventing the construction of a wall on the Texas-Mexico border. Bush announced the lawsuit Wednesday, saying his office … Continue reading →

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Austin tries to slow down the Delta spike

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not really much they can do, though. Austin city and public health officials on Thursday raised the city’s coronavirus risk-based guidelines for the first time since the winter surge, urging unvaccinated people to avoid non-essential travel and take other precautions … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Can you tell me how to get (safely) to Memorial Park?

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Safety is nice. A $200 million-plus plan to improve [Memorial Park] is aimed at making it a signature destination for all Houstonians. With that success, though, will come the same challenges anything popular in Houston faces: How will people get … Continue reading →

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Is it a car that flies or a plane that drives?

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a little of both. A prototype flying car has completed a 35-minute flight between international airports in Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia. The hybrid car-aircraft, AirCar, is equipped with a BMW engine and runs on regular petrol-pump fuel. Its creator, … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Day 4 quorum busting post: You may have won a free trip home!

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think the Dems are going to claim this prize. The push to bring fugitive Texas Democrats back to Austin could be reaching new heights. House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday said he will charter a plane Saturday from … Continue reading →

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

More briefs in the lawsuit over the line item veto

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope this means a ruling is on the horizon. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has asked the Texas Supreme Court to toss a lawsuit brought by House Democrats over Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to veto funding for the … Continue reading →

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

Where the outbreaks are the worst

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We talk a lot about the vaccination rate in Texas, but that number by itself is misleading. Some parts of the state are very well vaccinated. Others, very much not so. That matters, because the Delta variant is just ripping … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Astros again seek to dismiss Bolsinger lawsuit

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They will probably succeed. The Astros have submitted their proposal for a Harris County judge to dismiss former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Mike Bolsinger’s lawsuit against the team. Bolsinger has alleged trade misappropriation and sought more than $1 million in … Continue reading →

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Day 3 not as long omnibus quorum busting post

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s jump right in… Who’s paying for Texas Democrats’ trip to DC? Beto O’Rourke has already raised $400K. Beto O’Rourke’s political action committee has raised nearly half a million dollars to support Texas Democrats’ escape to Washington, D.C., he said … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Eva Guzman raises a few bucks

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not bad, but she’s gonna need a lot more than this. Eva Guzman, one of the 2022 Republican primary challengers to Attorney General Ken Paxton, raised more than $1 million in her first 10 days as an announced candidate— … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Former HCC instructor sues over sexual harassment allegations

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. A former Houston Community College instructor is suing the community college system, its chancellor and a board member for $15 million, alleging that the college system retaliated against her for reporting that she was being sexually harassed by … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 12

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance will be using this bloodbath of a special session as incentive for 2022 as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Paxton agrees to unblock Twitter critics

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Our long national nightmare is over. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will no longer block ​users from his personal account for expressing “First Amendment-protected viewpoints” as part of an agreement to end a lawsuit where plaintiffs say they were unconstitutionally … Continue reading →

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