Yeah, COVID’s on the rise again

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in a much better place overall now, but do exercise caution and get your damn shots if you haven’t already.

COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere.

Infections are rising in Texas and Houston for the fourth summer in a row, with many hospitals reporting an uptick in admissions and wastewater data showing increasing viral load in all but five of the city’s 39 wastewater treatment plants. Texas Children’s Hospital also continues to see an elevated number of pediatric COVID patients.

While the virus may have receded to the back of Houstonians’ minds, and case increases no longer prompt calls for widespread behavior changes, COVID still threatens elderly people or those with underlying health conditions.

“I think for the general healthy population, this is not necessarily any cause for alarm,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine. However, people in active cancer treatment, people living with HIV and other patients with compromised immune systems still should be more cautious as numbers rise, he said.

Like past summers, experts point to a combination of travel and gatherings as key factors in the current rise. This year, however, unrelenting heat could be another explanation as more people are staying indoors, McDeavitt said.

The most recent data from the Texas Department of State Health Services for the week ending July 22 shows a nearly 70 percent increase in COVID cases statewide compared to the previous week. In that same time frame, hospitalizations rose 7 percent from 589 to 635.

Notably, COVID fatalities continue to drop statewide. Most Americans have some level of immunity, and therapies have improved. The number of weekly COVID deaths fell from 39 on June 3 to 11 on July 22, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Weekly COVID fatalities have not been this low in Texas since March 2020, according to the CDC.

[…]

Meanwhile, the amount of virus circulating in the city’s wastewater continues to rise. As of July 17, the viral load increased 105 percent over the previous three weeks.

In a statement, the Houston Health Department said that while wastewater levels are well below previous peaks, the agency is concerned about people who haven’t received the latest COVID vaccinations. The updated shots are tailored to the omicron variant lineages BA.4 and BA.5. Those strains are no longer in circulation, but the latest shot still offers better protection from hospitalization and death than the previous iterations, according to the CDC.

“Unfortunately, every month, we continue to see a small number of deaths in older people with underlying health conditions,” the health department said.

The Food and Drug Administration has advised drugmakers to update the COVID shots to target the predominant strain in the country, XBB.1.5, for a potential fall rollout.

Dr. Luis Ostrosky, a UTHealth Houston infectious disease expert affiliated with Memorial Hermann, anticipates an updated shot to become available in the fall every year, similar to the way flu shots are updated each year.

I’m just waiting for the word that it’s time for another shot. I’m not as consistent about it as I should be, but I’m back in the habit of masking when doing things like shopping or (as I did recently) jury duty. A little risk mitigation never hurts. Your Local Epidemiologist has more.

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Houston is a finalist for the 2028 RNC

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Whoopie.

Houston is a finalist to host the 2028 Republican National Convention and a decision is expected to be made later this month, officials with Houston First Corp. said Thursday.

The local government corporation, which markets and operates the city’s performing arts and convention centers, plans to bring a framework agreement before the City Council on Wednesday for approval, according to a statement from Houston First Corporation President and CEO Michael Heckman.

“Houston First hopes to have the opportunity to host this major, national event in our city which will bring tens of thousands of guests and considerable economic impact to our city,” Heckman wrote.

Miami and Nashville are the other two finalists, according to a Houston First spokeswoman.

If Houston is selected, the convention will take place in July or August 2028, and could attract as many as 50,000 people to the city, according to a 2022 letter supporting the bid by Heckman.

The convention primarily would be held at the Toyota Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center, according to Houston First.

See here, here, and here for some background. As I’ve said before, I don’t have any problem with Houston pursuing this, but that doesn’t mean I’m rooting for them to succeed. And if they do, I will make plans to be somewhere else when this goes down.

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Checking in on the sore loser election contest lawsuit

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a lot of the same old song.

Attorneys pored over Harris County voter records in a downtown courtroom Tuesday afternoon, arguing over the validity of thousands of ballots cast nearly nine months ago.

It was the first day in a high stakes election contest trial of GOP judicial candidate Erin Lunceford, who is challenging the race she lost in November to incumbent 189th District Judge Tamika Craft by 2,743 votes, an outcome she is aiming to overturn in court. Twenty other lawsuits filed by failed GOP candidates could hinge on whether Lunceford is successful.

In their bid to convince a judge to order a new election, Lunceford’s team has sifted through thousands of ballots looking for errors in which required information such as a signature, date or address is missing. Some ballots they are trying to throw out were cast by voters who filled out a statement of residence form because their current address does not match their voter registration address, such as those who recently moved.

[…]

The second half of Taylor’s strategy relies on thousands of votes he has argued should have been counted but weren’t — in other words, jelly beans that should be in the jar, but aren’t. The Lunceford team has claimed at least 29 polls turned away nearly 3,000 voters on Election Day due to either a lack of ballot paper or technical issues.

Victoria Williams, an election worker who ran the polling place at Spring First Church, told the court nearly 200 voters were turned away at her location when they ran out of paper. Those voters could have voted at any other precinct in the county, but it is not known how many went to another polling place or just went home.

“Just lack of ballot paper is enough evidence legally to support a new election,” Taylor argued.

Taylor offered the judge another reason why Lunceford is entitled to a new election: a judge extended voting by one additional hour on Election Day, at a time when some of the 782 polling locations did not have ballot paper.

In response, Haynes slammed Taylor for changing his focus over the past several months away from the ballot paper shortage to the thousands of votes Taylor says were cast illegally, accusing Taylor of including “everything but the kitchen sink in their pleadings.”

Craft’s attorneys used emails from the Harris County GOP to portray party leadership as a group of “so-called election experts” who were looking for “ammo” before the election even happened.

One of those emails promising “ammo” was sent by Alan Vera, a longtime GOP activist who died in May at the Texas Capitol before testifying on election legislation.

The defense also pointed to an email sent by Sartaj Bal, another GOP judicial candidate contesting his election, when Bal was questioning whether they would have enough evidence to justify filing the lawsuits.

“It’s game over unless and until we have admissible evidence in our possession — going to need more than affidavits for proving up a case at trial,” Bal wrote. “As of right now we have mere allegations and a lawsuit.”

“Again, we have zero admissible evidence in our possession at this time and in my opinion it’s game over until we do — if we ever do,” Bal added.

Ultimately, the defense argued Tuesday that Lunceford’s team plans to overwhelm the court with numerous theories and alleged experts, opening the door for future lawsuits from candidates who lose by nearly 3,000 votes.

See here for the background. It’s the usual bullshit from professional bullshitter Andy Taylor who would like you to think that because some people had a different address on their drivers license than on their voter registration – a situation that can be easily remedied, as noted above – the entire election must be thrown out and redone. Never mind that he has no idea how any of those voters may have voted. He’s just throwing up chaff. And those of you who might have thought that the mattress salesman was going swoop in with thousands of affidavits from vote-denied Republicans, well, you have the words of one of the losing candidates right there. There’s also this, from reporter Jen Rice:

I remain hopeful that there will be a favorable verdict in this trial, and then the rest will go away because they were far less close than this race. And then may we never hear the name of that loser in the Harris County Judge race again.

UPDATE: Here’s the Chron story by Jen Rice that the Twitter thread is based on. When all of your “experts” are admitting on the stand that they have no actual qualifications and are often wrong…that’s bad, right?

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Special ed is part of the HISD takeover, too

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that fixing special education was also part of the TEA takeover mandate for HISD. How’s that going so far? Well, the parents of the special ed kids say they’re not seeing much of anything as yet.

For years, HISD families have struggled with persistent dysfunction in the district’s special education department. Multiple outside reviews over the past 15 years, including a state investigation in 2020, have documented extensive issues with HISD’s process of identifying, testing and serving students with disabilities.

Now, parents like Ramón are anxiously following along as new HISD Superintendent Mike Miles outlines his plans for the state’s largest school district, awaiting word on how his strategy might improve a special education system they see as broken.

In his first two months on the job, Miles has unveiled broad strokes of a strategy for better serving students with disabilities: raising some special education teachers’ pay, adding more aides to classrooms, tying principal evaluations to special education-related results and putting central office administrators closer to classrooms.

“Special education teachers have too much to do,” Miles said. “We’re not waving a wand and fixing special education, but we’re going to move in the right direction.”

But with the first day of school less than a month away, some parents and advocates say they’re still in the dark on details — and worried about what little they have heard.

Angelica Medrano, who spent 12 years as a special education teacher and administrator in HISD and runs a business advocating for families, said none of her roughly 50 clients in the district have a clear picture of how Miles’ plans will affect their children. The same goes for teachers she knows in HISD.

“Everything that I’ve heard from other parents, and even teachers, (is) there really has been no communication about what the plan is with special education,” Medrano said.

Meanwhile, the district’s plan to send students who disrupt class or disrespect adults to learn virtually on laptops in a separate space, commonly known as “Zoom rooms,” has alarmed families. They argue the punitive approach to discipline is ableist and out-of-touch.

“There’s just no understanding of disability,” Ramón said.

[…]

For now, Miles’ special education plans largely focus on teacher pay and staffing.

Special education teachers at 28 lower- and middle-income schools will see raises bringing their salaries to $85,000 to $92,000. Most of those educators made about $60,000 to $70,000 last year.

In addition, Miles plans to add assistants to special education classrooms at those 28 campuses and another 57 schools that have opted into the superintendent’s plans for changes. The aides will help handle paperwork and oversee compliance with students’ learning plans, Miles has said.

Miles added that he’s also shuffling around central office positions and placing special education directors at regional offices, closer to the campuses they oversee.

“We are pushing the special ed services oversight … closer to the schools,” Miles said. “Supports will be able to focus on the schools in their feeder patterns.”

For some parents, however, communication with the community has been poor.

Miles typically devotes one PowerPoint slide to special education during his 10-stop “family events” tour of the district, which wraps up this week.

During a community meeting Saturday at West Briar Middle School, Prather asked Miles a question about special education programs at magnet schools. In what some parents say has become a familiar pattern, the inquiry “wasn’t answered, period,” Prather said.

Prather said she’s concerned none of the changes Miles has specified include additional training for educators on individualized education programs, or IEP, the legally mandated plan for every student in special education. In Prather’s experience, some HISD educators “don’t even know how to read an IEP,” she said.

To Ramón, the Arabic Immersion Magnet School parent, it’s exasperating to see Miles rolling out drastic changes without allowing families to give meaningful feedback.

“Historically, the district has made sweeping changes to (special education) without parental input and that’s what’s gotten them into hot water,” Ramón said. “And this seems to be happening again.”

Miles acknowledged that he has not yet met directly with special education families in HISD, but said he would be “happy to do that.”

See here for some background. As I said before, I have no personal experience here, but HISD’s problems with special ed are well known and longstanding. The TEA has also struggled for a long time to adequately provide special ed services, so there’s a certain amount of skepticism here going in. Be that as it may, while it’s too early to evaluate what Mike Miles may have in mind, there are two themes we can see: the continued poor communication with stakeholders, and a non-political community that does not like the plan for libraries, for their own reasons. Maybe now would be a good time for Mike Miles to fulfill his promise to meet with these parents and their children and hear what they have to say. I look forward to the followup story after that happens.

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More requests for DOJ asked to investigate shady migrant flights

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Massachusetts gets aboard.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois is officially joining hands with California and Texas officials who have asked US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to help  investigate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s scheme to transport immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard “by means of fraud, deceit, and/or inveiglement.”

In a letter to the Justice Department Monday — less than 48 hours after DeSantis was met on Cape Cod with a public protest during a day of fund-raising — Galibois said because of the “interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution.”

“Therefore, I stand behind and support a request made to you on July 6… to open federal criminal and civil investigations into these incidents,” Galibois wrote.

In September, DeSantis — who has since launched a bid for president and attended two campaign events last weekend in New England — sent two planeloads of migrants from Texas to the Vineyard in what was widely considered a surprise political stunt. Last month, similar flights landed in Sacramento, with the DeSantis administration also ultimately taking credit.

In July, a Texas sheriff and California officials asked the Justice Department to investigate the transport of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard and Sacramento in the past nine months as part of DeSantis’s migrant “relocation” program.

In his letter, Galibois said he plans to begin his own investigation by reviewing the interviews conducted by first responders shortly after the migrants deplaned on Martha’s Vineyard. Galibois asked federal law enforcement for help obtaining “certified translations and transcriptions of these interviews.”

“These interviews, coupled with other obtained evidence, would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation is warranted,” he wrote. “As elected law enforcement and public officials from California to Texas have noted, it is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations.”

DeSantis is already facing a federal suit from September brought by Massachusetts group Lawyers for Civil Rights. However, the group’s executive director, Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, said there is room for law enforcement at the county, state, and federal levels to further investigate.

“In rounding up the migrants, putting them on planes and shipping them to Martha’s Vineyard, a panoply of civil and criminal regulations have been violated,” he said, adding that the attorney general and Justice Department have both been “noticeably quiet” on their response to the issue.

State Attorney General Andrea Campbell told the Globe Friday her office will continue to work in partnership with federal, state, and local officials “to hold accountable those who violate the rights of our residents and visitors.” A spokesman confirmed her office has already met with Galibois to discuss the migrant crisis.

While Galibois has the authority to bring criminal charges against DeSantis and his administration, attorneys say both Campbell and the Justice Department also have the authority to investigate the Florida politician for both civil and criminal violations.

“As an issue that crosses state lines, the radar should turn on for the Department of Justice,” immigration attorney Giselle Rodriguez told the Globe, adding that the potential criminal charges are also severe enough to warrant the state attorney general’s involvement.

See here for the background. Hey, people are saying that ol’ Meatball Ron could stand to rack up a few indictments to help his flailing Presidential campaign. I’m not normally one to favor anything that helps Republican candidates, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Politico and the Current have more.

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Ken Paxton’s long-awaited first day in court

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Literally years in the making.

A crook any way you look

Impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton moved a small step closer to trial Thursday on long-delayed felony securities fraud charges, though both sides agreed his Senate impeachment trial looms large as a factor.

Meeting briefly in a Houston courtroom with a new judge in the case, defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed Thursday to return Oct. 6 to deal with pending motions and set a trial date for the 2015 charges alleging that Paxton violated state securities laws in private business deals earlier in the decade.

“At some point it has to come to an end,” special prosecutor Brian Wice told reporters afterward. “I think today was the first step in a journey of a thousand miles to make sure that justice ultimately comes to be.”

Paxton attended the short pretrial setting before state District Judge Andrea Beall. He sat in the front row but did not speak.

Another special prosecutor, Kent Schaffer, said he anticipated a trial date “probably early in the winter, probably around February.” But both sides agreed they needed to first see the result of Paxton’s impeachment trial before the state Senate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he expects the trial, set to begin Sept. 5, will take up to three weeks.

“I think the consensus was we figure out what happens at the impeachment trial and we go from there,” Paxton lawyer Dan Cogdell told reporters afterward. “Either way, we’ll be back here in early October.”

If Paxton loses the impeachment trial — and is permanently removed as attorney general — he is more likely to seek a quicker resolution in the securities case, both sides agreed.

[…]

The judge, Beall, required Paxton to appear for Thursday’s hearing. Cogdell said he was fine with that, noting Paxton’s “not special.” But Paxton used a special entrance to access the courtroom, which Cogdell said he advised Paxton to do because of the gag order barring comments on the impeachment trial.

Speaking with reporters after the minutes-long hearing, both sides agreed that the outcome of the impeachment trial could affect the securities fraud case.

“Logically, if Ken prevails, we’ll go forward,” Cogdell said. “If Ken loses, that’s a kill shot to his political career, so it opens the door to a resolution that’s not open right now.”

Asked what that resolution could be, Cogdell replied, “Dismissal, settlement, resolution — who knows.”

Another wrinkle could be the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether Paxton abused his power to help Paul. Cogdell told the judge he understands the investigation is “ongoing” but told reporters afterward he thinks it “will go nowhere at the end of the day because I’m familiar with the facts.”

Regardless, both sides were pleased the case appeared to be finally moving again — and the courtroom appearance was full of playful reminders. When Beall noted this was the oldest case on her docket, one of the lawyers feigned surprise. And while discussing discovery, one of the prosecutors said the case is so old that when they previously turned over evidence, it was on CDs.

See here for the background. As a reminder, in between the impeachment trial and the next hearing in the securities fraud trial, Paxton will also be dealing with his State Bar disciplinary lawsuit, for which there will be a hearing. Sleep well these next few weeks, asshole.

The Chron adds on.

The hearing Thursday was mostly procedural, and both sides agreed to return Oct. 6 to discuss pre-trial matters, including an ongoing dispute over how much special prosecutors are being paid. Special prosecutors Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer predicted the case could finally go to trial in the winter, though one of Paxton’s defense attorneys said a removal vote could prompt them to agree to a settlement.

[…]

The prosecutor pay issue will still need to be resolved before the case can get going in earnest. The debate centers on how much they ought to be paid and whether Harris County or Collin County taxpayers will be on the hook.

In another sign of how a Harris County setting could make a difference, Beall made clear Thursday that she believed Collin County taxpayers are responsible. She also said she would settle that matter in a private meeting with prosecutors, cutting defense attorneys out of the discussion entirely despite their pleas for “transparency” around the issue.

And back to the Trib on this matter, which was as much a cause for delay as the venue question was:

It dates back to the early months of the case in 2015, when Paxton lawyers challenged the $300-an-hour fee — approved by the judge in the case — as excessive but were unsuccessful. A Paxton supporter, Jeff Blackard, followed with a lawsuit arguing that Collin County was paying the prosecutors too much, and county commissioners balked at the fee arrangement and voted against paying the prosectors.

The issue eventually reached the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which in 2018 struck down the fee agreement, ruling that it violated state law and Collin County rules — but the court also ordered a new payment schedule to be adopted that complies with the law.

In 2019, the prosecutors filed a motion asking the Harris County court to set a payment plan in accordance with the ruling, but that motion has languished without resolution.

On Thursday, Wice noted that the prosecutors had not been paid since January 2016. He said they were “cautiously optimistic” that the issue would be resolved at the Oct. 6 hearing.

I genuinely look forward to the day when Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer present a ginormous bill for their services to Collin County. My only regret is that Rep. Keith Self, the former Collin County Judge who abetted this scheme to defund the special prosecutors, won’t be there to take his share of responsibility for it. It will still be sweet. Texas Monthly and the Press have more.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lawsuit filed against anti-drag bill

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The lawsuit count increases again.

Obviously a pervert

LGBTQ+ Texans and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new state law that criminalizes some drag shows — and other performances — if they occur in front of children.

Senate Bill 12, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, originally sought to classify all drag shows as sexual performances, but it was dramatically altered throughout the regular legislative session. The version the Legislature eventually approved criminalizes performers that put on sexually explicit shows in front of children as well as any businesses that host those shows.

But it’s how the law defines sexually explicit behavior that spurred the lawsuit.

The complaint argues that SB 12’s language is overly broad, allowing for too much discretion for police, prosecutors and municipalities to decide what is or is not illegal.

“In its zeal to target drag, the Legislature passed a bill so yawning in scope that it criminalizes and restricts an enormous swath of constitutionally protected activity,” says the lawsuit, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “The State has threatened the livelihood and free expression of many Texans.”

Under the law, business owners would face a $10,000 fine for hosting sexually explicit performances in which someone is nude or appeals to the “prurient interest in sex.” Performers caught violating the proposed restriction could be slapped with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Texas, argue that SB 12 violates the First and 14th Amendments because the law “discriminates against the content and viewpoints of performances and imposes prior restraint on free expression.”

According to The Dallas Morning News, attorneys who have reviewed the bill say it could end up criminalizing behavior common at everything from Pride parades to bachelorette parties.

The bill classifies the use of “accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics,” accompanied with sexual gesticulations as sexual conduct.

[…]

Other plaintiffs are The Woodlands Pride, Abilene PRIDE Alliance, Extragrams LLC and 360 Queen Entertainment LLC.

They are suing the interim Attorney General of Texas, the district attorneys of Travis, Montgomery, and Bexar counties, The City of Abilene, Woodland Township, Montgomery County and Taylor County.

See here for some background and here for the ACLU’s statement. This one was on my list; as noted in that post, a similar law in Tennessee was ruled unconstitutional a few weeks ago. As is pretty much always the case with these bills, they are broad, vague, and harsh, which are three conditions not often compatible with the First Amendment. And also as always, we await to see what the courts, including the depraved Fifth Circuit, makes of this. PBS has more.

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Dispatches from Dallas, August 4 edition

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.

This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have another grab bag: Texans, and specifically North Texans, with J6 arrests and convictions; the return of Matt Krause; legislative business about “street takeovers” and period product tax; are Dallas ordinances dealing with prostitution and panhandling constitutional?; how we’re doing in Dallas with scooters; Pee-Wee Herman’s Alamo connection (RIP); Dallas Mavericks Barbie; and a new breed of avocados is working its way to our grocery stores.

This week’s post was brought to you by the music of Culture Club and Howard Jones, whom I will be seeing next week, and you should too if you’re in a town where they’re playing.

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: HISD

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2
City of Houston, part 3
City of Houston, part 4
City of Houston, part 5

January finance reports for HISD trustees are here. There is now a 2023 Trustee Elections page, which contains links to the finance reports for challengers to the incumbents, but not the incumbents themselves. You have to search the site for each incumbent’s name to find their individual finance reports. There’s no longer an index page that contains all of the elected Trustees’ names and bios and links to past finance reports – the “Board” page is a blank and the “Meet the School Board” page is all about the appointed Managers. That’s fine, but I object to the elected Trustees being memory-holed like this. They’re still elected officials, they’re still required to file finance reports, which we now have to go hunting for to find, and the fact that their opponents’ reports are in plain view while theirs aren’t is Not Cool. I expect this is somewhere between an oversight and a lack of interest on the part of whoever is maintaining this website right now – are we sure they didn’t get purged in the admin office firings? – and all I can say is that we deserve better.

I’m just going with the Trustees who are up for election and the opponents that are listed on that 2023 Election page.

Kathy Blueford-Daniels – Dist II
Dani Hernandez – Dist III
Fe Bencosme – Dist III
Patricia Allen – Dist IV
Meg Seff – Dist IV
Judith Cruz – Dist VIII
Plácido Gomez – Dist VIII


Dist  Candidate     Raised      Spent     Loan     On Hand
==========================================================
II    B-Daniels        700        700    2,000       1,689
III   Hernandez      2,000          5        0       4,160
III   Bencosme       5,583      4,230        0       1,353
IV    Allen              0          0        0           0
IV    Seff             225      3,144    4,000           ?
VIII  Cruz               0        199        0         946
VIII  Gomez          8,685        342        0       8,342

Kathy Blueford-Daniels’ report listed $700 in contributions on the cover sheet, but no money taken in on the subtotals page. Of the $700 she spent, $250 was from contributions and the rest was from personal funds.

Fe Bencosme is the challenger to Dani Hernandez, and I have more than a little side-eye for her. On a practical level, her finance report does not list the address or occupation of any of her donors, which is a violation of campaign finance law. She has an expenditure of $164 for car magnets to an outfit called “Country Gone Crazy”, which again is a side-eye moment. Her website lists “Parental Rights” as one of its top priorities, and we all know what that means in this context. Three strikes, you’re out. If you’re in HISD District III, please remember to vote for Dani Hernandez.

Also, and I only noticed this on a second look, the $5,583 she lists as contributions are monetary contributions. On her subtotal page she lists another $1,105 in in-kind contributions. That should have been added into the total on her cover page. The Chron did its story on candidates who didn’t file finance reports before, and that’s all well and good, but we need someone to take a more comprehensive look at candidates who just fill out the damn form all wrong.

Meg Seff is a white lady running in a predominantly Black district. Her photo on her website, which appears twice, shows her in front of a “KHOU11 Stands For Houston” image. I’m going to assume that KHOU has not endorsed her campaign and probably is not aware that she is using their advertising imagery on her website in that fashion. She also has “Parental Rights” as an issue, so, you know. The cover page of her finance report says she took in $225, spent $3,144, has $225 cash on hand, and $3,144 in loans. Her Subtotals page shows that she has a $4,000 loan, spent the $3,144 out of personal funds – there’s a category for “Expenditures made by credit card” ($721 for her) and “Political expenditures made from personal funds” ($2,288). The distinction here is not clear to me, and I’ll bet it’s not clear to her as well – the “expenditures made by credit card” slot is one I rarely see filled in and it has the feel of a legacy category to me. If you know better, please feel free to enlighten us. In any event, if I am reading this correctly, she has $4K in loans and spent another $3,144 from her own money. Be that as it may, vote for Patricia Allen.

Like the other two challengers to incumbents, Plácido Gomez is a teacher (the other two are former teachers), but that’s where the similarities end. Gomez talks about the HISD takeover and how the election of The Former Guy affected his mostly-immigrant students; this in turn led him to be a volunteer for the Beto campaign in 2018, and there’s a picture of him with Beto on his bio page. The first contribution listed for his campaign came from Karthik Soora. I like Judith Cruz and think she’s done a fine job, but Plácido Gomez also gets a thumbs-up from me, and if for whatever the reason Cruz decides not to run again, he’s exactly the kind of person you’d want to step in.

I have one more set of reports to go through, for HCC candidates. Please use this as a reminder that we are still voting for HISD Trustees this November. They may not have any real power for the next two to six years, but they still matter. And we damn sure want to return good Trustees back to power when their time comes, and not any “parental rights” puppets. Do not forget about these elections.

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ken Paxton has a day in court today

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Now he gets to deal with those almost-decade-old state securities fraud charges against him. And we may even get a trial date!

A crook any way you look

All eyes will be on the Harris County Criminal Courthouse when impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears before a judge in Houston. Paxton ordered to show up in person at a hearing in the long-delayed felony securities fraud case against him.

The criminal case against Paxton has been going on for eight years. The three-county felony indictment came down in 2015 in north Texas. Now, eight years later and after many delays about venue, the case is moving forward exactly where Paxton didn’t want it to.

“There’s nothing about this case that’s normal,” KHOU legal analyst Carmen Roe said. “This will be the first time Kenneth Paxton has ever shown up on a regular docket at 9 a.m. with every other criminal defendant in the building.”

With an impeachment trial in Austin looming, Paxton is now ordered to appear in person before Harris County Judge Andrea Beall. Roe says the judge is sending a message.

“The fact this newly elected Democratic judge is insisting on his presence in person on Thursday means that this case is going to move forward at a much higher rate of speed than in the past,” Roe said.

Paxton is facing three felony counts for failing to register as a securities adviser and allegedly persuading two investors to buy at least $100,000 worth of stock in the tech company Severgy without disclosing he would be paid for it.

He turned himself in in 2015.

“There’s no question that this criminal trial will be much more serious for Kenneth Paxton in regards to consequences,” Roe said. “The idea of losing his job is one thing. The idea of going to state prison is quite a different thing.”

[…]

“He’s going to be facing a trial date here in Harris County,” said Roe. “Whether or not he’s impeached will be a gamechanger for this trial.”

In June, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Paxton’s trial would be here in Harris County, ending a multi-year journey of claims and appeals that began with the original change of venue from Collin County. Paxton himself did all the initial fighting in this, with the special prosecutors picking it up later to keep the trial here. There was a quote in a non-paywalled early version of a Statesman story about this from one of his defense attorneys that grumbled about how long this whole process has taken, and it was a good thing I wasn’t consuming any food or drink when I read that because I would have choked. I feel pretty confident at this point that the prosecutors are ready anytime now.

Anyway. This hearing will be short, my guess is most likely to just set the agenda for what is to come. I’m so ready for something to happen here. Reform Austin has more.

UPDATE: Here’s the Trib story about this.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gag order? What gag order?

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It doesn’t count if I’m fundraising, right?

A crook any way you look

Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is fundraising off his upcoming impeachment trial and characterizing the rare political event in a way that appears to be a direct violation of the gag order established by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last month.

In a fundraising email sent late Tuesday afternoon, Paxton is asking for contributions while framing next month’s trial as “illegal”.

“By preceding [sic] with this illegal impeachment scheme to overturn a decision from Texas voters just a few short months ago, the corrupt politicians in the Texas House [of Representatives] are demonstrating that blind loyalty to Speaker Dade Phelan is more important that upholding their oath of office,” the fundraising email states.

It was sent from Ken Paxton’s website – kenpaxton.com.

But Lt. Gov. Patrick has condemned Paxton’s own attorneys for using such language to describe the impeachment trial.

According to Patrick’s gag order established on July 17, anyone who is “party to the trial of impeachment… shall not furnish any statement or information… [that] will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the trial of impeachment.”

[…]

Paxton’s attorney for the upcoming impeachment trial said his client is doing nothing wrong.

“Attorney General Paxton and his campaign committee are in full compliance with all orders from the senate,” Tony Buzbee, a Paxton attorney, said in a statement to WFAA.

Patrick’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether Paxton’s characterization of the impeachment as “illegal” and “a kangaroo court” violates the gag order for prejudicial and inflammatory language.

See here for more on the gag order. I dunno, I’m just a simple country blogger, but that all sure sounds “inflammatory” to me. The one person who can say for sure is Dan Patrick. Anytime you want to fill us in, Danno, we’re ready to hear it.

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 31

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with Professor Joy Alonzo as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 5

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2
City of Houston, part 3
City of Houston, part 4

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This is at long last the end of the city of Houston finance reports. This post looks at the outgoing incumbents, the former candidates, and a couple of PACs of interest.


Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
======================================================
Turner           23,207    110,223        0    760,761
Brown                 0      4,624   75,000     24,691
Kubosh           45,350     60,607  161,815     48,724
Cisneros              0      1,577        0     29,551
Knox              1,200      6,480        0      8,468
Robinson            500     20,785        0    249,362

Edwards         187,710    982,396        0    245,769
GarzaLindner      5,010      9,464        0          0
Laster                0      1,254        0    147,138

HGAC Area PAC    94,697    102,972        0     18,808
ProtectServePAC 157,808    168,398        0     60,017

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

For the outgoing incumbents, the main question is what will they do with their remaining cash. For most of them, I expect they’ll gradually spend it down – they have several years to disburse all those funds – and at some point will disappear from the system. Mike Laster, whose term ended in 2019, is the longest-lasting person on this list. As for Mayor Turner and CM David Robinson, one might reasonably wonder if they have another campaign for something else in them. I don’t think it will be anything in 2024 – and I swear, if I see one more article speculating about Mayor Turner running for US Senate next year I’ll scream – but it’s not out of the question. They wouldn’t have to resign at this point in their term in order to run. I don’t see it happening, but it’s not impossible.

Mike Knox is of course running for Sheriff next year. He hasn’t raised much money for it, and doesn’t have much to give from his existing account. He didn’t have much in his January report. I dunno, maybe this suggests his decision to run for Sheriff was a very recent one.

One way that a soon-to-be-former officeholder can dispense of unneeded campaign funds can be seen in Janette Garza Lindner’s report; she is now on the HISD Board of Managers and abandoned her campaign for District H when she was appointed. After paying her remaining expenses, the leftover cash was split into three equal donations, to Kids Meals, Inc; BARC Houston; and the United Way. Charitable or non-profit donations are allowed for campaign funds.

Amanda Edwards spent most of that total you see on refunds to donors to her Mayoral campaign. At least, that’s what it looked like to me. I assume the rest of that cash will go the same way – these things can take time. She’s doing fine without those prior donations.

The Houston-Galveston Area PAC was and is the campaign to put the Fair for Houston proposition on the ballot. I presume it will continue to exist to raise and spend money to get that passed as well. I’m not aware of any organized opposition at this time. We’ll see what the 30 day reports tell us.

The Protect and Serve PAC says it is in support of the John Whitmire campaign. You can draw your own conclusions from there.

That’s a wrap on the city campaign finance reports for July. Let me know what you think.

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Is impeachment criminal or civil?

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It makes a difference.

A crook any way you look

As we move close to the historic impeachment trial of the state’s top prosecutor, a major question for those involved is whether the proceedings Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces are criminal or civil.

A criminal designation would have major impact on Paxton’s trial and a legal filing made public Friday indicated Paxton and the House managers prosecuting him are at odds over the issue. Declaring it a criminal trial would afford Paxton the same legal protections of a defendant facing jail time.

The fundamental nature of the impeachment trial has emerged as possibly the most important legal contention between Paxton and House managers leading up to his Sept. 5 impeachment trial.

Paxton, the first statewide elected official impeached in Texas in more than 100 years, has filed multiple motions arguing his upcoming impeachment trial is a criminal proceeding, a designation that would prevent prosecutors from calling him to the stand and could lead to several articles of impeachment against him being quashed.

In pretrial court documents published Friday, the House managers representing the chamber that voted overwhelmingly to impeach the attorney general gave a terse reply: “Mr. Paxton is wrong.

[…]

Paxton’s filings show he has some legal precedent on his side. They include references to the 1917 impeachment trial of Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson, the last statewide official impeached.

“In Texas, an impeachment trial is legally considered a criminal proceeding,” Paxton argues in a motion to prevent prosecutors from calling him to the stand.

“Although it may proceed in part on allegations broader than those recognized under Texas’s criminal laws, our Constitution recognizes that an impeachment does not seek civil redress on behalf of a plaintiff; it is an action by the State to punish an alleged wrongdoer.”

However, some impeachment experts disagree with Paxton’s characterization of an impeachment trial as a criminal proceeding.

“It plainly is not a criminal proceeding,” said Frank O. Bowman III, a law professor at the University of Missouri who studies American impeachment.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Michael Gerhardt said the crux of the issue is whether a conviction would result in imprisonment. In Texas law, like federal law, the penalty for being convicted under articles of impeachment is removal from office and a possible disqualification from serving in the future.

“The sanctions that result from a conviction in Texas do not include imprisonment or execution,” said Gerhardt, an impeachment expert and law professor. “No criminal punishments, therefore, it’s not a criminal proceeding.”

Gerhardt said impeachment trials fall in a gray area outside of criminal and civil trials. He characterized them as political.

“This is really a political proceeding in which political authorities are exercising this unique power to punish other political figures,” he said.

“It’s not meant to be pejorative, it’s meant to be descriptive of the unique aspects of the proceeding,” he added.

[…]

Patrick likely will not make a ruling until Sept. 5, when the trial begins. A committee that created rules for the trial will also review the issue and make a recommendation by Aug. 28. Patrick could also choose to ask for a Senate vote on the issue.

It is unclear how any would rule, but the Senate has shown in at least one instance its intention to treat Paxton’s impeachment as a criminal matter. In impeachment rules adopted in June, the Senate set the criminal standard for the burden of proof for conviction to “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The University of Missouri’s Bowman said the threshold for conviction does not necessarily make it a criminal trial. The bar for conviction will remain a decision each senator will make on their own, he said.

“The real truth of it is that every senator is the judge of what the burden of proof should be,” he said.

I guess I must have some lawyerly instincts, because the “not really criminal or civil” notion occurred to me as well. The key question here is whether Paxton can be made to testify. Of course, Paxton via his attorneys have been screaming about how he was silenced and never given a chance to speak while the House was doing its thing, and here he is now saying “you can’t make me talk”. How much of that cake do you have left after scarfing it all down? Lawyers gotta do what lawyers gotta do, and I for one would not want to put a guy like that on the stand. It doesn’t mean we can’t mock him for it.

The House prosecutors’ response is here. As with motion-to-dismiss-a-thon, the real main character here is Dan Patrick. He has a huge impact on these proceedings, and I’m sure he knows it. Like I said before, we’ll know quickly if this is going to be drawn out or over before we know it. Until then, speculate away.

Posted in Legal matters, Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The bookstores’ view of the book rating lawsuit

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some useful context from one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit challenging a new “book rating” law.

When Valerie Koehler bought Blue Willow Bookshop, she wanted to offer an expansive selection of children’s books.

“We made it our mission to have a robust children’s section, so we’re half kids, half adults,” Koehler said. “Not a very common business model for most bookstores, but it works for us.”

Her children were in grade school when she started running the roughly 1,200-square-foot bookstore in 1996. Over the years, she realized that to be profitable, she would have to sell to more than in-store customers. She worked with area school districts — now numbering 21 — to sell books to them, help organize author visits and provide book giveaways to students.

But a Texas law set to take effect Sept. 1 could jeopardize her ability to serve school districts, Koehler said. It will require school library booksellers to identify books, including those written for teens, that are “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant,” and those books rated “sexually explicit” would be banned from schools. The law also requires booksellers to identify such books sold to school districts in the past.

[…]

Independent booksellers say the law will require them to allocate employees, money and time to reading and rating every one of their books potentially sold to school districts. Booksellers also say they may not have records showing the contents of every book sold over several decades.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Koehler said. “It is untenable. It’s not something a small business, even a large business, could do.”

See here for the background. This story had a link to an earlier Chron story from when the bill would pass that said it would affect some 300 independent bookstores around the state. Where’s the Texas Association of Business when you really need them?

The Austin Chronicle had a story of its own from the day the lawsuit was filed.

On BookPeople’s HB 900 FAQ page, CEO Charley Rejsek writes, “Setting aside for the moment the fact that this law is clearly unconstitutional, booksellers do not see a clear path forward to rating the content of the thousands of titles sold to schools in the past, nor the thousands of titles that are published each year that could be requested by a school for purchase, neither do we have the training nor funding needed to do so.” Rejsek told the Statesman that the workload created by the law is “bad for small business”: Small independent bookstores simply don’t have the resources to review every book a school orders, which she fears would affect the business they could do with local schools.

Furthermore, the definitions of “sexually relevant” and “sexually explicit” are so vague as to be impossible for booksellers to determine. The plaintiffs point out that the definition of “sexual conduct” in the penal code seemingly encompasses any sexual-related topic, which they fundamentally oppose, as the subjective standards restrict students’ access to knowledge. The book ban does exempt material “related to the curriculum,” but there is no statewide standard for curriculum, so “it would be unclear what is ‘related to’ it,” the plaintiffs write.

The law defines “sexually explicit material” as anything “sexually relevant” presented “in a way that is patently offensive,” as defined by the penal code, which requires plaintiffs to determine whether a book is “so offensive on its face as to affront current community standards of decency.” Plaintiffs ask, which community’s standards? Is it “based on Austin, Texas, or Onalaska, Texas – or any of the more than 1,200 incorporated municipalities across Texas”? The law would also require booksellers to recall all “sexually explicit” or “relevant” books they have already sold to schools, placing additional administrative burden on them.

[…]

Ultimately, writes Rejsek, “booksellers should not be put in the position of broadly determining what best serves all Texan communities. Each community is individual and has different needs. Setting local guidelines is not the government’s job either. It is the local librarian’s and teacher’s job, in conjunction with the community they serve.”

Just a note here that the two authors of this bill were Sen. Angela Paxton, who is up for election next year in a moderately competitive district and who also believes that there should be absolutely no exceptions to Texas’ abortion law, and Rep. Jared Patterson, who is also in a moderately competitive district and who filed a ton of obnoxious bills like this one this past session. You want to channel some energy into electoral activism, there are two good avenues for you right there. In the meantime, let’s hope for a good ruling in the courts.

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Paxton’s lawyers seek to dismiss most impeachment charges

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re defense lawyers, it’s what they do.

A crook any way you look

Lawyers for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton requested Monday that all but one of 20 articles of impeachment be dismissed, arguing his removal would “override the will of the people” who elected him with knowledge of his alleged misconduct.

In a separate filing to the court of impeachment, Paxton’s team also requested that his trial before the Texas Senate exclude any evidence of “any alleged conduct” that occurred prior to January 2023, when his third term in office began.

The second filing — which comes as all parties are under a strict gag order barring most public comment on the proceedings and evidence — also blasted the House impeachment managers as “aggressive, reckless and misleading” with “little to no evidence whatsoever” to support their allegations against Paxton.

In their motion to dismiss, Paxton’s lawyers argued that almost all of the allegations outlined by House investigators were known to voters at the time of his most recent election, and that his impeachment would thus negate the will of Texas voters.

They also argued that Paxton’s impeachment would run afoul of the “prior-term doctrine,” which they said bars statewide officials from being impeached for conduct that predates their most recent election.

“With only a single exception, the articles (of impeachment) allege nothing that Texas voters have not heard from the Attorney General’s political opponents for years,” Paxton’s team wrote. “The alleged acts underlying 19 of the Articles took place before the Attorney General’s most recent election and were highly publicized.”

The unchallenged article against Paxton is related to the $3.3 million lawsuit settlement he reached with whistleblowers who were fired from his office after reporting Paxton to law enforcement for bribery and other alleged wrongdoing. The House’s investigation into Paxton began earlier this year, after he asked the Legislature to pay for the lawsuit settlement.

[…]

Paxton has previously argued that the “prior-term doctrine” bars his impeachment because a Texas constitutional provision prohibits officeholders from being “removed from office for an act the officer may have committed before the officer’s election to office.”

In the Monday filing, Paxton’s attorneys cited a series of cases in which the doctrine was argued, including the 1893 impeachment of Land Commissioner Colonel W.L. McGaughey and the 1917 impeachment of Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson, who unsuccessfully tried to use the doctrine to dismiss four of 21 impeachment articles he faced.

They also stated that they plan to show that most of the allegations against Paxton were “highly publicized not only at the time, but for years prior” to his 2022 election.

“Texas voters elected Attorney General Paxton despite those public allegations — so they have the last word,” Paxton’s lawyers wrote.

Some experts, including the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, have thrown cold water on Paxton’s claims about the doctrine — which is also known as the “forgiveness doctrine” — saying that it has historically been applied only to the removal of local officials.

“It does not appear there is any authority applying the ‘forgiveness’ doctrine to a state official like the AG,” the organization said in a May tweet.

See here for some background. We’re dealing with hundred-plus year-old precedent here, so who knows. Dan Patrick will rule on the motions, and a simple majority of the Senate can vote to dismiss any or all of these charges, so we ought to get a good feel for how this will go right out of the gate. Dan Patrick has been talking about a two or three week trial, but I assume that wouldn’t be the case if the bulk of the charges went away. Again, who knows.

Via the DMN, you can see the motions – one claims the bulk of his “alleged” corruption occurred before the last election and thus is off limits for impeachment, and the other asks for evidence of said corruption to be excluded, which is either a necessary complement or the fallback position, I’m not lawyerly enough to say. The prosecution has until August 15 to file its response, so we’ll see how they attack this. I can’t wait. TPR, Reform Austin, and the Press have more.

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

More criticism of HISD’s library policies

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t going away.

Prominent Houston political and faith leaders on Monday denounced Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to convert some libraries into discipline centers, adding to the growing chorus of critics opposing the change.

Members of Congress, Houston City Council and high-profile religious institutions joined Mayor Sylvester Turner — already on record opposing the move — in describing the state-appointed superintendent’s plan as an attack on lower-income communities of color.

Teachers at dozens of campuses Miles has targeted for overhaul will send misbehaving students to the library — fashioned into what he has dubbed “Team Centers” — to learn virtually. Meanwhile, Miles is eliminating librarians and media specialists from 28 “New Education System,” or NES, campuses undergoing the most dramatic changes.

The strategy has drawn national media attention in recent days and infuriated much of the city’s Democratic political leadership. U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, said Monday at a City Hall press conference that the elimination of librarians is a move toward the “resegregation of society.”

“I drank from the colored water fountain,” Green said. “I know what it’s like to have to sit in the balcony of the movie, in the back of the bus. I don’t want to go back to that. … (Mayor Turner) is taking the necessary steps to deal with this incremental step that is going to take us backwards. We’ve got to stop it here.”

Miles, appointed to the position in June by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as part of sweeping state sanctions against the district, remains committed to his plan. Miles has said the strategy will create better learning conditions for students and allow the district to redirect more resources to classroom instruction.

In a statement released minutes before Monday’s gathering of civic leaders, Miles said he “cannot and will not govern the state’s largest school district by press conference or press release.”

“The time for politics is over, and we will not be distracted by intentional misinformation,” Miles said.

While civic leaders can speak out against Miles’ proposals, they have no legal authority to force him to change course. Only members of HISD’s state-appointed school board — who Morath can replace at any time — have that power. All nine board members did not respond Monday to a request for comment about the library strategy.

[…]

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said Monday that Miles’ plan reminds her of being forced to sit in the back of a segregated train as a child. In reference to Miles’ comments Monday, the long-tenured member of Congress and current mayoral candidate said she has “never received a statement like that from any superintendent of any school district.”

While librarians will be cut from some campuses, books will remain on the shelves and available for checkout on an honor system, Miles told the Houston Chronicle. But that doesn’t ease the worries of Houston City Councilmember Karla Cisneros, who called the move “an attack on communities of color.”

“Librarians are teachers, and they are some of the very best teachers,” Cisneros said. “If this is a way to cut on expenses, it is incredibly short-sighted. And it is a blow to students who are already living with the inequities that come with poverty or being a person of color.”

See here and here for some background. I had speculated before that Mike Miles might have blown off Mayor Turner on the grounds that Turner will be out of office in a few months. Given that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is also critical of his announced policy, this controversy may well extend beyond that point anyway. I wonder if Sen. John Whitmire will address this.

It is certainly true that the Mayor and City Council have no authority over HISD and can’t affect its policies. But they can make noise and influence public opinion. Of course, how much public opinion matters is debatable, since the public has no mechanism for replacing any of the people who currently have the power to influence this. I will say again, if Mike Miles wants anything that he does here to outlast him, he might consider a bit of public relations in his approach. So far I see little evidence of that happening.

Finally, speaking of evidence, my friend Denise, who is an actual HISD librarian, left this comment on my earlier post, citing numerous studies that do show a link between school libraries staffed with certified librarians and a positive effect on test scores. If Miles’ justification for this kind of cost cutting is that it doesn’t further the goal of improving student outcomes, then what data does he have in his corner? The Press has more.

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Federal judge temporarily blocks Arkansas book censorship law

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully a good omen.

On Saturday, a federal judge in Arkansas temporarily blocked a new law that would have allowed local prosecutors to file felony charges against school and public librarians who loaned out material considered considered “harmful to minors.” The law—which also created a new process to challenge the “appropriateness” of books and force them to be moved to shelves inaccessible by minors—is punishable by up to six years in prison or fines of $10,000.

The preliminary injunction, issued two days before the law was set to take effect, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition including bookstores, library patrons, and public libraries in Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Eureka Springs. The libraries and bookstores argued they would be forced to remove all books from their young adult and general collections that mention sex or sexual conduct, or else ban all minors from entering their spaces.

In his ruling, US District Judge Timothy L. Brooks wrote that the law likely violated plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights. “There is no clarity on what affirmative steps a bookseller or librarian must take to avoid a violation,” Brooks wrote.  The new law set out a “a poorly defined method to challenge the ‘appropriateness’ of a book, be it a children’s book or an adult book,” the judge added added. “If the law is intended to protect minors, it is not narrowly tailored to that purpose.”

Nate Coulter, executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, praised the decision to Politico, saying the judge had correctly recognized the the law as censorship. “As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he wrote.

The Arkansas case differs in a number of respects from the just-filed Texas lawsuit, but they’re in the same family. I briefly skimmed the opinion, which is embedded at the link in the story, and it’s clear that Arkansas’s position was a whole lot of argle-bargle up-is-downism, and the judge just did not have it. We can certainly hope for something similar here. Politico has more.

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 4

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2
City of Houston, part 3

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This post will look at the Controller candidates. I’ll have one more of these to present, to give you various other reports of interest.


Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
======================================================
Hollins         540,712    946,692        0    639,806
Nobles           64,458     30,975   50,000     94,246
Martin            1,850      7,375        0    152,495
Sanchez

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

This one is short and sweet, with four candidates but only three reports. Chris Hollins is the big dog, thanks to the fundraising he did from his Mayoral campaign. I assume he’ll continue to pass the hat around, but in the meantime if I were him I’d be shooting TV ads to blanket the airwaves with. Start with a simple “Hi, I’m Chris Hollins, you may remember me from bringing you drive-through voting in the 2020 election when we were all trying not to catch COVID. Now I’m running for City Controller and I promise to do the same great job bringing you transparency to the city’s finances. Vote for me, Chris Hollins, for City Controller.” I mean, any questions?

As for Shannan Nobles and Dave Martin, who have some money but won’t have the kind of money to compete with that, I’d remind everyone I spoke to that unlike some candidates, I was in the Controller’s race from the jump, and I have experience with the city’s finances and won’t have to learn the job on the job. You’ll have to do a lot of talking because in person and door-to-door campaigning just doesn’t have the same reach, but radio and cable and mailers are an option for you. You’re hoping to make it to an runoff, that’s the goal. Anything can happen in a runoff.

And then there’s Orlando Sanchez, who didn’t file a report, possibly because he wasn’t in the race before July 1. You are either the type of person who votes for Orlando Sanchez even though there are other choices available, or you are not. You already know this about yourself, and you don’t need anyone else telling you anything about the race to know it. Just show up and ask yourself “Is Orlando Sanchez on the ballot?”, and go from there. Shannan Nobles and Dave Martin need to get more votes than that.

Next up are outgoing incumbents, some former candidates, and a couple of PACs. After that I’ll look at the HISD and HCC races, and then we’re done for the July reporting cycle.

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Will Dallas join the Death Star litigation?

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It remains to be seen.

That’s no moon…

Council members Chad West and Adam Bazaldua told The Dallas Morning News that they know of no plans as of Thursday for Dallas to get involved in the legal challenge of HB 2127, but both said they would support the city joining efforts to overturn the new law.

“I absolutely think we should,” said West, who represents North Oak Cliff. “It’s a huge overreach when we on the local level are the ones who most understand what our constituents are demanding and what they want. There’s a reason it was called the ‘Death Star’ bill.”

[…]

Whether Dallas will actually join the lawsuit is still up in the air as of Thursday. Interim City Attorney Tammy Palomino didn’t respond to a request for comment on Dallas’ plans. Catherine Cuellar, Dallas’ communications, outreach and marketing director said the city hasn’t yet settled on a plan to move forward.

“We continue to review all our options,” she said.

[…]

Council members Jaime Resendez, Tennell Atkins, Paula Blackmon and Gay Donnell Willis told The News that the City Council hasn’t been briefed on options by the city attorney’s office since Houston sued the state on July 3
arguing HB 2127 was unconstitutional and unenforceable. San Antonio joined the suit on Monday.

Resendez, Atkins, Blackmon and Willis said they wanted to consult with the city attorney before publicly saying whether Dallas should join in the litigation.

“On the merits, of course I want to preserve home-rule and the rights of cities and the rights for us to conduct business,” said Blackmon, who represents parts of East Dallas including the White Rock Lake area. “But there’s more to all of this that we need to discuss.”

Council member Cara Mendelsohn declined to comment on the matter. Mayor Eric Johnson and the remaining seven city council members didn’t respond to a request for comment.

See here, here, and here for the background. You know where I stand on this, so you know what I hope Dallas decides to do. I asked Ginger about this and her take was “not gonna happen”. I hope she’s mistaken, but it would be nice to have some more impetus here. At the very least, it would be nice to hear from Mayor Johnson. If you live in Dallas, feel free to contact your Council member about this. Heck, if you live in any other city, do the same. Like I said, we need unity and a show of force. Let’s get some places off the fence.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A brief Nate Paul update

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you who like this sort of thing. You know who you are.

The Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal on Friday by indicted real estate developer Nate Paul to reverse a judgment against him worth millions of dollars in his case opposing the Mitte charitable foundation. The clash mired both sides in a protracted legal battle and roped Paul into allegations against impeached and suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation invested millions in Paul’s World Class companies in 2011. Following a dispute over access to World Class’s financial records and getting their money back, the Mitte Foundation sued Paul’s companies in 2018. In July 2019, the parties reached a settlement agreement to have World Class buy Mitte’s interest in the companies for $10.5 million, according to court records.

Within days of that agreement, the FBI raided Paul’s headquarters, and the agreement collapsed. That federal investigation, which is unrelated to the Mitte lawsuit, led to Paul’s indictment in June 2023 on eight counts of making false statements and reports to lending institutions while seeking over $172 million in loans, according to federal records. Paul has pleaded not guilty to all counts, and a trial is set for July 2024.

In February 2021, an arbitrator sided with the Mitte Foundation on its claims of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and awarded Mitte over $1.9 million in damages. The arbitrator also ordered World Class to terminate the limited partnership companies involved in the case, sell their properties and “directed that Mitte receive its pro-rated share of the profits,” according to a memorandum opinion from the Texas Third District Court of Appeals.

Paul fought the judgment and awards in the case, on various grounds.

Paul later appealed the case to the Texas Supreme Court. Friday’s decision will put an end to the case, said Mitte Foundation attorney Ray Chester with McGinnis Lochridge.

“The Texas Supreme Court, in today’s ruling, put an end to the frivolous appeals of Mr. Nate Paul and the thirteen different law firms he has employed,” Chester said in a statement. “Our arbitration judgment against Mr. Paul personally is affirmed, and the receiver can now proceed to close the sales of the partnership properties which will result in a significant additional recovery for our client, the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation. This will allow the Mitte Foundation to continue and expand their tireless philanthropic efforts.”

See here for some background. Paul has bigger problems now. I don’t think this ties into the bigger picture in any way, but it’s a news item that related to stuff I had blogged about before, so there you go.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A brief Nate Paul update

Weekend link dump for July 30

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“The ocean is turning green. Yes, it’s climate change.”

“A Mysterious Object in Deep Space Has Blinked Every 22 Minutes for Over 30 Years”.

“One Georgia County Perfectly Demonstrates The Republican Party’s Dramatic About-Face On Mail-In Voting”.

“It is never too early for a case to involve Republicans pointing fingers at each other.”

RIP, Josephine Chaplin, actor and daughter of Charlie Chaplin.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

“Some people just want the privacy to unwind with a handful of pudding.”

“As I mentioned elsewhere, it seems sort of silly to grieve a brand identity, but it’s not about the bird, it about the fact that Twitter was a place, with people, and now that place is gone. Musk took a city with thriving neighborhoods and decided to run a fucking interstate through the most interesting parts of it, and the interstate doesn’t actually go anywhere good; it just runs from Bitcoin Town to Fascistburg.”

“They’re the names you don’t know. Hollywood’s ‘journeyman’ actors explain why they are striking”.

RIP, Pamela Blair, stage and screen actor who originated the role of Valerie “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three” on Broadway in A Chorus Line.

RIP, Carlin Glynn, stage and screen actor who won a Tony in her Broadway debut as madam Mona Stangley in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas; she is also the mother of actor Mary Stuart Masterson and widow of actor/writer/director Peter Masterson, who co-wrote and co-directed “Whorehouse”. Also, Pamela Blair was in that same original “Whorehouse” cast; it was a rough week for that show. Glynn went to high school in Houston and got her start at our Alley Theater. Oh, and she was Molly Ringwald’s mom in Sixteen Candles.

At least five Jeopardy! winners won’t cross the picket line for Tournament Of Champions.

What Elizabeth Spiers says.

Wishing Bronny James all the best.

“Oppenheimer reportedly got a boost in the box office during its opening weekend thanks to last-minute Barbie-viewing hopefuls facing sold-out theaters.” So once again, suck it, whiners.

Bankrupt them.

“Decades of public messages about recycling in the US have crowded out more sustainable ways to manage waste”.

“Olivia Pichardo becomes first woman to homer in NY wood bat league”.

RIP, Sinéad O’Connor, Irish singer and activist. As a reminder, Sinéad O’Connor was 100% right about the Catholic Church.

“If you put this all together, it’s not a series of individual mini-scandals. It’s a generation of young Republican operatives who are fanning out into campaigns, congressional offices and think tanks. They present as edgy young conservatives but are actually wholly immersed in a world of digital racism, incel-drenched misogyny and fascist-curious strongman worship.”

RIP, Randy Meisner, bassist and founding member of The Eagles.

“On July 26, 1973, ZZ Top offered “Tres Hombres,” which included “La Grange,” a single that almost hit the Top 40 and remains one of the band’s best-known songs. Here are seven things to know about this landmark album with commentary from Gibbons this year and from Hill in 2020, a year before his death.” Worth the click just for the photo of the band from 1970.

RIP, David Feldman, former City Attorney for Houston. I met him once or twice and know his son Cris, who helped me with some blog-related legal questions awhile back. My condolences to his family.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Trib on the “political dominoes” of the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of what’s in here is stuff we already know. I want to focus on this bit from later on:

Sen. John Whitmire

“I think both Whitmire and Jackson Lee are kind of institutions in town, so the fact that there could be two open seats — a state Senate and a congressional seat, which is rare — I think there’s going to be a lot of people lining up to get into those races,” said Michael Kolenc, a Houston-based Democratic strategist who is not working for any of the candidates. “I think candidates would be wise to look at the calendar and start early.”

The toughest scenario may be if the mayoral runoff falls after the filing deadline for the 2024 primary, meaning Whitmire and Jackson Lee could have to decide whether to seek reelection before knowing the outcome of the mayoral race. The last time there was a mayoral runoff in Houston — in 2019 — it came five days after the filing deadline for the following year’s primaries.

Under a law passed during the latest regular legislative session, House Bill 357, the runoff would have to fall on a Saturday between 30 and 45 days after the November election. That leaves two options, Dec. 9 and 16 — one date falling before the filing deadline and the other after.

[…]

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

At least two Democrats have launched campaigns for Senate District 15. The first in was Karthik Soora, a renewable energy developer, followed by Molly Cook, an emergency room nurse who challenged Whitmire in the 2022 primary, receiving 42% of the vote as Whitmire’s only opponent.

Both Cook and Soora say they are running regardless of what Whitmire decides to do.

“I’ve had this conversation with a million people, but for me it makes no difference at all,” Cook said in an interview, adding that she “never stopped running” after her 2022 campaign.

Both indicate they would bring a more progressive perspective to the seat than Whitmire.

“I think that what we see with the Texas Legislature, with the attorney general’s impeachment, is that people are sick of this establishment that’s not serving them,” Soora said in an interview, pitching himself as a “real Democrat.”

As for Jackson Lee’s seat, she has held it since first winning election in 1994, when she beat former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the Democratic primary. It was last open in 1989, when Washington won a special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland.

Edwards is the most prominent Democrat already running for Jackson Lee’s seat. The former Houston City Council member and 2020 U.S. Senate candidate was running for mayor until she dropped out In June, switched to the congressional race and endorsed Jackson Lee for mayor.

“I do think Congresswoman Jackson Lee can win the race and certainly anticipate that her seat will be the one that becomes open,” Edwards said. Still, she added, she “will remain in the CD-18 race even if Congresswoman Jackson Lee decides to pursue CD-18 again.”

Edwards has already raised more than $600,000 for her congressional campaign and has been endorsed by Higher Heights for America PAC, a national political action committee that works to elect Black progressive women. The group has also endorsed Jackson Lee for mayor.

First, let me remind everyone that there would be special elections in either or both of these districts, depending on whether the loser in the runoff (yes, I’m assuming it will be a Whitmire/SJL runoff) also steps down from their existing post. Some of that action would happen right around the same time as the 2024 primary. It will be a huge pileup no matter how you look at it.

Now then. We knew already that Karthik Soora and Molly Cook intended to stay in the SD15 primary regardless of what happens. One might be a little surprised to hear Amanda Edwards being so forthright about intending to run in CD18 regardless of Rep. Jackson Lee’s status, but that was the whole point of jumping straight into CD18 once she departed the Mayor’s race. It’s still early and things can happen, but I’m taking them all at their word.

The factor that I was not aware of before now was this new law affecting when the runoff date may be. As far as I can tell by looking at the text, there are two differences. One is that the runoff must be at least 30 days after the election, not 20; the maximum time is 45 days after the election. The other is that the Secretary of State sets the runoff date; I can’t tell from the existing law who had that power before; maybe it was the City Secretary.

I don’t think this changes a lot, in the sense that the usual runoff date for city elections has been the second Saturday of December. That would be December 9 this year, which is two days before the primary filing deadline of December 11. The point is that the runoff could also be on December 16, in which case Whitmire and Jackson Lee would have to decide about 2024 before they know about 2023. I don’t know why the runoff date would be a week later than usual, but it could be, and so we have to consider it.

As to other candidates jumping in, that’s certainly a possibility, but keep in mind that for many potential candidates, to do so would mean giving up the seat they currently have. State Reps would have to file for something other than their current office. Houston City Council members would have to resign to run. That at least puts up some obstacles for a number of serious potential contenders. I agree with Michael Kolenc that anyone who doesn’t already have some resources available to them needs to get started soon, as both Edwards and the SD15 contenders have a head start. I just don’t know offhand who those folks might be.

Posted in Election 2023, Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The stunning arrogance of Team Paxton

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Even for a cynic like me, this is breathtaking.

A crook any way you look

Rep. Jeff Leach was “pissed off.”

He had just found out that Ken Paxton wanted $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit with a group of whistleblowers who’d accused him of corruption and retaliation. Leach, a Collin County Republican like Paxton, considered the Texas attorney general a friend — one he fiercely defended in the past.

But asking the Legislature to pony up the money was too much. On Feb. 10, he texted Michelle Smith, Paxton’s senior advisor, and urged the state’s top lawyer to come to the Capitol and publicly explain himself.

“Legislators have questions and we want answers. If we get the satisfactory answers, then all will be fine,” Leach wrote to Smith, according to copies of the messages The Dallas Morning News obtained through public records requests.

“I don’t think y’all understand how pissed members are, including many of your conservative friends in the house and senate. I don’t know a single legislator who believes taxpayers should be expected to be on the hook for this,” he added.

Smith balked.

“What happened to, ‘I will work with him until the day I die?” she responded in the text thread, urging Leach to speak directly with Paxton. “If he’s a friend get the full story.”

“The Christian thing to do is to ask what’s going on in Private. If you don’t like the answer then do whatever public,” she added later in that conversation.

“You’re really gonna go there with me?!” Leach fired back. “This is on Ken. Not on me. I’m doing my job. I will be calling a public hearing and he and I can have the conversation on the record.”

“You do you,” Smith replied.

You know what happened from there. The story describes how the text exchanges between Leach and Smith got more barbed and personal, and it’s kind of amazing to watch – go read the texts for yourself to get the flavor. The story also notes how through the entire back and forth between the Lege and Paxton’s office over paying for the settlement, it was always someone else speaking on Paxton’s behalf and never Paxton himself. Paxton would sometimes deign to attend a committee hearing but he never spoke, even when legislators asked him questions directly. This is what I mean by “arrogance”. I noted it as a possible catalyst for the impeachment way back at the beginning of this whole mess.

This is another situation in which I wonder if anyone, in this cases at the AG’s office, knows how to do politics in even the most basic way. I can’t tell if Paxton and his minions don’t realize that he could have avoided all of this if he’d just acted like a grownup and talked to the Appropriations committee like he was asked to, or if they do know that and still think he shouldn’t have had to talk to these commoners about all of that unpleasantness. This isn’t about ideology or making the rounds on the wingnut media circuit, it’s basic human relations. The Legislature – quite rightly, quite reasonably , quite understandably – wants to do its normal thing in the appropriations process, and that means asking the man himself why they should pay for this settlement. Someone who understood politics at the most basic level would show up, be direct and forthright and a little self-deprecating, with some humor and a bit of self-awareness, and in the end they’d have gotten most if not all of what they wanted. Really, truly, this is not rocket science.

The best part of all this is now we have Tony Buzbee braying about how the Lege did all this in secret (to be fair, they did catch us by surprise when the General Investigations Committee had its hearing) and never gave Paxton the chance to defend himself, when in reality from the beginning he’s refused to say a damn thing. Every step of the way, he brought this on himself. Whatever happens in the Senate, let’s not forget that. Reform Austin has more.

Posted in Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The traffic signal control cabinet mural program is back

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of cool news from the inbox:

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) is proud to announce that its signature Traffic Signal Control Cabinet Mural Program is back in operation after a one-year hiatus. The program, also known as “TSCC Mural Program,” began in 2015 to curb graffiti in neighborhoods and serve as a gateway for artists to engage in civic art.

“I am delighted to see the Traffic Signal Control Cabinet Mural Program back,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “I am excited to see the new murals that will be painted across the city. These murals not only delight the senses of our residents, but also add to the unique character of our neighborhoods. They are part of what makes Houston an Art City—a cultural mecca filled with works of art for all to enjoy.”

Underground Planet Art Studio, also known as UP Art Studio, has been a longstanding partner since the beginning and has been instrumental in establishing the TSCC Mural Program. They have even coined the term, “Mini Murals” for cabinet murals to which they provide project management.

On July 26th, 2023, the Mayor and Council approved a new City contract with UP Art Studio. The Latin American-owned studio, founded by Houston artist couple Elia and Noah Quiles, has a long history of creating murals of all kinds throughout the city, including the Montrose Rainbow Crosswalk, the latest asphalt art project in Gulfton, and the couple’s annual Big Walls, Big Dreams Mural festival. They also manage the interactive and informative website, Houstonmuralmap.com.

With the approval by City Council, comes the arrival of new murals to neighborhoods across Houston. As part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s commitment to investing in more public artwork across the city through the Complete Communities Initiative, 20 new mini murals will be created in areas of the city that have been historically disadvantaged and lack public art. Four mini murals are planned in each of the following neighborhoods: Fort Bend Houston, Magnolia/Manchester, Kashmere Gardens, Sunnyside, and Alief/Westwood.

To paint a TSCC mural, MOCA requires that Houston-area artists are hired and strongly encourages engagement with community on mural design. Cabinets can be sponsored either by Council District offices, City departments, individuals, communities, businesses, or organizations.

Interested parties can now inquire by first identifying a cabinet’s location and submitting it through an inquiry form. For more information on the TSCC Mural program, visit the FAQ for the program, here.

These are all over town and they are delightful, as you can see from the embedded image. Here’s a photo of one in my neighborhood I took while it was still a work in progress. That was taken in 2016, and in case you can’t tell it became a portrait of Ann Richards. Anyway, I’m glad to see this program get restarted. I hope to see more new ones out an about soon.

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First (and hopefully only) sore loser election contest lawsuit begins Tuesday

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a slog this has been.

Republicans who have spent the past nine months questioning Harris County’s November elections will have their day in court Tuesday when the first of 21 lawsuits aimed at overturning the results will go to trial.

GOP judicial candidate Erin Lunceford lost to incumbent 189th-District Judge Tamika Craft by 2,743 votes — a 0.26 percent margin, much narrower than most of the contested races in which some candidates trailed the winners by up to 35,000 votes. The fate of the other 20 cases could depend on whether Lunceford’s attorneys are able to convince a judge that a shortage of ballot paper on Election Day, along with a myriad of other alleged problems, impacted enough votes that the winner of the race is uncertain.

Judge David Peeples, a visiting judge from San Antonio, is overseeing the 21 Harris County election contest lawsuits.

Attorneys representing candidates involved in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for an interview.

However, Andy Taylor, Lunceford’s attorney, told the Houston Chronicle in April that he was not depending solely on an Election Day ballot paper shortage to persuade the judge to throw out the election results for his client.

In fact, most of Taylor’s strategy is now aimed at other voting issues, according to First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne, who represents Harris County, which is not a party to the lawsuit.

“What (Taylor) is trying to prove is that there were a bunch of illegally cast votes, mostly votes that are what we call non-traditional ballots, as in provisional ballots, ballots by mail, or ballots that were cast with statements of residence should not have been accepted,” Fombonne said.

[…]

In court filings, Lunceford’s attorneys have argued for throwing out ballots cast by voters who arrived at the polls during the extended time, as well as thousands of other provisional ballots they claim should not have been counted.

Ultimately, the question of whether alleged problems resulted from mistakes or malfeasance will not be relevant in the trial, Fombonne said.

“The election contests don’t turn on malfeasance,” Fombonne said. “You could have malfeasance; you could just have a simple mistake. The issue is, did the person who won the election actually win the election? And if you can show that it was because of malfeasance, it doesn’t get you any further than if you can show that it was because of some mistake.”

When Lunceford’s team originally filed the lawsuit, their argument was based primarily on the ballot paper shortages, Fombonne said.

“The crux of the trial has transformed completely by challenging forms of ID, signatures, addresses and things like that that we believe are mostly completely false,” Fombonne said.

See here for the most recent update. It’s hilarious, pathetic, and completely predictable that Andy Taylor would move on from the original evidence-free hypotheticals to his old playbook of claiming that the votes were somehow illegal. Don’t forget Rule #1 around here, which is never believe a word Andy Taylor says.

My expectation is the Taylor will try to kick up a bunch of dust and hope that enough of it gets into everyone’s eyes. I suppose the absolute worst case scenario here is that there would need to be some number of do-over elections, which is too chaotic and wild to even contemplate. I do agree with the statement Mark Jones made at the end of the story, which is that if Erin Lunceford, whose margin of defeat was much smaller than anyone else’s, does not prevail, then the rest of the suits will likely go away. Let’s hope for that outcome.

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HPD releases its official report on the AstroWorld tragedy

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Read it and see for yourself.

They looked like rag dolls, Reece Wheeler thought.

One by one, the Astroworld Festival coordinator watched from the command center as unconscious Travis Scott fans’ were crowd-surfed out of the mosh pit and dumped into the sea of bodies raging before one of the biggest rappers in the last decade performed.

The concert hadn’t even begun.

Wheeler texted Shawna Boardman — the festival’s exterior manager of security, a minute before Scott took the stage:

“There’s panic in people’s eyes,” he wrote. “This could get worse quickly.”

“Yes,” Boardman replied.

Wheeler watched in horror over the next hour as no one stopped the concert. Wheeler texted her again:

“I would pull the plug but that’s just me,” he wrote. “I know they’ll try to fight through but I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”

The messages were among thousands of pieces of evidence gathered by the Houston Police Department during its investigation of the Travis Scott Astroworld festival, where 10 fans died and hundreds of others were injured on Nov. 5, 2021. The police department released its complete investigative report Friday.

The 1,266-page document comes on the heels of Scott’s fourth studio album release: “Utopia.”

The police report details for the first time how Scott perceived what was happening mid-performance and what he told police. It contains police interviews with concert promoters, security personnel and other key witnesses that never have been made public before. And it shows, in vivid detail, how no one seemed to know how to stop the tragedy as it unfolded.

Scott had come under fire immediately after the tragedy for continuing to perform for 37 minutes after police and fire officials declared the situation a “mass casualty event.”

Houston police said concert promoter Live Nation had agreed to cut the show short at 9:38 p.m., but Friday’s report indicated Scott did not leave the stage until 10:13 p.m.

Police interviewed two witnesses who said they heard Scott being told in his earpiece that the concert had to end early because there were “bodies on the ground” and that three people had died. Scott told police he didn’t learn of the deaths until after the show, and investigators were unable to understand a recording of the messages relayed to Scott because of the poor quality of the audio.

Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, and Live Nation’s attorney, Neal Manne, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On June 29, a grand jury declined to indict Scott and five other individuals for their roles in the 2021 tragedy after a 19-month investigation. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the grand jury “found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible.”

The tragedy happened after Scott took the stage on the first night of the two-day festival. Victims were pinned against barriers after thousands squeezed together, investigators said at the June 29 media briefing.

A year after the tragedy, the Houston Chronicle reported no new regulations or standards regarding security, venues or event planning that could help prevent a similar fatal incident had been adopted by the city or Harris County.

The festival took place at NRG Park, which is county property managed by the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. The complex, however, is within the jurisdiction of the Houston police and fire departments. A joint city-county task joint task force later was convened to clarify jurisdiction in cases with overlapping authority.

See here for the previous update. There’s a lot more in the story, and of course there’s the 1266-page report that HPD Chief Troy Finner has encouraged us all to “dig in” to. Houston Landing has provided some key takeaways, and the impression I get is that there was a lot of chaos, communications weren’t as clear as they could have been, and there were opportunities missed to prevent what happened. The grand jury concluded there was no criminal element, but I’ll bet that the attorneys representing the many plaintiffs who have sued Scott and LiveNation and others will be reading all this very closely. Discovery in those cases will almost surely tell us a quite a bit that we don’t yet know. The Chron has more.

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Colorado to return to the Big XII

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about to be the Big XIII, not that they will ever call it that, nor stay at that number. But it’s my blog and I can call it as I see it.

The University of Colorado will leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 after the 2023-24 season, as the school formalized its future membership in the Big 12 on Thursday. The Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously in favor of the move during a public videoconference, completing the final step in a process that for the past 24 hours has largely been considered a formality.

“The time has come for us to change conferences,” Colorado president Todd Saliman told the Board of Regents on Thursday afternoon. “We see this as a way to create more opportunity for the University of Colorado, for our students and our student-athletes and create a path forward for us in the future.”

Colorado’s departure will coincide with the end of the Pac-12 television deal, which expires after the 2023-24 season, which means Colorado won’t have to pay any exit fee. Colorado is expected to join the Big 12 at a pro rata basis, which is an average of $31.7 million in television revenue over the course of the league’s new deal starting in 2025.

“Let me state up front that this move was not just based on money or finances,” said Colorado athletic director Rick George. “A decision this big has a lot more to do than just money.”

George and Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano, who spoke to reporters on Thursday evening at a press conference on campus, emphasized their desire for stability, but also spoke about the draw of competing in three different time zones, and the national exposure they’ll get from ESPN and FOX as major factors.

[…]

Colorado’s decision is the latest blow to the Pac-12, which loses both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024 and is amid a contracted process of landing a new television deal. Pac-12 leadership is expected to meet with presidents Thursday night to discuss that league’s next steps, sources told ESPN.

Colorado’s swift announcement came less than a week after Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said he wasn’t concerned about the Big 12 trying to poach any teams.

“It’s not a concern,” he said last week at Pac-12 media day in Las Vegas, addressing the topic publicly for the first time this year. “Our schools are committed to each other and the Pac-12. We’ll get our media rights deal done, we’ll announce the deal. I think the realignment that’s going on in college athletics will come to an end for this cycle.”

Colorado’s George was asked on Thursday about the timing of the school’s decision, given Kliavkoff’s recent comments.

“Do I think I caught my peers off guard?” he said. “I don’t believe so, but that’s a question you have to ask them.”

The Buffaloes had emerged as the loudest skeptics of Kliavkoff’s ability to land a reasonable television deal. School officials from Colorado met in person with Big 12 officials at a neutral site in early May, per ESPN sources.

George insisted that Colorado’s decision “wasn’t about” any failures by the Kliavkoff or frustrations with a lack of a media rights deal.

“George Kliavkoff is doing as good a job as he can do, and he works his ass off and works tirelessly for the members of the Pac-12,” George said. ” … but this decision wasn’t about that. It was about this, and that’s the Big 12 conference and what’s best for CU and CU athletics and our student-athletes, and that’s what we made this decision based on.”

The move marks a return for Colorado to the Big 12, where they were members from 1996 to 2010. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group, Colorado is the first team that has left a conference and returned to the same league on its own volition. (Temple was expelled by the Big East after the 2004 season). Colorado left for the Pac-12 in 2011 and has had no bowl wins and just two winning football seasons since the move. Colorado is coming off a 1-11 season and new coach Deion Sanders will coach just one season in the Pac-12.

Kind of amazing. And there’s more to come, one way or another.

The Big 12 officially added four new members — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — on July 1 as a means of rebuilding its conference following the scheduled departures of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC on July 1, 2024. The league will consist of 14 teams for the 2023 season before dropping to 13 in 2024 once UT and OU exit and CU enters.

It is believed the Big 12 has been considering further expansion, not only making overtures to other Pac-12 programs but also basketball powerhouses like UConn and Gonzaga, Dodd reported in June. Yormark confirmed at Big 12 Media Days earlier this month that he would prefer to remain at 14 teams, which would require the addition of two schools after the Longhorns and Sooners depart — the Buffaloes and another program.

[…]

Previously, it was believed the Big 12 was interested in not only Colorado but the other so-called “Four Corners” schools from the Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Whether that interest remains or can be rekindled remains to be seen.

The Big 12 sees the addition of Colorado as separate move from any additional expansion, which would potentially come at a later date, sources tell Dodd.

The move needed to be handled delicately. Because of legal liability, the Big 12 could not be seen as initiating interest with Colorado. Protocol dictates that CU must first apply for membership to join the Big 12 before it can be formally welcomed into the league.

Apparently SMU is hoping to get in on the action as well. Not sure how likely that is, but it’s a reminder that the game of conference dominoes never really ends. Given how there were obituaries for the Big XII being drafted after the UT and OU departures, this is an incredible turnaround for the Big XII. And as noted, the wheel will be spinning at least a little longer. Buckle up.

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor Turner criticizes HISD’s library removals

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest.

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday blasted Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to close dozens of school libraries and turn them into discipline rooms, alleging it was targeted at “selected communities.”

In an impassioned speech at City Council, Turner said the library had given him a view of other worlds during his hardscrabble youth. Turner and council members alleged that the move to shutter libraries was an extension of the Texas Legislature’s book-banning policies.

“You cannot have a situation where you are closing libraries for some schools in certain neighborhoods and there are other neighborhoods where there are libraries, fully equipped. What the hell are you doing?” Turner said.

Turner’s comments represented his most pointed critique yet of Miles, who was appointed by the Texas Education Agency in June as part of its takeover of HISD.

[…]

In an email Wednesday morning, HISD officials said “we understand the significance of certain programs associated with libraries and will strive to maintain those valuable offerings.” Miles previously has defended his idea as a back-to-basics measure that prioritizes spending resources on teachers in some of the city’s highest-need schools.

As mayor, Turner has no direct power to influence policies at the independently-managed school district. However, he used his platform to urge the district’s state-appointed board of managers, many of whom are longtime civic figures in Houston, to reject the proposal.

“If you’re a board of manager, you cannot allow this to happen. If you represent the city in any way, and you are a board of manager, this cannot happen on our watch, because it does not reflect Houston’s values,” Turner said.

[…]

None of the nine HISD board members immediately responded to requests for comment.

Turner also invited Miles to City Hall, because, he said, “you are in Houston, you do not operate in a vacuum.”

See here for the background. I’d recommend that Miles take the Mayor up on his invitation. It would be good PR, you might come to some understanding, and at the very least you really don’t want the most powerful person in the city attacking you like this. Among many other things, he might have enough sway with the Board members to push them into not approving this part of the plan. This issue might also not go away with the end of Turner’s time as Mayor. A little investment in time and schmoozing now might save a bunch of headaches later.

But really, this goes back again to what I’ve been saying about Miles winning trust and getting buy-in. The difference in outcome is between a lasting program that does the things he says and carries on without him, and something that’s written in sand and gets wiped out the minute his ass is out the door. Which one does he want? I’m sure Mike Miles has mantras that he repeats about not being here to be loved, and sure, I get that. All I’m saying is that he doesn’t need to be a villain either, and he would be better off if he made more of an effort to not be one.

UPDATE: sigh

Mayor Sylvester Turner rejected an invitation from Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles to visit campuses Miles is overhauling, accusing the new schools chief Thursday of creating an “apartheid situation” in the district.

Turner said the “gimmick” invitation — released by HISD’s press office Wednesday afternoon after the Mayor blasted Miles’ plans to turn dozens of school libraries into discipline centers — wasn’t for him, but rather the media. Turner said he didn’t see the letter until media outlets began reporting on it.

“I’m not looking to be a photo op with the superintendent when he’s taking the district in the wrong direction,” Turner said Thursday. “If he really wanted to have a conversation, he knew how to pick up the phone, call me or find his way to City Hall and ask to meet with me.”

Sometimes, people who are in political positions or who want to be in political positions claim that they themselves are “not politicians”. Being a politician, or being seen as one, is often viewed negatively by many, for reasons both valid and disingenuous.

The thing is, most successful politicians get to where they are by having a good understanding of people – what they want, what motivates them, and so on. I can tell you, from observing politics and being acquainted with many politicians and people who work with them, any halfway decent politician would not have done what Mike Miles did here. It was at best ham-handed, at worst condescending and out of touch.

Miles should have done what Mayor Turner suggested and reached out to him, by phone or email, to have a conversation, maybe set up a personal meeting, any number of things to get them together and work through differences and find common ground. That’s good politics, but it’s also good basic human interaction. If you’re in a disagreement with someone, an email or call from you to them is much more likely to result in something positive than a public post on Facebook that invites them to come to an event you’re having for other purposes so you can show them why you’re right and they’re wrong. This is not complicated.

At this point, I wonder if Miles is being deliberately antagonistic because what does he care what the Mayor thinks, the Mayor has no power over him anyway, or if he’s just clueless on a turbocharged level and also has no one around him who knows any better. Maybe he just doesn’t have anyone around him to tell him that he’s acting like a fool. I am absolutely boggled by this.

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The long line of shitty people who prop up Ken Paxton

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no end to these assholes.

A crook any way you look

Hours before the Texas House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Ken Paxton in May, a well-funded supporter of the attorney general issued a threat to his fellow Republicans.

A vote to impeach Paxton, Jonathan Stickland wrote on Twitter, “is a decision to have a primary.”

“Wait till you see my PAC budget,” he later added.

Stickland is the leader of Defend Texas Liberty, a political action committee that has donated millions of dollars to far-right candidates in the state. It is a key part of the constellation of political campaigns, institutions and dark-money groups that a trio of West Texas oil tycoons — Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks — have pumped small fortunes into as part of a long-term crusade to push Texas to the extreme right.

And, until last month, no state politician had received more money from those groups than Paxton, who has in turn used his office to push ultraconservative priorities while declining to defend state agencies in numerous lawsuits filed by groups connected to Dunn and the Wilks brothers, including those seeking to undermine the state’s campaign finance laws.

Now, with the clock ticking toward Paxton’s September impeachment trial before the Texas Senate, Stickland and his far-right friends are fighting hard and spending big to protect their most important ally — and to stave off a major loss amid their ongoing fight for control of the Texas GOP.

It’s a long story and most of the people mentioned in it are terrible, so read on at your own risk. My hope for acrimony and division is well placed, but it remains to be seen whether that translates to any electoral advantage. As one of the terrible people in this story notes, as nasty and exhausting even to them all of the crap from the oligarchs is, it’s had the desired-to-them effect of making Texas a lot more right wing over the past 20+ years. And it will keep doing so until they start losing elections.

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 28 edition

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.

This week in news from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, we have a grab bag of news on regular beats: ransomware, Collin County’s favorite hometown Attorney General, six degrees of Clarence Thomas, and more. Plus updates on last week’s police violence story, suburban school districts behaving badly, a Mary Kay convention, a tree burn in East Texas, and last, but not least, a baby klipspringer.

This post was brought to you in part by the music of the late Sinéad O’Connor.

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 3

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This post will look at the various district candidates. I’ll do the Controller’s race and other reports of interest later. Let’s dive in.


Dist Candidate     Raised      Spent     Loan     On Hand
=========================================================
A    Peck          40,675     17,109        0      47,669

B    Jackson       55,275     33,270        0      36,975
B    London         4,757      1,438        0       3,688
B    ElBey
B    Willis

C    Kamin        161,883     75,878        0     347,656
C    Bradley        1,240        447        0         792

D    EvansShabazz  33,145      8,944        0      29,758
D    Ford           1,696      1,696        0           0

E    Flickinger    13,128     18,304  103,000     101,186
E    LemondDixon   18,064      4,276        0      13,871

F    Thomas        64,475      7,121        0     152,041

G    Huffman       83,870     29,302        0     100,467

H    Castillo     100,760     67,065   10,000     120,930
H    ReyesRevilla  30,555      8,950        0     100,463
H    Rivera         3,720      2,754        0         281
H    Stearns

I    Martinez      81,867     38,390        0     116,633
I    Garcia

J    Pollard      308,665     23,605   40,000   1,004,439
J    Sanchez

K    Castex-Tatum  95,345     14,226        0     236,917

?    McGee              0          0        0           0
?    Boozer           985        771        0           0

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

There are only three open district seats, in districts E, H, and I. Of the three, H – my district – looks the most interesting. Just going by the yard signs in my neighborhood it’s a two-person race, with Mario Castillo and Cynthia Reyes Revilla about even by my reckoning. I know nothing about the other two, or about Mark McGee, if he really is running for H.

None of the incumbents appear to have serious challengers. Ivan Sanchez was a candidate for CD07 back in 2018 and he’s been busy on social media, but you know the rule by now – no report, no respect. I met Lloyd Ford at the last HCDP CEC meeting, and I’m always happy to see city candidates show up at events like that, but CM Carolyn Evans-Shabazz is well established, and the electorate in city races tends to be older. This would be a tough nut to crack even if he were raking it in.

Speaking of raking it in, I look at some of the cash on hand totals here and I wonder if we might be seeing a future CD18 candidate in this post. I’m not a fan of Ed Pollard, but we’ve been talking about his extremely vigorous fundraising for some time, and we are way beyond “overkill” for what he needs to win re-election in his district. What he’s doing only makes sense if he’s looking ahead to the next office. At first I thought that might have been Mayor, but it’s clear that’s not the case. Not for now, anyway – that money doesn’t expire, and you figure someone will take a crack at Mayor Whitmire/Jackson Lee in 2027. But CD18 would also make sense, and he’s the only person on the scene who can match up with Amanda Edwards. The downside is that now with the four-year terms, he’d have to resign to run, and I don’t see that happening. But he’s got to be running for something else at some point – CD09? SD13? County Judge? Your guess is as good as mine. We’ll find out eventually.

Anyway. Martha Castex-Tatum and Tiffany Thomas could also throw their hats into CD18, with less money to start out but with a record to run on and some name ID. They too would have to resign, and they too seem unlikely to want to do that, especially since it would have to happen even before they got sworn in for the next four years. I’m just putting it out there so that if it does happen you can say you saw it here first.

That’s about all there is to say here. The filing deadline is in a couple of weeks, and it’s in these races where you’re likely to see some late entrants. We’ll look at the 30 day reports when the time comes. Next up, the City Controller’s race. Let me know what you think.

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Booksellers sue over new book rating law

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

These lawsuits, they are starting to pile up.

A coalition of Texas bookstores and national bookseller associations filed suit on Tuesday over House Bill 900, which aims to ban sexually explicit material from school libraries.

HB 900 passed in the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year. It is set to go into effect on Sept. 1 and requires book vendors to assign ratings to books based on the presence of depictions or references to sex. In school libraries, books with a “sexually explicit” rating will be removed from bookshelves. And students who want to check out school library books deemed “sexually relevant” would have to get parental permission first.

Plaintiffs in the suit include two Texas bookstores, Austin’s BookPeople and West Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop, as well as the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

They are suing defendants Martha Wong, chair of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Keven Ellis, chair of the Texas State Board of Education; and Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency.

According to the official complaint, which was filed in an Austin federal court, the plaintiffs argue that HB 900 violates the First and 14th amendments by regulating speech with “vague and overbroad” terms and targeting protected speech.

They go on to argue that HB 900 forces the plaintiffs to comply with the government’s views, even if they do not agree, and that the law operates as prior restraint — which is government action that prohibits speech or other expression before the speech happens.

“The book ban establishes an unconstitutional regime of compelled speech, retaliation, and licensing that violates clear First Amendment precedent and this country’s history of fostering a robust marketplace of ideas,” the complaint says.

The CEOs of both bookstores say it is not possible for them to comply with the rating system required of book vendors in HB 900. The sheer volume of titles they would need to rate is too much, Charley Rejsek, CEO of BookPeople, said in a statement.

In a joint statement by the three bookseller associations, they said they are not questioning that content for students should be age-appropriate, but rather that they believe HB 900 does not accomplish such a goal.

“It robs parents, schools and teachers from across the state of Texas of the right to make decisions for their respective communities and classrooms, instead handing that role to a state entity and private businesses,” the statement says.

The complaint emphasizes how the plaintiffs believe HB 900 will “shatter” small bookstores in Texas, placing “additional economic pressure” on them.

Another one that was not on my list. Clearly, I didn’t have enough imagination. This bill certainly sounds ridiculous and anti-free speech and unenforceable, but who knows what the courts will make of it. Well, okay, I expect a sane ruling from the Austin district court, something bonkers from the Fifth Circuit, and a jump ball from SCOTUS. Isn’t this fun? The Chron has more.

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What does Mike Miles have against libraries?

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I do not care for this.

Superintendent Mike Miles, appointed in June by the Texas Education Agency to lead Houston ISD, will eliminate librarians and media specialists from the 28 campuses under his New Education System and an additional 57 aligned schools that opted into a version of the whole-scale systemic reform plan that aims to lift student achievement and improve the quality of instruction.

Miles said the former library spaces at most NES and NES-aligned campuses will instead be converted into “Teams centers” — formerly called Zoom rooms — where students who misbehave in the classroom will be sent to watch the lesson virtually and others can work alone or in groups for differentiated instruction.

The book collections will remain on the shelves at the schools with no librarians, according to the district, with students able to take them home through an honor system or access them during before and after school hours.

The new policy marks a big departure from the priorities outlined by the previous HISD administration led by former superintendent Millard House II, who aimed to put a librarian or media specialist at every campus in the district under his five-year strategic plan and invested millions of dollars in pandemic relief funding to purchase new library books.

“There was this great surge of improvement and excitement about the libraries, so it was so discouraging to take that step backwards,” said Anne Furse, a library advocate and co-founder of a group called Friends of HISD Libraries.

[…]

Miles said the staffing model for NES and NES-aligned schools does not include a librarian because the district must prioritize resources to meet specific outcomes, including closing the achievement gap, raising student proficiency and preparing kids for their future. His administration is raising teacher salaries and providing incentive bonuses to teachers and administrators at the campuses targeted for reform.

“Right now, we are going to try to raise achievement, we’re going to try to have high-quality instruction, so the focus is on those teachers who can do that,” he said. “If you have to prioritize resources, then you want to get a teacher who can deliver the science of reading versus a librarian.”

Miles questioned whether the House administration’s plan to expand librarians to more campuses was tied to any specific outcome, noting that schools should be judged by their results rather than their “inputs.”

“Any big initiative needs to come with metrics for success,” he said. “We’re not doing things that are just popular. We’re not doing things that we’ve always done, we’re not doing things that are just fun, we’re not doing things that are just nice to have or good, unless we can measure its success.”

At the most basic of levels, I can see where Miles is coming from on this. Libraries and librarians cost money, his NES program costs a lot of money, and you can only fire a bunch of central office staffers once. Disruptive kids need a place to go, so the now-repurposed libraries can serve for that. And if there isn’t a bunch of data showing a correlation between libraries and test scores, we know what will be prioritized. I get it.

But come on. Why can’t the libraries just serve the function of being a good place for the kids? One that can at least complement the laudable effort to improve reading scores by, you know, providing books for the kids to read. Not everything has to be laser-focused on the bottom line. Quality of life matters, too.

And you can use Miles’ logic to eliminate all kinds of other things that make school more than just test preparation. Music, art, theater, gym, recess, lunch – what empirical evidence do we have that those things improve outcomes? What data are we even using to evaluate the libraries?

I keep coming back to this point, but even if what Miles is doing has the effect of maximizing student gains in the short to medium term, if people don’t like the things he did to make that happen, they’re not going to support continuing to do them when he and the Board of Managers are out of here. He and the Board need to build trust and get the buy-in from the community. Moves like this don’t help that. I’m beginning to think Mike Miles did not learn this lesson from his experience as DISD Superintendent. Which, I have to say, does not add to my confidence in him as a leader.

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