Tag Archives: Fort Bend County

Early voting for May elections begins Monday

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Almost one million of Harris County’s registered voters will be eligible to vote in elections conducted during the May 9, 2015 Uniform Election, according to Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, the chief elections officer of the county. … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend ISD

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A lot going on over there. With a fifth-grader in Palmer Elementary School in Missouri City, Steve Brown has begun to think about where his son should attend middle school. The campus is just a two-minute drive from the current … Continue reading →

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Vote centers in Fort Bend

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to like this idea. Voters may get more flexibility on Election Day as Fort Bend become the largest county in the Houston area to consider moving away from precinct polling sites. “A voter could vote at any location … Continue reading →

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Metro board seeks to expand

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s change that has been anticipated since the 2010 Census data was released. With all indications pointing to more people in the Metropolitan Transit Authority service area living outside Houston than inside the city, Metro officials are asking to accelerate … Continue reading →

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Morrison’s challenge

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I often said last year that I wanted to get through the 2014 elections before worrying too much about the 2015 ones. I feel the same way this year, and thus don’t plan to spend much time writing about 2016 … Continue reading →

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On game rooms and gambling

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Fort Bend County wants to follow in the footsteps of Harris County when it comes to dealing with game rooms. Last weekend, Fort Bend County sheriff’s deputies raided the H-90 Game Room on U.S. 90A east of Richmond, … Continue reading →

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Appraisal caps back on the agenda

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The idea will never die, unfortunately. No matter what the effects are. Local officials in the Houston area say they are concerned that incoming state leaders will push for tax relief measures that could limit their ability to meet the … Continue reading →

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On being Ron Reynolds

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Just because everyone’s out to get you doesn’t mean your behavior is above reproach. To hear Ron Reynolds tell it, the embattled state representative is just plain misunderstood. Over the past decade, Reynolds has been sanctioned twice by the state … Continue reading →

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The wildlife was here first

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not that it does them any good. For years, caretakers have tended to injured wildlife displaced by development, which has replaced lush treetops with sprawling rooftops. Now, local suburban wildlife centers face a secondary complication of having a shortage of … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend’s electoral future

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Bend County isn’t what it used to be politically, but it’s also not what it ought to be headed for yet. It has been more than two decades since a Democrat won countywide office in Fort Bend, but swift … Continue reading →

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Wilvin Carter

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there are interesting races for District Attorney in Harris, Dallas, and Bexar Counties. Turns out there’s one in Fort Bend County, too. As Fort Bend County District Attorney, John Healey has faced competitive elections before. Since a … Continue reading →

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2014 Day Three EV totals

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But first, a little angst. I feel a bit uncomfortable after Day Two of Early Voting in Person. Here are a couple of concerning tweets from yesterday: Scott Braddock ‏@scottbraddock 2h2 hours ago Those Harris County early vote totals are … Continue reading →

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More on the voter registration numbers

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wayne Slater has a contrarian perspective on the voter registration numbers. Getting new voters begins with registering new people. When the secretary of state last week announced a record-high 14 million Texans are registered to vote, Battleground Texas trumpeted that … Continue reading →

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Saving SD10 and other benchmarks

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer looks at the race to succeed Wendy Davis in SD10. It’s a steamy, hot summer morning in the Metroplex, and at the Dixie House, a Southern-style diner in east Ft. Worth where gravy flows like water, Libby Willis … Continue reading →

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911 to text is here

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Text-to-911 service is available now in Harris and Fort Bend counties for Verizon and T-Mobile wireless customers. “This is not to be used just because people like to text, but when people cannot make a voice call,” said … Continue reading →

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Text to 911 option coming locally

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ever wonder why you can’t text 911? Well, in Harris and Fort Bend Counties, you will soon be able to. By the end of the year, millions of Houston-area residents are expected to have a silent alternative: the Text-to-911 option … Continue reading →

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Commuter rail status

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still a push for commuter rail in Houston. With freight trains on Houston area tracks teeming with cargo, supporters of commuter rail to the suburbs are focusing on three spots where they can potentially build their own lines for … Continue reading →

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One point of perspective on the repeal petitions

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the HERO-haters turning in their repeal petitions. Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance Thursday turned in well more than the minimum number of signatures needed to trigger a November vote on whether to repeal the … Continue reading →

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Medical Center mobility

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The problems they face today pale in comparison to the problems they will face in the future. Already the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center is poised to get much bigger, prompting a raft of ideas ranging from … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the turnout issue in 2014

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I wrote yesterday about turnout for this year’s election. The main problem that Democrats face this year is that turnout has basically been flat for them since 2002 in the off year elections. I began to write a post to … Continue reading →

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More on the Fort Bend ISD iPad failure

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer presents a good overview of the disastrous iPad experiment at the Fort Bend Independent School District. An audit of Fort Bend ISD’s iAchieve program released last month, details the ways the effort was cursed. (You can read the … Continue reading →

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Interview with BGTX Summer Fellow Elizabeth Garcia

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I trust by now you are familiar with the mission on Battleground Texas. With the Wendy Davis filibuster and all that’s been going on in the Legislature lately, it feels like they arrived at just the right time. But Battleground … Continue reading →

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Suburban poverty

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just as the Houston area has seen a population boom in recent years, so has it seen a large increase in poverty, to the point where there are more people in poverty in Houston’s suburbs than in the city. The … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend County Commissioners Court supports Medicaid expansion

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Bend County, y’all. RESOLUTION OF THE FORT BEND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT IN SUPPORT OF EXPANSION OF MEDICAIL) COVERAGE WHEREAS, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured [24%) and underinsured in the United States and 23% of the residents of … Continue reading →

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A constituent’s letter to Rep. Reynolds

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I was forwarded the following email to Rep. Ron Reynolds: Dear Representative Reynolds, I wanted to believe you when I voted for you in 2010 despite knowing that you had been sanctioned twice by the State Bar, and subsequently had … Continue reading →

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Rep. Reynolds indicted for barratry again

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sheesh. Dozens of law enforcement officers simultaneously raided multiple law offices and two chiropractic clinics Monday morning for their alleged involvement in a kickback scheme to sign up clients, according to an I-Team review of court records. In all, arrest … Continue reading →

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On city delegations and firefighter pensions

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There are two points of interest in this Chron editorial about the Legislature and the desire of the city to get a bill passed that would give it some leverage over the firefighters in their fight over the pension fund. … Continue reading →

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What they’re saying about education

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a couple of stories focusing on area legislators and their priorities for 2013. There will be many new faces in the Lege and the Senate in this session, so the more we know about what these folks … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: City propositions

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And we come to the city of Houston bond referenda, of which there were five on the ballot. Here’s the usual breakdown of them: Dist A Yes A No B Yes B No C Yes C No D Yes D … Continue reading →

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What I’ll be looking for tonight

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that I’ll be on KPFT tonight starting at 7 PM to talk about the elections. Here’s a preview of the things I’ll be looking for: 1. SD10 – Sen. Wendy Davis vs Mark Shelton: Easily the most … Continue reading →

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Pro tip: Vote only once

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. After the Fort Bend Star received a tip about the Republican candidate for Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner, the Star conducted an in-depth review of Bruce Fleming and his wife, Nancy Fleming’s voting record. Our research found that … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend ISD goes BYOD

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Students in the Fort Bend Independent School District may now bring their own mobile device to class to connect to the school’s WiFi and be part of the curriculum. Fort Bend ISD’s policy allows students to use electronic devices to … Continue reading →

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Interview with Vy Nguyen

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Bend County is one of the most diverse places in America, with roughly equal shares of Anglo, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian populations. It’s fast-growing, now with three full State Rep. districts and a part of a fourth, and becoming … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend Brewing

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Microbreweries sure are a growth industry around here. Chris Leonard came to Houston and was struck by the similarity with his hometown of Philadelphia. It was enough to convince him to move to Missouri City from the City of Brotherly … Continue reading →

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