Tag Archives: Land Commissioner

Texas and Oklahoma peacefully settle their border dispute

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Well, at least one thing went well this past week. Texas just altered its border with Oklahoma. Well, a small sliver of it, anyway. And, no, Texas didn’t become any bigger. After years of dispute over how the boundary between … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The lost Harvey recovery funds

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good job on the audit front. Now let’s see what we can learn from this. Houston lost at least $8.5 million in potential reimbursements for a federally funded Hurricane Harvey home repair program due to missed deadlines and filing errors, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Mayor and the Land Commissioner are buds

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. On Mayor John Whitmire’s first day in office, he got a call from Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. Her message? “We want to work with the City of Houston,” Whitmire recounted at an … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

No federal action to un-screw Houston on Harvey relief funds

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, anyway. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. The federal government is punting for now on enforcing a finding that Texas discriminated against communities of color when it stiffed Houston in distributing flood mitigation funds stemming from Hurricane Harvey. The Department … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here she comes. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee kicked off her campaign for mayor Friday night with a rally on the rooftop of Post Houston, promising to “unlock City Hall” for all residents and embrace their diversity while outlining a municipal agenda to tackle … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Chron story on the anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. A bill that would reshape future legal battles over Texas’ public beach boundaries is stirring backlash from advocates and former state leaders, who claim the proposal would give beachfront property owners the green light to vacuum up … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chron story on the anti-Open Beaches bill

Former Land Commissioners oppose anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Among coastal states Texas is unique. The 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act (TOBA), as well as time-honored common law and tradition in existence since long before 1959, provides that Texas beaches are open to the public. In … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here come the new floodplain maps

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to tell you if you are now in the floodplain. When Harris County debuts a massive overhaul of its floodplain maps later this year, the Houston area will be the first in the country to rely on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here come the new floodplain maps

Precinct analysis: The not-as-good statewide races

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread Hidalgo versus Mealer Better statewide races The difference between these statewide races and the ones we have already looked at, including the Governor’s race, is very simple: These Republican candidates did better … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

New Land Commissioner, same screw job for Houston and Harris County

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t expect any different. I’m still mad about it. When akewayLakeway Republican Dawn Buckingham jumps from the Texas Senate to the helm of the state General Land Office next month, she will inherit control of the state’s Hurricane Harvey recovery, a slow-moving multibillion-dollar … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on New Land Commissioner, same screw job for Houston and Harris County

Endorsement watch: You have to want it first, part 2

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Jay Kleberg for Land Commissioner over his no-show opponent. This year’s campaign for land commissioner is a battle over the job description for the state’s oldest public office. The Texas General Land Office manages disaster relief, helps … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: You have to want it first, part 2

Interviews with Janet Dudding and Jay Kleberg

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We are at the point of the calendar where there are only a few interviews left for me to do, and everyone is super busy and has things come up at inconvenient times. The upshot is that I don’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hispanic Policy Foundation: Abbott 51, Beto 44

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One more poll to look at. There’s an old adage that says the more things change, the more they stay the same. And according to our new poll, that applies to politics in Texas as well, as support for Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All interviews and judicial Q&As with nominees so far

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Back in February, right before the primary, I posted a list of all of the candidate interviews and judicial Q&As I had done. A couple more Q&A responses came in after that, and I did some further interviews for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Harris County officially gets its $750 million from the GLO

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

With hopefully more to come, as well as something for Houston. Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an agreement Wednesday with the Texas General Land Office to receive $750 million in federal flood mitigation funding, and called on the agency … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Harris County officially gets its $750 million from the GLO

Texas Two-Step (TM)

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What a tale. After two years experimenting with an old Persian family technique using grains and raisins, Ali Ansari finally nailed his new vodka recipe. He poured $4 million into building a distillery outside of Houston and branded his drink … Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot!, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

July 2022 campaign finance reports: State races

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t often follow the campaign finance reports in state races, mostly because they’re usually not that interesting and there’s too many races to look at if I was interested. I didn’t review these in January for the contested primaries, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on July 2022 campaign finance reports: State races

GLO threatens to take away more Harvey relief funds from Houston

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, hell no. The state General Land Office says it may have to take over more of the city’s Hurricane Harvey housing relief programs, citing what it says is consistently sluggish progress on a slew of the initiatives. The land office said in a … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on GLO threatens to take away more Harvey relief funds from Houston

Runoff results: Around the state

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After the primary, I rounded up the Democratic runoffs we’d have in May. I’m going to use that post to round up the results from last night, as best as I can tell as of when I gave up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is there any chance the GLO won’t screw Houston this time around?

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, maybe. Things can happen. I just wouldn’t count on it. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday commended the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for ordering Texas to fix a Hurricane Harvey recovery plan that the federal agency … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GLO prepares to screw Houston again on Harvey recovery funds

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gird yourselves. Of the more than 300,000 homes in Texas damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, none were in Coryell County. Located 220 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, this small agricultural county was not the place Congress had in … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Where are the endorsements?

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, early voting has begun for the May 7 election, which includes two Constitutional amendments and the special election for HCC District 2. As of last night when I drafted this, I see no endorsements in any of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Houston to get federal freeze recovery funds

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston is slated to get about $30 million in disaster recovery money to help address lasting needs from the February 2021 winter storm — the largest such grant in Texas, federal officials announced Tuesday. Marcia L. Fudge, secretary of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Houston to get federal freeze recovery funds

HUD approves updated GLO proposal for Harris County

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting, but there are still a lot of moving pieces out there. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday said it would accept the Texas General Land Office’s proposal to give Harris County $750 million in federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HUD approves updated GLO proposal for Harris County

Keep your hands off of the Harvey money, H-GAC

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously. You’ve done enough already. First, a regional council of government officials left Harris County and most of its cities out of a plan to distribute $488 million in federal flood mitigation funds stemming from Hurricane Harvey. As justification, the Houston-Galveston Area Council … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HUD finds the GLO’s process to screw Houston out of Harvey funds “discriminatory”

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Now get us the funds we deserve. In a decision that could redirect millions of dollars in flood relief to Houston, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found the Texas General Land Office discriminated against minority residents … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A roundup of runoffs

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I was going to just do a basic recap of all the primary races that will require runoffs, and then this happened, and I had to do some redesign. U.S. Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, has decided to end his reelection … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

2022 primary results: Statewide

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long: . JUST IN: Beto O’Rourke wins Texas Democratic primary for governor, @NBCNews projects. http://nbcnews.to/36VOfa3 — NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) 8:01 PM – 1 March 2022 Literally one minute after polls would have closed in El Paso. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A handful of stories about statewide primaries

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s talk about Sarah. One November evening in far West Texas, Sarah Stogner decided to strip down to pasties and her underwear, plus boots and a cowboy hat, and climb onto an oil pumpjack while a small film crew watched. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Final roundup of interviews and judicial Q&As

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here they all are. As noted, I may return to some races for the runoff. For now, this is what we have. As a reminder, much more information about Democratic primary candidates, including links to the interviews and judicial Q&As, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Et tu, H-GAC?

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

WTAF? Houston is slated to get just 2 percent of the regional council’s $488 million tranche for storm mitigation, angering city leaders who say the city consistently has been shorted when it comes to the federal money. The Houston-Galveston Area … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Definitely in no rush

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After a few days of only Republican endorsements, we get three Democratic ones. First up is the most obvious, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Even those who treated 27-year-old Lina Hidalgo like she was born yesterday when she was elected … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Definitely in no rush

Interview with Jay Kleberg

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As noted yesterday, this will be my last interview for the March primary. I may do some for the runoffs – the Attorney General race will surely go into overtime, and perhaps the Lt. Governor’s race will as well – … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Jinny Suh

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will run my last two interviews for the March primary. It’s always a challenge doing primary interviews, as there’s an increasing number of candidates (hooray!) and very little time. There are some great candidates running statewide and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment