Tag Archives: Ed Emmett

Here comes Harris County’s budget

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s as bad as you’d expect. A budget on its way to Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday would cut $138 million from current spending on roads, inoculating against disease, promoting economic development, constables’ patrols and performing other services. The … Continue reading →

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TxDOT to take on primacy for Grand Parkway

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston Tomorrow: “There are potential opportunities to help advance [the Grand Parkway] in its entirety over the short term,” according to John Barton, assistant executive director for the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) engineering operations, told the Transportation Policy … Continue reading →

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Dallas County’s elections administrator resigns

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I spotted this story in the DMN the other day. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has called a meeting of an obscure commission charged with appointing a county elections chief, raising the suspicion that it’s an attempt to oust longtime … Continue reading →

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Harris County braces for state budget cuts

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More joy to look forward to. Proposed state budget cuts could cost Harris County government nearly $50 million a year, according to a legislative analyst’s rough estimates, rolling back or eliminating state allowances for dozens of programs that include mental … Continue reading →

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The firings will continue until services improve

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County has only just begun to fire people. The protective net county government weaves under 4 million people — jailing crooks, inoculating residents against disease, investigating child abuse and treating the mentally ill – would fray noticeably under spending … Continue reading →

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Some day, we will do something about the Astrodome

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “We on the Commissioners’ Court are going to have to make a decision, and I think it needs to be made this year, as to what we are going to propose to the … Continue reading →

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Harris County hands the Grand Parkway back to the state

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Commissioners Court wants TxDOT to take over construction of the Grand Parkway. Harris County took control of the project about 15 months ago in the belief that the Texas Department of Transportation did not have the money to build it, … Continue reading →

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The gambling industry keeps trying

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure how successful an approach this will be, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Expanding gaming requires a vote of two-thirds of the legislature, with voters getting the final say. A new poll done for the Chronicle … Continue reading →

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Cities and counties prepare to play defense

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a rough session for cities and counties, who have every reason to believe that a large part of the Lege’s budget-balancing strategy will be to foist expenses on them. “As will all of the big cities … Continue reading →

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On county jails and treating mental illness

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s really only one thing that needs to be said about this op-ed, which was co-written by Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and HPD Chief Charles McClelland. Texas ranks 49th in the nation in per capita spending on mental health … Continue reading →

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Where the state cuts meet the local budgets

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Grits, an editorial in the Longview News-Journal of interest: Routine mental health services were the first to fall during the 2003 budget crisis, which was preceded by pre-session cuts the fall and summer of 2002. East Texas mental health … Continue reading →

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Dynamo Stadium lease deal reached

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We didn’t get the World Cup, but soccer fans here had something to celebrate this week. The Dynamo have agreed to pay $76 million to build a professional soccer stadium in downtown Houston and then lease it from the city … Continue reading →

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No World Cup for you!

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. In a mild upset, tiny but oil-rich Qatar was awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup only a few minutes after Russia was awarded the 2018 bid in a process that was decided by a vote of FIFA’s 22-member executive … Continue reading →

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The Grand Parkway takes another inevitable step forward

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No money to fix traffic lights, but there’s always money for the Grand Parkway. Commissioners Court on Tuesday authorized the Harris County Toll Road Authority to negotiate with the Texas Department of Transportation over the development of three Grand Parkway … Continue reading →

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The county’s financial picture is pretty grim, too

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This, too, is ugly. County budget officials are looking for more than $130 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year that begins on March 1. Budget officials and county government department chiefs have three months to come up with … Continue reading →

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So what about that elections administrator?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about Abe Simpson Don Sumners, our new Tax Assessor, is this little nugget: So, if [County Judge Ed] Emmett insists on putting the election administrator position on a Commissioners Court agenda, Sumners said, “I think we … Continue reading →

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I’ve had worse days, but not by much

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So as I write this, it looks like the optimistic projections for the Republicans weren’t optimistic enough. Big wins for them in the state, in Harris County, and in the Legislature, where a circa-2003 partisan mix looks like a good … Continue reading →

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County Judge race overview

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the race for Harris County Judge. Incumbent Ed Emmett, a Republican, talks of double-tracking bridges for freight, attracting foreign investment to build toll roads, and planning commuter rail in such a way that it can … Continue reading →

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The county’s budget woes

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t look now, but Harris County is running really low on cash. The $154 million reserve fund Harris County started its fiscal year with is expected to be nearly gone by March as it gets spent to cover shortfalls in … Continue reading →

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Interview with County Judge Ed Emmett

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Those of you who have followed my blog and my interview series may be wondering why today’s interview subject is Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. I’m a Democrat, and I make no pretense of the fact that I do these … Continue reading →

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I-Day Houston

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox, from the League of Women Voters: The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area and the American Society of Civil Engineers are set to host two debates, a candidate meet-and-greet, and infrastructure townhall meetings during the … Continue reading →

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The elections administrator

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a look at the elections administrator proposal that has been under study. The idea of an elections administrator percolated during the spring as a way to cloak the function in a mantle of nonpartisanship, and incidentally, to … Continue reading →

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Cause of fire that destroyed voting machines still not determined

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope it’s not arson. Lord knows, though, there’s a million conspiracy theories you could spin if it turns out it was. Houston’s fire marshal’s office hasn’t made a ruling on whether Friday’s early-morning fire was accidental or deliberately … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Harris County

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The top story for the Harris County money race is that County Judge Ed Emmett has a big lead in financial resources over challenger Gordon Quan. Gordon Quan said he knew from the start that challenging County Judge Ed Emmett … Continue reading →

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Elections administrator proposal will get a study

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Like it or not, Commissioners Court is going to consider the possibility of creating an appointed elections administrator position. The Court orders studies as preludes to formally adopting a public policy change. Dick Raycraft, director of management services, was charged … Continue reading →

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Eversole and Radack get jail overcrowding religion

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Actually, what County Commissioners Jerry Eversole and Steve Radack have is a case of criticize-the-Sheriff-itis. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole implied at meeting earlier today that the county’s sheriff, Adrian Garcia, acted improperly and wasted tax payer money when he … Continue reading →

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The downside to unelected officials

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I happened to come across this story and thought it would be a useful data point given the recent discussion about maybe having an appointed elections administrator for Harris County. Medina County Elections Administrator Brodie Koch was a no-show at … Continue reading →

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Harris County CIP will ignore Hempstead managed lanes

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Earlier this month, I blogged about the status of the US 290 expansion, for which TxDOT’s plan rested on the assumption that the Harris County Toll Road Authority would go forth with the construction of managed lanes along Hempstead Highway. … Continue reading →

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House committee hearings on emergency preparedness in Houston on Friday

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The House Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness will be holding some hearings in Houston on Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. From the email I got about this: Those testifying at the hearing include Harris County Judge Ed … Continue reading →

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More on the three options for the Dome

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As promised last week, we now have more information on the three options for the Dome. The Sports & Convention Corporation hosted a news conference Monday to present the broad outlines of three possible plans for the 45-year-old Astrodome and … Continue reading →

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Three options for the Dome

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been talking for a long time now about what is to become of the Astrodome. Harris County officials have some possible scenarios to discuss next week as part of a master plan for Reliant Park. Like it or not, … Continue reading →

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Emmett speaks about his county elections administrator proposal

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

County Judge Ed Emmett has a brief op-ed in the Chron to respond to some concerns about his proposal to study the possibility of an appointed elections administrator. There have been several false statements made that an elections administrator would … Continue reading →

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Casey and the Chron on an elections administrator

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey sums up the recent proposal by County Judge Ed Emmett to consider adopting a non-partisan elections administrator for Harris County: While Dallas and Tarrant counties have found it a source of electoral confidence and stability, Bexar County went … Continue reading →

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Emmett calls for “elections czar”

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett thinks we could use a dedicated elections supervisor. Proponents of an elections czar say an appointee would be insulated from accusations and lawsuits alleging partisanship in carrying out the duties of the office. In late … Continue reading →

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