Tag Archives: quarantine

It’s really hard out there on the restaurants

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I feel for them, but none of this is unsurprising. Celebrating her birthday in Galveston, Melinda Prince walked out of Yaga’s Cafe on Thursday full of coconut shrimp. What she didn’t realize was one of the employees at the restaurant … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Whistling past the ICU

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Clap louder! Gov. Greg Abbott and top Texas health officials on Tuesday responded to growing alarm over hospitals now swelling with coronavirus patients, assuring there is still plenty of space available even as some facilities have neared or surpassed capacity. … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A few bumps in the road for the NBA

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that season restarting going? A month ago, superstar players got on a Zoom call and reportedly created a united front to support a safe return to play. A lot has changed since. Last week, the 28 NBPA player representatives all voted … Continue reading →

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We’re about to find out what school might look like this fall

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Education leaders across Houston say they are working to welcome students like Alexis and Jayden back in the fall, but if guidelines released by the Texas Education Agency for in-person summer school are any indication of what’s to … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Threat level orange

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. A large, ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 places the Houston area on the second-highest of four public threat levels unveiled by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday. If troubling trends continue, including an increase in coronavirus cases and … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rating summertime risks

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You want to get outside and do things this summer? Here’s how to think about various activities in terms of risk, so you can do things that are safer and avoid things that are not. It has been around two … Continue reading →

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The local view of COVID hospitalizations

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More numbers. Three weeks after it stood out as the urban exception to the state’s spiking COVID-19 crisis, the Houston region has begun seeing a significant increase in cases and hospitalizations. The upturn, which began two weeks ago and accelerated … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here comes high school football

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Surely you didn’t think that Texas’ favorite sport would stay on the sidelines for long? More focus will be on instruction, caution and care than nailing the perfect squat rep when University Interscholastic League athletic programs return to in-person strength … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Coronavirus and Professional Bull Riding

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s how Professional Bull Riding managed to keep doing what it does during the pandemic. The PBR went on hiatus March 15 at the conclusion of an Unleash The Beast event in Duluth, Ga., that was closed to the public. … Continue reading →

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So how’s that reopening going?

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, there’s more of it. Gov. Greg Abbott announced his third phase Wednesday of reopening Texas businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing virtually all of them to operate at 50% capacity. That is effective immediately, and there are “very limited … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The reopening metric we should be heeding

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter: This graph is amazing. It shows that measuring #SARSCoV2 levels in municipal sewage almost perfectly predicts forthcoming #COVID19 cases with a full week’s notice (R=0.994). It’s one of several discoveries in this new study from @Yale: https://medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.19.20105999v1.full.pdf. C-19 … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

MLS agrees on its restart, WNBA still considering options

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More sports coming. The MLS Players Association voted Wednesday to approve a revised collective bargaining agreement with the league. The new deal will run through 2025 and clears the way for Major League Soccer to resume its 2020 season via … Continue reading →

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

NBA sets a plan, MLB still working it out

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Happening today. The NBA is finalizing details of a plan which is expected to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors on Thursday, paving the way for a return from the coronavirus shutdown. The board is poised to give … Continue reading →

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How low can sales tax collections go?

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re lucky, no lower than this. Texas collected about $2.6 billion in state sales tax revenue in May, leading to the steepest year-over-year decline in over a decade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday. The amount is 13.2% less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hotze and pals still crying to the Supreme Court

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to keep track of it all. Houston GOP activist Steve Hotze and a coalition of business owners and conservatives have launched a legal challenge claiming Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency orders related to the coronavirus violate the Texas Constitution. … Continue reading →

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

Please wear a mask

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t be that person. Seriously. Kara McIntyre remembers the day she likely contracted COVID-19 — she wasn’t wearing a face mask. She was at Target and began to feel dizzy. Later she checked her temperature and had a fever. So … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

Reopening 3.0

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Who wants to go to a water park? Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation Tuesday announcing additional services and activities that can resume under his second wave of reopenings, allowing food courts in shopping malls to reopen immediately and giving … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The COVID models remain pessimistic about Texas

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Make of this what you will. The coronavirus may still be spreading at epidemic rates in 24 states, particularly in the South and Midwest, according to new research that highlights the risk of a second wave of infections in places … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Nothing but gray skies ahead

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You want a small sign that things are returning to “normal”, here you go. Houston’s air pollution is returning to normal levels, following a period of cleaner skies during the stay-at-home orders put in place to slow the spread the … Continue reading →

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Abbott expects there to be college football this fall

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty optimistic, if you ask me. Gov. Greg Abbott said he believes college football will begin on schedule in Texas with some fans in the stands, he told KXAN during an interview Friday. “My prediction is yes we’re going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Dan Patrick gets all hysterical about voting by mail

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Poor Dan. You know how emotional he gets. Could someone get him a nice cup of chamomile tea, to help him calm down a bit? Thanks. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday said that efforts to expand mail-in voting during … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

That’s not how you test

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Texas health officials made a key change Thursday to how they report data about the coronavirus, distinguishing antibody tests from standard viral tests and prompting slight increases in the state’s oft-cited daily statistic known as the positivity rate. The … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The NBA inches closer to a return

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll know more soon. NBA teams are expecting the league office will issue guidelines around June 1 that will allow franchises to start recalling players who’ve left their markets as a first step toward a formal ramp-up for the season’s … Continue reading →

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Hidalgo extends stay-at-home order

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, sort of. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday issued new guidelines urging residents to stay home when possible, even as Gov. Greg Abbott reopens most businesses. The extended Stay Home, Work Safe order is in effect through June … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Are we headed towards a coronavirus spike?

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One set of researchers thinks we may be. Houston is one of several cities in the South that could see spikes in COVID-19 cases over the next four weeks as restrictions are eased, according to new research that uses cellphone … Continue reading →

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

Another profile of Judge Hidalgo

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good, and she deserves the attention she’s getting, but there’s something about this that bugs me a little, and I’m trying to put my finger on it. On March 1, before Harris County reported its first confirmed case of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Coronavirus and the State Supreme Court

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, nearly half of the State Supreme Court is up for election this November. You know, in case you had opinions about their recent opinions. Typically not top of mind for voters, the nine Republican justices of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

We still don’t know what the upcoming school year will look like

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of possibilities, no clear answer yet. Houston ISD officials are planning for the possibility that some — if not all — students will continue to take virtual classes at home to start the upcoming school year, Interim Superintendent Grenita … Continue reading →

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More reopening

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Onward we go, whether wise or not. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced his next wave of reopenings designed to restart the Texas economy during the coronavirus pandemic, saying child care facilities can reopen immediately, bars can open Friday with … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We don’t know enough about what’s happening at nursing homes

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked before about two of the main coronavirus hotspot types in Texas, prisons and meat processing plants. Now we’re going to talk about that third type, nursing homes. As the death toll grows at Texas nursing homes, so has the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

When is a strip club not a strip club?

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

When it’s a restaurant, with no strippers. What, did you think that was a trick question? A week after a temporary court order allowed a Houston strip club to resume operations, a federal judge has ruled that the club’s owner … Continue reading →

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MLS has a plan to start its season

Posted on May 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s Major League Soccer, and their plan may sound a bit familiar. With no indications of when it could resume the season in home markets, MLS has proposed placing all 26 teams in the Orlando area this summer and playing … Continue reading →

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

Mayor Turner and others test negative for COVID-19

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They were tested following the news about CM Plummer’s infection. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and two of his top aides have tested negative for COVID-19, the mayor’s office announced Thursday. Turner was tested for the novel coronavirus Tuesday by Kelsey-Seybold, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council goes virtual

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Houston City Council will go virtual beginning next week, Mayor Turner said Tuesday, a day after one of its 16 members tested positive for COVID-19. Turner said the switch to virtual meetings would continue for at least two … Continue reading →

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