Tag Archives: Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas

A small followup on the West 11th Street safety study

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This doesn’t really add much to what we had before, but I figured a little low-stakes story about something good was a thing we could use. 11th Street in the Houston Heights area became safer for everyone, including drivers, after … Continue reading →

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City report calls 11th Street a success

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? A Houston Public Works draft report obtained by Axios states that measures to slow traffic along 11th Street in the Heights have achieved key safety goals. Why it matters: The project — a polarizing rebuild completed under … Continue reading →

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Do I really need to worry about West 11th Street?

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. Houston Mayor John Whitmire is reevaluating several street infrastructure projects for effectiveness, including the completed 11th Street redesign despite the controversy surrounding the recent removal of pedestrian and cyclist upgrades on Houston Avenue. Whitmire, who took office … Continue reading →

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Paxton escapes open records lawsuit

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sheesh. The Travis County district attorney’s office will not proceed with a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for refusing to release his communications around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite determining that the attorney general … Continue reading →

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Paxton thumbs his nose at open records demand

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Water is wet. The sun rises in the east. Ken Paxton DGAF about government, ethics, accountability or any of that other namby-pamby stuff. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Travis County district attorney’s determination that Paxton violated open records laws … Continue reading →

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Paxton accused of violating open records law

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Put it on his tab. The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated the state’s open records law by not turning over his communications from last January, when he appeared at the pro-Trump rally that … Continue reading →

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What is Ken Paxton hiding?

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I was almost tempted to start this post with the rhetorical “Just when you think Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower” gambit, but then I realized I have never thought Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower. Even with that, this … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Bills to restore Open Meetings Act filed

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is good to see. Two state legislators are aiming to restore a provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that was struck down last week by the state’s highest criminal court. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Dade Phelan, … Continue reading →

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Not so open meetings

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll have to see how big a deal this is. In a major blow to the state’s government transparency laws, Texas’ highest criminal court has struck down a significant provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act, calling it “unconstitutionally vague.” … Continue reading →

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Darian Ward indicted on charge of violating public information laws

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s former press secretary, Darian Ward, was indicted by a grand jury this week for failing to turn over public records in response to a reporter’s request late last year. The indictment, handed up Tuesday but released … Continue reading →

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

More questions about body cameras and video accessibility

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Still sorting it all out. Months after statewide body camera legislation took effect and the Houston Police Department outlined its policies regarding the devices, local criminal justice watchdogs worry that some video from high-profile incidents may never see the light … Continue reading →

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A setback for transparency

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t care for this. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday limited the public’s right to know about private groups that get government funds. In a 6-3 opinion, the court sided with the Greater Houston Partnership, agreeing that GHP doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Texas Watchdog followup on HCC reports

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So after I published those HCC Trustee campaign finance reports, I got an email from Jennifer Peebles of Texas Watchdog, who asked me if I had redacted the files to hide the mailing addresses of the trustees and their donors. … Continue reading →

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