Tag Archives: Harris County

Some more AstroWorld stuff

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Firefighter logs from the event tell the story of early chaos and continued problems. Houston firefighters arrived at a small command post parked on the far-flung Orange Lot, about a mile from the festival grounds. They spent the day listening … Continue reading →

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Republicans want to get the I-45 project going again

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. Seven Republican members of Congress from the Houston area are urging federal transportation officials to quickly wrap up a review of Texas’ planned Interstate 45 rebuild, arguing that much of the opposition to the project is … Continue reading →

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Bexar mask mandate back on

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Abbott and Paxton take another L. A temporary order that allows the City of San Antonio and Bexar County to require masks in their buildings will stay in place until a lawsuit challenging an executive order goes to trial in … Continue reading →

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Filing season is officially open

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We wait all year for this. This Saturday marks the start of the battle for control in Texas politics, a key landmark for the upcoming 2022 elections. Democratic and Republican candidates will start filing for their candidacies for the March … Continue reading →

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The safety protocols

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We won’t know for some time what exactly went wrong at AstroWorld, but we do know what should have been in place to keep the concertgoers safe. When tens of thousands of people are packed into a confined area like … Continue reading →

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County Court At Law Judge Lesley Briones announces for Commissioner Precinct 4

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox (and on Facebook): Today, I announce my candidacy for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4. I have devoted my career to helping people – and serving as a county commissioner will allow me to help improve people’s lives … Continue reading →

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How to help the AstroWorld victims

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very straightforward. Houstonians hoping to help the victims can contribute to their verified GoFundMe accounts. The fundraising platform has created a hub for Astroworld victims with direct links to verified campaigns to help families cover funeral expenses and medical bills. “We prioritize balancing … Continue reading →

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Here come the AstroWorld lawsuits

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As well they should. At least 34 Astroworld Festival attendees have sued or plan to sue the event promoter in what is expected to be a bevy of litigation related to the mayhem at NRG Park. At least eight people died and dozens more were injured Friday … Continue reading →

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

A timeline of the AstroWorld tragedy

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good reporting about a terrible event. For 37 minutes after Houston police and firefighters responded to a “mass casualty” event at a packed Astroworld rap concert where attendees were crushed against the stage Friday evening, Travis Scott continued performing. Police … Continue reading →

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The AstroWorld concert tragedy

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just awful. At least eight people are dead and dozens more injured after a sold-out crowd of roughly 50,000 surged during rapper Travis Scott’s performance late Friday at the Astroworld Festival outside NRG Park, overwhelming security forces and resulting in one of the deadliest concerts in … Continue reading →

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Runoffs will be on December 11

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As is usually the case, the second Sunday in December for municipal and school board/community college runoffs. Runoff elections will be held Dec. 11, the Harris County Elections Department announced Friday. Four Houston ISD board seats, and individual council races … Continue reading →

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So what happened with election night reporting this time?

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron turns its attention to how long it took for election results to get posted on Tuesday night. Since last year, Harris County has purchased a new fleet of voting machines, created a new elections administration office and hired … Continue reading →

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More on the November 2021 election results

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the Tuesday election results. It is mostly a straight recording of the individual races, including those I covered yesterday and others that I didn’t. Of the most interest to me is this: Results were delayed … Continue reading →

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Hotze’s first attempt at defending himself in the Lopez/Aguirre lawsuit fails

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a long way to go on this, but at least for now the courts aren’t having any of Steven Hotze’s bullshit. A petition for mandamus was denied by the 14th Court of Appeals today – an appeal brought by … Continue reading →

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November 2021 election results

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At 9:45 PM last night, this is what we had: . People still voting at Weekly! We’ll release the EV results once all voters have been processed. Standby, watch the Astros, and we’ll catch you soon. — Isabel Longoria (@IsabelTX) … Continue reading →

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Election Day 2021

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You know what to do. . Tomorrow, November 2nd is Election Day. Polls open at 7 am and close at 7 pm. Tomorrow is your last chance to cast your vote in this election. Make your vote plan. Log on … Continue reading →

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Is there no way to fully close the flood bond funding gap?

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking great right now. For three years, Harris County Commissioners Court members have bickered, haggled and negotiated over the $2.5 billion flood bond program voters passed after Hurricane Harvey. Throughout all the discord over how projects should be prioritized … Continue reading →

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November 2021 final early voting totals

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A busy final day, and a significant uptick in early votes over 2017. Friday was the last day to vote early in the 2021 school board and state constitutional amendment elections with early numbers showing an uptick in turnout in … Continue reading →

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Wait, what Astrodome mural project?

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

How is it we hadn’t known about this before now? A proposal to repaint the Astrodome with a series of murals expressing opposition to human trafficking was rejected Friday by the Texas Historical Commission out of concern for the 56-year-old … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Commissioners Court passes its new map

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It differs from the first map in a few ways, which I will get to in a minute, but it checks all the boxes I wanted it to check. For Democratic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, it boiled down to … Continue reading →

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CM Travis resigns to run for HD133

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Did not see that coming. City Councilmember Greg Travis on Wednesday announced he is running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, effectively resigning his District G post at City Hall. Travis told supporters at a River Oaks … Continue reading →

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More on Harris County Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Tune up that tiny violin. Republican Harris County Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey want to keep the decennial process of redistricting precinct boundaries simple. The maps they have proposed would add new zigs and zags to ensure each precinct … Continue reading →

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2021 Day Seven EV report: After the weekend

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get right to it: These are the early voting totals for the 2021 election after Sunday: Mail ballots: 36,517 In person: 19,901 You can see the full Day Seven report here. The “voters by type” breakdown on the last … Continue reading →

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Harris County Commissioners Court begins the process of approving its new maps today

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, an email from Commissioner Rodney Ellis: Every decade, after each U.S. census, states, cities and counties engage in a process called redistricting, where they adjust the boundaries of their governing districts to reflect changes in population growth … Continue reading →

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2021 Day Five EV report: A one week checkin

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One work week, anyway. Here are the vote totals after five days of early voting. The first thing to notice is that about 70% of the votes cast so far have been by mail: Mail ballots = 36,517 Early in … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court redistricting has begun

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans are apoplectic. I have no sympathy. The two Republican Harris County commissioners say a proposal by Democrats to re-draw commissioner precinct boundaries will cut services and dilute the influence of conservative residents. The proposed map by Precinct 1 … Continue reading →

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A long story about the bail industry

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Judges set bail, but it’s the bondsmen who decide how much a defendant pays to get out of jail. The long-held 10 percent standard — with defendants or their loved ones paying a tenth of the bail amount … Continue reading →

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2021 Day One EV report: Everyone likes voting by mail

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of mail ballots have been cast so far. Much more than any other kind. Early voting began Monday for a handful of area school board and municipal races, state constitutional amendments and hundreds of millions of dollars in school … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts today for the 2021 election

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Time to strap on the pads and get yourself out to the polling places: . Early voting begins Monday, October 18th. Log on to http://harrisvotes.com to view your sample ballot and find the polling location closest to you. Make your … Continue reading →

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The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

All but the Congressional maps are done. They’re just plowing through it. The Texas Legislature is nearing the end of its work to incorporate a decade’s worth of population growth into new political maps — pressing forward with efforts to … Continue reading →

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More on the Mac Walker ballot name situation

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good move by HISD. Houston ISD on Tuesday took responsibility for failing to include the nickname of a trustee candidate when it entered his name in a county elections office portal. Lee “Mac” Walker, vying for district 7, said last … Continue reading →

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The fate of the Paxton trial location is once again with the CCA

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As you recall, the very long-awaited securities fraud trail of Ken Paxton is ticketed to go back to Collin County after the First Court of Appeals denied a request for an en banc hearing to reconsider the court’s previous ruling … Continue reading →

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What’s in a ballot name, 2021 edition

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is unfortunate. A candidate for the Houston ISD Board of Education said Friday his name has been printed incorrectly on ballots and county elections officials said it is too late to change the name. Lee “Mac” Walker, running for … Continue reading →

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Senate passes Congressional map

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Start the litigation countdown. Yes, I know, this still has to pass the House, but still. The Texas Senate approved a map Friday that would largely protect incumbents in Congress while reducing the number of districts in which Black and … Continue reading →

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