Tag Archives: Lina Hidalgo

Uplift Harris 2.0 upheld in district court

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is the opening act. The main event comes later. A judge on Thursday sided with Harris County’s latest iteration of a guaranteed income program, denying Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office’s application for a temporary restraining order aimed at stopping … Continue reading →

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Uplift Harris lawsuit 2.0

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much as expected. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is again suing Harris County over its guaranteed income initiative, alleging that the latest version of the program still violates the Texas Constitution despite modifications officials made to pass muster. “The … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo advocates for the Flood Control tax hike

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got my eye on this. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in her State of the County address on Thursday made her first public push for a proposed tax hike that would create more funds for infrastructure maintenance. Hidalgo said … Continue reading →

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Uplift Harris 2.0

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If at first you don’t succeed… Harris County will relaunch its guaranteed income initiative with added restrictions following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit challenging the legality of the Uplift Harris program. Though the Uplift Harris legal battle is still making … Continue reading →

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July 2024 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Senate and Congress State offices Lina Hidalgo Rodney Ellis Adrian Garcia Tom Ramsey Leslie Briones Sean Teare Dan Simons Ed Gonzalez Mike Knox Christian Menefee Jacqueline Lucci Smith Annette Ramirez Steve Radack Teneshia Hudspeth Carla Wyatt Marilyn Burgess Candidate … Continue reading →

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Other Beryl stuff

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A mini-roundup, with mostly non-CenterPoint things. How’s your Internet service? An Xfinity spokesperson said Wednesday that service was restored to approximately 355,000 customers — or about 36% of those experiencing service outages — in the 36 hours after Hurricane Beryl … Continue reading →

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Uplift Harris remains on hold

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t look good for them. The Supreme Court of Texas ruled against Harris County’s guaranteed income program Friday, continuing to block the county from sending checks to participants. In an opinion written by Justice James D. Blacklock, the court said … Continue reading →

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Harris County seeks a new direction for HART

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully a solid reset and restart. Possibly even with the same vendor, if they can make the best offer and no other questions come up. Harris County officials on Tuesday began making new plans to extend a program that sends … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo will run again in 2026

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday she plans to seek a third term in office in 2026. Hidalgo told the Chronicle during a live virtual event that she is “really excited” to run for … Continue reading →

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HART trouble

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. Harris County paused its Holistic Assistance Response Teams on Wednesday after Commissioners Court failed to reach an agreement on whether to pay the vendor operating the program. At issue is a $270,000 payment to Disaster Emergency Medical Assistance … Continue reading →

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Power by Wednesday?

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As of 5 PM Saturday, CenterPoint said that 447K customers were still without power, which is about half of the original total from Thursday night. The hope is that 90% of all customers will have power by Wednesday. Which, given … Continue reading →

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That was quite the storm

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I hope everyone reading this is safe and coping well after that Thursday storm. Our power has been out since Thursday evening, so things are a little chaotic. But we’re fine, we’ll be fine, and there’s plenty to be done … Continue reading →

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Former Mayor Parker “considering” a run for County Judge in 2026

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The next election is always closer than you think. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker has been talking to friends and supporters in recent months about making another run for elected office. Parker, a Democrat who led City Hall from 2010 … Continue reading →

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Mayor Whitmire, Judge Hidalgo. Judge Hidalgo, Mayor Whitmire.

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

What are we doing here? April made four months into Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s administration and he had yet to meet face-to-face with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “It has me worried, but it’s outside my control,” said Hidalgo. “I … Continue reading →

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Ogg brings in Paxton on Hidalgo aides case

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Really? I mean, really? Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday she is handing the pending criminal cases against three of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former staffers to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office. Ogg stopped short of calling … Continue reading →

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

Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Supreme Court of Texas has temporarily blocked Harris County’s new guaranteed income program, Uplift Harris, after two lower courts denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s requests to stop the payments. Paxton sued Harris County earlier this month, alleging its … Continue reading →

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Uplift Harris can proceed

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

So says a judge. A district judge on Thursday ruled Harris County’s new guaranteed income program can proceed, denying the Texas Attorney General’s office request for a temporary injunction. The state sued Harris County earlier this month, arguing the initiative … Continue reading →

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County leaders defend Uplift Harris

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the passion and intensity in this response, but overall it does not leave me feeling optimistic about the outcome. Harris County leaders are defending their new guaranteed income program after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sued to … Continue reading →

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The ITC fire five years later

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We learned some things from this. The Intercontinental Terminals Co. fire that broke out March 17, 2019, did not just lead to a massive black plume of smoke lingering for days over east Harris County, before spreading 20 miles to … Continue reading →

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Teare says he will recuse the DA’s office from the Hidalgo aides case

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve already said this was the right thing to do, so I obviously agree with it. Whether politics played a role in the criminal indictment of three of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former aides was hotly debated during the … Continue reading →

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On the Ogg loss

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Kim Ogg’s campaign for a third term as Harris County district attorney suffered a blowout loss in the Democratic primary election on Tuesday. In the final election night tally, challenger Sean Teare … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Lina Hidalgo Rodney Ellis Adrian Garcia Tom Ramsey Leslie Briones Kim Ogg Sean Teare Dan Simons Ed Gonzalez Vergil Ratliff Joe Inocencio Mike Knox Joe Danna Paul Day Glenn Cowan Christian Menefee Umeka Lewis Jacqueline Lucci Smith … Continue reading →

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How are the city’s talks with H-GAC going?

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Things seemed to be going reasonably well. The deadline had passed but no one seemed to fussed about it. Despite a deadline set by Houston voters for early January, the process to increase Houston’s role in regional planning will take … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo talks about her mental health journey

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff, and I’d bet there are a lot of people who need to hear it. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she spent years fighting depression and suicidal thoughts but felt too ashamed to ask for help because of … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo returns

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo thanked Harris County residents for their support Monday in a statement announcing her return to work after an extended leave of absence to receive mental health treatment. Hidalgo said in the statement that … Continue reading →

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From the “Idiots file dumb lawsuit” department

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I hesitate to give this any attention, but I feel it needs to be noted. Five people filed a lawsuit with Harris County District Court on Friday to remove Judge Lina Hidalgo from office, days before she is scheduled to … Continue reading →

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Whiny loser Mealer drops her election contest lawsuit

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Girl, bye. Alexandra del Moral Mealer, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former Republican opponent, dropped her lawsuit challenging the results of the election she lost last November by over 18,000 votes, according to court documents filed Thursday. Mealer filed an … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo to return to work October 2

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear her recovery is going well. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is extending her leave of absence for treatment of her clinical depression until Oct. 2, her office announced Thursday. Hidalgo will be discharged Saturday from the out-of-state, … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo takes leave of absence for depression

Posted on August 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her well. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has taken a temporary leave of absence to receive in-patient medical treatment for clinical depression, according to a statement from her office Monday. The statement notes she has been at an … Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Congress SD15 City of Houston, part 1 January 2023 reports are here. Not all of these people are on the 2024 ballot. I am not including JPs and County Court candidates. Some potential opponents have already filed finance reports, … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court upholds Abbott’s mask mandate ban

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Settling a heated pandemic-era debate between Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of the state’s major urban areas, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the governor had the legal authority to forbid local officials from requiring residents to wear … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Hidalgo for SJL

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t usually pay much attention to “elected official endorses candidate” news, mostly because most of the time it makes little difference, but in this Mayor’s race I’m more interested than usual, so I will note this for the record. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Expanding HART

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. More of Harris County’s 911 calls will be diverted to a mental health crisis team instead of law enforcement officers after a year-long pilot program in a handful of neighborhoods handled thousands of non-violent incidents. Since March … Continue reading →

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The case of the no-evidence lawsuit

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The lack of evidence in the Harris County election lawsuits is so glaring, I don’t know how we’re talking about anything else. In the weeks following Harris County’s November election, 22 Republican candidates who lost their races filed lawsuits challenging the … Continue reading →

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