Tag Archives: quarantine

Turner to ask feds for some relief

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask. Mayor Sylvester Turner is asking the federal government to let Houston use an estimated $400 million in aid to help close its ballooning budget gap and reduce the number of expected furloughs in the fiscal year … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Did we mention that the next city budget is gonna suck?

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because it is, in case we hadn’t mentioned it before. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that the coronavirus crisis will impact “every facet of city governance” and require furloughs of city workers, though he declined to say how many … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

“There are more important things than living”

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, everybody. After facing intense criticism for suggesting on Fox News last month that he’d rather perish from the new coronavirus than see instability in the state’s economic system, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said last night that … Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The politics of social distancing

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not really a surprise. People in parts of the country that voted for President Donald Trump have worried less about COVID-19, especially as the new coronavirus was first emerging in the U.S., a new study out of Rice University found. … Continue reading →

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

Meet your recovery czars

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

For Harris County: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Monday named state Rep. Armando Walle the county’s COVID-19 recovery czar as local leaders determine how to eventually ease restrictions on public life meant to slow the spread of the disease. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Are we sure we’re using the right models?

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s check our assumptions before we do anything dumb. A widely followed model for projecting Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. is producing results that have been bouncing up and down like an unpredictable fever, and now epidemiologists are criticizing it … Continue reading →

Posted in National news, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The NBA is still looking for its way back

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody really knows what the next couple of months look like. On the eve of what would have been the start of the postseason, NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Friday said he could not predict when, if or how it … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and delivery workers

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a very obvious answer for this. Couriers delivering online orders of household essentials have become a lifeline for Houstonians hunkering down at home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. But a growing number of workers responsible for … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Here’s the official order in the TDP vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Round One went to the plaintiffs. From there, who knows. A Texas state district judge on Friday issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The local plea to reopen

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have a lot of sympathy, but I don’t think this is a great idea. A coalition of 350 local businesses is urging Mayor Sylvester Turner and County Judge Lina Hidalgo to begin May 1 to ease stay-at-home restrictions meant … Continue reading →

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Hotze sues Abbott and Paxton

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just another day at the office for this guy. A group of conservative activists and pastors that’s challenging Harris County’s stay-at-home order is now also suing Gov. Greg Abbott, claiming his recent executive order to stem the spread of Covid-19 … Continue reading →

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

So this is reopening

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s not much to this, is there? Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced initial steps to reopen the Texas economy during the coronavirus pandemic, including those that in the next week will loosen surgery restrictions at medical facilities, allow all … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Are we near the peak yet?

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We sure hope so, but it’s still a little soon to tell. After weeks of grim, ever-worsening statistics, Houston medical and public health leaders say the area has begun to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the rate at which the disease … Continue reading →

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Only the megadonors can save us now

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Actual headline, from an actual Houston Chronicle story: Dallas megadonor leads secret team charged with carrying out Dan Patrick’s plan to restart economy Remember how I said that the story of Steve Stockman and his supporters using the cover of … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend ISD will remain closed through the end of the school year

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They will not be alone in making this decision. Fort Bend ISD campuses will remain closed for the rest of the school year, Superintendent Charles Dupre said Tuesday, becoming the region’s first traditional district to declare its facilities will not … Continue reading →

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Defining tyranny down

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

These people, I swear. A group of conservatives, including an influential Texas activist, penned an open letter to President Donald Trump this week, asking him to restart the economy and “let Americans manage their own risks,” while decrying expanded government … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Whither college football?

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

All NCAA spring sports were canceled due to coronavirus, beginning with March Madness and going through baseball and softball and soccer and everything else. Everyone has been looking forward to the fall when things were supposed to be back to … Continue reading →

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

What does “reopening the economy” look like?

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll find out (sort of) later this week. Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that reopening the Texas economy will be a “slow process” guided by public health concerns as he continued to preview a forthcoming executive order that will detail … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judges have to do their part

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some could be doing better. Harris County’s largest association of criminal defense attorneys on Monday called on local judges to halt in-person court appearances to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. As the virus has swept across the nation, it … Continue reading →

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The Arizona/Florida Plan

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s call this the MLB Plan 2.0 for playing a season. Major League Baseball, assessing myriad proposals, has discussed a radical plan that would eliminate the traditional American and National Leagues for 2020, a high-ranking official told USA TODAY Sports, … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

We still have no idea how many people have been infected

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s just a real lack of testing being done. Six times in three weeks, Marci Rosenberg and her ailing husband and teenage children tried to get tested for the new coronavirus — only to be turned away each time, either … Continue reading →

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Ridiculous Hotze lawsuit now in district court

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We are all dumber by the mere existence of this. The Texas Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Harris County’s stay-at-home order, though the legal fight is set to continue in state district court. The Wednesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The NBA tries to look forward

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope + uncertainty = where we are right now. While expressing a hope that bordered on determination that the NBA would be able to salvage its season in some form, commissioner Adam Silver also said the unknowns in the COVID-19 … Continue reading →

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MLB begins to contemplate its return

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Major League Baseball and its players are increasingly focused on a plan that could allow them to start the season as early as May and has the support of high-ranking federal public health officials who believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Is CBD oil “essential health care”?

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

These are the questions of our times. The police went into Fatty’s Smoke Shop in Beverly Hills, a small city surrounded by Waco, last Wednesday about 10 a.m., owner Jesse Singh recalled. His business, they informed him, is not considered … Continue reading →

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

We don’t really know how many COVID-19 patients there are in Texas hospitals

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

For a variety of reasons, the data is hard to get a handle on. Texas is bracing for a pandemic that is projected to kill tens of thousands of people across the U.S., but health officials and state leaders are … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another obstacle to releasing inmates

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One step forward, one step back. As fear and COVID-19 crept though the Harris County Jail, felony judges halted the release of low-risk inmates on Friday, blocking the county chief executive’s order to free them to await trial. Sheriff Ed … Continue reading →

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

The May elections will not happen

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not in May, anyway. Citing the state’s stay-at-home order, the Texas secretary of state is instructing municipalities to delay their May 2 elections. In an email to local election officials sent Thursday afternoon, the state’s director of elections, Keith Ingram, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

That was a statewide stay-at-home order

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re under it now, even if you don’t want to call it that. Gov. Greg Abbott released a new video Wednesday clarifying that his executive order issued on Tuesday “requires all Texans to stay at home” except for essential … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Abbott imposes travel restrictions

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Where we are now. Gov. Greg Abbott is tightening travel to Texas by ordering some motorists from Louisiana to self-quarantine for two weeks. The new travel restrictions come as Louisiana’s status as a novel coronavirus hotspot grew Sunday to more … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Harris County stay-at-home order extended

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday extended her stay-at-home order through April 30, as cases of novel coronavirus infections in the Houston area continue to rise, three county officials with knowledge of the plan said. Hidalgo … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another “when might this peak” projection

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the Current: A new study suggests San Antonio’s current shelter-in-place order, which runs through April 9, may not be long enough to ride out the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Texas is more than a month away from the … Continue reading →

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

Steven Hotze’s death wish

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A hardline conservative power broker and three area pastors filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court Monday arguing that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s stay-at-home order violates the Constitution by ordering … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The rest of the H-GAC region

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As long as we’ve been talking about Waller County and Montgomery County, I thought I’d check in on the other members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council region. Harris County and six of its seven neighbors – Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments