Tag Archives: Katy

Katy ISD keeps doing Katy ISD things to library books

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it’s useful to be reminded, as we slog our way through another Year Of Mike Miles, that the suburban school districts around us have their own unique set of dysfunctions. The Katy ISD board of trustees passed a … Continue reading →

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HPD has a new Chief

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the new guy. Months of searching for Houston’s next full-time police chief ended with Mayor John Whitmire naming J. Noe Diaz, leader of the less than 100-person Katy Police Department, as Troy Finner’s replacement in charge of the nation’s … Continue reading →

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Some further special election stuff

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We begin with this from the inbox. The Harris County Clerk’s Office posted the unofficial May 4 Uniform and Special Elections results on the Harris Votes website early Sunday morning, with 56,612 ballots cast in total. About 2% of Harris … Continue reading →

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The continuing problems of At Large-only school boards

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing take a look at the big picture. In Katy and several Houston-area districts, school boards have employed an election system — known as “at-large districts” — that has contributed to most trustees living in wealthier neighborhoods, a Houston … Continue reading →

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Two book ban updates

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Bad news. A state law banning “sexually explicit” books from Texas schools will now go into effect, after an appeals court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling. The three-judge panel did not offer any reasoning. Their decision is temporary until … Continue reading →

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Katy ISD’s book banning

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What are these people doing? Katy Independent School District has remained silent on the reasons 14 additional books were removed from shelves and how the district’s book review policy is being implemented, despite a public pledge of transparency on book … Continue reading →

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Katy ISD attacks its LGBTQ+ students

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Shameful. Katy Independent School District trustees narrowly voted Monday to enact several restrictions on how employees can handle gender identity matters after listening to over four hours of public testimony overwhelmingly against the measure. In a heated 4-3 vote, Katy … Continue reading →

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A “who not to vote for” guide in Katy ISD

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For your information. The Katy ISD school board race has taken a sharp political turn as some candidates vying for the nonpartisan position accepted Republican party endorsements and appeared on flyers that attacked their opponents as “far left” supporters of … Continue reading →

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Katy ISD challenged over at large districts

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This was from before Christmas but I didn’t have a chance to write about it until now. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund sent a letter Tuesday to Katy ISD accusing the district of disenfranchising Black and Latino voters … Continue reading →

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It’s not a teacher shortage yet

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But you can see one on the horizon. School districts across the Houston region are trying to fill thousands of teacher vacancies before most will be welcoming students back to classrooms in the coming weeks. A review of about 18 area school districts’ job … Continue reading →

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The poisoned fruit of the anti-Critical Race Theory tree

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pass stupid, racist laws, get stupid, racist outcomes. A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students … Continue reading →

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Parents sue Katy ISD over its mask mandate

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Someday, these dumb stories will stop happening. Others will replace them, to be sure, but this type of dumb story will eventually fade away. A group of parents are suing the Katy Independent School District, calling its continued requirement for … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Other cities

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages I mentioned in an earlier post that I might look at election results … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: State propositions and Katy bonds

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, did you know that there are constitutional amendments on the ballot? It’s true! (Spoiler alert: There are constitutional amendments on the ballot every odd-numbered year.) The Chron has some recommendations for how to vote on them. State of Texas, … Continue reading →

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Remember the Katy Prairie

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the four things we could have done differently to maybe mitigate some of the worst effects of Harvey: Preserve and restore as much prairie land as possible Much of northwest Houston used to be covered in prairie land, where … Continue reading →

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Here comes Conroe

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not so little anymore. This isn’t the first time Conroe, population 82,286, has recorded notable growth. In 2015, it was one of the 13 fastest-growing cities by percentage, ranking sixth below other Texas cities like San Marcos, Georgetown and Frisco. … Continue reading →

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Early voting for May elections begins tomorrow

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is the first day of the nine-day early voting period for the May 6 election. I’ve generally not paid a great deal of attention to these May elections, but it’s safe to say that This Time It’s Different, and … Continue reading →

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Please don’t compare George Scott to Dave Wilson

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, come on. I was a bit confused when conservative blogger George Scott told me he planned to strap on ice skates before heading to his swearing-in ceremony this past week as a Katy school board member. Was this … Continue reading →

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Typhoon Texas

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Someplace new for the summer. Not far from Katy Mills Mall, rainbow-colored slides tower seven stories high over a new water park that has taken shape on 25 acres. A short hill with a waterfall running through it greets visitors. … Continue reading →

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George Scott hangs on after recount

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A win by six votes is still very much a win. A longtime Katy ISD board member conceded defeat Tuesday to a district critic in a closely watched race after a recount did not show him closing the narrow margin. … Continue reading →

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George Scott holds on in Katy ISD race

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Every vote matters, y’all. A longtime critic of the Katy Independent School District has ousted a 27-year incumbent from the board of trustees, winning by three votes out of nearly 3,000 cast, according to unofficial total results announced Friday. Conservative … Continue reading →

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Early voting for May 7 elections begins today

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember that special election to fill out Mayor Turner’s unexpired term in HD139? Early voting for it – and for the other elections on the May 7 ballot – begins today. Who knew, right? Here’s the press release from … Continue reading →

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Interview with George Scott

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t often pay attention to the May elections in even-numbered years. There’s usually nothing on my ballot, and the big cities that have May elections have them in odd years. One entity that is having an election around here … Continue reading →

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Keeping an eye on Katy ISD

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This could be interesting. Some of the details of George Scott’s “shadow school board” are still that – shadowy. But as the conservative blogger has assembled a group to meet regularly to reach its own conclusions about the business of … Continue reading →

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What if they threw an election and nobody ran?

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Katy! The Katy City Council on Monday night canceled May’s municipal elections after no one sought to challenge the mayor and two other incumbents. The deadline to file to run was at the end of February. The only candidates … Continue reading →

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First impressions of the 2014 results

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

My initial thoughts, for what they are worth. – Let me begin by saying that for all the criticism I had of the UT/Texas Trib’s polling and the skepticism of Internet-sample methodology, they were fairly accurate in the end. In … Continue reading →

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Election results: Harris County

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The big story: RIP, Astrodome. A $217 million bond measure to fund a massive Astrodome renovation failed by several percentage points, a decision expected to doom it to the wrecking ball. Proposition 2 would have allowed Harris County to issue … Continue reading →

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Population growth in the Houston suburbs

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Newswatch blog had a post the other day showing population changes in different ethnic groups for a number of Houston suburbs between 2000 and 2010. It was done as a chart, and while it was a very nice … Continue reading →

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Build it here, flood it there

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We can argue and debate all we want about where development should occur, and what responsibilities developers and governments have to protect flood plains and abate flooding and whatnot, but at the end of the day there’s a simple truth … Continue reading →

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Tough times for local governments

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna be a bad year. They’re not feeling the economic storm quite yet, but local governments across the Houston region are hunkering down anyway. Some have frozen hiring, others have stopped filling potholes. Planned purchases of police cars, golf … Continue reading →

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