Monthly Archives: December 2022

And now we have a judicial loser contesting the election

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans did warn us they’d be sore losers. Republican judicial candidate Erin Lunceford filed a petition Wednesday seeking a new election in Harris County’s 189th judicial district court race after losing by 2,743 votes out of more than 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

League City to mess with its libraries

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is watered down from the original proposal, which was a true book ban situation, but it’s still bad and dumb and ominous. At a packed League City council chambers Tuesday night, residents made their voices heard about a proposed … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans TikTok on state-issued devices

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Honestly, I’m fine with this. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a ban of the popular app TikTok from all government-issued devices. In a news release, the Republican said the Chinese government could use the app to access critical U.S. infrastructure … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Yes, we’re talking about Texas Senate 2024

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gromer Jeffers points out that Ted Cruz may run for both President and re-election to the Senate in 2024, which he can do under the law that was passed to allow LBJ to run for Vice President in 1960 (and … Continue reading →

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Look to the state legislatures for the next frontiers in forced birtherism

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas will of course be on the forefront of this, but it will surely follow examples from other states as well. As statehouses across the country prepare for next year’s legislative sessions — most for the first … Continue reading →

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Beto tries again to get ridiculous defamation lawsuit dismissed

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hope he has better luck here. The gubernatorial election is over, but Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke lives on. Warren, the Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 5

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s beginning to look a lot like the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup, everywhere you go.

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City approves new regulations on outdoor music festivals

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hope they help. Houston City Council on Monday approved stricter permitting requirements for outdoor music events on private property with more than 500 attendees. There has been an increasing number of instances in which organizers only informed the city of … Continue reading →

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Abbott to nominate Jane Nelson as next SOS

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he will nominate retiring state Sen. Jane Nelson to be secretary of state. The announcement comes one day after John Scott said he would step down from the role at the end … Continue reading →

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

I regret to inform you that “tripledemic” is a word

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that we may avoid it here in Houston. A collision of three respiratory viruses — COVID-19, influenza and RSV — may not hit Houston as severely as other parts of the country, experts say, but pediatric … Continue reading →

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Fred McGriff elected to the Hall of Fame

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to him. “The Crime Dog” finally had his day. In Fred McGriff’s first second chance at the National Baseball Hall of Fame voting process, the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee did what the Baseball Writers’ Association did not. McGriff … Continue reading →

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LULAC files that lawsuit to end Houston City Council At Large districts

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been waiting for this. The League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday filed its long-anticipated lawsuit against the city of Houston, seeking to get rid of at-large City Council seats that it says leave Hispanic residents with insufficient representation at City Hall. … Continue reading →

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

Time for the biennial salute to the new Secretary of State

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

So long, John. Hope the next guy is better than you were. Texas Secretary of State John Scott will step down from his role as the state’s top elections official at the end of the year. “When I took office … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A non-prescription pill

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds like a good idea. If you’re one of the estimated 10 million people in the United States taking oral contraception, you probably needed a prescription to get it. But that could soon change: In July, a Paris-based company, HRA Pharma, announced it … Continue reading →

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Uvalde class action lawsuit over mass shooting officially filed

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been waiting for this. Survivors of the fatal mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, have filed a $27 billion class action lawsuit against multiple law enforcement agencies in Texas, according to court documents. The lawsuit, filed … Continue reading →

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The environmental attack on abortion

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ridiculous. Abortion opponents and their allies in elected office are seizing on an unusual strategy after suffering a wave of election defeats — using environmental laws to try to block the distribution of abortion pills. The new approach comes … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HISD to get funding for electric school buses

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. Houston Independent School District is hopping on the city’s net-zero carbon emissions bus, so to speak, thanks to more than $6.2 million in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. The funds are part of the EPA’s Clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for December 4

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Everyone should start blogging again. Own your own site. Visit all your friends’ sites. Bring back the artisan, hand-crafted Web.” “As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the first self-proclaimed anti-woke “bank” in the nation is dying a hot … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Specifically, my precincts

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still waiting for the full landscape canvass data from Harris County – things are a bit up in the air right now because of the lawsuit filed by the local GOP, but I expect to get that data soon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Houston to spend more fixing water pipes

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea. The city is poised to at least double its annual spending on water line repairs, citing two years of pipe breaks and leaks driven in part by ongoing drought conditions. Houston lost nearly 20 billion … Continue reading →

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

Perla Huerta added to migrants’ lawsuit against Ron DeSantis

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. A Boston-based law firm suing Florida’s governor for his scheme to transport asylum-seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard under false pretenses has added Perla Huerta — the San Antonio woman accused of recruiting the migrants … Continue reading →

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Candidate who lost by 15 points files election contest

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Utterly ridiculous, and will hopefully be treated that way. A losing Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives is challenging his defeat and asking the Legislature to void the results of the election. Republican Mike May this week filed … Continue reading →

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

The people may have spoken, but who’s listening?

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

How much respect to city councils owe voter-approved referenda? Voters in two Central Texas cities overwhelmingly passed propositions earlier this month that would stop citations and arrests for low-level marijuana offenses within city limits. But elected officials in Bell County … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Justice Department probing RealPage

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly good news for renters. The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has opened an investigation into whether rent-setting software made by Richardson-based tech company RealPage is facilitating collusion among landlords, ProPublica reported. The inquiry is being launched as questions have … Continue reading →

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Quantifying the abortion ban harm

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

These stories will keep on coming. Usually, articles in medical journals are about science; they bring data to their readers, who can use them to provide evidence-based care to their patients. But sometimes, evidence is an expression of grief or … Continue reading →

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

City of Uvalde sues Uvalde County DA

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What is going on here? The city of Uvalde is suing the local district attorney, accusing her of withholding information an independent investigator needs to conduct an internal affairs investigation of the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting. … Continue reading →

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Yeah, Deshaun Watson will be back on Sunday

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, his suspension is now over. With nearly all of the more than two dozen lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson having been settled, most of the women who accused the Cleveland quarterback of sexual misconduct have no interest in his … Continue reading →

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Whitmire launches his Mayoral campaign

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. State Sen. John Whitmire formally launched his campaign for Houston mayor Tuesday evening with a fundraiser at the ritzy Post Oak Hotel, attended by dozens of the city’s political luminaries — including the hotel’s billionaire owner, Tilman … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Local AstroWorld task force gives its report

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds mostly okay to me, but one person who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do is not impressed. A task force formed after the deadly Astroworld concert unveiled a clearer agreement Monday between Houston, Harris County, … Continue reading →

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New rules for hot air balloon operators

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This caught my eye. More than six years after 16 people died in a hot air balloon crash in Central Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration has started enforcing new rules on commercial balloon pilots that were devised because of tragedy. The … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 28

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is now emotionally ready to start hearing Christmas music as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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