Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

Yeah, we won’t get the CD18 election until November

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the conclusion to draw from this Trib story. Three weeks after U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death and just over a month before the state’s next uniform election, Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet called a special election to fill … Continue reading →

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An early overview of the CD18 special election

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Whenever it may be. After a whirlwind week of campaign announcements, endorsements and articles by national media, voters in Congressional District 18 could be forgiven for thinking Election Day is right around the corner. In fact, the candidates vying for … Continue reading →

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Yet another part of the omnibus vote suppression law struck down

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s taken awhile, but I can’t argue with the outcome. A federal judge in San Antonio has ruled that the state of Texas’ ID requirements for mail ballot applications are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez on Thursday found that … Continue reading →

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Paxton opines against birth certificate and drivers license changes

Posted on March 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This fuckin’ guy… State agencies should not honor court orders to change the sex on someone’s driver’s license or birth certificate, according to an opinion filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Friday. He also said state agencies should retroactively … Continue reading →

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Justice Department drops Texas redistricting lawsuit

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised. The U.S. Justice Department withdrew from a lawsuit alleging that Texas’ legislative and congressional district maps drawn after the 2020 U.S. census discriminated against Latino and Black voters by denying them an equal opportunity to participate … Continue reading →

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Of course some companies will make bank on school vouchers

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That’s just how this works. In August 2024, the business magazine Inc. released its annual list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States. At 815th, a burgeoning upstart called ClassWallet cracked the list’s top 20 percent for the third straight … Continue reading →

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Once again, don’t bet on expanded gambling

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the safest wager out there. A dozen Texas House Republicans who replaced pro-gambling lawmakers said this week they would oppose “any attempt to expand gambling” this session — a setback for efforts to legalize casinos and sports betting in … Continue reading →

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Chron calls for Abbott to get on with it in CD18

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I doubt he’ll listen, but it can’t hurt to try. When the Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee died in July, the 18th Congressional District mourned the loss of a dedicated and longtime public servant. Fortunately, there was already a well-publicized election … Continue reading →

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Comptroller Hegar to be next A&M Chancellor

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats, now try not to screw it up. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar will be the next chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, overseeing 11 universities that educate more than 157,000 students and eight state agencies, including the Texas Division … Continue reading →

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Considering the CD18 special election question

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Press dives right in. Shortly after the news broke Wednesday morning of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s death, speculation began about a special election for his U.S. Congressional seat — a post he’d held for just two months. Political … Continue reading →

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RIP, Rep. Sylvester Turner

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This came as a total shock yesterday morning. U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, state legislator and institution in Houston Democratic politics, died early Wednesday morning. He was 70. Turner’s death comes two months into his first term … Continue reading →

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Here comes the CDC

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know we still have one of those. A measles outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 cases, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is now on the ground in that state to respond. … Continue reading →

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Time for a measles update

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

One forty-six. And counting. The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status … Continue reading →

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The Texas abortion ban has led to a sharp increase in sepsis

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The hits just keep on coming. Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021, ProPublica found in a first-of-its-kind data analysis. The rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when … Continue reading →

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Texas Lottery Commission bans online ticket firms

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Tossing a bucket of water onto a raging inferno. The Texas Lottery Commission on Monday announced that it is banning so-called courier services, companies that skirt the state’s legal prohibition on online ticket sales by taking orders for lottery tickets … Continue reading →

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Some kind of immigration action happening at Colony Ridge

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Could be a big deal, or could just be Monday. Hard to say for sure. A state and federal law enforcement operation targeting “criminals and illegal immigrants” in Colony Ridge took place Monday morning, according to a social media post by Gov. … Continue reading →

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Roberson files another appeal

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I wish him luck. Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson filed a new appeal with the state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday in his first attempt to overturn his death sentence since an unprecedented intervention by a state legislative committee … Continue reading →

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On paying for school security

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege passed a big unfunded mandate in 2023 for schools to hire more security guards. They’re under some pressure to pay up for it this session, though there’s plenty of reason to think they’ll still cheap out. Since Texas … Continue reading →

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Abbott says he’s for sports betting

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t really change anything, though. Gov. Greg Abbott is ready to allow online sports betting in Texas. In an exclusive interview for the Texas Take Podcast, Abbott said he has no objection to the Texas Legislature passing a law to … Continue reading →

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Maybe do more than just worry about what mass deportations might do to Texas?

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a thought. In Texas, undocumented people have built apartment complexes and skyscrapers that changed skylines. They have picked fruits and vegetable in fields, cooked in restaurant kitchens, cleaned hospitals and started small businesses. They have become stitched into communities … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abbott wants federal reimbursement for all his border boondoggle spending

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the federal government for more than $11 billion in reimbursements to Texas for the costs of border security operations and wall construction during the Biden administration. In letters sent Thursday to … Continue reading →

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SCOTx hears Paxton’s appeal of the Annunciation House case

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A big one. The Texas Attorney General’s Office told sometimes skeptical Texas Supreme Court justices Monday that El Paso’s Annunciation House migrant shelters are harboring undocumented immigrants and can’t use Catholic religious beliefs as a legal justification for its actions. … Continue reading →

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Who wants to sell Houston’s water to West Texas?

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have questions. Gov. Greg Abbott is said to be exploring a plan to buy water from Houston and send it to West Texas — a potentially contentious idea that comes as he has teased “totally transformative” measures in the … Continue reading →

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Abbott appoints a bunch of judges

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to be the king. Justice Jimmy Blacklock, a conservative ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, has been named the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He replaces Nathan Hecht, the court’s longest serving justice, who stepped down … Continue reading →

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Whitmire’s first year

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a story about how Mayor Whitmire’s first year has gone, and I’ll get to that shortly, but first I want to look at this story, about his efforts to get help from the state government for the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Senate 2024

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: President The US Senate race between Colin Allred and Ted Cruz was easily the best Democratic result, the race most like 2020, with Allred winning by over 11 points and 175K votes. The precinct numbers reflect this margin of … Continue reading →

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Reviving Texas’ uranium mines

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. In the old ranchlands of South Texas, dormant uranium mines are coming back online. A collection of new ones hope to start production soon, extracting radioactive fuel from the region’s shallow aquifers. Many more may follow. These mines are … Continue reading →

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Phelan withdraws his Speaker bid

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Palace intrigue time. House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced he is dropping his bid for another term leading the lower chamber, ending a bruising, monthslong intraparty push to remove him from power. Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, had previously insisted … Continue reading →

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Miles’ record on the HISD budget

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A closer look from the Houston Landing. In his first year, Houston ISD’s state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, ushered in several changes that sparked massive media attention and community pushback — but another important set of shake-ups took place largely behind … Continue reading →

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PUC releases its initial CenterPoint report

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Some reasonable recommendations in there. The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday made public the results of its investigation into the performance of CenterPoint Energy and other Houston-area electric utilities during Hurricane Beryl and the May derecho, offering up … Continue reading →

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SBOE to support “Bible-infused curriculum”

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? A majority of the Texas State Board of Education signaled their support Tuesday for a state-authored curriculum under intense scrutiny in recent months for its heavy inclusion of biblical teachings. Ahead of an official vote … Continue reading →

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SCOTx lets Robert Roberson get another execution date

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

But thank God that separation of powers was preserved. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled a House committee overstepped its authority when it effectively stalled Robert Roberson’s execution by issuing an eleventh-hour subpoena. The ruling clears the way for … Continue reading →

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Nevaeh Crain

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

ProPublica said it had two stories of women who died after being unable to get an abortion during a miscarriage. This is the second one. Candace Fails screamed for someone in the Texas hospital to help her pregnant daughter. “Do … Continue reading →

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Josseli Barnica

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Remember her name. Josseli Barnica grieved the news as she lay in a Houston hospital bed on Sept. 3, 2021: The sibling she’d dreamt of giving her daughter would not survive this pregnancy. The fetus was on the verge of … Continue reading →

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