Tag Archives: Houston

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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HCC International

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have questions. Houston may be its home, but leaders of the city’s community college have their sights set on the entire globe. In the fall 2025 semester, Houston Community College administrators will launch their new “Global Online College,” hoping … Continue reading →

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HCDE declines to censure Eric Dick

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Puzzling. The Harris County Department of Education board of trustees reversed course on censuring trustee Eric Dick Wednesday, one month after voting to propose a censure in the wake of a grievance hearing about his unpaid ethics fines. The board … Continue reading →

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Time for the annual Christmas tree recycling post

Posted on December 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the most wonderful post-Christmas Day post of the year. The City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) and Houston Parks and Recreation Department invite residents to recycle their live Christmas trees and contribute to a greener holiday season. … Continue reading →

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Recycle those Christmas lights

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Public service announcement: Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department has asked residents to recycle their discarded holiday lights in a very particular way. Instead of leaving them in a recycling bin, they are asked to bring them to either the Westpark … Continue reading →

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San Antonio gets more funds for its first BRT line

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. If only we had the same inclinations. San Antonio and Bexar County landed a $268 million federal grant to fund more than half the cost of the VIA Green Line, the Alamo City’s first-ever Advanced Rapid Transit … Continue reading →

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Replacing NRG Arena

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s gotta pay for it. If NRG Arena were a car, it would be totaled. A 2019 assessment commissioned by the county found the arena, where the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo holds its horse show and auctions every March, … Continue reading →

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HISD to add metal detectors at all high schools

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Inevitable, I suppose. Ridiculous, but inevitable. Houston ISD will introduce new weapons detection systems to its high school campuses in the spring semester after experiencing an uptick in confiscated weapons in the 2024-25 school year. More than 10 guns have … Continue reading →

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CenterPoint finds a use for those useless-to-us generators

Posted on December 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

San Antonio, here they come. A plan is in the works to partially relieve Houston-area ratepayers of CenterPoint Energy’s $800 million lease of controversial generators that have sat mostly unused during power outages. The bulk of the lease includes 15 large generators, … Continue reading →

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Who is all this Enron performance art for?

Posted on December 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea. The company that recently resurrected Enron’s fallen brand announced Friday it would host a “town hall” to address residents’ concerns after its CEO was allegedly targeted in a pie attack in New York. Despite the Chronicle’s … Continue reading →

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Expanding Metro’s micro-transit

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay fine, but show me the numbers. Metro will expand on-demand rides of its micro-transit to include services in Second Ward, Third Ward and downtown Houston through a partnership with the city of Houston and Evolve Houston. The expansion comes after … Continue reading →

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IAH Terminal E to be named for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fitting. City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution to rename a terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in honor of the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. The late congresswoman, who died in July from pancreatic cancer after representing … Continue reading →

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Expanding ETHAN

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds like a good idea. The city may spin off the Houston Fire Department’s emergency telemedicine program to a local government corporation in hopes of generating enough funding to support the initiative and, perhaps, even turn a profit. The city’s … Continue reading →

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One more eVTOL in Houston

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this story when it ran in September, but here it is now. It answered a few questions about how these things operate, which I liked. Lilium, a German aerospace company, debuted its electric vertical takeoff and landing jet … Continue reading →

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The HISD Board doesn’t want to hear it

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Curious move. Houston ISD’s board of managers signaled early support Tuesday for limiting the public’s ability to speak freely about any topic during its monthly board meetings. Board members voted 8-1 to advance a policy proposal that would eliminate a … Continue reading →

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Houston to get a pro volleyball team

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty cool. As far as professional volleyball goes, there isn’t much two-time Olympic medalist Micha Hancock hasn’t done. Hancock won gold with Team USA at the Tokyo Games and a silver medal at the Paris Games. She played professionally in Italy for … Continue reading →

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621 set to roll out

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Our newest area code will soon debut. Houston’s newest area code, 621, will officially launch on Jan. 23, 2025. The 621 will be the fifth area code associated with the Houston region, joining the quartet of 281, 346, 713, and … Continue reading →

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Metro to help fund HPD traffic enforcement

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A modest revision to an originally large plan. Metro Police Department will spend almost $50 million of its budget to partially fund the city’s traffic enforcement and street light operations in 2025, but that extra funding won’t have much impact … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sandie Haverlah of the Texas Consumer Association

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

You might have noticed that CenterPoint has been in the news a lot lately. There’s the various audits of its performance during Beryl and the derecho, proposed legislation to make it refund the money it spent (and charged to customers) … Continue reading →

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Gina Ortiz Jones joins the crowded field for San Antonio Mayor

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Former U.S. Air Force Under Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones, who has long been rumored as a potential 2025 mayoral contender, launched a campaign website this week. Jones served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force under the … Continue reading →

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Where to go to hail a flying taxi

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

To the vertiport, of course. Wisk Aero, an Advanced Air Mobility company and Boeing subsidiary aiming to bring self-flying air taxis to Southeast Texas by the end of the decade, has designed its potential initial routes for its service. A … Continue reading →

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HISD may do more school name changes

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Much has changed in Houston ISD in the 70 years since the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation in schools illegal. The district went through a years-long process to desegregate its campuses and, in recent decades, has … Continue reading →

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The I-45 project is officially underway

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Houston drivers are facing more than a dozen years of work on freeways in and around the central business district — at a cost that could come close to or exceed $6 billion. All that work, however, will … Continue reading →

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On landfills and methane

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

To the extent that we can, we should capture methane gas from landfills and use it for energy. Around 20 miles north of downtown Houston, seated between Interstate 69 and the Sam Houston Tollway, acres of pipeline weave through piles … Continue reading →

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The Ashby Highrise is getting close to being finished

Posted on December 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wow! Developers recently hit a key milestone in the construction of a high-rise apartment complex in Boulevard Oaks that sparked one of the fiercest land battles in Houston’s history, more than 17 years a high-rise on the site was initially … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead for Rep.-elect Sylvester Turner

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This article starts off with a look back at the career of former State Rep and Mayor, now US Rep-elect Sylvester Turner and his relationship with the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and then gets into what he will face … Continue reading →

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The HVAC and lighting effect

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

One of the main promises of the now-failed HISD bond referendum was funding to fix many issues with HVAC and lighting and other physical plant matters. In the aftermath of the bond’s failure, the Chron takes a look at the … Continue reading →

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Eric Dick keeps on Eric Dicking

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The man is a model of consistency, I’ll give him that much. Fresh off running unopposed for re-election to the Harris County Department of Education’s board of trustees, attorney Eric Dick may face disciplinary action after the rest of the … Continue reading →

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Houston hydrogen hub deal signed

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As Evan Mintz likes to say on that cursed microblogging site, good news for Houston. The U.S. Department of Energy signed a deal with energy developers Wednesday for the creation of a $1.2 billion clean hydrogen hub based in Houston. … Continue reading →

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Where that lack of trust in HISD comes from

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Exhibit A. Harvard Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Association welcomed its new principal, Sharon Pe Benito, and assistant principal, Molly Lashway, with cakes decorated in the school’s colors and “H” logo. The pair received gift cards to local restaurants as part of … Continue reading →

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Miles’ record on the HISD budget

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A closer look from the Houston Landing. In his first year, Houston ISD’s state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, ushered in several changes that sparked massive media attention and community pushback — but another important set of shake-ups took place largely behind … Continue reading →

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The next phase of the effort against homelessness

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Mayor John Whitmire stood Thursday afternoon on a stage in City Hall, alongside a screen with a bold proclamation. “In Mayor Whitmire’s first term, Houston can be the first major city to end street homelessness,” … Continue reading →

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