Tag Archives: California

Hyperloops

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a hyperloop! Entrepreneur Elon Musk announced Thursday that he wants to build a “test track” for his idea for a futuristic high-speed transportation system called the Hyperloop, adding … Continue reading →

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Promote equality, promote the economy

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough formula. When the courts finally declare Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage illegal, which most people think they will, it could mean a boost for the wedding and hospitality industry as 23,200 couples tie the knot, according … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against Comcast over residential WiFi hotspots

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Two San Francisco-area residents are suing Comcast for plugging their home’s wireless router into what they call a power-wasting, Internet-clogging, privacy threatening network of public WiFi hot spots. The class-action lawsuit, filed last week in … Continue reading →

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Texas woman denied driver’s license over same-sex marriage

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the headline of this Observer story, and it’s just as infuriating as you think it is. A woman who recently relocated from California says the Texas Department of Public Safety refused to issue her an accurate driver’s license because … Continue reading →

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Of course the film industry thinks we need more film incentives

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all money to them. Why wouldn’t they think the state should provide more funding for them? A Warner Bros. executive told a panel of Texas lawmakers they would have to pony up more cash for film industry incentives if … Continue reading →

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Another look at Perry’s slush fund

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Like everything with Rick Perry, there’s less to it than meets the eye. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has distributed $205 million in taxpayer money to scores of technology startups using a pet program designed to bring high-paying jobs and innovation … Continue reading →

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We don’t need no (sex) education

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the state of Texas leading the nation in yet another unflattering category. In Texas and across the country, the rate of teenage births has declined significantly since its peak in 1991. Birth rates among teenagers in Texas dropped 43 … Continue reading →

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Once again, where are the jobs Rick Perry was trying to poach?

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Politico revisits a familiar subject. Since as early as February of last year and as recently as April of this one, Perry has made eight trips to six different states, all of which have one very particular thing in common: … Continue reading →

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Sriracha post-mortem

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Motley Fool wonders if State Rep. Jason Villalba should get the credit for the resolution of the Great Sriracha Dispute of 2014. In early January, Texas state representative Jason Villalba made a public invitation to David Tran to pack … Continue reading →

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Sriracha dispute settled

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The City of Irwindale’s long national nightmare is finally over. Sriracha’s spicy relationship with the City Council cooled off a bit Wednesday after officials unanimously dismissed a lawsuit and public nuisance declaration against manufacturer Huy Fong Foods. The standoff between … Continue reading →

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California AG office does better on pay equity than Texas AG office

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gotta sting. Female lawyers in the California state prosecutor’s office don’t fall as far behind their male counterparts in pay as do female lawyers in the Texas attorney general’s office, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Since March, the … Continue reading →

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The other reason why Huy Fong won’t move to Texas

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In a word, water. Huy Fong Foods, which is staying put for now, is different from Toyota and other companies that have recently been wooed or moved to Texas. It is an agribusiness, relying on thousands of tons of local … Continue reading →

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The Sriracha delegation arrives in California

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Can you feel the excitement? The self-styled “sriracha delegation” of Texas lawmakers heads to Irwindale, Calif., on Monday to woo the maker of a popular hot sauce to the Lone Star State. And the makeup of the delegation makes clear … Continue reading →

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Sriracha for San Antonio?

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Jason Villalba will finally make his pilgrimage to California to visit Huy Fong Foods and try to convince them to pick up stakes and move to Texas. State and city officials are hoping to woo the CEO of … Continue reading →

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Even if the Sriracha factory moves, that doesn’t mean it will move to Texas

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of competition for them. After months of heated negotiations with the city of Irwindale over the smell of Sriracha hot sauce, Huy Fong Foods Chief Executive David Tran is appealing to a higher power: a member of … Continue reading →

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Sorry, the Sriracha factory will not be coming to Texas

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The ongoing battle between the makers of Sriracha sauce and their hometown flared up again last week. The Irwindale City Council has voted unanimously to declare the spicy smell of Sriracha hot sauce production a public nuisance. Once the council … Continue reading →

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Would pot be a cash crop?

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a serious look at Kinky Friedman’s campaign platform. Currently, it is illegal to grow and possess marijuana in Texas and most other states, and while hemp is legal for consumption, Texas and most other states do not … Continue reading →

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The rideshare battles continue

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston: The issue came up at yesterday’s council meeting and Mayor Annise Parker said that undercover Houston police sting operations have resulted in 26 citations for Uber and Lyft drivers. They were likely, misdemeanor violations for operating an illegal … Continue reading →

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Perry’s No Jobs Tour continues

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

TrailBlazers takes the bait. Rick Perry is on the road again. But then, he’s rarely off it these days. This weekend, he’s in Western Kentucky at Murray State University to headline a Republican Party fundraiser. Then, it’s off to California … Continue reading →

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Still seeking Sriracha for Texas

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Jason Villalba has a dream. Rep. Jason Villalba wants to move production of his favorite spicy condiment to the North Texas area. A plant in Dallas, Richardson, Plano, or another Texas community could help bring jobs to the … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker to get married?

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

According to CultureMap, the answer is Yes. Although Mayor Annise Parker has vowed that she and her longtime partner, Kathy Hubbard, will not wed until gay marriage is legal in Texas, in recent interviews the mayor has softened her stance. … Continue reading →

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LA goes big on iPads in schools

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like we’re still on the tip of the iceberg, but that a lot more of this is coming soon. Students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will receive 31,000 free iPads this school year under a new … Continue reading →

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So where are the jobs he’s been trying to poach?

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an obvious question to ask about this story, but I don’t see it being asked. After a couple of high profile job-poaching trips to California and Illinois, Gov. Rick Perry is planning a new raid — this time on … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS same-sex marriage cases likely won’t affect Texas

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, anyway. But it’s a matter of time. Charles “Rocky” Rhodes is a professor at South Texas College of Law. He says the case that involves the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is narrowly focused. “The provision of … Continue reading →

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Driverless cars in Texas

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You have perhaps heard the news that Google’s driverless car has been approved for street usage in California; specifically, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to draft regulations for autonomous … Continue reading →

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Techies and the city

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The reason why tech companies are eschewing suburban campuses for urban office locations. For as long as many of us can remember, high-tech industries have flourished in the suburban office parks that are so ubiquitous in Silicon Valley, North Carolina’s … Continue reading →

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No Medicaid expansion for you!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. Texas will not expand Medicaid or establish a health insurance exchange, two major tenets of the federal health reform that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, Gov. Rick Perry said in an early morning announcement. … Continue reading →

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California-style primaries

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m deeply skeptical of this. In 2010, California voters approved getting rid of party-based primaries and adopting a “top-two” set-up, sometimes called a jungle primary. This month, the state tried the new primary model in which candidates of all parties … Continue reading →

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Another reason why Texas has a high teen pregnancy rate

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’re lousy at sex education. In the mid-1990s, California embraced sex education that teaches students the importance of waiting until they’re older to have sex, but also the value of using protection if they don’t wait. Compare this with classrooms … Continue reading →

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Another day in the sun for Wentworth

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The longer that the redistricting litigation drags on, the more opportunities there will be for stories to be written about State Sen. Jeff Wentworth and his bipartisan redistricting commission proposal. State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has been a longtime … Continue reading →

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Amazon cuts a deal with California

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Amazon.com cut a tentative deal with legislative leaders Wednesday night that would allow it to postpone collecting sales taxes from Californians for another year. The company in turn would drop its battle to overturn the state’s new law that … Continue reading →

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Amazon to push for ballot initiative in California

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I believe we are entering “last refuge of the scoundrel” territory here. Amazon said [last] Monday that it would back a California ballot initiative that would roll back a new state law that forces more online retailers to collect sales … Continue reading →

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Amazon versus California

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting real in the Golden State. Saying it won’t force California customers to pay sales tax on their Internet purchases, Amazon.com is severing ties with 10,000 small businesses and individuals here who funnel shoppers to the online bazaar through … Continue reading →

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Texas lags on rail: Film at 11

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m pretty sure we’ve seen this story before, but here it is again anyway. According to a study commissioned by the Texas Transportation Commission, during the next 20 years, more than $300 billion in 2009 dollars needs to be invested … Continue reading →

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