Monthly Archives: January 2025

HISD’s message about the forthcoming weapons detection systems

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I got this in my inbox on Wednesday. Dear High School Families, The most important thing HISD does each day is keep your student safe while they are at school. At each high school campus, HISD employs a layered approach … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dispatches from Dallas, January 10 edition

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a short week for several reasons: first, we’re still recovering from the short week last … Continue reading →

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Who wants to sell Houston’s water to West Texas?

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have questions. Gov. Greg Abbott is said to be exploring a plan to buy water from Houston and send it to West Texas — a potentially contentious idea that comes as he has teased “totally transformative” measures in the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Houston and Harris County to get Beryl relief funds

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Biden administration announced Tuesday that Houston and Harris County will receive a combined $382 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist in recovery from May’s flooding in Kingwood and Hurricane Beryl in July. Houston will receive … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 6

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance still thinks that 2025 is a science fiction year from the future as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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HISD’s progress on special education

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big part of the takeover mandate, so making progress on fixing the identified issues with special education is a must. Houston ISD’s state-appointed superintendent and Board of Managers have maintained a laser-like focus on improving schools’ state-issued … Continue reading →

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Possibly the last time I will write about Kim Ogg

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats on the new gig. Former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has been hired in a new position within the county. On Sunday, it was confirmed that Ogg had been hired as a senior policy advisor for Harris County … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The “Enron Egg”

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I know, I need to stop paying attention whatever this is. It would seem I can’t help myself. The very unserious company that took over the defunct Enron brand on Monday unveiled its supposedly “groundbreaking” product: the Enron Egg. But the … Continue reading →

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Abbott appoints a bunch of judges

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to be the king. Justice Jimmy Blacklock, a conservative ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, has been named the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He replaces Nathan Hecht, the court’s longest serving justice, who stepped down … Continue reading →

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Arlington wants in on flying taxis

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Every time I come across a story about flying taxis, I learn something new. [Arlington] Mayor Jim Ross announced with dramatic flair during his State of the City address in October that the city will take commercial transit to the skies by 2026. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Water cremation

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is fascinating, and also something I knew nothing about. An illegal cremation method got a medical center in North Texas a cease-and-desist letter from the Texas Funeral Service Commission and its body donation program under internal review in November. … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Precinct analysis 2024: Railroad Commissioner

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: President Senate Dist Craddick Culbert Lib Grn ========================================= CD02 99,112 65,117 3,921 3,996 CD07 66,167 95,853 3,751 5,025 CD08 71,653 66,412 3,176 5,058 CD09 31,772 90,778 2,260 4,700 CD18 61,743 139,540 5,594 8,483 CD22 16,983 10,714 706 758 CD29 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bald eagles

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know why it had never occurred to me before, but there are numerous bald eagles in the greater Houston area, if you are of a mind to try to spot one in the wild. The bald eagle has … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Weekend link dump for January 5

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“Election Day Went (Relatively) Smoothly Because States Prepped For Violence Like 2020″. “I mean, no, I don’t know what to do about 20 million aggrieved and anti-social young men. But what to do about just one such young man? I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

A brief look ahead to when the HISD Board will contain elected members again

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This Q&A with elected HISD Trustee Plácido Gómez has some good insights, but I want to note these questions towards the end. Fast-forwarding, if you, in an imaginary world, became a voting member of the board tomorrow, how would you … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Yolanda Saldivar seeks parole

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure how I feel about this, other than it’s another reminder of how old we all are. Yolanda Saldívar, the woman found guilty of killing the late Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla-Perez, has applied for parole for 2025. The New … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Teare recuses his office from the Hidalgo aides’ cases

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As he said he would. Recently-elected Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare filed a motion on Thursday to recuse the Harris County Attorney’s Office from three cases related to the prosecution of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former staffers. In April 2024, former … Continue reading →

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Bird flu update

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just something to keep an eye on. Federal health officials say that not only has a Louisiana resident contracted the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S., but that the virus likely mutated in the patient. The findings raise concern regarding … Continue reading →

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Whitmire’s first year

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a story about how Mayor Whitmire’s first year has gone, and I’ll get to that shortly, but first I want to look at this story, about his efforts to get help from the state government for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Dispatches from Dallas, January 3 edition

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have the tail end of 2024 and looks forward into 2025. In addition to the big … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Kansas experience with requiring proof of citizenship to vote

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Also not good. Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there’s one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting … Continue reading →

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Reps. Hunt and Jackson cleared in ethics probe

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The House Ethics Committee on Monday cleared two Texas Republican congressmen — Wesley Hunt of Houston and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo — for violating campaign finance law by allegedly spending campaign money for personal use. In a statement, the … Continue reading →

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

Texas blog roundup for the week of December 30

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance says good riddance to 2024 and casts a wary eye at the year ahead as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Welcome to 2025, like it or not

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s leave 2024 behind on a proper note: 25 years ago tonight…never forget [image or embed] — Jay Lee (@jaylee.bsky.social) December 31, 2024 at 1:37 PM I remember 12/31/99 quite well. While I never feared Y2K, I do recall thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Tagged , | 1 Comment

SCOTx lets Brent Webster off the hook

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta love a pre-holiday news dump. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ended a professional misconduct case against a top aide to Attorney General Ken Paxton for his role in challenging the 2020 election results, previewing a likely outcome for … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments