Tag Archives: Texas

Powered by People gets another win in court

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is all still temporary and preliminary, but it’s also still good. Every time it looks like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is getting the best of Beto O’Rourke in court, the former El Paso congressman pulls off another victory. … Continue reading →

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One request to halt the Tarrant County mid-decade redistricting is denied

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There is a second chance still in play. A federal judge based in Tarrant County denied a request to keep the old commissioners precinct map in place until the redistricting lawsuit is finished. Judge Reed O’Conner, who presides over the … Continue reading →

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Nirenberg’s choice

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I know what I’m rooting for. Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg is mulling his political future, even as he’s adjusting to his new day job — lecturing Trinity University students on communications. The two main paths he is considering are Bexar … Continue reading →

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The redistricting litigation strategy

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what we’ve got. Outgunned in the national redistricting war, Democrats are launching a multipronged legal battle to try and prevent GOP gains ahead of next year’s midterms. It stands to be a grueling, lengthy and costly process for Democrats … Continue reading →

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More on Elon’s flood tunnels

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Insecure man makes defensive response to fair questions about his wild idea. Film at 11. Billionaire Elon Musk is taking issue with a recent investigation by the Houston Chronicle and The Texas Newsroom that raised questions about a flood tunnel … Continue reading →

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A pair of CD18 polls

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I am just passing these along out of curiosity. Special election polling is very tricky since you just don’t know what the electorate will look like. These are internal campaign polls, which are always inherently suspect. Nobody is particularly visible … Continue reading →

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A brief gondola check-in

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

California dreamin’. Internal emails, contracts, and PowerPoint presentations obtained by The Anaheim Investigator through the public records act reveal city planners are exploring the option of constructing an aerial gondola system to connect the Platinum Triangle with the Anaheim Resort in preparation for the 2028 Summer … Continue reading →

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A brief note about another poll

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Public Opinion Research: Hey y’all, welcome back! In today’s TPOR installment, we’re diving into the findings from our latest poll on the 2026 Senate race—tracking voter preferences in a hypothetical Democratic primary, and examining the state of play … Continue reading →

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Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … Continue reading →

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A brief note about a poll

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This poll. Only one-third of Texas voters approve of the GOP-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional map, according to a recent statewide poll, which found that independent and Democratic voters overwhelmingly opposed the mid-decade redistricting and would rather give … Continue reading →

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Paxton drops one gender affirming care lawsuit

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good, and bad at the same time. One of the nation’s first doctors accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth under GOP-led bans was found to have not violated the law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office says, nearly a year … Continue reading →

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THC vape pens are now illegal

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For those who need to know. Vapes containing THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8 [are now] illegal to sell in Texas […] under a law passed earlier this year. Senate Bill 2024, while narrower than efforts to outlaw all … Continue reading →

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Let’s find a Democrat for CD35

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve gotta compete in these redrawn districts. While a number of Republicans are eyeing [the redrawn CD35] — in addition to the Texas GOP’s preferred candidate — Democrats have been slow to line up for the open seat. But San … Continue reading →

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Zoox to begin its robotaxi service

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Today Las Vegas, sometime later Austin and other cities. Five years after its splashy $1.3 billion acquisition of Zoox, Amazon has officially entered the U.S. robotaxi race, which to date has been dominated by Alphabet’s Waymo. Zoox’s first public launch … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

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The Summer Willis Act

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Too much of what we got from the Legislature this year was garbage. Wingnut Republican priorities are the only things that really matter to them, and we got a lot of it. But some decent things made it through, and … Continue reading →

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Talarico’s announcement

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. Texas Rep. James Talarico launched his bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, promising in an interview to bring honesty and compassion back to politics, while pursuing a fairer distribution of wealth and power in the country. “It’s … Continue reading →

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More indictments against Maria Rojas

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Remember to wait until her lawyers get a chance to respond before making any inferences about this. The Texas midwife who earlier this year became the first person charged under the state law banning people from performing abortions is now charged with 15 … Continue reading →

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NY AG to intervene in Carpenter case

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Raising the stakes. New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said she will intervene in a legal fight over Texas’ ban on abortion pills, escalating a national showdown between states that have restricted abortion access and others that are … Continue reading →

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Let’s unseal those divorce records

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. As you might recall, Texas Attorney General (and noted pen pilferer) Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) are getting divorced after 38 years of marriage. Angela Paxton announced on X.com in early July that she initiated the divorce “on … Continue reading →

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Another look at Waymo’s robotaxi approach versus Tesla’s

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good long analysis here. A month after Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June for select fans, CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company’s driverless taxis would likely be available to “half the population of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Vincent Sanders

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there is a hearing scheduled to begin October 1 in federal court to hear arguments about the new Congressional map. The original group of plaintiffs against the current map, whose trial was finally heard in May, subsequently … Continue reading →

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Talarico says he’s in for Senate

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. Texas Rep. James Talarico will announce Tuesday he’s jumping into the race for U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity to discuss them. Politico and CNN reported the plan earlier Friday. … Continue reading →

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The latest abortion news

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here. The Texas Senate passed new bounty hunter-style abortion legislation Wednesday night to quash mailed abortion pills, targeting a method that has slipped through the cracks of abortion bans and contributed to the slight rise in the total number of … Continue reading →

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State GOP sues to force closed primaries

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea how this might work. The Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Thursday in a bid to restrict participation in the GOP’s primary elections to only voters registered … Continue reading →

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The CD18 lineup

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wednesday was also the filing deadline for the CD18 special election. Amanda Edwards has a photo of the SOS proclamation that includes a listing of the candidates and their parties. This Community Impact story also has the lineup and campaign … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against anti-student protest bill

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is the time in the calendar when bills from the last legislative session that are now in effect get sued for various reasons. This one is particularly head-scratching. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued the University of … Continue reading →

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Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of jokers. Efforts to overhaul local emergency response to disasters failed after the Texas Senate concluded its business early Thursday without taking up the House’s version of a bill that would have mandated new training and licensing … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, September 5 edition

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: it’s budget season for the cities and counties, with some facing hard choices and others dropping tax … Continue reading →

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There’s more than one way to make voting harder

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a bad idea. After years of using a touchscreen machine to mark their ballots, voters in at least three Texas counties will be asked instead to make their selections directly on the paper ballots, by hand, starting … Continue reading →

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Missouri gets in the mid-decade Trump redistricting game

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe has summoned lawmakers for a special session beginning on Wednesday, during which he wants them to adopt a new congressional gerrymander that would flip Missouri’s 5th District from blue to red. Democrats, however, … Continue reading →

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Please don’t lie about the amount of poop in Houston’s waterways

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Two former employees of a wastewater testing lab in Conroe are facing federal conspiracy charges after authorities alleged they falsified test results to conceal high levels of feces and other contaminants released … Continue reading →

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On being financially prepared for future disasters

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Got to be thinking about it. Houston might need to make some policy changes to ensure that the city has enough money on hand to provide disaster relief as storms become more frequent and more expensive to recover from, Controller … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit over the latest DEI ban

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this in passing last week but wanted to give it its own post. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a group of LGBTQ+ and student rights organizations are suing to block a new state law that … Continue reading →

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