Monthly Archives: May 2022

Misogyny is always a threat

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It was there in plain sight. He could be cryptic, demeaning and scary, sending angry messages and photos of guns. If they didn’t respond how he wanted, he sometimes threatened to rape or kidnap them — then laughed it off … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

HCC special election runoff will be June 18

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: The Board of Trustees of the Houston Community College System has called a Special Trustee Runoff Election for June 18, 2022 in HCC geographic District II. The position for geographic District II is to be filled for … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of May 30

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Ukraine and the people of Uvalde as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Another look at how Galveston County disenfranchised its voters of color

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a deep dive. Carver Park in Texas City, created during segregation, is considered the first African American county park in the state. It sits on land donated by descendants of freedmen who survived slavery and pioneered one … Continue reading →

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Justice Department to review what happened with Uvalde police

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. The U.S. Department of Justice will review the law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde school massacre as local police face intense scrutiny for not acting quickly enough to confront the shooter. “The goal of the review is to provide … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 29

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“So, Have You Heard About Monkeypox?” Here’s a good monkeypox explainer for you. “This is the irony of our current moment: The most immediate impact of the Supreme Court’s imminent assault on abortion rights has been … an expansion of … Continue reading →

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A better mail ballot

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad someone’s working on this. After thousands of mail-in ballots were rejected in Texas’ statewide primaries in March, election officials and voting rights groups are stepping up efforts to make sure voters don’t run into the same problems with … Continue reading →

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Houston vies for 2024 DNC

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It would be nice, but I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends. Houston is vying to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention held the summer before the next presidential election, in which Texas … Continue reading →

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Stalking Coco, the food delivery robot

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A delightful tale by Chron food editor Emma Balter, who was determined to prove to herself that Coco the food delivery robot actually worked as advertised, even on Houston’s notoriously un-pedestrian (and presumably food-delivery-robot) streets. It took a couple of … Continue reading →

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Please don’t ever talk to me about “a good guy with a gun” or “hardening the schools” again

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The police were there but did nothing. A gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a South Texas elementary school walked unopposed onto school grounds, state law enforcement officials said Thursday — and once he was inside, it … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

The national trend is for less voting by mail

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. The great vote-by-mail wave appears to be receding just as quickly as it arrived. After tens of millions of people in the United States opted for mail ballots during the pandemic election of 2020, voters in early primary … Continue reading →

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The MKT Bridge has reopened

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This pleasant surprise came out on Thursday evening. A vital and long-unused bridge in a buzzing Houston neighborhood is set to reopen. The M-K-T Bridge, located in The Heights near White Oak Bayou, will be accessible to users on Friday, … Continue reading →

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We won’t know the official status of the two super close runoffs until next week

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The CD28 race is not done with us. Jessica Cisneros, the progressive immigration attorney trailing longtime Laredo congressman Henry Cuellar by 177 votes in a blockbuster South Texas runoff, said Thursday that ballots are still being counted and a final … Continue reading →

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Checking in again on the wastewater

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

COVID levels keep creeping up. After the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million deaths on Monday, new data shows numbers on the rise again. The latest Houston Health Department wastewater results from May 9 show levels are now … Continue reading →

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This could be a really bad hurricane season

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Anytime the year 2005 is used as a point of comparison, it’s bad news. The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and the Gulf of Mexico is already warmer than average. Even more worrying is a current of warm tropical … Continue reading →

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Watson accusers get their say

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You can see them saying it. The $230 million contract the Cleveland Browns gave to former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was a “big screw you” to the 22 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. After Houston traded Watson … Continue reading →

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State Bar finally files that professional misconduct lawsuit against Paxton

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been eagerly awaiting this. A disciplinary committee for the State Bar of Texas on Wednesday filed a professional misconduct lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections in four … Continue reading →

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A few remaining threads from the runoffs

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It was, as noted, a smooth and easy night in Harris County, despite the folderol from earlier in the day. Harris County election drama in the courts did not prevent voting officials from what could be a record speedy count. … Continue reading →

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Treatments for trans youth at Dallas hospital can continue until April

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. A Dallas County judge has granted a nearly one-year injunction against Children’s Medical Center Dallas that will allow doctors there to continue intake of transgender youth seeking certain medical treatments. Judge Melissa Bellan signed a temporary injunction … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of May 23

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Ukraine and the families and friends of the victims of the racist attack in Buffalo as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Uvalde

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have anything clever or original to say about the horrible tragedy in Uvalde. There’s a vast amount of stories and heartbreaking photos out there, so go and look to the extent that your heart and mental health can … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Runoff results: Around the state

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After the primary, I rounded up the Democratic runoffs we’d have in May. I’m going to use that post to round up the results from last night, as best as I can tell as of when I gave up the … Continue reading →

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Runoff results: Harris County

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As with the statewide roundup, here are the results from Harris County. As of 10 PM, 99 of 260 voting centers had reported, so while these results aren’t final, it seems likely to me that not much will change. Congressional … Continue reading →

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The election night experience

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let me start off by saying that my heart breaks for everyone in Uvalde. I cannot begin to fathom the pain and loss they are experiencing. I don’t know when we as a society will act to protect people from … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Florida’s stupid social media censorship law knocked down by appeals court

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

With an opinion from a Trump judge, no less. A Florida law intended to punish social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, dealing a major … Continue reading →

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

Republicans threaten businesses over abortion access

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

If you didn’t see stuff like this coming, you haven’t been paying attention. With Texas poised to automatically ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, some Republicans are already setting their sights on the next target … Continue reading →

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Is there any chance the GLO won’t screw Houston this time around?

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, maybe. Things can happen. I just wouldn’t count on it. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday commended the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for ordering Texas to fix a Hurricane Harvey recovery plan that the federal agency … Continue reading →

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

The STAAR is back

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this last week. For the first time since the pandemic began, Texas public schools will be rated based on how students score on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness — more commonly known as the annual STAAR … Continue reading →

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The national media discovers Skeet Jones

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s NBC News with a nice, juicy story. Lawmen came to remote Loving County, Texas, on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands on one of Texas’ oldest crimes — cattle theft. Judge … Continue reading →

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The coming fight over medical abortion

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sure is a good thing SCOTUS will leave this up to the states, isn’t it? Republican-led states are moving swiftly to restrict access to medication abortion. The efforts so far have focused on regulations around the pills, such as banning … Continue reading →

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House committee passes Ike Dike bill

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. A House committee on Wednesday approved legislation that gives the go-ahead to the so-called Ike Dike project, a massive $31 billion proposal that includes building giant gates across the mouth of Galveston Bay with the goal of … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Hey look! Some info about mail ballots in the May election!

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not much, but I’ll take what I can get. For the second time in less than two weeks, Texans are heading back to the polls to decide on a host of statewide and local elections. Voters are deciding who … Continue reading →

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Tomorrow is Primary Runoff Day

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill, this is your last chance to vote in the primary runoffs. We will finally have the 2022 lineup set for November and can concentrate all of our attention and attacks on the other guys. The map … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 22

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So how’s crypto doing now? Brutal week last week. “Not only do members of the AAPI community feel less included in the workplace as opposed to other demographic groups, but many have changed their daily routines due to fear of … Continue reading →

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