Tag Archives: George Floyd

Better cut your police budget now while you still can

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s one possible takeaway from this. The Texas House on Friday passed a bill to financially penalize the state’s largest cities if they cut their police budgets. The measure was sent to the Senate after two days of heated debate … Continue reading →

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Houston police reform items announced

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday unveiled a sweeping effort to reform policing in Houston by banning no-knock warrants for non-violent offenses, restructuring the police oversight board, publicly releasing body camera footage when officers injure or kill residents, … Continue reading →

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The guilty verdicts in the George Floyd murder trial

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t comment on this yesterday because I didn’t have anything original to say. Today I want to echo what so many others are saying in the wake of the guilty verdicts for the police officer who murdered George Floyd. … Continue reading →

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UH Hobby School poll: Popular things are popular

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’t the main takeaway here. More than two-thirds of Texans support raising some new taxes and using the state’s rainy day fund to patch budget shortfalls from the pandemic, according to a new survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

NBA agrees to offer its arenas as voting centers

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. “What was the plan?” was always the wrong question to ask of striking NBA players; what they wanted was to not play basketball, and they got it. But they used that time not playing to talk, to think and … Continue reading →

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Where are we again with the IPOB?

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Are we moving forward, or are we standing still? A longtime member of Houston’s Independent Police Oversight Board has resigned, saying the organization’s structure prevents it from providing meaningful oversight of the Houston Police Department and should be disbanded. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Introducing the George Floyd Act

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Coming this spring to the Legislature. Black lawmakers at the Texas Legislature unveiled on Thursday the George Floyd Act, a sweeping police reform proposal that would ban chokeholds across the state and require law enforcement officers to intervene or render … Continue reading →

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Your Harris County Republican Party

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

What can one possibly say? Keith Nielsen has taken office as the chairman of the Harris County GOP, despite saying he would not do so earlier this summer after facing backlash to an image he posted on Facebook juxtaposing a … Continue reading →

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

Of course there’s a lawsuit against Abbott’s mask order

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And of course it involves the usual suspects. The day Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate that face masks be worn in most public places across Texas went into effect, a GOP activist and group of conservatives filed a lawsuit in an … Continue reading →

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

Steps towards more transparency

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Step One: Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday he is reviewing an internal audit of the Houston Police Department’s embattled narcotics division and will send the results of the probe to state lawmakers who have called for its public release. Turner … Continue reading →

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Release the audit

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my three-word response to this. A growing chorus of elected officials is calling on Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to release the findings of an internal audit on his department’s narcotics division, arguing that the chief’s refusal to do … Continue reading →

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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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What are we going to do about that Independent Police Oversight Board?

Posted on June 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The easy answer is “make it better”, it’s how you do that that’s harder. As protests over George Floyd’s death swept the nation, activists in Houston cried out for police reform. Among their demands: Give us an independent police watchdog. … Continue reading →

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

Let’s fix the Sandra Bland Act

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s make it what it was supposed to have been in the first place. After Sandra Bland’s death in a rural Texas jail drew outrage across the nation, two Texas lawmakers filed a comprehensive bill to address racial profiling during … Continue reading →

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The current status on local police reform efforts

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, the budget amendment process didn’t do much. City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved Mayor Sylvester Turner’s $5.1 billion budget for the next fiscal year, slightly increasing funds for the Houston Police Department even as some cities are under pressure … Continue reading →

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Don’t forget about school police

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe we can take another crack at breaking the school-to-prison pipeline. Several social justice organizations called Monday for Houston ISD to eliminate its police department and contract with local law enforcement agencies, whose officers would respond only to emergency situations … Continue reading →

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Budget amendments and a fight over police reform

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s your City Council agenda for today. City council members have authored more than four dozen amendments to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposed budget to trim spending, create new sources of revenue and expand police accountability measures. Council members will take … Continue reading →

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

Commissioners Court to address police reform

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

On the agenda for today. Ten police and criminal justice reform items appear on Tuesday’s agenda; seven by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, two by County Judge Lina Hidalgo and one by Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. They would:  Examine … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Time for a task force

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A good step, but it needs to be followed by real action. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to appoint a task force to review Houston Police Department policies amid growing calls for reform following local and nationwide protests over the death … Continue reading →

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Where do they find these people?

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Five Texas GOP county leaders share racist Facebook posts, including one juxtaposing an MLK quote with a banana. Republican leaders in five Texas counties shared racist Facebook posts, some of which also floated conspiracy theories, leading Gov. Greg … Continue reading →

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Let’s talk “meaningful reform”

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Chief Acevedo brought it up, so let’s go there. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s voice cracked several times and his eyes welled as he railed against the death of George Floyd beneath a policeman’s knee and implored protesters to demonstrate … Continue reading →

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The George Floyd March

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Impressive. Sixty thousand people joined the family of George Floyd as well as elected officials and religious leaders today in a peaceful Houston march from Discovery Green to City Hall organized by rappers and civic activists Trae tha Truth, Bun … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Abbott issues disaster declaration following protests

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Where we are now. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sunday afternoon that the entire state of Texas will be placed under a disaster declaration in response to demonstrators in several Texas cities protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man … Continue reading →

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Justice for George Floyd

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I stand with the people who are rightfully demanding justice for George Floyd and the many many (far too many) other black men and women like George Lloyd who have been killed by police officers. I join those in being … Continue reading →

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