Tag Archives: Ed Emmett

Commissioners Court tries again on ethics reform

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

They meet today to try to get something done. After months of political maneuvering, County Judge Ed Emmett is asking commissioners to approve a series of ethics reforms. They include the voluntary registration of lobbyists, online posting of officials’ personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Commissioners Court tries again on ethics reform

Once more with the vetoes

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry explains why he vetoed legislation to improve ethics in Harris County. “I was never for that bill. Now, there may have been some people on my staff who were of a different mind,” Perry said, responding to a … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

And here are the vetoes

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full list, with links to statements about individual bills, here’s his press release, and here’s his budget statement. A few points of interest: – Perry wimped out and allowed HB770, the Wayne Christian Homestead Bill, to become law … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Ethics reform is hard

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long and winding road for ethics reform in Harris County, and it isn’t getting any easier. Harris County Commissioner’s Court next week will consider a series of ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for and disclosure of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Feds’ report on Harris County jails

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of people dying in the jails here, at least as of the last federal inspection. Their experiences are detailed in a U.S. Department of Justice report, completed last week and obtained Monday by the Houston Chronicle, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Yet another Astrodome plan

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a convention center, it’s a movie studio, it’s a planetarium. Add a planetarium to the myriad ideas for what to do with the Reliant Astrodome, Houston’s iconic stadium whose future has hung in uncertainty as officials and entrepreneurs have … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Regional crime lab

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This has been talked about for some time, and not unexpectedly it’s starting to move forward. After years of scandal at crime labs across the state, local officials have proposed opening a regional lab based at the Harris County Medical … Continue reading →

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

Property values declining

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The housing slump that has battered much of the country for two years finally has trickled down to Harris County, where residential property values have declined or stagnated for the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Property values declining

More on the deputy drivers

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The story about the deputies that were assigned driving duties for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett got an extended play in the Chron thanks to a letter to the editor from Garcia and an email he sent … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on More on the deputy drivers

Driver!

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’ve read this story about part-time drivers for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett before. It reminded me of this one about state Senate staffer salaries, and this one about City Council expenditures. In each … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Driver!

Pity the poor Astrodome

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

These sure are bad days for the old icon, aren’t they? The Astrodome will not host the rodeo’s nightly country-western dances next month, or any other special event for that matter, as city code violations that would cost millions to … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pity the poor Astrodome