Monthly Archives: December 2022

More battery power coming

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Now here is something that might actually help the grid. A surge of new battery projects is expected to come online on Texas and California’s power grids, as developers seek to store the excess electricity produced by those state’s sprawling wind and solar … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Beto versus the spread

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott So last time we saw the numbers for the 2022 Governor’s race. But what numbers need in order to be meaningful is context, and that means other numbers to compare them to. We’re going to do … Continue reading →

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

More on the limits of social media monitoring for school violence prevention

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good stuff from the DMN. When Social Sentinel representatives pitched their service to Florida’s Gulf Coast State College in 2018, they billed it as an innovative way to find threats of suicides and shootings posted online. But for the … Continue reading →

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True the Vote keeps on contempting

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the latest filing from the plaintiffs in the defamation lawsuit against True the Vote and their lying grifter principles, Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips. You may recall that Engelbrecht and Phillips spent a few days in the pokey for … Continue reading →

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

Weekend link dump for December 18

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“How Demographic Shifts Fueled by Covid Delivered Midterm Wins for Democrats”. Times sure are tough for cable channels right now. “The very last 747 jet has been made, ending a run of more than 50 years”. RIP, Paul Silas, three-time … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

November 2022 mail ballot rejection report

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Still getting better, still some room to improve. The statewide ballot rejection rate dramatically reduced to 2.7 percent in the general election this fall after it had skyrocketed to six times that in the primaries following the introduction of a … Continue reading →

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Here at last is that updated report on maternal mortality

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still really bad at preventing it, especially for Black women. At least 118 women dead and nearly 200 children left without a mother. This was just a portion of the death toll from pregnancy and childbirth in Texas in … Continue reading →

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We don’t love trash

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Especially not in the bayous. On a recent Saturday morning, around 20 volunteers gathered to clean up trash along the Houston Ship Channel. Armed with pickers and trash bags, they started tackling a small “trash beach” across the channel from … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Saturday video break: A brief manifesto about Christmas music

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Been awhile since I’ve done one of these. Maybe I’ll work a few in next year, we’ll see how it goes. I was inspired by the Slacktivist re-running his own Christmas music manifesto from a few years ago. I broadly … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

We said they’d come for birth control next

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And here they are. Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee to a federal court in Texas, spent much of his career trying to interfere with other people’s sexuality. A former lawyer at a religious conservative litigation shop, Kacsmaryk denounced, in a 2015 article, … Continue reading →

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

Hays County DA questions San Marcos marijuana ordinance passed by voters

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Add this to the pile. San Marcos voters passed a marijuana ordinance this November that would halt San Marcos police from arresting people for low-level marijuana offenses. Now, the Hays County district attorney is looking to Texas leaders for their … Continue reading →

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

More information about HISD redistricting, please

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A reasonable ask. Several local nonprofit and advocacy groups penned a letter asking Houston ISD to postpone its decision on how to redraw trustee district boundaries. Initially, the board was set to vote on the plan Thursday, according to a … Continue reading →

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Abbott is now attacking immigration-focused non-profits

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Always be finding a new enemy, that’s the motto. Gov. Greg Abbott called Wednesday for the state to investigate whether nonprofit organizations have helped people enter the country illegally, adding another talking point to his border hawk arsenal and another … Continue reading →

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

NWSL releases its report on abuse by coaches

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The followup report names some names that hadn’t been named before. Widespread misconduct, including sexual abuse, manipulation and mocking athletes’ bodies, has plagued the National Women’s Soccer League for a decade, according to an investigation commissioned by the league and … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Please don’t threaten to kill your political opponents

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We really shouldn’t have to say these things, except that nowadays we really do. A former candidate for U.S. representative has been accused of threatening to kill his political opponent, U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, TX-14, according to federal court filings. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ken Paxton’s hatred of LGBTQ+ people continues unabated

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Item #1: Texas attorney general’s office sought state data on transgender Texans. Employees at the Texas Department of Public Safety in June received a sweeping request from Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office: to compile a list of individuals who … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Some Harris County courts get Zoom bombed

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not a story I expected to read this week. Pornographic videos were shown in several Harris County courtrooms Tuesday in what county officials are calling a “Zoom bombing” incident. “Several Harris County Courts at Law experienced zoom bombing — or … Continue reading →

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Kirk Watson again elected Mayor of Austin

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Party like it’s 1997, y’all. In a tight race, Austin voters picked a familiar face Tuesday night to guide the capital city over the next two years as the region deals with skyrocketing housing costs and explosive growth. In a … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 12

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance welcomes Britney Griner back home as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Precinct analysis: Beto versus Abbott

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All right, I have the full landscape data for Harris County and the November 2022 election, and I’ll be doing my usual thing with it. There’s a lot of data and a lot of ways to explore it, some of … Continue reading →

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

Judge assigned to hear election loser contest

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, a press release from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee: Judge David Peeples will preside over the election contest filed by Republican candidate Erin Lunceford to void the results of her race for the 189th District Court in … Continue reading →

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Vertical farming

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Scaling scissor lifts are a daily duty for a vertical farmer overseeing the growth of about 10 million heads of lettuce annually from Kalera’s 4.5-acre indoor farm located in the Parc-59 industrial park in North Houston. Kalera, an Orlando-based vertical … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gender affirming care is happening in Dallas

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news that I had not been fully aware of. The Dallas doctor who ran the state’s most prominent medical program for transgender youth says she has seen dozens of new patients since crucial court wins this summer and … Continue reading →

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Recruitment of next summer’s lifeguards is already underway.

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Better luck this time, we hope. The city has begun recruiting lifeguards for next summer following a significant staffing shortage that led to the closure of two-thirds of Houston’s public pools this past season. The Parks and Recreation Department, which operates Houston’s 37 aquatic centers, usually … Continue reading →

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Santa Claus is back

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So, you know, you better watch out, and all that. Some Santas who stayed home the past two years out of concern for their health have returned, but performers have pressing issues, including inflation, on their minds. Many are older, … Continue reading →

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State and county election result relationships: Tarrant County

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

In years past, Tarrant County was a pretty close bellwether for election results in the state of Texas. From 2004 through 2016, the closeness of their Presidential numbers with the statewide numbers was eerie. But since 2018 the talk has … Continue reading →

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

Settlement of the sexual harassment lawsuit against HCC Trustee Glaser on the agenda

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

On the agenda for this Wednesday’s HCC Trustee meeting is this item of interest. Proposed Settlement Authority regarding Southern District of Texas Houston Division, Civil Action 4:21-cv-02216; Patricia Dodd vs. Houston Community College, et al. RECOMMENDATION Authorize the administration to … Continue reading →

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

Driverless taxi update

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things to watch out for in the nearer-than-you-think future, with Austin first in line. When transit systems experience delays, the reason usually isn’t very interesting: congested streets, medical emergencies, mechanical problems. But the cause of a recent holdup on San … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for December 11

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Why do McCarthy, Scott, and other so-called Republican leaders duck explicit invitations to address the former president’s behavior? Because they’re cowards.” “Imagine an “Oh, yeah?” button on your browser.” “Here’s a midterm report on remote work”. “I have a few … Continue reading →

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A thousand days of the COVID disaster declaration

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy COVID Disaster Declaration Thousand-Day Anniversary to all who celebrate. Thursday marks 1,000 days that Texans have been living under Gov. Greg Abbott’s public health disaster proclamation — an era of unprecedented gubernatorial authority for the state’s chief executive, triggered … Continue reading →

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At least we avoided violence

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve tried and failed to come up with a better post title than that for this. After two years of fears of electoral dysfunction and violence, voting rights advocates breathed bated sighs of relief this week as Texas finished a … Continue reading →

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“Heartbeat” lawsuit against doctor dismissed

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’d forgotten this was still a thing, it had been so long since it was filed. In the first test of the Texas law that empowers private citizens to sue for a minimum of $10,000 in damages over any illegal … Continue reading →

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So why wasn’t that report on maternal mortality released when it was supposed to be?

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll never really know, mostly because there’s no one with the power to compel an answer from those who do know that cares enough to use that power. State health officials had completed a long-awaited report on maternal deaths and … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In which I ponder the future of cryptomining

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I know I’m stepping away from things I have knowledge and experience with when I comment on stories like this, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. Beleaguered crypto lenders are being dealt another blow from Bitcoin miners as they … Continue reading →

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