Tag Archives: Galveston

Galveston ordered to provide counsel at bail hearings

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sure seems like the proper thing to do. Add Galveston to the list of Texas counties that have been court ordered to change their bail practices. A federal district judge on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction in a 2018 lawsuit … Continue reading →

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The Harris County bail lawsuit effect on Dallas County

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib looks to see if the recent Harris County bail lawsuit settlement might affect the bail lawsuit in Dallas County. “Anytime one county settles, it could possibly provide a roadmap for another county, but I can’t say that it … Continue reading →

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The Ike Dike debate continues

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more than one way to mitigate against flooding, and it may be best to adopt more than one of them. For about a decade, two of Texas’ top universities have pushed dueling plans to protect the Houston-Galveston region from … Continue reading →

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The Dutch way to mitigate against floods

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We can learn a lot from this largely-below-sea-level country. On a sunny Friday in late May, a jubilant wedding party scrambled to the top of a colossal sand dune in this tiny Dutch beach town for a photoshoot, bridesmaids’ arms … Continue reading →

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Schlitterbahn sold

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

End of an era, as another iconic family-owned Texas business is sold to a non-Texas firm. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts — which has dealt with a gruesome death, indictments and financial troubles in recent years — is selling a chunk … Continue reading →

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Another big flood would be bad

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Breaking news, but this is worth paying attention to. Housing sales would drop, gasoline prices would increase and Texas would lose hundreds of billions of dollars in economic output if a major storm struck an unprotected coastline, according to a … Continue reading →

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An overview on bail reform

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Mother Jones, a look at how bail reform is progressing in Harris County. I’m going to focus on the part about the second bail-related lawsuit, which covers felony arrests. A federal judge in Harris County is currently considering a … Continue reading →

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The red wolves of Galveston County

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. The coyotes Ron Wooten spotted on Galveston Island’s west end had eye-catching dark, reddish fur and long, slender builds. In the golden dusk of that July evening in 2013, about a dozen of the animals rested in what … Continue reading →

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Measles comes back to Houston

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We all vaccinated our kids, right? Five cases of measles have been confirmed in the greater Houston area, a regional cluster that makes Texas the eleventh state this year to report the highly contagious disease until recently thought virtually eliminated … Continue reading →

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Three times a lawsuit

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hat trick! A group of civil and voting rights organizations is suing the state’s chief election officers and local election officials in five counties, claiming Texas’ voter citizenship review efforts are unconstitutional because they intentionally target naturalized citizens and voters … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over bogus SOS advisory

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. A group of Latino voters is suing top state officials who they allege unlawfully conspired to violate their constitutional rights by singling them out for investigation and removal from the voter rolls because they are foreign-born. Filed … Continue reading →

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A trio of updates about that bogus SOS letter

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Most counties reacted skeptically, as well they should. The Texas Tribune reached out to 13 of the 15 counties with the most registered voters on Monday; Galveston was the only one that indicated it would immediately send out letters, even … Continue reading →

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Scooters come to Galveston

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still not in Houston, but getting closer. By the end of January, Galveston Island will be crawling with Crab…Scooters. Ryan O’Neal of Galveston said he expects to officially launch his new business Crab Scooters come late January or early February. … Continue reading →

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Ebola treatment progress

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. Texas scientists who developed an effective vaccine for the deadly Ebola virus are now reporting promising results with new medication to better treat full-blown cases of the disease. In a laboratory study published this week, researchers at … Continue reading →

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Bail lawsuit continues in Galveston County

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A lawsuit alleging that Galveston County’s cash bail system favors wealthier defendants will continue after a recent ruling by a U.S. district court judge. On Jan. 10, Judge George Hanks Jr. upheld Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison’s denial of the … Continue reading →

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How Dems took Hays County

Posted on December 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Three cheers for Texas State University. As the dust settles after last week’s election, the political identity of Hays County hangs in the balance: Is it red or blue? The rapidly growing Central Texas suburban county — Texas’ 22nd-largest by … Continue reading →

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Will we build the right Ike Dike?

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone thinks the best design was chosen. Jim Blackburn, a Rice professor and co-director of [Rice] university’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center, says the Corps’ initial Ike Dike study was incomplete because it did … Continue reading →

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The Courts of Appeals

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The other judicial races where Dems have a chance to gain ground. Republicans dominate Texas politics — but their stranglehold is especially noticeable in the courts. Republicans hold all 18 seats on the state’s two high courts. Of the state’s … Continue reading →

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We have an Ike Dike plan

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Now we need a plan to pay for it. A decade after Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that a more ambitious version of the proposed “Ike Dike” — a 70-mile-long … Continue reading →

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Army Corps to present Ike Dike options

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Later this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will recommend a multi-billion-dollar plan to help protect the Texas coast — the Houston area in particular — from hurricanes. When it will become a reality, however, is anyone’s … Continue reading →

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Galveston, ten years after Ike

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Overall things are better now, but not for everyone, and nothing can ever truly be the same as before. Galveston has a long and storied history dealing with epic storms, and the destruction Hurricane Ike wrought was no different — … Continue reading →

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Typhus in Galveston

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An infectious disease update for you. Typhus fever, a disease carried by fleas and once thought to be eradicated, is rearing its head in Galveston County, county health officials said on Monday. The Galveston County Health District reported that 18 … Continue reading →

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ACLU sues Galveston County over bail practices

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The ACLU of Texas, the ACLU and Arnold & Porter filed a federal class-action lawsuit today against Galveston County, Texas, for violating the constitutional rights of people arrested for misdemeanors and felonies. The lawsuit was brought against … Continue reading →

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Filing roundup: Outside Harris County

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A look at who filed for what on the Democratic side in the counties around Harris. These are all predominantly Republican counties, some more than others, so the Democrats are almost all challengers. On the flip side, there are many … Continue reading →

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Please don’t complain about the lack of an evacuation

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There are good reasons why there was not an evacuation order for the greater Houston area in advance of Harvey. Ultimately, mayors and county judges are charged with making such decisions. Leaders in Houston and Harris County told residents to … Continue reading →

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The rural/suburban tradeoff

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Martin Longman returns to a point he has been making about the way the vote shifted in the 2016 election. Let’s try to be clear about what we mean. Hillary Clinton won a lot of votes in the suburbs from … Continue reading →

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Abbott versus the cities

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing story. If Gov. Greg Abbott has disdain for how local Texas officials govern their cities, it didn’t show in a Wednesday sit-down with three mayors who were among 18 who jointly requested a meeting to discuss legislation that … Continue reading →

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Mayors to Abbott: Don’t mess with our cities

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck getting through. Less than 24 hours after Gov. Greg Abbott blasted local government restrictions like tree ordinances as a threat to the “Texas brand,” city government leaders statewide are seeking a meeting with the Republican leader. “We would … Continue reading →

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There is trouble with the trees

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More to the point, there is trouble with the idea that municipal tree ordinances are somehow a bad thing, but that’s where we are, and it’s got some folks worried. More than 40,000 trees were lost to [Hurricane] Ike, according … Continue reading →

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Busy hurricane season predicted

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to summer, y’all. The nation’s climate agency on Thursday predicted an above-normal 2017 hurricane season with 11 to 17 named storms, five to nine of them hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a 45 percent chance of … Continue reading →

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Galveston wants a bag ban

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. Reacting to a groundswell of concern about the effect of plastic bags on the environment, Galveston is on the forefront of a statewide controversy over cities’ ability to ban plastic bags that are killing turtles, birds and fouling … Continue reading →

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Climate change will not be kind to Houston

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It could be even worse, if that’s any consolation, but it will be bad as things are going now. Houston’s brutally hot summers, persistent humidity, floods and hurricanes never have been much of a selling point. It’s been something to … Continue reading →

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Statewide review: 2016 was like 2008, but not in a good way

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so I’ll just come out and say it: Despite the excitement about increases in voter registration and heavy early voting turnout. statewide Democratic candidates outside of Hillary Clinton generally did not do … Continue reading →

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Two Ike Dike updates

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ike Dike could be hidden by dunes: The “Ike Dike” that is being proposed to protect the Galveston-Houston area from a potentially catastrophic hurricane storm surge could take the form of undulating sand dunes hiding a steel or concrete core. … Continue reading →

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