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  11. <title>Off the Kuff</title>
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  14. <description>Knowledge Is Good</description>
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  23. <title>Yeah, the Paxton federal prosecution was officially dropped</title>
  24. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118348</link>
  25. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118348#respond</comments>
  27. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  28. <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 10:01:17 +0000</pubDate>
  29. <category><![CDATA[Crime and Punishment]]></category>
  30. <category><![CDATA[Scandalized!]]></category>
  31. <category><![CDATA[Attorney General]]></category>
  32. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  33. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  34. <category><![CDATA[FBI]]></category>
  35. <category><![CDATA[impeachment]]></category>
  36. <category><![CDATA[Justice Department]]></category>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[Nate Paul]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[Texas Whistleblower Act]]></category>
  41. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118348</guid>
  42.  
  43. <description><![CDATA[Please take several deep breaths before and as you read this. The Justice Department quietly decided in the final weeks of the Biden administration not to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, effectively ending the corruption investigation that cast a long &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118348">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  44. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/03/ken-paxton-federal-charges-dropped-biden/">Please take several deep breaths</a> before and as you read this.</p>
  45. <blockquote>
  46. <div id="attachment_71150" style="width: 170px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-71150" class="size-full wp-image-71150" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/paxtonmug1-240x300.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="200" /><p id="caption-attachment-71150" class="wp-caption-text">Still a crook any way you look</p></div>
  47. <p>The Justice Department quietly decided in the final weeks of the Biden administration not to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, effectively ending <a href="https://apnews.com/article/criminal-investigations-dallas-ken-paxton-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-3657864db01b3e2525f53f8f523af316">the corruption investigation that cast a long shadow</a> over the political career of a close ally of President Donald Trump, The Associated Press has learned.</p>
  48. <p>The decision not to bring charges — which has never been publicly reported — resolved the high-stakes federal probe before <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pam-bondi">Trump&#8217;s new Justice Department leadership</a> could even take action on an investigation sparked by allegations from Paxton&#8217;s inner circle that the Texas Republican abused his office to aid a political donor.</p>
  49. <p>The move came almost two years after the Justice Department’s public integrity section in Washington <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-district-of-columbia-ken-paxton-texas-crime-e3cbc749a3e5ee1f75957df8a77401f4">took over the investigation</a>, removing the case from the hands of federal investigators in Texas who had believed there was sufficient evidence for an indictment.</p>
  50. <p>Two people familiar with the matter, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, confirmed the department&#8217;s decision to decline to prosecute. Though the date of the decision was not immediately clear, it was made in the final weeks of the President Joe Biden’s presidency, one of the people said.</p>
  51. <p>Politically appointed Justice Department leadership was not involved in the decision, which was recommended by a senior career official who had concerns about prosecutors&#8217; ability to secure a conviction, according to another person briefed on the matter. Political appointees are not typically involved in public integrity section matters to avoid the appearance of political interference.</p>
  52. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  53. <p>The allegations against Paxton were stunning in part because of who made them.</p>
  54. <p>Eight of his closest aides reported him to the FBI in 2020, accusing him of bribery and abusing his office to help one of his friends and campaign contributors, Nate Paul, who also employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ken-paxton-extramarital-affairs-austin-texas-dc0c309fc829e62e5132aab56bcc686f">an extramarital affair</a>. The same allegations led to Paxton&#8217;s impeachment on articles of bribery and abuse of public trust, but he was acquitted by the Republican-led Texas Senate, where his wife is a senator but did not cast a vote during the trial.</p>
  55. <p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-attorney-general-paxton-nate-paul-plea-6c865e31e3fa35620b00fba7d5999281">Paul pleaded guilty</a> in January to a federal charge after he was accused of making false statements to banks to obtain more than $170 million in loans.</p>
  56. <p>“After the November election, the DOJ accepted a guilty plea from Nate Paul and is apparently letting Ken Paxton escape justice,” TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt, attorneys for two of the whistleblowers, said in a statement to the AP. “DOJ clearly let political cowardice impact its decision. The whistleblowers — all strong conservatives — did the right thing and continue to stand by their allegations of Paxton’s criminal conduct.”</p>
  57. <p>The Justice Department&#8217;s public integrity section, which oversees public corruption cases, took over the Paxton investigation in 2023. The Justice Department has never publicly explained its decision to recuse the federal prosecutors in west Texas who had been leading the investigation. The move was pushed for by Paxton’s attorneys.</p>
  58. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  59. <p>Grand jury records from 2021 obtained by The Texas Newsroom last year showed that federal authorities were investigating Paxton for several potential crimes, including bribery and witness retaliation. It’s unclear whether the scope or focus of the investigation changed when the public integrity section in Washington took it over.</p>
  60. <p>During Paxton’s impeachment trial, former advisers testified that he pressured them to help the campaign donor, Paul, who was under FBI investigation. The testimony included arguments over <a href="https://apnews.com/article/paxton-impeachment-trial-texas-f729d968b0b8a1b41cc8bcda93c18d00">who paid for home renovations</a>, whether Paxton used burner phones and how his alleged extramarital affair became a strain on the office. Paxton decried the impeachment effort as a “politically motivated sham.”
  61. </p></blockquote>
  62. <p><a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117417">I expected this outcome</a>, but I figured it would be the Trump goons who did it. I can think of two valid reasons for it to have been done before they took over. One is that they gave the case one last final review and concluded that indeed they didn&#8217;t have sufficient evidence to get a conviction. I don&#8217;t really believe that, but it&#8217;s possible. Perhaps it would have been better to leave that decision up to the incoming administration, more as a matter of courtesy than anything else, but I&#8217;ve not been in that position before so I don&#8217;t know what the norms are. Not that norms matter much anymore anyway, but you get the point.</p>
  63. <p>The other possibility I can think of is that by ending the case then, the files could be preserved so that the case could be revived in four years&#8217; time, assuming no statute of limitations issues. I&#8217;m not sure I believe that either, and I&#8217;m not even sure it makes sense, but it&#8217;s what I came up with. Any other reason strikes me as complying in advance, and I&#8217;d rather not dwell on that.</p>
  64. <p>The takeover of the case by the feds, when the local prosecutors seemed to be gearing up to move forward, is still the biggest and most frustrating puzzle of the whole situation. I&#8217;ll decline to speculate about that because it doesn&#8217;t serve a purpose, but boy would I love to hear from someone on the inside about what really went down. The email address is kuff at offthekuff.com if you&#8217;ve got some info to share, full anonymity granted.</p>
  65. <p>Beyond that, I don&#8217;t know what ancient curse we&#8217;re all under that allows this asshole to keep on doing what he does, but here we are. I join with all decent people in hoping that someday that curse is broken. <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/politics/justice-department-closes-corruption-probe-into-texas-ag-ken-paxton-amid-ongoing-legal-and-political-challenges/">Reform Austin</a> has more.</p>
  66. ]]></content:encoded>
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  72. </item>
  73. <item>
  74. <title>It looks like there&#8217;s no DaSean Jones do-over election on the May ballot</title>
  75. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118335</link>
  76. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118335#respond</comments>
  78. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  79. <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
  80. <category><![CDATA[Election 2022]]></category>
  81. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  82. <category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
  83. <category><![CDATA[DaSean Jones]]></category>
  84. <category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
  85. <category><![CDATA[election contest]]></category>
  86. <category><![CDATA[First Court of Appeals]]></category>
  87. <category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
  88. <category><![CDATA[judicial races]]></category>
  89. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  90. <category><![CDATA[Tami Pierce]]></category>
  91. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  92. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118335</guid>
  93.  
  94. <description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s the May 3, 2025 Joint Election Fact Sheet that I got on Monday. You will notice that on page 2, where the participating entities are listed, that Harris County is not among them. There are MUDs and services districts, &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118335">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  95. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s the <a href="https://mailchi.mp/cco/may-3-2025-joint-election-fact-sheet-week-of-331?e=006832cc1b">May 3, 2025 Joint Election Fact Sheet</a> that I got on Monday. You will notice that on page 2, where the participating entities are listed, that Harris County is not among them. There are MUDs and services districts, but no general Harris County election. Which is a little strange, since May 3, 2025 was the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114728">date set by the judge for the whiny sore loser re-do election</a>, in which Republican Tami Pierce was to get a second shot at Criminal District Court Judge DaSean Jones, who won in 2022 by 449 votes. </p>
  96. <p>Now I know there was an appeal, and there was an appellate court hearing in January. <a href="https://search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=01-24-00377-CV&#038;coa=coa01">Here are all the case documents</a>, with a timeline of their filings. I have to assume that at some point, the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114574">order to hold a new election</a> was put on hold, but I can&#8217;t say when or by whom &#8211; there&#8217;s no such pause in the <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/732909957/Pierce-Jones-ruling#from_embed">written opinion</a>. So, given that the First Court did not issue an opinion of its own since that January hearing, the hold must still be in effect, and thus no May do-over election.</p>
  97. <p>Now, we could get an appellate decision in time for a November 2025 election, but if we don&#8217;t, or if the hold remains in place, then it seems unlikely to me that it will ever happen. What would the point of having it in May 2026 even be? That doesn&#8217;t mean that the case will get dropped &#8211; there&#8217;s real value in winning for both sides, not to mention that a win by Tami Pierce would serve as at least part of a legal justification for the state taking over Harris County&#8217;s elections in the future. All I can say at this point is that there&#8217;s no election in May, and it seems unlikely to me that there will be one in the future. Given how this decision was based on an extremely faulty understanding of math and probability in the first place, that&#8217;s fine by me.</p>
  98. ]]></content:encoded>
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  101. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  104. </item>
  105. <item>
  106. <title>Dispatches from Dallas, April 4 edition</title>
  107. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118360</link>
  108. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118360#respond</comments>
  110. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  111. <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:45:32 +0000</pubDate>
  112. <category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
  113. <category><![CDATA[Dallas]]></category>
  114. <category><![CDATA[guest post]]></category>
  115. <category><![CDATA[linkdump]]></category>
  116. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  117. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118360</guid>
  118.  
  119. <description><![CDATA[This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, the governor goes full Islamophobe; Dallas gets ready to pick a new police chief; Neiman Marcus in &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118360">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  120. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.</em></p>
  121. <p>This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, the governor goes full Islamophobe; Dallas gets ready to pick a new police chief; Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas gets a stay of execution; Tarrant County is about to do a mid-census redistricting; more fallout from the Keller ISD split and other school news; the effort to get Irving to pass the Sands casino plan that failed; the latest on Robert Roberson; is our local gas utility overcharging customers; the world&#8217;s richest woman lives in Fort Worth; the Sex Pistols are coming to Dallas (!); some Dallas chefs win big in competitions and awards; and more.</p>
  122. <p>This week&#8217;s post was brought to you by the music of Sarah McLachlan, which I was reminded I hadn&#8217;t enjoyed in a while by the 1990s playlist of our anniversary dinner earlier this week.</p>
  123. <p>The biggest local story in the Metroplex this week is the sudden but unsurprising attack on the EPIC City development near Josephine in Collin County. It&#8217;s a planned development to be built by the East Plano Islamic Center, and the DMN <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/27/epic-city-a-timeline-of-muslim-centric-neighborhood-plans-leaders-responses/">has a timeline of developments between the first announcement back in February and today</a>. The only thing differentiating EPIC City from any number of other planned communities in the area is that it&#8217;s explicitly religious, specifically Muslim. EPIC and their for-profit developers have clarified that anyone is welcome to live in their community, in accordance with federal and state law, but that&#8217;s not good enough for Greg Abbott. He doesn&#8217;t want EPIC City, and to hell with the laws if they permit it. </p>
  124. <p>Local media are pretty clear on what&#8217;s going on. The Dallas Observer headlines one story <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/abbott-paxton-wage-war-against-east-plano-islamic-center-development-22003514">Abbott, Paxton Target Proposed Muslim Development in North Texas</a> (though the URL reads &#8220;wage war&#8221;). KERA points out that <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-31/plano-mosque-criminal-investigation-greg-abbott-east-plano-islamic-center">&#8220;Abbott did not specify what laws may have been be violated&#8221;</a> in his rants about EPIC City and threats against lawbreakers. And a public meeting on Monday to discuss this development, before any plans have been submitted, Collin County residents <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/31/why-are-we-even-allowing-this-residents-speak-out-about-d-fw-muslim-centric-development/">complained about the development</a>, often on explicitly religious grounds. Lone Star Left has <a href="https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/white-supremacy-in-collin-countyand ">10 minutes of video of these folks</a>, which I admit I haven&#8217;t watched, because MAGA bigots are going to MAGA and life&#8217;s too short. Michelle Davis of Lone Star Left throws bombs occasionally, but she&#8217;s not wrong here: this is flat out bigotry and Governor Abbott is whistling for dogs to hear.</p>
  125. <p>I wish the folks at EPIC all the luck in the world. They&#8217;re not even finished doing flood studies, and the entirety of Collin County&#8217;s officialdom and the Governor of Texas are trying to destroy their project. We all know if a church was building this project with a Christian school, the same folks would be praising it to the skies and easing its path. The official response to EPIC City is an embarrassment to the state of Texas.</p>
  126. <p>Let&#8217;s look at the rest of the news:</p>
  127. <ul>
  128. <li> The City of Dallas is about to pick a new top cop from a field of five candidates. <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/meet-the-5-dallas-police-chief-finalists-backgrounds-vision-and-more-22042382">The Dallas Observer</a> and <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-04-02/recruiting-community-engagement-top-priorities-dallas-police-chief-candidates-roberto-arredondo-jr-brian-boetig-daniel-c-comeaux-michael-igo-catrina-m-shead">KERA</a> have the details on the five. Two, including Interim Chief Michael Igo, are internal, and three are outsiders. Good luck to them all, and to those of us who live in Dallas.</li>
  129. <li> We&#8217;re going to need that luck, because <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-31/dallas-hero-to-city-officials-comply-with-prop-u-or-risk-litigation">Dallas HERO is demanding that the city comply with Prop U</a> immediately or they&#8217;re going to sue. One of the sections of Prop U, one of the charter amendments that passed last year, requires the city to maintain a level of staffing compared to the population that would currently require about 4,000 officers. Dallas needs to hire about 900 police to get there. To do so with minimal disruption, the city plans to hire 300 this year. My fellow citizens voted to hand the HERO clowns power over the city and they&#8217;re about to get what they voted for good and hard.</li>
  130. <li> A story I&#8217;ve been watching is the demise of the downtown Neiman Marcus here in Dallas as part of their merger with Saks. It was supposed to close at the end of March, but the store, and its local favorite Zodiac restaurant, have received a reprieve through the 2025 holiday season. Get the story from <a href="https://www.keranews.org/business-economy/2025-03-28/downtown-neiman-marcus-staying-open-for-now">KERA</a>, local real estate site <a href="https://candysdirt.com/2025/03/28/neiman-marcus-downtown-gets-stay-of-execution/">Candy&#8217;s Dirt</a>, <a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/commercial-real-estate/2025/03/downtown-neiman-marcus-to-stay-open-while-saks-considers-a-reimagination/">D Magazine</a>, and the ever-optimistic <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2025/03/30/downtown-neiman-marcus-has-future-with-bones-and-dna-that-mean-something-saks-ceo-says/">DMN</a>. And if you&#8217;re interested in the Zodiac Room, check out <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/how-to-make-reservations-at-dallas-zodiac-room-before-it-closes-21793477">the Dallas Observer</a> and some oral history from <a href="https://dallas.eater.com/2025/3/28/24394611/zodiac-downdown-dallas-neiman-marcus-oral-history-closing-closed">Eater Dallas</a>.</li>
  131. <li> Tarrant County County Judge Tim O&#8217;Hare gave <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-31/tarrant-county-ohare-state-of-the-county-address-taxes">the State of the County address</a> this week. As one might expect, his big achievement has been cutting taxes. He also wants to steal the Stars and any other business he can get his hands on from Dallas. Things he did not talk about: his reactionary activism.</li>
  132. <li> Tarrant County <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article303336636.html ">has had to hire a new lawyer</a> for one of the jailers in the Anthony Johnson, Jr. case. Johnson died in the Tarrant County Jail last April and the county has to pay for outside counsel since the jailer may also face criminal charges. If the full $30,000 approved for the new lawyer is paid out, the county will have paid $615,000 to defend itself and the jailers.</li>
  133. <li> Meanwhile, Tarrant County commissioners voted along party lines <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article303346671.html">to look into redistricting</a> and hire an &#8220;dedicated to election integrity&#8221; to start work on it. Redistricting isn&#8217;t required until the 2030 census, but two of the commissioners are up for re-election in 2026 and so is County Judge Tim O&#8217;Hare. More on this story <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-04-01/tarrant-county-commissioners-court-redistricting">from KERA</a>.</li>
  134. <li> In unrelated news, the Tarrant County Democratic Party <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/04/01/tarrant-county-democratic-party-lays-off-all-paid-staff-declines-to-share-details/">laid off all its staff</a> and is &#8220;strategically restructuring&#8221;. Something I didn&#8217;t know until this year is that county Democratic parties in Texas are all independent and the state party doesn&#8217;t have a say in their finances, though maybe that will change under the newly elected chair of the state party. So this is bad, but it doesn&#8217;t affect any other county party.</li>
  135. <li> Because he&#8217;s not busy enough chasing the supposed crimes of EPIC City, Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to get Dallas ISD over supposedly violating the state ban on transgender athletes. Technically it&#8217;s only a ban on kids playing as anything other than what&#8217;s on their birth certificate, but you know what they mean. Pick your source: <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-isd-officials-deposed-by-ken-paxton-for-trans-students-sports-22032105">the Dallas Observer</a>, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-04-01/texas-attorney-general-paxton-deposition-dallas-isd-transgender-athletes-policy">KERA</a>, or <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/31/ken-paxton-transgender-athlete-ban-dallas/">the Texas Tribune</a>.</li>
  136. <li> In the aftermath of its failed attempt to break up, Keller ISD <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article303214781.html">is considering cuts to deal with the $9.4 million budget shortfall</a> it anticipates for the 2025-2026 school year. Meanwhile, the HOA that sued the district over about violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act to develop the split plan has asked a judge <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article302956804.html">to remove the five board members who planned the split</a>, including the board president.</li>
  137. <li> Libs of Tik Tok found a trans teacher in Red Oak ISD, south of Dallas, and did their thing. <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2025/04/02/transgender-teacher-at-north-texas-district-resigns-after-viral-video-spurs-threats/">She resigned to protect her students</a> after receiving threats and demands for her firing. She&#8217;s not the first area teacher forced out by the bullies at Libs of Tik Tok; they also got a teacher who wore a dress for a spirit day in Lewisville.</li>
  138. <li> The Star-Telegram has noticed that destroying DART <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/editorials/article302917644.html">will affect the Trinity Railway Express</a> that connects Dallas and Fort Worth and might affect World Cup plans, and they do not like it.</li>
  139. <li> Apparently <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/04/02/heres-who-was-behind-the-mass-texts-about-the-las-vegas-sands-casino-plans-in-irving/">a PAC created by the Sands casino juggernaut</a> was behind a massive text spam to get Irving to approve a casino site near the old Texas Stadium site. Also pushing for the casino: Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, which is run by Michael Quinn Sullivan, formerly of Empower Texans. The DMN also has a list of entities against the casino, including The Texas Anti-Predatory Gambling Alliance, Texas Values, and the University of Dallas, which is a Catholic university near the casino site. The casino element was stripped from the plan in an Irving city council meeting last month.</li>
  140. <li> A tragic story from Frisco this week: on Wednesday, a 17-year-old student <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2025/04/02/what-we-know-about-the-frisco-track-meet-stabbing/">was stabbed to death</a> at a UIL track meet. The alleged killer, another 17 year old, was in custody. It&#8217;s too soon to know much  right now, but of course, consider your mental health if you want to read the link.</li>
  141. <li> The DMN has <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/27/how-a-temple-spire-put-a-small-texas-town-and-the-lds-churchs-religious-rights-at-odds/">an explainer</a> about how the town of Fairfield and the LDS (Mormon) church got into a fight about the size of the local temple&#8217;s steeple.</li>
  142. <li> A Tesla owner whose car was keyed at DFW Airport <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/autos/2025/03/29/tesla-owner-sues-for-1-million-after-car-keyed-at-dfw-airport">has sued the alleged culprit for $1 million</a> for property damage, emotional distress, etc. The alleged culprit was booked into the Tarrant County Jail for criminal mischief.</li>
  143. <li> The DMN has an editorial <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/03/30/how-much-parking-does-dallas-need/">about parking minimums</a> favoring a new proposal that would eliminate them downtown, near rail stations, and at commercial and industrial sites that aren&#8217;t near residences and lowering them elsewhere. Reforming the Dallas parking ordinance has been on the agenda for a while now. I guess this means the Powers That Be have come to a conclusion unless Dallas HERO interferes.</li>
  144. <li> This week Dallas County <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2025/04/01/courts-crime-dallas-dallas-county-politics-robert-roberson-shaken-baby-syndrome/">approved a $20,000 independent review of the autopsy findings</a> in the Robert Roberson case. When Roberson&#8217;s daughter Nikki was found unresponsive, she was airlifted to Dallas and died in a hospital here. It was the Dallas County medical examiner who ruled her death a homicide. <a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2025/03/dallas-county-will-consider-independent-review-of-roberson-case/">D Magazine</a> also has the story.</li>
  145. <li> The DMN&#8217;s watchdog is trying to figure out whether <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2025/03/31/atmos-energy-has-secretive-corporate-culture/">Atmos, our local gas utility, is overcharging its customers</a>. The answer, unsurprisingly to me as a customer, is they&#8217;re so damn secretive nobody can tell.</li>
  146. <li> Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson started the Republican Mayors Association back in 2023 after he switched parties. Now it turns out <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-04-02/companies-affiliated-with-republican-mayors-association-execs-have-landed-business-eric-johnson-dallas-mayor">senior officials and members of the board</a> of the association are also working for companies that receive contracts from it. No comment from Mayor Johnson, of course.</li>
  147. <li> You may recall that the Texas Observer busted local ICE prosecutor Jim Rodden as the Xitter racist GlomarResponder. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Forth Worth) demanded that ICE investigate him. He now has ICE&#8217;s response and <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/congressman-veasey-ice-response-racist-x-account/">the Observer has the details</a>, which are mostly &#8220;we&#8217;ll get back to you in six months&#8221;. ICE has also stopped emailing the schedule of cases with prosecutors&#8217; names to private attorneys. The DC bar, where Rodden is licensed, won&#8217;t confirm whether they&#8217;re doing anything about him either.</li>
  148. <li> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas has dropped Southwestern Health Resources, which is the umbrella organization for UT Southwestern and Texas Health, from its network. They do this every so often when they can&#8217;t agree on fees. Fortunately my doctor&#8217;s office confirmed that my BCBS insurance runs through another state so I&#8217;m still insured for my appointment. This time, anyway; last time we got the letter after the fact, when our BCBS and Southwestern Health had already kissed and made up.</li>
  149. <li> Some of the world&#8217;s richest people live in the Metroplex, although they&#8217;re probably less rich today than they were when these articles were written. <a href="https://www.dmagazine.com/business-economy/2025/04/the-new-billionaires-meet-the-dfw-leaders-among-the-worlds-richest-people/">D Magazine</a> and <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/north-texas-billionaires-makes-2025-worlds-richest-people-list-22043472">the Dallas Observer</a> have the details from the Forbes list, and the Star-Telegram would like to remind you that the richest woman in the world, Alice Walton of Wal-Mart money, <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article303333041.html">chose Fort Worth for her home</a>.</li>
  150. <li> You&#8217;ll probably have the same response to this that I did: <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/sex-pistols-to-kick-off-tour-in-dallas-22013716">the Sex Pistols are coming back to the Longhorn Ballroom</a>. Apparently the three surviving members who aren&#8217;t Johnny Rotten are giving it another go with a new lead singer. Tickets are on sale on Friday morning, so probably about the time you&#8217;re reading this post.</li>
  151. <li> Yayoi Kusama&#8217;s <em>All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins</em> mirror room <a href="https://www.keranews.org/arts-culture/2025-03-28/instagram-worthy-installation-returns-to-dallas-museum-of-art-in-may">is returning to the Dallas Museum of Art in May</a>. It&#8217;ll be on view until next January, so you have time to come see it. This is not my favorite mirror room, but they&#8217;re all something special even if you don&#8217;t want to take a photo for the gram.</li>
  152. <li> The Dallas wound that never closes: <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/04/01/watch-live-congressional-task-force-holds-first-hearing-on-new-jfk-files/">there is yet another congressional task force asking who killed John F. Kennedy</a> after the recent release of documents. Because Congress had nothing better to do this week.</li>
  153. <li> The tenth Texas State Veterans Home opened in Fort Worth last week. It&#8217;s named after <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/29/texas-state-veterans-home-named-for-tuskegee-airmen-opens-in-fort-worth/">the Tuskegee Airmen</a>, the U.S. military’s WWII Black flying unit.</li>
  154. <li> In Sherman, close to the Oklahoma border, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-03-28/the-healing-process-can-actually-begin-at-last-marker-for-1930-sherman-race-riot-to-go-up">the state has put up a historical marker for the 1930 lynching of George Hughes</a> and the subsequent riot and destruction of the Black business district. The KERA story has an interview with a descendant of a survivor of the events.</li>
  155. <li> Two food stories to wind things down: <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/2025-dallas-james-beard-finalists-announced-22042601">the James Beard finalists include some Dallas names</a>. The one that most intrigues me from this list is Mabo, the yakitori omokase; I ate at Teppo, the chef&#8217;s previous restaurant, with friends, and it was fantastic. And <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/dallas-chef-wins-second-place-at-world-food-championship-22033899">a Dallas chef took second place at the World Food Championship</a>, after signing up for the vegetarian challenge because it was the only spot left. Congratulations to our local winners!</li>
  156. </ul>
  157. ]]></content:encoded>
  159. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118360</wfw:commentRss>
  160. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  163. </item>
  164. <item>
  165. <title>Another lawsuit threatened for CD18</title>
  166. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118344</link>
  167. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118344#comments</comments>
  169. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  170. <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 10:01:05 +0000</pubDate>
  171. <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
  172. <category><![CDATA[CD18]]></category>
  173. <category><![CDATA[Christian Menefee]]></category>
  174. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  175. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  176. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  177. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  178. <category><![CDATA[Hakeem Jeffries]]></category>
  179. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  180. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  181. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  182. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118344</guid>
  183.  
  184. <description><![CDATA[File away, I say. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that House Democrats will &#8220;very likely&#8221; sue if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to hold off on calling a special election for the Houston-area seat of the late Congressman Sylvester &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118344">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  185. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/jeffries-threatens-suit-delayed-special-election-20254946.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">File away</a>, I say.</p>
  186. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/sylvester-turner/"><img decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fe65bb798b0db2edab67e8143cca938e/Sylvester%20Turner%20TT.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Rep. Sylvester Turner</p></div>
  187. <p>Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that House Democrats will &#8220;very likely&#8221; sue if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-special-election-20246324.php">continues to hold off on calling a special election</a> for the Houston-area seat of the late Congressman Sylvester Turner.</p>
  188. <p>Texas law does not require Abbott to call a special election within a certain time period. He technically has the power to call an emergency special election at any time. Turner, the former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/sylvester-turner-texas-dies-20203885.php">died in early March</a>.</p>
  189. <p>Abbott’s other options include calling a special election for the midterm election in November or declining to do anything and allowing the seat to remain vacant until 2026.</p>
  190. <p>Jeffries made the comment during a weekly press conference Wednesday but did not elaborate on when a potential suit would be filed.</p>
  191. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  192. <p>Acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who is running for the Congressional seat, on Monday <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-special-election-20246324.php">also threatened to sue</a> if Abbott did not call the election. He said he was asking for Abbott to set the election to coincide with the regularly scheduled June 7 runoff election, as the governor already missed the deadline to set it for May 3.
  193. </p></blockquote>
  194. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118313">here</a> for the previous update, in which Menefee made his lawsuit threat. I say get those suits filed, especially if the goal is to get the election in June, because the clock is ticking &#8211; the latest date on which a June 7 election could be called is probably around May 1. Courts can only move so quickly, so no time to lose. I get that this is not so easy in practice, and one wants to have the best argument one can going in, but like it or not you&#8217;re on the clock.</p>
  195. <p>And on the subject of Greg Abbott&#8217;s &#8220;options&#8221;, let me <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117983">remind everyone</a> again that the <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.201.htm#C">law in question</a> says that the election &#8220;SHALL BE ORDERED as soon as practicable after the vacancy occurs&#8221;. &#8220;Shall&#8221; is an important word in the law, it means something is required, not optional. What &#8220;as soon as practicable&#8221; means is either something we let Greg Abbott decide or we get a judge to decide. You know what I think.</p>
  196. ]]></content:encoded>
  198. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118344</wfw:commentRss>
  199. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
  202. </item>
  203. <item>
  204. <title>Tariffs are not good for beer</title>
  205. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118323</link>
  206. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118323#comments</comments>
  208. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  209. <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:55:23 +0000</pubDate>
  210. <category><![CDATA[Bidness]]></category>
  211. <category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
  212. <category><![CDATA[beer]]></category>
  213. <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
  214. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  215. <category><![CDATA[microbreweries]]></category>
  216. <category><![CDATA[tariffs]]></category>
  217. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  218. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118323</guid>
  219.  
  220. <description><![CDATA[It&#8217;ll cost you more to drown your sorrows. Just getting a beer in Texas could become more expensive under President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on essentially every country in the world. While most industries are bracing for Trump’s &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118323">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  221. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/texas-brewpubs-trump-tariffs-uncertainty-20250837.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">It&#8217;ll cost you more to drown your sorrows</a>.</p>
  222. <blockquote><p>
  223. <img decoding="async" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/beer.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-57391" srcset="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/beer.jpg 600w, https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/beer-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></p>
  224. <p>Just getting a beer in Texas could become more expensive under <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/asian-shares-are-sharply-lower-after-wall-street-20249283.php">President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs</a> on essentially every country in the world.</p>
  225. <p>While most industries are bracing for Trump’s tariff announcement from the White House on Wednesday, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/buzzkill-trump-s-trade-wars-threaten-america-s-20248524.php">the brewpub industry is particularly worried because so many of their supplies come from outside the U.S.</a></p>
  226. <p>Texas has more than 400 craft brewers. They are already facing higher costs for cans because of 25% tariffs Trump imposed on aluminum, half of which is imported and most of it from Canada.</p>
  227. <p>Almost all steel kegs used in the U.S. are made in Germany. And Canada is a major supplier of both barley and malt — essential ingredients for brewers. If Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada and Germany, all those products would get more expensive.</p>
  228. <p>In short, what exactly Trump rolls out on Wednesday will have a big impact on an industry that was already starting to face a slowdown as seltzers and cocktails inch in on the alcohol industry.</p>
  229. <p>“It’s hard enough to run a small business when your supply chain is intact,” Bill Butcher, a brew pub operator in Virginia, told the Associated Press. “The unpredictability just injects an element of chaos.”
  230. </p></blockquote>
  231. <p>The craft brewing phenomenon has crested in Texas, with less growth and numerous closures over the past couple of years. Some of that was COVID, some of it is that Gen Z doesn&#8217;t drink as much as its elders, some of it was overexposure. But small breweries, which are very neighborhood-based and in my experience are great locations for charity events and fundraisers, are still a big player in the local food and entertainment scene, and we&#8217;re better for it. This is another situation where you might think that our state leaders would be unhappy with a federal policy that directly threatened the viability of countless small and medium businesses in Texas. But, well, you know. Worshipping the idol comes first, always.</p>
  232. ]]></content:encoded>
  234. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118323</wfw:commentRss>
  235. <slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
  238. </item>
  239. <item>
  240. <title>A win for protecting the right to travel</title>
  241. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118330</link>
  242. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118330#comments</comments>
  244. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  245. <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:50:27 +0000</pubDate>
  246. <category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
  247. <category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
  248. <category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
  249. <category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
  250. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  251. <category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
  252. <category><![CDATA[travel bans]]></category>
  253. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118330</guid>
  254.  
  255. <description><![CDATA[Good news, but the legal fight is far from over. The state of Alabama cannot prosecute groups that help people leave the state for an abortion, a federal judge ruled late Monday. The decision — one of the first to &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118330">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  256. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/04/alabama-ruling-out-of-state-for-abortions/">Good news</a>, but the legal fight is far from over.</p>
  257. <blockquote><p>
  258. The state of Alabama cannot prosecute groups that help people leave the state for an abortion, a federal judge ruled late Monday.</p>
  259. <p>The decision — one of the first to explicitly address abortion-related travel — marks a significant victory for abortion providers and supporters. If the case is appealed, which it almost certainly will be, it will go to the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, half of whose members were appointed by President Donald Trump.</p>
  260. <p>If upheld, Alabama’s policy would have violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and its protection of people’s right to travel, Judge Myron H. Thompson <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67649369/85/yellowhammer-fund-v-marshall-lead/">wrote</a>.</p>
  261. <p>The case concerns statements made by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who threatened to leverage the state’s criminal conspiracy laws to prosecute people or organizations if they help Alabama residents travel elsewhere for an abortion. Marshall has not filed any lawsuits, but the threat has deterred some reproductive health providers from telling patients about options outside of Alabama, which has a near-total abortion ban in place. It has also stopped abortion funds, nonprofits that help cover the travel and medical costs associated with abortion, from supporting them.</p>
  262. <p>That should change, at least for now, said Meagan Burrows, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented two reproductive health clinics among the plaintiffs in the case.</p>
  263. <p>“The court’s decision today should send a strong message to any and all anti-abortion politicians who are considering similar efforts to muzzle health care providers or penalize those who assist others in crossing state lines to obtain legal abortion: Such attacks on free speech and the fundamental right to travel fly in the face of the Constitution and cannot stand,” Burrows said.</p>
  264. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  265. <p>Still, abortion opponents, troubled by the rise in travel, have <a href="https://19thnews.org/2023/10/abortion-opponents-out-of-state-care/">sought new ways</a> to deter people from seeking care out of state — generally by targeting the organizations and individuals who support them. So far, these legal efforts have not stopped people from traveling for abortions. In Texas, some counties have passed ordinances that would outlaw using a particular road to transport someone out of state for an abortion, but this kind of ordinance is difficult to enforce and has not directly resulted in any lawsuits.</p>
  266. <p>Some opponents have also attempted to use <a href="https://19thnews.org/2023/10/abortion-opponents-out-of-state-care/">legal filings</a> as an intimidation tactic, using them to seek information about abortion funds and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/05/03/texas-abortion-investigations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other individuals</a> who help people travel. Funds have challenged these efforts in court and refused to comply.</p>
  267. <p>The Texas legislature is also debating a bill that would criminalize giving people money they could use to travel out of state for abortions, a provision aimed at abortion funds.</p>
  268. <p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-abortion-minor-bans-d76d3bf62d96dfd9cf0e6895a738939d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Idaho and Tennessee</a> have passed laws targeting abortion-related travel<strong> </strong>for minors by threatening prison time for those who help them leave the state if they don’t have a parent’s consent. In December a federal appeals court allowed Idaho’s law to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/02/idaho-abortion-trafficking-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">take effect</a>; Tennessee’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trafficking-ban-laws-tennessee-republican-ec78174f1aaec284cb542185593e8aef" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has been blocked by a separate judge.</a>
  269. </p></blockquote>
  270. <p>This is one ruling, in a judicial circuit that doesn&#8217;t include Texas, but it&#8217;s still important. Obviously, there&#8217;s a long way to go, and with the Lege considering bills that could <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118240">greatly widen the scope of abortion prosecutions</a> and enable <a href="https://jessica.substack.com/p/the-troubling-timing-of-texas-abortion?open=false#%C2%A7legislation-watch">further attacks</a> on <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/03/texas-bill-abortion-pills/">abortion funds and abortion pills</a>, you have to expect a case will eventually come to the Fifth Circuit. For now, it&#8217;s good to have the points on the board. Going forward, well, you know. Win more elections and all that. <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/alabama-cant-charge-abortion-groups-for-helping-patients-out-of-state-criminal-conspiracy/">Mother Jones</a> has more.</p>
  271. ]]></content:encoded>
  273. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118330</wfw:commentRss>
  274. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  277. </item>
  278. <item>
  279. <title>Texas blog roundup for the week of March 31</title>
  280. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118268</link>
  281. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118268#respond</comments>
  283. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  284. <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:45:02 +0000</pubDate>
  285. <category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
  286. <category><![CDATA[blog roundup]]></category>
  287. <category><![CDATA[TPA]]></category>
  288. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118268</guid>
  289.  
  290. <description><![CDATA[The Texas Progressive Alliance will be texting this week&#8217;s roundup to the Houthi PC Small Group.]]></description>
  291. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Texas Progressive Alliance will be texting this week&#8217;s roundup to the Houthi PC Small Group.</p>
  292. <p><span id="more-118268"></span></p>
  293. <p><a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/"">Off the Kuff</a> saw the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223">failure to call</a> a <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253">May special election</a> for CD18 coming.</p>
  294. <p><a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com">SocraticGadfly</a> wonders how someone like Coppell ISD&#8217;s superintendent <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2025/03/ken-paxton-coppell-isd-and-falling-for.html">can get nailed by a sting video</a> in 2025.</p>
  295. <p>Neil at <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/">Houston Democracy Project</a> said Whitmire sent 11 HPD units to modest, calm protest about bike lanes. <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/11-hpd-units-at-protest-over-bike-lanes-how-will-respond-when-we-are-on-streets-for-our-most-basic-rights">What will be HPD&#8217;s response when we are on streets for our basic rights</a> this Saturday, April 5?  </p>
  296. <p>=========================</p>
  297. <p>And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.</p>
  298. <p><a href="https://nonsequiteuse.wordpress.com/2025/03/26/how-to-stay-safe-at-protests/">Nonsequiteuse</a> updates her earlier advice on how to stay safe at protests.</p>
  299. <p><a href="https://evilmopacatx.substack.com/p/100-fundamental-austin-truths-part">Evil MoPac</a> presents the first items on their list of 100 Fundamental Austin Truths.</p>
  300. <p>The <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-will-be-us-metro-most-damaged-by-trumps-canada-trade-war-study-finds-37095651">Current</a> has some bad news for San Antonio in the Trump-Canada trade war.</p>
  301. <p><a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/austin/carole-keetons-legacy-a-life-of-leadership-and-family/">Reform Austin</a> eulogizes Carole Keeton Strayhorn.</p>
  302. <p><a href="https://bayoucitysludge.substack.com/p/snickering-intensifies">Bayour City Sludge</a> shows that nobody likes Briscoe Cain.</p>
  303. <p>UT alum <a href="https://slate.com/life/2025/03/atlantic-chat-leak-signal-trump-vance-hegseth.html?via=rss">Luke Winkie</a> explains Signalgate from the frat boy perspective.</p>
  304. ]]></content:encoded>
  306. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118268</wfw:commentRss>
  307. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  310. </item>
  311. <item>
  312. <title>Measles update: Moving around the state</title>
  313. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118327</link>
  314. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118327#respond</comments>
  316. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  317. <pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 10:01:36 +0000</pubDate>
  318. <category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
  319. <category><![CDATA[Andrews County]]></category>
  320. <category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
  321. <category><![CDATA[Brown County]]></category>
  322. <category><![CDATA[Centers for Disease Control]]></category>
  323. <category><![CDATA[Cochran County]]></category>
  324. <category><![CDATA[Dallam County]]></category>
  325. <category><![CDATA[Dawson County]]></category>
  326. <category><![CDATA[Ector County]]></category>
  327. <category><![CDATA[Erath County]]></category>
  328. <category><![CDATA[Fort Bend County]]></category>
  329. <category><![CDATA[Gaines County]]></category>
  330. <category><![CDATA[Garza County]]></category>
  331. <category><![CDATA[Hale County]]></category>
  332. <category><![CDATA[Hockley County]]></category>
  333. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  334. <category><![CDATA[Kansas]]></category>
  335. <category><![CDATA[Lamar County]]></category>
  336. <category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category>
  337. <category><![CDATA[Lynn County]]></category>
  338. <category><![CDATA[Martin County]]></category>
  339. <category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
  340. <category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
  341. <category><![CDATA[New Mexico]]></category>
  342. <category><![CDATA[Ohio]]></category>
  343. <category><![CDATA[Oklahoma]]></category>
  344. <category><![CDATA[RFK Jr]]></category>
  345. <category><![CDATA[Rockwall County]]></category>
  346. <category><![CDATA[Terry County]]></category>
  347. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  348. <category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
  349. <category><![CDATA[vaccinations]]></category>
  350. <category><![CDATA[Vitamin A]]></category>
  351. <category><![CDATA[Yoakum County]]></category>
  352. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118327</guid>
  353.  
  354. <description><![CDATA[And we have some new counties to add to the board, too. The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas rose to 422 cases and spread to two new counties on Tuesday, according to health officials. &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118327">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  355. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/health/article/texas-measles-outbreak-update-20252590.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral">And we have some new counties to add to the board</a>, too.</p>
  356. <blockquote><p>
  357. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/measles-cases-texas-new-mexico-rise-470-state-health-departments-say-2025-04-01/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-HEALTH/MEASLES/zjvqaaoazvx/chart.png" width="250" height="181" /></a></p>
  358. <p>The measles outbreak that began in the South Plains region of Texas rose to 422 cases and spread to two new counties on Tuesday, according to health officials.</p>
  359. <p>The update from the Texas Department of State Health Services added 22 infections since the agency’s last update on Friday. The outbreak is mostly spreading in the South Plains region, but some cases have been reported in the Panhandle and northeast Texas.</p>
  360. <p>The latest update also includes the first cases in Erath County, located southwest of Dallas, and Brown County, in west-central Texas.</p>
  361. <p>The outbreak continues to be concentrated in children who have not received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or whose vaccination status is unknown. Forty-one people have been hospitalized in Texas and one unvaccinated child has died, the first measles death in the United States since 2015.</p>
  362. <p>Health officials in New Mexico and Oklahoma have said cases in those states are also connected to the Texas outbreak.</p>
  363. <p><a class="" href="https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/mog/" data-link="native">New Mexico reported 48 cases</a> on Tuesday, while <a class="" href="https://oklahoma.gov/health/health-education/acute-disease-service/rash-illness/measles.html" data-link="native">Oklahoma reported 10</a>. New Mexico has also reported one suspected measles death, an unvaccinated adult who tested positive for the virus after dying.</p></blockquote>
  364. <blockquote><p>Health departments in the Houston area have reported a handful of measles cases in recent months, but none have been connected to the outbreak.</p>
  365. <p>Fort Bend County officials confirmed Sunday that <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/fort-bend-measles-first-case-20248669.php" data-link="native">a woman tested positive for measles</a> after traveling outside the U.S. The Houston Health Department has reported <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/measles-outbreak-houston-20224794.php" data-link="native">three measles cases in 2025</a>, all in people who recently returned from international travel.</p>
  366. <p>Texas has reported a total of six measles cases in 2025 that are not associated with the South Plains outbreak. They are not included in the total of 422.
  367. </p></blockquote>
  368. <p>I had been thinking about making a graph of the case numbers, to get a visual clue about the growth rate, but thanks to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/measles-cases-texas-new-mexico-rise-470-state-health-departments-say-2025-04-01/">this Reuters story</a>, now I don&#8217;t have to. It may look like a bit of deceleration from this period, but note that there was a similarly modest increase in last Tuesday&#8217;s report, and then you saw what happened for Friday. We&#8217;re going to need to see several slow periods before we can say that things have leveled out.</p>
  369. <p><a href="https://abc13.com/post/texas-measles-outbreak-woman-recently-traveled-confirmed-first-case-fort-bend-county-health-officials-confirm/16107109/">ABC13</a> has a little more on the Fort Bend case. As with the Houston ones, you hope that it doesn&#8217;t go beyond that. More worrisome is the cases popping up in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erath_County,_Texas">Erath</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_County,_Texas">Brown</a> counties. Erath is an exurb of the Metroplex, home of Stephenville. Brown is farther southwest of Erath and not really close to any major metro; it&#8217;s closer to Abilene than to Fort Worth. But both are still many miles away from the epicenter in West Texas. How it got from there to those places, that&#8217;s the concern.</p>
  370. <p>I didn&#8217;t see any news out of Kansas &#8211; they may just be reporting once a week, in which case we&#8217;ll know more on Friday. Not much else of interest this time so I&#8217;ll end here, with the reminder that the unvaccinated population <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mother-protect-infant-twins-amid-growing-measles-outbreak-texas/">also includes infants</a> who are too young to get the shot and really need herd immunity to be protected, and that <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/31/measles-vitamin-a-rfk-jr-toxicity-overdose-texas">Vitamin A</a> may be doing more harm than good, which shouldn&#8217;t be that big a surprise given the misinformation climate that has led to it being in the conversation at all. Stay safe out there, y&#8217;all. The <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2025/04/01/texas-measles-outbreak-grows-to-422-cases-two-counties-near-central-texas-report-cases/">DMN</a> has more.</p>
  371. ]]></content:encoded>
  373. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118327</wfw:commentRss>
  374. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  377. </item>
  378. <item>
  379. <title>I got those &#8220;too much overtime cost&#8221; blues</title>
  380. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118333</link>
  381. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118333#comments</comments>
  383. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  384. <pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:53:33 +0000</pubDate>
  385. <category><![CDATA[Local politics]]></category>
  386. <category><![CDATA[Abbie Kamin]]></category>
  387. <category><![CDATA[budget]]></category>
  388. <category><![CDATA[Chris Hollins]]></category>
  389. <category><![CDATA[deficit]]></category>
  390. <category><![CDATA[HFD]]></category>
  391. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  392. <category><![CDATA[Houston City Controller]]></category>
  393. <category><![CDATA[Houston City Council]]></category>
  394. <category><![CDATA[HPD]]></category>
  395. <category><![CDATA[John Whitmire]]></category>
  396. <category><![CDATA[overtime]]></category>
  397. <category><![CDATA[Sallie Alcorn]]></category>
  398. <category><![CDATA[solid waste]]></category>
  399. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118333</guid>
  400.  
  401. <description><![CDATA[More overtime, more problems. The city of Houston is expected to spend twice as much as it budgeted on overtime this year, contributing to next year’s projected $330 million deficit, the city controller’s office said Tuesday. Overtime costs for Houston &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118333">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  402. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://houstonlanding.org/houston-expected-to-spend-twice-as-much-on-overtime-as-city-leaders-budgeted-this-year/">More overtime, more problems</a>.</p>
  403. <blockquote>
  404. <div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/controller/controllerbio.html"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://www.houstontx.gov/controller/images/hollins150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Controller Chris Hollins</p></div>
  405. <p>The city of Houston is expected to spend twice as much as it budgeted on overtime this year, contributing to next year’s projected $330 million deficit, the city controller’s office said Tuesday.</p>
  406. <p>Overtime costs for Houston police, fire and solid waste departments alone will collectively reach a 10-year high, Deputy City Controller Will Jones <a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/council/committees/bfacommittee/20250401/overtime-analysis.pdf">told City Council’s budget committee</a>.</p>
  407. <p>The city budgeted $65 million in overtime across all departments this year. The controller’s office now projects the city will spend approximately $137 million on overtime by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.</p>
  408. <p>“There’s nobody that can look at this presentation and not think we better change the way we’re doing things,” said At-Large Councilmember Sallie Alcorn, who chairs the budget committee.</p>
  409. <p>In its report to the council committee, the controller’s office highlighted the police, fire and solid waste departments as the largest contributors to the overtime budget. They regularly have exceeded their overtime budgets for the past decade, and the gaps between budgeted and actual overtime expenses are widening as the departments retain more employees at higher costs, Jones said.</p>
  410. <p>The controller’s overtime projections do not include costs incurred during last year’s derecho and Hurricane Beryl. Those costs will be added if the city is not reimbursed with federal disaster funding, Jones said.</p>
  411. <p>City Council will receive Mayor John Whitmire’s budget proposal for fiscal 2026 in early May, and council members stressed Tuesday they no longer want to allocate millions to overtime pay without addressing why so much is needed.</p>
  412. <p>City departments previously covered part of their overtime costs with money budgeted for jobs that remained unfilled. As the city tries to incentivize the retention of new hires through sign-on bonuses and base-pay increases, the goal is to need less overtime because departments will be adequately staffed, Jones said.</p>
  413. <p>So far, the plan has not had the desired effect.</p>
  414. <p>Among the controller office’s findings:</p>
  415. <ul class="wp-block-list">
  416. <li>Solid Waste employees who have earned overtime this year have averaged an additional $13,000 in pay. The top 10 overtime earners are expected to see their pay increase 90 percent this year.</li>
  417. <li>The top overtime earners at the Houston Police Department are projected to boost their pay by 120 percent through overtime. Those who have earned overtime this year have increased their pay by an average of $8,000.</li>
  418. <li>Houston Fire Department employees who have earned overtime have seen their pay increase by an average of $17,000. The top overtime earners are projected to boost their salaries by 230 percent.</li>
  419. </ul>
  420. <p>As salaries increase, so do hourly overtime rates. Firefighters, for example, received a 10 percent base pay increase this year following approval of a <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/city-council-oks-1-5b-firefighter-settlement-and-contract-now-they-have-to-pay-for-it/">new contract</a> with the firefighters union.</p>
  421. <p>The Houston Police Officers Union currently is in negotiations with the administration over a new contract, which could increase salaries and subsequent overtime costs. Whitmire has said he hopes to make department salaries more competitive with others in the state.
  422. </p></blockquote>
  423. <p>The firefighters put out a <a href="https://mailchi.mp/aab37ee1895e/houston-firefighters-push-back-against-city-controllers-misleading-overtime-claims?e=d1d7caa949">sharply worded press release</a> that disputed Controller Hollins&#8217; findings, which neither of the stories that I read noted or quoted from. Make of that what you will. I mean, of course these departments have the highest overtime costs &#8211; they&#8217;re also by far the biggest part of the overall budget. There are ways to reduce overtime costs, but at least some of them involve either paying for more employees or cutting services. While the costs this year are higher than before, the basic issue that we spend a lot on overtime &#8211; and let&#8217;s be real, a lot of that has always been with the firefighters, as past reviews have concluded &#8211; is one that existed well before this year. It&#8217;s still on Mayor Whitmire to address.</p>
  424. <p>Well, and Controller Hollins, too. From the inbox:</p>
  425. <blockquote><p>
  426. To address this, the Controller’s Office will initiate a targeted audit of overtime practices and budget execution within the Solid Waste, Police, and Fire departments. This work is part of the broader FY25 Audit Plan, which was released in early March.</p>
  427. <p>The audit will:</p>
  428. <ul>
  429. <li>Evaluate whether internal controls and payroll procedures ensure the appropriate use and accurate payment of overtime in accordance with City policies</li>
  430. <li>Identify the root causes behind escalating overtime and assess how it is managed across departments</li>
  431. <li>Deliver practical, actionable recommendations to reduce unnecessary spending while maintaining service quality and compliance</li>
  432. </ul>
  433. <p>“Transparent, proactive leadership will continue to guide our actions and next steps,” Hollins said. “We flagged this trend only weeks ago, and we’re already taking action. As the City’s financial watchdog, my role requires more than calling out the problem—it&#8217;s to help fix it. That means bringing forward practical solutions that protect Houston’s financial future, strengthen services, and preserve access to the resources our communities depend on.”
  434. </p></blockquote>
  435. <p>If there&#8217;s one thing we have a lot of right now, it&#8217;s audits and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118259">efficiency studies</a>. As with the others, I hope this is helpful but I do not expect there to be enough potential savings to offset the need for more revenue. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/historic-overtime-pay-20252450.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Chron</a> has more.</p>
  436. ]]></content:encoded>
  438. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118333</wfw:commentRss>
  439. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
  442. </item>
  443. <item>
  444. <title>The Astrodome Conservancy keeps plugging away</title>
  445. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118243</link>
  446. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118243#respond</comments>
  448. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  449. <pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:45:58 +0000</pubDate>
  450. <category><![CDATA[Elsewhere in Houston]]></category>
  451. <category><![CDATA[Astrodome]]></category>
  452. <category><![CDATA[Astrodome Conservancy]]></category>
  453. <category><![CDATA[Carol Quillen]]></category>
  454. <category><![CDATA[demolition]]></category>
  455. <category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
  456. <category><![CDATA[Harris County Sports & Convention Corp]]></category>
  457. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  458. <category><![CDATA[Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo]]></category>
  459. <category><![CDATA[Houston Texans]]></category>
  460. <category><![CDATA[Phoebe Tudor]]></category>
  461. <category><![CDATA[preservation]]></category>
  462. <category><![CDATA[Reliant Stadium]]></category>
  463. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118243</guid>
  464.  
  465. <description><![CDATA[I respect the hustle. It’s time to move forward with Vision: Astrodome, the recently unveiled proposal from the Astrodome Conservancy. It activates the power of this historic monument to serve the public, now and long into the future. Since its &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118243">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  466. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/vision-astrodome-reactivate-dont-demolish-20232683.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">I respect the hustle</a>.</p>
  467. <blockquote><div style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuff/6968344034/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="Astrodome" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7222/6968344034_152c8b67c5.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Ready and waiting</p></div>
  468. <p>It’s time to move forward with Vision: Astrodome, the recently unveiled proposal from the Astrodome Conservancy. It activates the power of this historic monument to serve the public, now and long into the future.</p>
  469. <p>Since its opening in 1965, the Astrodome has symbolized Houston’s ingenuity and spirit. As the world’s first multi-purpose indoor stadium, it was a groundbreaking achievement in engineering and design. It hosted legendary moments in sports, and unforgettable performances. Even as thousands of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo attendees have walked around the building in recent weeks, it sits closed, an underutilized behemoth, its potential in question — a symbol of what was and what could be.</p>
  470. <p>A <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/pulse/poll/what-should-happen-to-the-astrodome/22499433">recent poll by the Houston Business Journal</a> shows that 95% of their readers believe the Astrodome should be reactivated, not demolished. The Astrodome Conservancy&#8217;s own community engagement has found a similar level of backing for repurposing the building. There is a clear belief in the value of the Astrodome’s history, its architectural and cultural significance and its potential to contribute to the city&#8217;s economic future.</p>
  471. <p>The Astrodome is not a relic; it’s a living part of Houston’s story. The <a href="https://astrodomeconservancy.org/">Astrodome Conservancy</a>, in collaboration with Gensler architects, has developed an innovative concept that preserves the Dome’s distinctive features while creating a thriving new hub for commerce and culture. The proposal calls for the creation of a pedestrian boulevard connecting NRG Stadium and NRG Center, cutting through the Dome and transforming its vast interior. The plan would turn the Dome’s arena into a 10,000-seat event space, surrounded by retail shops, restaurants, office space and even a hotel. The vision promotes NRG Park and enhances it as an entertainment destination, addressing the primary tenants needs and enhancing the user experience for all who visit.</p>
  472. <p>The best part? Vision: Astrodome will attract hundreds of millions of private dollars in investment, relieving the burden on Harris County and taxpayers. By tapping into historic tax credits and other non-traditional resources, private investment can fund the redevelopment, making it a sustainable and innovative move for local leadership.
  473. </p></blockquote>
  474. <p>This is the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116714">same plan we heard about in November</a>; there&#8217;s a <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116817">separate assessment</a> in progress as well. As I noted, it&#8217;s the Texans and the Rodeo that need to be convinced for anything to happen. Now&#8217;s as good a time as any to give it a shot. </p>
  475. ]]></content:encoded>
  477. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118243</wfw:commentRss>
  478. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  481. </item>
  482. <item>
  483. <title>Recall Houston</title>
  484. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118302</link>
  485. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118302#comments</comments>
  487. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  488. <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 10:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
  489. <category><![CDATA[Local politics]]></category>
  490. <category><![CDATA[Election 2023]]></category>
  491. <category><![CDATA[Election 2027]]></category>
  492. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  493. <category><![CDATA[John Whitmire]]></category>
  494. <category><![CDATA[Mayor]]></category>
  495. <category><![CDATA[petitions]]></category>
  496. <category><![CDATA[recall]]></category>
  497. <category><![CDATA[Recall Houston]]></category>
  498. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118302</guid>
  499.  
  500. <description><![CDATA[Color me skeptical. Recall Houston, a group working to recall Houston Mayor John Whitmire, is gaining steam and reading for a push to get the effort on the ballot in 2025. The organization has been working for almost a year, &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118302">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  501. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://abc13.com/post/what-is-recall-houston-group-working-mayor-john-whitmire-gains-steam-reading-push-get-effort-2025-ballot/16098663/?ex_cid=TA_KTRK_TW&#038;taid=67e7416c5ed7ef0001d84e48&#038;utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&#038;utm_medium=trueAnthem&#038;utm_source=twitter">Color me skeptical</a>.</p>
  502. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/images/whitmire250.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="size-full" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mayor John Whitmire</p></div>
  503. <p><a href="https://recallhouston.org/">Recall Houston</a>, a group working to recall Houston Mayor John Whitmire, is gaining steam and reading for a push to get the effort on the ballot in 2025.</p>
  504. <p>The organization has been working for almost a year, but organizers say the timing is now coming together to get the effort off the ground.</p>
  505. <p>Recalling a mayor in Houston requires 25% of the votes in the last general election. For Houston, that&#8217;s about 63,000 signatures &#8211; all of which must be gathered and submitted within 30 days. That&#8217;s more than 2,000 signatures per day- all of whom must be registered voters in the city of Houston.</p>
  506. <p>The group began accepting donations this week to assist with the effort and launched a new website at the beginning of the year.</p>
  507. <p>&#8220;Whitmire&#8217;s administration is incompetent and dangerous for Houston. Throughout the past year, we&#8217;ve seen Whitmire damage our city and risk our future,&#8221; the group&#8217;s site reads.</p>
  508. <p>A spokesperson for Whitmire told ABC13 that the efforts are not new and that many mayors have faced recall initiatives.
  509. </p></blockquote>
  510. <p>You know I&#8217;m not a big fan of Mayor Whitmire. I&#8217;ve heard talk from various folks about a recall effort for some time now, so the existence of this campaign, if it is in that stage yet, isn&#8217;t a surprise to me. Certainly, some of the items on their webpage resonate with me &#8211; I&#8217;m extremely unhappy about the large scale undoing of the 2019 Metro NEXT referendum, for one. But let&#8217;s review a few facts here.</p>
  511. <p>&#8211; 63K signatures is a lot to collect, though it is doable. 63K signatures in a month, and the clock starts as soon as you get the first one, is a massive and expensive effort that would be an underdog under the best of circumstances. Right now, I don&#8217;t see any evidence that such an effort is close to being rolled out.</p>
  512. <p>&#8211; Part of the reason for that is that there are no names associated with Recall Houston. Look at their <a href="https://recallhouston.org/about-2/">About</a> page, which begins with the sentence &#8220;Recall for Houston is a group of Houstonians who want to recall Mayor Whitmire.&#8221; Glad we cleared that up. Most people would like to know who&#8217;s associated with a group before they throw in with it, even if they align with its goals. If you come for the king, you best know that you&#8217;ve got a realistic shot at not missing.</p>
  513. <p>&#8211; It&#8217;s my understanding that the recall process here is not one in which you decide whether or not to oust the Mayor, and then if the answer to that is Yes you run an election to replace him. It&#8217;s one in which voters are first asked if they want to oust the Mayor, and then right there on the same ballot, next question, who they&#8217;d like to replace him with. In other word, the recall campaign is also the Mayoral campaign for some number of wannabe Mayors, much like the 2003 California gubernatorial recall was also a vote for the next Governor. You may remember what a, um, <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Sample_ballot_for_CA_recall.png">colorful collection of candidates there were</a> for that. I can only imagine what we&#8217;d get in this scenario. Would, say, Chris Hollins throw in his hat? I have my doubts. If there isn&#8217;t a serious opponent in this race, one who&#8217;d have a decent chance at beating Whitmire in 2027, then what&#8217;s the point?</p>
  514. <p>&#8211; I may be wrong about that &#8211; it&#8217;s my understanding from talking with other people who are Also Not Fans of Mayor Whitmire. It seems to me that one of the core missions of a recall effort would be to explain to the voters, who have never experienced such an election at least in the 37 years that I&#8217;ve lived in Houston, how this works. </p>
  515. <p>&#8211; Anyway, my point is that a serious effort would already have big names and some kind of fundraising structure associated with it. They <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/recallhouston.bsky.social/post/3llcvugjiuk27">started accepting donations</a> on March 26. Which, good for them, but there&#8217;s a very long way to go from there. I&#8217;ll be very interested to see what they show in their July finance report.</p>
  516. <p>&#8211; Finally, is there any evidence to suggest that Mayor Whitmire has lost some critical amount of support, enough to perhaps put him in danger of a recall effort? We don&#8217;t have that kind of polling operation for Houston, so it&#8217;s impossible to say for sure. No doubt, there will be some Whitmire voters from 2023 who don&#8217;t like some of the things he has done. Every elected official goes through that. That&#8217;s a long step away from &#8220;and so let&#8217;s fire him and replace him with someone else, TBD who&#8221;. Maybe commission a poll, and see what you get.</p>
  517. <p>Anyway, you can follow Recall Houston on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/recallhouston.bsky.social">BlueSky</a>, whose feed goes back four months, and <a href="https://x.com/RecallHouston">Twitter</a>, whose feed is much busier and I barely got to the beginning of March before I stopped trying to get to the bottom of it. My best guess from looking at the feeds is that this is coming from the pro-biking, anti-<a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118248">watered-down-Montrose-Blvd</a>-project community. I stand with them on these things, but they largely were anti-Whitmire to begin with, and I don&#8217;t know how much that coalition has expanded. This would be one way to find out, if they can get it off the ground. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/recall-for-houston-john-whitmire-20248971.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Chron</a>, which notes a Reddit post by Recall Houston from last June, has more.</p>
  518. <p><u>UPDATE</u>: From Beth in the comments, there&#8217;s <a href="https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTVII-AREOF">this</a>:</p>
  519. <blockquote><p>
  520. If the person sought to be removed shall at said election be recalled, his tenure of office shall terminate upon the determination of the result of the election by the City Council, who shall examine, count and canvass the returns and declare the result as elsewhere provided in this Charter for other elections; and, if an appointed officer, his successor shall at once be appointed by the Mayor and City Council, as provided in this Charter, and if an elective officer, provision shall at once be made for the election of a successor to fill the vacancy, as elsewhere provided for in this Charter and State law.
  521. </p></blockquote>
  522. <p>So it&#8217;s oust first, elect successor if needed later. I suppose I prefer that to the alternative, but it would likely mean at least six months with no Mayor. Again, if this were to happen, which at this time I can&#8217;t imagine.</p>
  523. ]]></content:encoded>
  525. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118302</wfw:commentRss>
  526. <slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
  529. </item>
  530. <item>
  531. <title>Menefee threatens to sue to get CD18 election called</title>
  532. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118313</link>
  533. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118313#respond</comments>
  535. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  536. <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
  537. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  538. <category><![CDATA[CD18]]></category>
  539. <category><![CDATA[Christian Menefee]]></category>
  540. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  541. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  542. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  543. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  544. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  545. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  546. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118313</guid>
  547.  
  548. <description><![CDATA[Hope it doesn&#8217;t have to come to that, but there&#8217;s no reason to trust Greg Abbott. Acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee on Monday demanded that Gov. Greg Abbott call a special election to fill the region’s open congressional seat, even going &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118313">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  549. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-special-election-20246324.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral">Hope it doesn&#8217;t have to come to that</a>, but there&#8217;s no reason to trust Greg Abbott.</p>
  550. <blockquote>
  551. <div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://x.com/CDMenefee"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1901623229648920576/wt9gF3qB_400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Christian Menefee</p></div>
  552. <p>Acting Harris County Attorney <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-turner-congress-20224054.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Christian Menefee</a> on Monday demanded that Gov. Greg Abbott call a special election to fill the region’s<a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-county-attorney-congress-20240183.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native"> open congressional seat</a>, even going as far as threatening legal action as the governor continues to hold off.</p>
  553. <p>Houston’s 18th Congressional District, which has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, has been without representation since March 5 after U.S. Rep. <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/sylvester-turner-texas-dies-20203885.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Sylvester Turner</a> died following health complications.</p>
  554. <p>Menefee was the <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/christian-menefee-congress-fundraising-20227871.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">first to file</a> to replace Turner, doing so just hours after Turner’s west Houston funeral on March 15.</p>
  555. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  556. <p>Abbott&#8217;s office on Monday did not respond to questions surrounding the possible litigation, nor did it provide a special election date.</p>
  557. <p>&#8220;An announcement on a special election will be made at a later date,&#8221; Abbott&#8217;s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote in an email.
  558. </p></blockquote>
  559. <p>Well, we know it <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223">won&#8217;t be in May</a>. My expectation once that deadline passed was that <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253">we would have to wait until November</a>, but there&#8217;s no reason it couldn&#8217;t be earlier. Menefee, who unlike me is an actual lawyer, has presumably read <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.201.htm#C">the statute</a> that governs the timing of these special elections more or less as <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117983">I did</a>, with an eye on the phrase &#8220;the election shall be ordered as soon as practicable after the vacancy occurs&#8221;. The combination of &#8220;shall&#8221; and &#8220;as soon as practicable&#8221; says to me, and I presume to Menefee, who again is an actual lawyer unlike myself, that this means that while Abbott has some discretion &#8211; no specific deadline to call it, yadda yadda yadda &#8211; he can&#8217;t not call it, and he can&#8217;t wait forever to call it. </p>
  560. <p>What &#8220;practicable&#8221; means in the real world is something that the courts would decide, if and when Menefee and likely a couple of CD18 voters as co-plaintiffs sue to force the matter. I have no idea how that may go because we&#8217;ve never really faced this before &#8211; these elections have been delayed sometimes &#8211; the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=10867">HD143 election in 2005</a> is the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=10947">most prominent example</a> in my mind &#8211; but having to wait nearly eight months until November is unprecedented as far as I know. Who knows what logical knots will get tied as the state tries to defend that, if it comes to it.</p>
  561. <p>The simple solution is to call the election sooner than that. We had the chance to do that in May, but here we are. Given the deadline situation, if Menefee is to make good on his threat, he&#8217;ll be suing in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned. <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/menefee-aims-to-clear-field-early-but-it-could-be-long-year-of-political-drama-for-cd-18/">This Landing story</a> from Friday is about the state of CD18 and the possible long wait to resolve it, so not about this new development but worth your time anyway.</p>
  562. ]]></content:encoded>
  564. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118313</wfw:commentRss>
  565. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  568. </item>
  569. <item>
  570. <title>Why are we now tearing up bike lanes?</title>
  571. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118315</link>
  572. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118315#comments</comments>
  574. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  575. <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:45:39 +0000</pubDate>
  576. <category><![CDATA[Planes, Trains, and Automobiles]]></category>
  577. <category><![CDATA[bicycles]]></category>
  578. <category><![CDATA[Bike Houston]]></category>
  579. <category><![CDATA[bike lanes]]></category>
  580. <category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
  581. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  582. <category><![CDATA[John Whitmire]]></category>
  583. <category><![CDATA[Rodney Ellis]]></category>
  584. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118315</guid>
  585.  
  586. <description><![CDATA[This is bullshit. Without prior announcement, the city of Houston has begun removing the dedicated bike lane on a key street, raising concerns among residents about transparency and the city&#8217;s commitment to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. The potential loss of &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118315">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  587. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/austin-street-bike-lane-20245635.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">This is bullshit</a>.</p>
  588. <blockquote><p>
  589. Without prior announcement, the city of Houston has begun removing the dedicated bike lane on a key street, raising concerns among residents about transparency and <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-protest-bicycle-safety-20238719.php">the city&#8217;s commitment to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure</a>.</p>
  590. <p>The potential loss of the Austin Street bike lane in Midtown first came to light through a Texas Public Information Act request by a community activist. The request revealed emails between city engineers discussing plans to replace the dedicated bike lane between Holman and Pierce streets with sharrows — shared lane markings that indicate cyclists and motorists must share the road.</p>
  591. <p>The emails were shared publicly last Thursday. The Houston Chronicle contacted Houston Public Works on Friday to confirm whether the city was proceeding with the removal, but the department did not provide an answer.</p>
  592. <p>By Monday, BikeHouston Executive Director Joe Cutrufo received a call informing him that crews were actively dismantling the bike lane. He rode down Austin Street to confirm it himself.</p>
  593. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one thing if you&#8217;re going to redesign a street,&#8221; Cutrufo said. &#8220;It&#8217;s entirely another to do it first thing on a Monday morning without any announcement whatsoever.&#8221;</p>
  594. <p>As of Monday morning, Houston Public Works still hadn’t responded to questions about the project.</p>
  595. <p>Cutrufo called the bike lane the backbone of Houston&#8217;s cycling network between Hermann Park and Buffalo Bayou.</p>
  596. <p>&#8220;This bikeway is widely used by commuters who rely on it to safely get to and from work every day,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And it&#8217;s not just cyclists — running clubs and individual runners use Austin Street to create longer routes connecting Rice University, Hermann Park, and Buffalo Bayou. This is a critical piece of the city&#8217;s active transportation network.&#8221;</p>
  597. <p>The emails obtained via the Public Information Act request date back to June 10 and 11, 2024. A city engineer wrote to a senior project manager at KCI Technologies:</p>
  598. <p>&#8220;Please prepare a proposal for Work Order #7 on the N-321040-0087-3 contract. The project is a rehab (mill &#038; overlay) of Austin St., from Holman to Pierce. Additionally, it will require some design work on the lane configuration. We would like to take out the dedicated bike lane and use sharrows instead.&#8221;</p>
  599. <p>The Houston Chronicle asked Houston Public Works to confirm whether the city planned to remove the bike lane, what the timeline for the work was, and whether there was any justification for the decision. A department spokesperson acknowledged receiving the questions but never provided a response.</p>
  600. <p>Crews began dismantling the bike lane’s protective barriers Monday morning.</p>
  601. <p>The removal of Austin Street&#8217;s dedicated bike lane is the latest city action raising alarm among transportation advocates, who blame Mayor John Whitmire&#8217;s administration for a broader push away from pedestrian and cyclist friendly infrastructure.</p>
  602. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s bad enough that there was no notice, but it&#8217;s even worse that it&#8217;s happening at all,&#8221; said transportation advocate Michael Moritz. &#8220;It&#8217;s bewildering that the mayor would not only remove popular protected bike infrastructure, but also promote street projects that widen car lanes in urban areas, reducing safety for all users.&#8221;
  603. </p></blockquote>
  604. <p>Add in the <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-protest-bicycle-safety-20238719.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">removal of barriers from the Heights Blvd lanes last week</a> and you begin to see this as a planned attack. I&#8217;m a lot more worried about West 11th Street now than I was before. The fact that it happened without notice and without the Public Works Department bothering to respond to questions about it makes it even more infuriating. </p>
  605. <p>And for all of the yammering on about efficiency and cutting waste and so on, how is it fiscally responsible to tear out intact functional infrastructure that&#8217;s not even five years old? Even if the cost of doing so is relatively small, why was this a priority over all of the other things Public Works does? Were there no potholes to fill? No long-requested speed bumps to install? What are we doing here?</p>
  606. <p>I&#8217;ll leave you with this:</p>
  607. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>
  608. Here&#8217;s some B roll of the lane removal, in case your camera crews don&#8217;t make it there on time @abc13houston @FOX26Houston @KPRC2 @KHOU @CW39Houston</p>
  609. <p>— BikeHouston (@BikeHouston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BikeHouston/status/1906757499023184336">12:16 PM &#8211; 31 March 2025</a></p></blockquote>
  610. <p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
  611. <p>I hope a lot of people show up at the next Council meeting to yell at the Mayor about this. I know I&#8217;ve just been critical of the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118302">Recall Houston effort</a> as it now stands, but nothing will make me root harder for them than crap like this. <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/city-of-houston/2025/03/31/517237/austin-street-bike-lane-removed-midtown-houston-outcry-from-cyclists/">Houston Public Media</a> has more.</p>
  612. <p><u>UPDATE</u>: You have got to be kidding me:</p>
  613. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>
  614. Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis @RodneyEllis said his office fully funded the Austin St. bike lane project and it cost $1.6 million for construction, and $369,000 for design.</p>
  615. <p>— Ryan Nickerson (@Rya_n_ickerson) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rya_n_ickerson/status/1906834097676173441">5:20 PM &#8211; 31 March 2025</a></p></blockquote>
  616. <p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
  617. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>
  618. My statement on the removal of the protected bike lanes on Austin St.</p>
  619. <p>— Rodney Ellis (@RodneyEllis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RodneyEllis/status/1906839251301371969">5:31 PM &#8211; 31 March 2025</a></p></blockquote>
  620. <p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
  621. <p>So the city went in and destroyed a bike lane that they didn&#8217;t build? Honestly, I hope Harris County sues to recover the initial cost and the cost of rebuilding. Total amateur hour over there.</p>
  622. ]]></content:encoded>
  624. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118315</wfw:commentRss>
  625. <slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
  628. </item>
  629. <item>
  630. <title>Allred considering 2026 Senate run</title>
  631. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118262</link>
  632. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118262#comments</comments>
  634. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  635. <pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2025 10:01:04 +0000</pubDate>
  636. <category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
  637. <category><![CDATA[Beth van Duyne]]></category>
  638. <category><![CDATA[Colin Allred]]></category>
  639. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  640. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  641. <category><![CDATA[Election 2030]]></category>
  642. <category><![CDATA[John Cornyn]]></category>
  643. <category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
  644. <category><![CDATA[primaries]]></category>
  645. <category><![CDATA[Republican Party]]></category>
  646. <category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
  647. <category><![CDATA[Ted Cruz]]></category>
  648. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  649. <category><![CDATA[Wesley Hunt]]></category>
  650. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118262</guid>
  651.  
  652. <description><![CDATA[Fine by me. On a night when he urged a group of erstwhile Republicans to stay in the fight, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said he’s “seriously considering” a 2026 Senate campaign against incumbent John Cornyn, or the winner of &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118262">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  653. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/26/colin-allred-seriously-considering-2026-senate-bid-for-john-cornyns-seat/">Fine by me</a>.</p>
  654. <blockquote><div style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://colinallred.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1508490929124085768/7wUWmAZj_400x400.jpg" width="180" height="180" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Colin Allred</p></div>
  655. <p>On a night when he urged a group of erstwhile Republicans to stay in the fight, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said he’s “seriously considering” a 2026 Senate campaign against incumbent John Cornyn, or the winner of what’s expected to be a bruising GOP primary.</p>
  656. <p>Allred appeared at an event sponsored by Principles First, a group of conservatives opposed to President Donald Trump. It was his first public appearance since his loss to Republican Ted Cruz.</p>
  657. <p>In an interview with The Dallas Morning News before the event, Allred lamented his loss to Cruz, briefly discussed his political future and delighted in the time he’s spending with his young family. It was his first public interview since his Senate defeat.</p>
  658. <p>The Dallas Democrat said he would make a decision on another Senate run this summer.</p>
  659. <p>“I’m looking at it and seriously considering it,” Allred said. “This is a time for everybody to realize just what’s at stake and how important it is that we all stay involved.”</p>
  660. <p>Cornyn released a <a href="https://x.com/TeamCornyn/status/1904850821621162242">video Wednesday</a> launching his Senate campaign in what’s expected to be an explosive Republican primary. Texas Attorney General<br />
  661. <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/02/10/sen-john-cornyn-with-2026-primary-looming-gives-trumps-early-performance-an-a/">Ken Paxton is in the exploratory stage</a> of a potential Senate campaign against Cornyn. Other Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Beth Van Duyne of Irving and Wesley Hunt of Houston, have been mentioned as potential GOP Senate candidates.</p>
  662. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  663. <p>Throughout the hour-long conversation, Allred criticized Trump administration policies.</p>
  664. <p>“Folks elected Donald Trump so they could buy groceries, not Greenland,” Allred said.</p>
  665. <p>Allred also criticized some of Trump’s cabinet picks, saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “couldn’t manage a hot dog stand” and that there were concerns that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was a “Russian plant.”</p>
  666. <p>The Republican-controlled Senate should have blocked many of Trump’s appointments, Allred said. And he predicted more controversies akin to the security breach in which <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/03/26/the-atlantic-releases-entire-signal-chat-showing-hegseths-attack-plans-against-houthis/">top Trump officials inadvertently included a journalist in a group chat</a> about the administration’s plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen.</p>
  667. <p>“This is the first example of what will likely be many that we will see in which some kind of nonsense happens because we have people in place who are unqualified and shouldn’t be on the job in the first place.”</p>
  668. <p>Allred also questioned Trump’s use of tariffs, saying Texas lawmakers should be against them. Earlier this month <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/autos/2025/03/05/us-automakers-get-one-month-exemption-on-tariffs-from-mexico-canada/">Trump postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Canada and Mexico</a> as fears of a trade war persisted among some economic experts. The White House says its tariff policy involves stopping the smuggling of fentanyl across the nation’s borders.</p>
  669. <p>“If you’re an elected official in Texas, you better be against tariffs,” Allred said. “We’re the No. 1 trade state in the country &#8230; that’s what we do. That’s our economy.”
  670. </p></blockquote>
  671. <p>The case for an Allred rerun is simple: He&#8217;s now actually run a statewide campaign, he raised plenty of money for it, he was easily the top-performing Democrat on the 2024 ticket, and there&#8217;s no one else remotely ready who has expressed any interest. I love Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar too, but maybe let them finish their second term in office before promoting them to a statewide run. If either of them wants to take on Ted Cruz in 2030, I&#8217;ll be all over that.</p>
  672. <p>My advice to Allred for now is to keep talking like this. Attack Trump and his army of morons and miscreants at every step. (Work some more Elon into it, too.) Make it clear that you will act as a member of the opposition party. The bet is simply that Trump et al will continue to make things worse, and at some point enough people &#8211; which, let&#8217;s be clear, is going to need to include a non-trivial number of people who have voted for Trump and Cornyn in the past &#8211; will be receptive to that. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn&#8217;t &#8211; maybe things don&#8217;t get quite bad enough, maybe there just aren&#8217;t enough people willing to try something else &#8211; but it&#8217;s a clear path. We&#8217;ll see what he decides to do. <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/politics/texas-senate-battle-intensifies-as-cornyn-feuds-with-paxton/">Reform Austin</a> has more.</p>
  673. ]]></content:encoded>
  675. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118262</wfw:commentRss>
  676. <slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
  679. </item>
  680. <item>
  681. <title>More efficiency studying</title>
  682. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118259</link>
  683. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118259#comments</comments>
  685. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  686. <pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:53:33 +0000</pubDate>
  687. <category><![CDATA[Local politics]]></category>
  688. <category><![CDATA[budget]]></category>
  689. <category><![CDATA[Chris Hollins]]></category>
  690. <category><![CDATA[deficit]]></category>
  691. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  692. <category><![CDATA[Houston City Controller]]></category>
  693. <category><![CDATA[Houston City Council]]></category>
  694. <category><![CDATA[John Whitmire]]></category>
  695. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118259</guid>
  696.  
  697. <description><![CDATA[Sure, why not. Houston Public Works and the city controller’s office will receive deeper analyses of their operations and finances after the city council on Wednesday voted to expand the purview of Mayor John Whitmire’s efficiency study. The study, completed &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118259">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  698. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/public-works-controller-study-20240176.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral">Sure, why not</a>.</p>
  699. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/images/whitmire250.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mayor John Whitmire</p></div>
  700. <p>Houston Public Works and the city controller’s office will receive deeper analyses of their operations and finances after the city council on Wednesday voted to expand the purview of Mayor John Whitmire’s <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/ernst-young-audit-20162328.php">efficiency study</a>.</p>
  701. <p>The study, completed by Houston-based accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young, aims to rid the city of any potential wasteful spending and processes that are hindering providing city services.</p>
  702. <p>Results of a sweep across the city’s 22 departments found potential misuse of city credit cards, as well as <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/ernst-young-audit-20162328.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">extensive problems</a> with the process the city uses to secure goods and services.</p>
  703. <p>The council’s vote on Wednesday allocated $388,000 more toward the study, bringing the city’s  investment in streamlining operations from $965,000 to more than $1.35 million, according to <a class="" href="https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=34103&amp;MeetingID=728" data-link="native">council agenda documents</a>.</p>
  704. <p>City leaders in September also voted to expand the study to take a deeper look into Houston’s 28 tax districts following a scandal with the city’s Midtown Redevelopment Authority where an official <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/midtown-redevelopment-whitmire-corruption-19821349.php" data-link="native">misspent $8.5 million </a>that was supposed to go toward affordable housing.</p>
  705. <p>Council on Wednesday also voted to approve a <a class="" href="https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=34164&amp;MeetingID=728" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">nearly $4 million</a> for support services through Ernst &amp; Young to monitor and help implement the recommendations laid out in the study over the next 18 months.
  706. </p></blockquote>
  707. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117731">here</a> for the background. As I&#8217;ve said before, I&#8217;m fine with doing this &#8211; if one must make cuts, it&#8217;s far better to be pragmatic and calibrated about it, unlike the approach that the DOGEbags are taking &#8211; and it doesn&#8217;t take much to cover the cost of doing the studies. I am curious whether Controller Chris Hollins was involved in this part of it, since it&#8217;s his office that will be under the microscope, but there&#8217;s nothing in the story and I didn&#8217;t see anything on his Twitter feed. I remain unconvinced that all this will find more than modest savings, but as with many other things I&#8217;m happy to be proven wrong.</p>
  708. ]]></content:encoded>
  710. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118259</wfw:commentRss>
  711. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  714. </item>
  715. <item>
  716. <title>Kendall Scudder elected TDP Chair</title>
  717. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118300</link>
  718. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118300#comments</comments>
  720. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  721. <pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:45:14 +0000</pubDate>
  722. <category><![CDATA[Show Business for Ugly People]]></category>
  723. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  724. <category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
  725. <category><![CDATA[Gilberto Hinojosa]]></category>
  726. <category><![CDATA[Kendall Scudder]]></category>
  727. <category><![CDATA[Lillie Schechter]]></category>
  728. <category><![CDATA[TDP]]></category>
  729. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  730. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118300</guid>
  731.  
  732. <description><![CDATA[Congratulations and good luck. The Texas Democratic Party’s governing board on Saturday elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward as its new chair after a devastating performance in November and years of electoral defeats. “The challenge that we’re facing &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118300">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  733. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/29/texas-democrats-party-chair/">Congratulations and good luck</a>.</p>
  734. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/kendallscudder.bsky.social"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar/plain/did:plc:qywggimazp5hn6v2jefhujqa/bafkreifzfbttb36wu6fyfwjduanniptmu47rwplb37wg3reydwvch3ltia@jpeg" width="150" height="150" class="size-full" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Kendall Scudder</p></div>
  735. <p>The Texas Democratic Party’s governing board on Saturday elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward as its new chair after a devastating performance in November and years of electoral defeats.</p>
  736. <p>“The challenge that we’re facing right now is terrifying for this country and for this state, and a lot of people are counting on us to come together and do the right thing and make sure that we are building a Texas Democratic Party that is worthy of the grassroots in this state,” Scudder said upon taking the gavel. “Let’s build a party that the working men and women of this state can be proud of.”</p>
  737. <p>Scudder took 65 out of 121 votes, an outright majority in the seven-way race.</p>
  738. <p>Scudder will take over as chair of the state party at a moment when Democrats are grasping for a way forward after blowout losses up and down the ballot last year, including President Donald Trump’s victory and a surge to the right by traditionally Democratic groups, such as Hispanic voters in South Texas.</p>
  739. <p>After proclaiming Texas a competitive state where Democratic candidates had a fighting chance of winning statewide for the first time in three decades, party leaders instead watched as Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz trounced their Democratic challengers by roughly 14 and 9 percentage points, respectively. Democrats also ceded ground in the state Legislature and lost <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-republican-sweep-appellate-courts/">nearly every</a> contested state appellate court race, in addition to 10 judicial races in Harris County — eating away at years of Democratic dominance in Texas’ largest county.</p>
  740. <p>That left many Democrats concerned that, after appearing to come within striking distance of winning statewide in 2018, the party was back at a sobering low.</p>
  741. <p>Longtime Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa announced his resignation shortly after the election, acknowledging the party’s poor performance and a need for a new direction.</p>
  742. <p>That push for a fresh vision defined the race for party chair. Scudder will be the incumbent come 2026, when a broader group of delegates will elect the next full-term chair at the party convention in Corpus Christi. The 121-member State Democratic Executive Committee chose Hinojosa’s successor at the Saturday meeting, its first quarterly meeting of the year, because he resigned in the middle of his four-year term.</p>
  743. <p>During his campaign, Scudder, an East Texas native, emphasized the importance of listening to the “grassroots.” Even before he launched his candidacy, he had accused party leadership under Hinojosa of ignoring those voters and activists. He wants to “recalibrate” the party toward a focus on working people.</p>
  744. <p>“The reality is simply that Democrats on the ground don’t have a lot of confidence in party leadership anymore,” Scudder told The Texas Tribune in an interview on Thursday.</p>
  745. <p>He wants the party to pay attention to areas he says it has previously written off, like rural communities, and put a priority on Spanish-language communications.</p>
  746. <p>Scudder has worked in affordable housing and real estate. He came onto the state party stage through the SDEC, although he began his political activism with the Texas Young Democrats and the Texas College Democrats.</p>
  747. <p>Scudder’s leading opponents, former Harris County Democratic Party Chair Lillie Schechter and former Annie’s List Executive Director Patsy Woods Martin, had offered similar but competing visions to re-establish Democratic credibility on kitchen table issues and reconnect with voters in their communities. During the campaign, Schechter and Woods Martin emphasized their experience getting Democratic candidates elected.
  748. </p></blockquote>
  749. <p>With no disrespect intended, I would have voted for Lillie Schechter if I&#8217;d had a vote, because of her experience as HCDP Chair. I thought she did an excellent job during her tenure. I&#8217;m fine with Scudder&#8217;s election, I have met and spoken with him and was impressed by what he had to say, and we could certainly do with some youth and new energy. I don&#8217;t have any advice to offer, mostly because I don&#8217;t know that I have any worthy insights after what happened last year. This is a tough job, we have a lot of ground to make up and a lot working against us, and the Republican Party is completely unhinged. I wish Kendall Scudder all the best.</p>
  750. ]]></content:encoded>
  752. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118300</wfw:commentRss>
  753. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  756. </item>
  757. <item>
  758. <title>Weekend link dump for March 30</title>
  759. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118187</link>
  760. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118187#comments</comments>
  762. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  763. <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 18:57:21 +0000</pubDate>
  764. <category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
  765. <category><![CDATA[linkdump]]></category>
  766. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118187</guid>
  767.  
  768. <description><![CDATA[&#8220;J.D. Vance Is the Most Disliked New Vice President in History&#8221;. &#8220;The leading Chinese electric carmaker BYD has soared in value after it said its latest batteries charge fast enough to add 400km (249 miles) of range in only five &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118187">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  769. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;J.D. Vance Is the <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/03/21/j-d-vance-is-the-most-disliked-new-vice-president-in-history/">Most Disliked New Vice President</a> in History&#8221;.</p>
  770. <p>&#8220;The leading Chinese electric carmaker BYD <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/18/ev-maker-byd-batteries-charge-shares-elon-musk-tesla">has soared in value</a> after it said its latest batteries charge fast enough to add 400km (249 miles) of range in only five minutes.&#8221;</p>
  771. <p>&#8220;Why don’t we <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2025/03/20/why-dont-we-remember-being-baby-new-study-provides-clues">remember being a baby</a>? New study provides clues&#8221;.</p>
  772. <p>&#8220;Motorists have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-trade-ins-pace-record-high-amid-musk-backlash-2025-03-20/">traded in a record number of Tesla electric vehicles this month</a>, Edmunds data showed, amid a wave of protests against CEO Elon Musk&#8217;s work as an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.&#8221;</p>
  773. <p>&#8220;The White House is offering <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/white-house-easter-egg-roll-sponsorships/">a new corporate sponsorship opportunity-slash-potential-ethics-catastrophe</a>: The annual Easter Egg Roll.&#8221;</p>
  774. <p>&#8220;The real division now among Democrats is not principally ideological, <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/schumer-didnt-know-the-can-of-whoop-ass-he-was-opening/sharetoken/94c9497a-11c4-4216-94f3-6d13040f80b1">it’s fight vs risk aversion and the old proceduralism</a>. They think the left/center and fight/no fight spectra overlap more or less perfectly. They’re wrong.&#8221;</p>
  775. <p><a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/bill-mercer-voice-world-class-championship-wrestling-broadcast-journalist-dies/287-249da7c3-99b7-45d7-a300-35940ab03177">RIP, Bill Mercer</a>, longtime Dallas journalist and sportscaster who was the voice of World Class Championship Wrestling from 1982 to 1987, called the 1967 &#8220;Ice Bowl&#8221;, and was the first person to inform Lee Harvey Oswald he had been charged with murdering President Kennedy.</p>
  776. <p><a href="https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-03-24/max-frankel-former-new-york-times-top-editor-dies-at-94">RIP, Max Frankel</a>, former executive editor of the New York Times who was with that paper for nearly 50 years.</p>
  777. <p>“I’m 66 years old and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/24/2310852/-Danes-boycott-US-goods-with-fervor-Danish-Viking-blood-is-boiling?pm_campaign=blog&#038;pm_medium=rss&#038;pm_source=main">I have never seen the Danes so upset</a> before.”</p>
  778. <p>&#8220;Long Before <em>The White Lotus</em>, Mike White and I <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/long-before-the-white-lotus-mike-white-and-i-made-a-really-good-show-youll-never-see?_sp=89d6ee24-487b-498a-9492-89e2c2c75791.1742837063360">Made a Really Good Show</a> You’ll Never See&#8221;.</p>
  779. <p><a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/03/mia-love-congress-utah-dies/">RIP, Mia Love</a>, first Black Republican woman to serve in Congress.</p>
  780. <p>&#8220;<a href="https://www.nycbar.org/press-releases/in-defense-of-the-rule-of-law-and-the-independence-of-the-legal-profession/">We call upon all branches of government to support the rule of law</a> and the essential role of lawyers in our democracy, and to reject any efforts to use the tremendous power of the government against members of the legal profession for performing their duty. We further call upon our fellow members of the legal profession as well as members of the public at large to reject any attempt to harass or intimidate our country’s lawyers and judges for simply doing their jobs.&#8221;</p>
  781. <p>&#8220;The Trump Administration <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/?gift=kPTlqn0J1iP9IBZcsdI5IVJpB2t9BYyxpzU4sooa69M&#038;utm_source=copy-link&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_campaign=share">Accidentally Texted Me</a> Its War Plans&#8221;.</p>
  782. <p>“If it was anyone other than Hillary Clinton, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/25/2312398/-Hegseth-should-go-to-jail-for-war-plan-leaks-according-to-Hegseth?pm_campaign=blog&#038;pm_medium=rss&#038;pm_source=main">they would be in jail right now</a>. If you are using unclassified means, there is the potential for and likelihood that foreign governments are targeting those accounts.”</p>
  783. <p>&#8220;But <a href="https://jill.substack.com/p/but-his-group-chat">this is what happens</a> when you hire for incompetence.&#8221;</p>
  784. <p>&#8220;The National Security Agency <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nsa-signal-app-vulnerabilities-before-houthi-strike-chat/">sent out an operational security special bulletin to its employees in February 2025</a> warning them of vulnerabilities in using the encrypted messaging application Signal&#8221;.</p>
  785. <p>&#8220;<a href="https://www.404media.co/dna-of-15-million-people-for-sale-in-23andme-bankruptcy/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter">DNA of 15 Million People for Sale</a> in 23andMe Bankruptcy&#8221;.</p>
  786. <p>&#8220;The court martial ultimately prevented Robinson from deploying with his original unit to Europe. While he was eventually acquitted, <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2025/3/25/24392333/mlb-jackie-robinson-us-department-defense-dei-controversy-yankees">that little-known court martial represents one of the great <em>Sliding Doors</em> moments in 20th-century American history</a>. A guilty verdict could very well have stopped his MLB career well before it started. A less-insanely-racist bus driver may have meant Lt. Robinson was deployed to Europe, and who knows what happens from there. That the whole affair began because whiteness is a concept we create, define, and uphold, and a given woman was seen to be just white enough to be “threatened,” is one of history’s dark jokes.&#8221;</p>
  787. <p>&#8220;On average, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/streaming-survey-cost-monthly-value-deloitte-1236342738/">streaming video subscribers in the U.S. pay for four services totaling $69 per month</a>, a 13% year-over-year increase&#8221;.</p>
  788. <p>&#8220;Florida’s attorney general <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/03/tate-brothers-criminal-investigation-florida-1236311488/">has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan</a>, who traveled to the U.S. last week.&#8221;</p>
  789. <p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/carole-strayhorn-texas-comptroller-died/">RIP, Carole Keeton Strayhorn</a>, former Austin mayor, Railroad Commissioner, and Comptroller.</p>
  790. <p>&#8220;The best-known member of Elon Musk&#8217;s U.S. DOGE Service team of technologists <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-staffer-big-balls-provided-tech-support-cybercrime-ring-records-show-2025-03-26/">once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent</a>, according to digital records reviewed by Reuters.&#8221;</p>
  791. <p>&#8220;Smarter people than I have analyzed the legal and political fallout from the scandal. I was attracted to something far dumber. Reading through the full transcript released Wednesday, it became clear to me that beyond a secretive attack-planning committee, the dynamics of the discussion <a href="https://slate.com/life/2025/03/atlantic-chat-leak-signal-trump-vance-hegseth.html?via=rss">reminded me of the typical boys group chat</a>. All of the archetypes and characters I’m familiar with in my own life were there. So I took it upon myself to annotate the thread like the frat house that has become our executive branch. You can trust me on this. I went to the University of Texas.&#8221;</p>
  792. <p>&#8220;Universities and churches are struggling to respond as students, professors, neighbors, and other members of their communities are being detained and disappeared without any legal defense. So I think it is good and instructive and edifying to remember that <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/03/27/a-story-we-all-should-re-read-the-oberlin-wellington-rescue/">this has happened before and to review how one community responded to exactly this same quasi-legal authoritarian threat from quasi-government officials</a> and why their children to all generations honor them for doing it, and every good and honest person says they had done right.&#8221;</p>
  793. <p><a href="https://people.com/lj-smith-vampire-diaries-author-dies-66-11704124">RIP, LJ Smith</a>, author of <em>The Vampire Diaries</em> novels.</p>
  794. <p>&#8220;Yolanda Saldivar <a href="https://www.tpr.org/criminal-justice/2025-03-27/yolanda-saldivar-convicted-of-killing-selena-will-stay-in-prison">was denied parole</a> by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Thursday.&#8221;</p>
  795. <p>&#8220;The truth is, <a href="https://slate.com/life/2025/03/studio-ghibli-style-ai-chatgpt-openai-generator-prompt-hayao-miyazaki.html?via=rss">Hayao Miyazaki would hate you fucking losers</a>. Every last one of you using this abomination of technology, whether just for a lark or because you actually hold an ideological commitment to killing artistry, jobs, and the Earth in favor of enriching the most craven, grasping, ruinous people alive.&#8221;</p>
  796. ]]></content:encoded>
  798. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118187</wfw:commentRss>
  799. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  802. </item>
  803. <item>
  804. <title>Of course the Justice Department dropped the GLO screw job complaint</title>
  805. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118291</link>
  806. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118291#respond</comments>
  808. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  809. <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
  810. <category><![CDATA[Hurricane Katrina]]></category>
  811. <category><![CDATA[Civil Rights Act]]></category>
  812. <category><![CDATA[Dawn Buckingham]]></category>
  813. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  814. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  815. <category><![CDATA[flooding]]></category>
  816. <category><![CDATA[George P. Bush]]></category>
  817. <category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
  818. <category><![CDATA[HUD]]></category>
  819. <category><![CDATA[Hurricane Harvey]]></category>
  820. <category><![CDATA[Justice Department]]></category>
  821. <category><![CDATA[Land Commissioner]]></category>
  822. <category><![CDATA[Northeast Action Collective]]></category>
  823. <category><![CDATA[Scott Turner]]></category>
  824. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  825. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  826. <category><![CDATA[Texas Housers]]></category>
  827. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118291</guid>
  828.  
  829. <description><![CDATA[What did you expect? Or for that matter, what did I expect? The findings were stark. In one investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded that a Texas state agency had steered $1 billion in disaster mitigation &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118291">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  830. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/25/trump-hud-texas-housing-discrimination-cases-dallas-houston/">What did you expect</a>? Or for that matter, what did I expect?</p>
  831. <blockquote><p>
  832. <a href="https://twitter.com/HUDgov"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1506285959637262336/mf1rqqx__400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
  833. <p>The findings were stark. In one investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded that a Texas state agency had steered $1 billion in disaster mitigation money away from Houston and nearby communities of color after Hurricane Harvey inundated the region in 2017. In another investigation, HUD found that a homeowners association outside of Dallas had created rules to kick poor Black people out of their neighborhood.</p>
  834. <p>The episodes amounted to egregious violations of civil rights laws, officials at the housing agency believed — enough to warrant litigation against the alleged culprits. That, at least, was the view during the presidency of Joe Biden. After the Trump administration took over, HUD quietly took steps that will likely kill both cases, according to three officials familiar with the matter.</p>
  835. <p>Those steps were extremely unusual. Current and former HUD officials said they could not recall the housing agency ever pulling back cases of this magnitude in which the agency had found evidence of discrimination. That leaves the yearslong, high-profile investigations in a state of limbo, with no likely path for the government to advance them, current and former officials said. As a result, the alleged perpetrators of the discrimination could face no government penalties, and the alleged victims could receive no compensation.</p>
  836. <p>“I just think that’s a doggone shame,” said Doris Brown, a Houston resident and a co-founder of a community group that, together with a housing nonprofit, filed the Harvey complaint. Brown saw 3 feet of water flood her home in a predominantly Black neighborhood that still shows damage from the storm. “We might’ve been able to get some more money to help the people that are still suffering,” she said.</p>
  837. <p>On Jan. 15, HUD referred the Houston case to the Department of Justice, a necessary step to a federal lawsuit after the housing agency finds evidence of discrimination. Less than a month later, on Feb. 13, the agency rescinded its referral without public explanation. HUD did the same with the Dallas case not long after.</p>
  838. <p>The development has alarmed some about a rollback of civil rights enforcement at the agency under President Donald Trump and HUD Secretary Scott Turner, who is from Texas. “The new administration is systematically dismantling the fair housing enforcement and education system,” said Sara Pratt, a former HUD official and an attorney for complainants in both Texas cases. “The message is: The federal government no longer takes housing discrimination seriously.”
  839. </p></blockquote>
  840. <p>I hate to say it, but I <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117398">saw</a> this <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117485">coming</a>. Not that it took genius-level insight or anything. As some of the people who are on the business end of this <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/doj-hud-civil-rights-case-20242864.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">said to the Chron</a>, a bit part of the problem here is that it took so damn long for HUD to make the discrimination finding and then refer it to the DOJ. With a different President, that would be annoying but not fatal. Not so much now. I don&#8217;t have a good answer for this &#8211; maybe it can be picked up again under a different President, assuming there aren&#8217;t any statutes of limitations and that there&#8217;s still some semblance of a federal government to pick it up. Beyond that, I got nothing. This well and truly sucks.</p>
  841. ]]></content:encoded>
  843. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118291</wfw:commentRss>
  844. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  847. </item>
  848. <item>
  849. <title>Some plaintiffs drop out of redistricting litigation</title>
  850. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118270</link>
  851. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118270#respond</comments>
  853. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  854. <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 09:51:24 +0000</pubDate>
  855. <category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
  856. <category><![CDATA[ACLU of Texas]]></category>
  857. <category><![CDATA[Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund]]></category>
  858. <category><![CDATA[Asian Pacific Islander Americans Public Affairs Association]]></category>
  859. <category><![CDATA[Attorney General]]></category>
  860. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  861. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  862. <category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
  863. <category><![CDATA[Emgage]]></category>
  864. <category><![CDATA[Fair Maps Texas Action Committee]]></category>
  865. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  866. <category><![CDATA[Justice Department]]></category>
  867. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  868. <category><![CDATA[League of Women Voters]]></category>
  869. <category><![CDATA[LULAC]]></category>
  870. <category><![CDATA[MALC]]></category>
  871. <category><![CDATA[NAACP]]></category>
  872. <category><![CDATA[National Council of Jewish Women-Greater Dallas Section]]></category>
  873. <category><![CDATA[OCA Houston]]></category>
  874. <category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>
  875. <category><![CDATA[SBOE]]></category>
  876. <category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
  877. <category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
  878. <category><![CDATA[Southern Coalition for Social Justice]]></category>
  879. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  880. <category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
  881. <category><![CDATA[Voting Rights Act]]></category>
  882. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118270</guid>
  883.  
  884. <description><![CDATA[Unfortunate but not unexpected. Two months before a scheduled trial, a coalition of voting rights groups is withdrawing from a long-running challenge to the political maps Texas drew after the 2020 U.S. census, which the groups said diluted the voting power of &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118270">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  885. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/voting-rights-group-withdraws-challenge-texas-redistricting/">Unfortunate but not unexpected</a>.</p>
  886. <blockquote><p>
  887. Two months before a scheduled trial, a coalition of voting rights groups is withdrawing from a <a href="https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2025/03/13/justice-department-withdraws-texas-redistricting-voting-rights-case/" rel="">long-running challenge to the political maps Texas drew</a> after the 2020 U.S. census, which the groups said diluted the voting power of Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander Texans.</p>
  888. <p>The outcome of the case, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/13/texas-redistricting-lawsuits/" rel="">which has been making its way through the courts for nearly four years</a>, will have implications for how much power Texans will have to decide who represents them in the state Legislature and U.S. Congress.</p>
  889. <p>The voting-rights coalition said it decided against continuing the litigation after its claims were dismissed by a trial-court panel of federal judges in February, following a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that experts said upended longstanding precedents.</p>
  890. <p>The withdrawal is the latest tangible effect of recent court rulings that experts say make it difficult for coalitions to bring claims on behalf of groups of historically marginalized voters.</p>
  891. <p>The coalition that withdrew included Fair Maps Texas Action Committee, OCA-Greater Houston, the North Texas chapter of the Asian Pacific Islander Americans Public Affairs Association, Emgage Texas, and 13 individual voters. They are represented by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the ACLU of Texas, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Brennan Center for Justice.</p>
  892. <p>Their case had been consolidated with that of other plaintiffs who were also challenging the maps. The remaining claims are still set to go to trial beginning May 21.</p>
  893. <p>The remaining plaintiffs in the case are organizations representing Latino and Black Texans, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Texas NAACP, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, as well as individual Texans.</p>
  894. <p>The 5th Circuit had decided long ago that <a href="https://www.votebeat.org/2023/11/20/galveston-redistricting-discrimination-black-latino-voters/" rel="">different groups of minority voters could be combined</a> to support a claim in such a redistricting case, as long as they were groups that tended to vote the same way. Essentially, if there aren’t enough Black voters or Latino voters, or voters of another protected class, to make up a majority of the district by themselves, they can join forces as plaintiffs if they can show that their political interests align. That’s how the coalition of groups came together to challenge the Texas voting maps.</p>
  895. <p>But in 2024, the same court <a href="https://apnews.com/article/5th-circuit-voting-rights-minority-coalitions-73fc27084b255e8875727485393c8c82" rel="">overturned that precedent</a>, prompting the trial court judges to dismiss the coalition’s claims. As a result, “It’ll be much harder for plaintiffs to bring those claims in the Fifth Circuit in Texas and in Mississippi and Louisiana, than it is elsewhere in the country,” said Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
  896. </p></blockquote>
  897. <p>These lawsuits were <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=102982">filed in 2021</a>. There were some <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=103475">state cases</a> as well as federal, and I think some may have been moved to federal court while at least one was dropped, and I have no idea about the rest. The Justice Department <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=103196">filed their own lawsuit</a> a couple of weeks later, but it was <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118089">dropped by the Trumpists</a> in March. Those lawsuits were broader and about multiple districts, but there were <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=103369">other, narrower actions</a> as well. As was the case with the challenges to the omnibus voter suppression law, the hearings were <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106813">delayed</a> until after the 2022 election; it&#8217;s obviously taken much longer than that. SCOTUS has <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=110354">weighed in</a> on <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=110499">racial gerrymandering</a>, and other federal courts have <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=112330">raised the stakes</a>, and all of that may be out of date by now. </p>
  898. <p>Basically, I have no idea what to expect from the May 21 hearing. The script in the recent past has been a win at the district court level for the plaintiffs, and then the Fifth Circuit and SCOTUS get involved, with predictably awful results. It would not surprise me if we follow that basic path, with SCOTUS being given another chance to do violence to the Voting Rights Act in a couple of years. Buckle up.</p>
  899. ]]></content:encoded>
  901. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118270</wfw:commentRss>
  902. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  905. </item>
  906. <item>
  907. <title>Buc-ee&#8217;s versus Barc-ee&#8217;s</title>
  908. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118257</link>
  909. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118257#comments</comments>
  911. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  912. <pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 09:31:50 +0000</pubDate>
  913. <category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
  914. <category><![CDATA[Barc-ees]]></category>
  915. <category><![CDATA[Buc-ee's]]></category>
  916. <category><![CDATA[Bucky's]]></category>
  917. <category><![CDATA[Buky's]]></category>
  918. <category><![CDATA[Choke Canyon]]></category>
  919. <category><![CDATA[Duckees]]></category>
  920. <category><![CDATA[Frio Beaver]]></category>
  921. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  922. <category><![CDATA[Missouri]]></category>
  923. <category><![CDATA[Super Fuels]]></category>
  924. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  925. <category><![CDATA[trademark]]></category>
  926. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118257</guid>
  927.  
  928. <description><![CDATA[Oh, come on now. First was Choke Canyon. Then came Duckees. One month later, Super Fuels went under the microscope. This week, a canine-focused Missouri business became the latest target of legal action from a popular Texas-based super rest stop. Ladies and gentlemen: It&#8217;s &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118257">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  929. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/bucees-barcees-texas-missouri-lawsuit-20234323.php">Oh, come on now</a>.</p>
  930. <blockquote><p>
  931. <a href="https://barc-ees.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://barc-ees.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/tds_1_white-300x285.png" width="150" height="143" /></a></p>
  932. <p>First <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Buc-ee-s-beaver-trademark-texas-choke-canyon-gator-12934353.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">was Choke Canyon</a>. <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/bucees-duckees-lawsuit-19959387.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Then came Duckees</a>. One month later, <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/bucees-trademark-infringement-lawsuit-20049094.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Super Fuels went under the microscope</a>. This week, a canine-focused Missouri business became the latest target of legal action from a popular Texas-based super rest stop. Ladies and gentlemen: It&#8217;s Buc-ee&#8217;s vs. Barc-ee&#8217;s.</p>
  933. <p>Buc-ee&#8217;s filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. Western District Court of Missouri against EJL Acquisitions and Home Away From Home Dog Training, alleging their indoor-outdoor-dog-and-game-yard-cum-coffee-shop Barc-ee&#8217;s is infringing on its trademark since it&#8217;s a business offering similar services and products with a &#8220;confusingly similar&#8221; name and logo.</p>
  934. <p>&#8220;Defendants&#8217; unauthorized use of the Barc-ee&#8217;s Mark and the Barc-ee&#8217;s Logo, which are confusingly similar to the Buc-ee&#8217;s Trademarks, will allow Defendants to receive the benefit of the goodwill built up at the great labor and expense by Buc-ee&#8217;s in the Buc-ee&#8217;s Trademarks, and further will allow Defendants to gain acceptance for their services and products based on their own merits, but on an association with the reputation and goodwill of Buc-ee&#8217;s,&#8221; read a complaint submitted Wednesday in court.</p>
  935. <p>In June 2024, Barc-ee&#8217;s announced its impending arrival in Marshfield, Missouri. According to a story then <a class="" href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/business/2024/06/01/barc-ees-coming-marshfield-guaranty-bank-unveils-renovations/73876635007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">by the Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri</a>, Barc-ee&#8217;s owner John Lopez hoped his business would be a popular stop in the Ozarks for dog owners.</p>
  936. <p>&#8220;Most of the time when you&#8217;re traveling with your dog, you&#8217;re kind of just holding the leash while you&#8217;re pumping gas,&#8221; Lopez told the News-Leader.</p>
  937. <p>Per the News-Leader&#8217;s 2024 article, the 7,500-square-foot Barc-ee&#8217;s would include a dog park, have food and coffee, sell antiques and Amish pies, have a Tesla charging station and &#8220;a Western-themed miniature city for kids.&#8221; Plus, Barc-ee&#8217;s hoped to advertise its business &#8220;up to 600 miles&#8221; away from its location via billboards along Interstate 44, <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/bucees-billboard-spelling-error-18205068.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">a tactic employed by Buc-ee&#8217;s</a>.</p>
  938. <p>Citing Buc-ee&#8217;s, Lopez told the News-Leader in 2024 that his legal team &#8220;confirmed there are no issues with the similar names.&#8221;</p>
  939. <p>Meanwhile, Barc-ee&#8217;s <a class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/barceesdogspot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">logo is of a smiling, hat-wearing dog</a> driving a pink convertible while clutching a coffee cup. Buc-ee&#8217;s alleges in the complaint that the Barc-ee&#8217;s logo &#8220;copies and/or mimics important aspects&#8221; of Buc-ee&#8217;s well-known cartoon beaver logo.</p>
  940. <p>Barc-ee&#8217;s soft-opened in October 2024 and celebrated a grand opening in January. According to the complaint filed Wednesday, Buc-ee&#8217;s claims Barc-ee&#8217;s had full knowledge of Buc-ee&#8217;s and its trademarks, using the quotes in the News-Leader report as evidence.
  941. </p></blockquote>
  942. <p><a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=75527">Choke Canyon</a> was almost a decade ago, but it actually wasn&#8217;t the first <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=61736">logo lawsuit</a> filed by Buc-ee&#8217;s. <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116923">Duck-ee&#8217;s</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117458">Super Fuels</a> are more recent, and there was a <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=102638">lawsuit against a &#8220;Buky&#8217;s&#8221; gas station/convenience store</a> in between. The two most recent lawsuits were filed after Barc-ee&#8217;s soft opening, so perhaps their legal beagles could be forgiven for not knowing about them, but come on. You cannot be serious with this claim that there would be no legal issues with that name, given the history and Buc-ee&#8217;s willingness to sue anything that moves. </p>
  943. <p>Barc-ee&#8217;s has <a href="https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/barc-ees-responds-buc-ees-trademark-infringement-lawsuit">temporarily closed</a> to deal with some electrical issues, while acknowledging the lawsuit against them. My advice to them would be to come up with a new name when they reopen. I&#8217;ll charge you half of what your existing lawyers charged you for their advice, Barc-ee&#8217;s.</p>
  944. ]]></content:encoded>
  946. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118257</wfw:commentRss>
  947. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
  950. </item>
  951. <item>
  952. <title>Measles update: Hello, Ohio</title>
  953. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118288</link>
  954. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118288#comments</comments>
  956. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  957. <pubDate>Sat, 29 Mar 2025 09:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
  958. <category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
  959. <category><![CDATA[Andrews County]]></category>
  960. <category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
  961. <category><![CDATA[Centers for Disease Control]]></category>
  962. <category><![CDATA[Cochran County]]></category>
  963. <category><![CDATA[coronavirus]]></category>
  964. <category><![CDATA[Dallam County]]></category>
  965. <category><![CDATA[Dawson County]]></category>
  966. <category><![CDATA[Ector County]]></category>
  967. <category><![CDATA[Gaines County]]></category>
  968. <category><![CDATA[Garza County]]></category>
  969. <category><![CDATA[Hale County]]></category>
  970. <category><![CDATA[Hockley County]]></category>
  971. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  972. <category><![CDATA[Kansas]]></category>
  973. <category><![CDATA[Lamar County]]></category>
  974. <category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category>
  975. <category><![CDATA[Lynn County]]></category>
  976. <category><![CDATA[Martin County]]></category>
  977. <category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
  978. <category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
  979. <category><![CDATA[New Mexico]]></category>
  980. <category><![CDATA[Ohio]]></category>
  981. <category><![CDATA[Oklahoma]]></category>
  982. <category><![CDATA[RFK Jr]]></category>
  983. <category><![CDATA[Rockwall County]]></category>
  984. <category><![CDATA[Roger Marshall]]></category>
  985. <category><![CDATA[subacute sclerosing panencephalitis]]></category>
  986. <category><![CDATA[Terry County]]></category>
  987. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  988. <category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
  989. <category><![CDATA[vaccinations]]></category>
  990. <category><![CDATA[Yoakum County]]></category>
  991. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118288</guid>
  992.  
  993. <description><![CDATA[Put another state on the board, Johnny. A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118288">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  994. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">Put another state on the board, Johnny</a>.</p>
  995. <blockquote><p>
  996. A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-new-mexico-vaccine-rfk-d5444b3397ac7c4034e63becc219aa33">have sickened more than 370</a>, the state health department said Wednesday.</p>
  997. <p>And health officials in Ohio say a single case identified in Ashtabula County has spread to nine others. Even before these two growing clusters were reported, the number of measles cases in the U.S. had already surpassed the case count for all of 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
  998. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  999. <p>In Ohio, 10 cases are in Ashtabula County and a separate visitor in Knox County exposed people there and in several other counties, the state health department said. A measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85 in 2022.</p>
  1000. <p>“Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. “This disease can be very serious, even deadly, but it is almost entirely avoidable by being properly vaccinated.”
  1001. </p></blockquote>
  1002. <p>That story is from Wednesday, so the case count is outdated and we don&#8217;t know yet if this outbreak is related to any of the others. But it looks now like the Kansas and Oklahoma outbreaks <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/health/measles-kansas-multistate-outbreak/index.html">are indeed connected to Texas</a>.</p>
  1003. <blockquote><p>
  1004. <a href="https://kshealthdata.kdhe.ks.gov/t/KDHE/views/InfectiousDiseaseCaseDashboard/DiseaseCharts?%3Aembed=y&#038;%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y">Twenty-three</a> measles cases have been reported in Kansas, and the state health department said they could be linked to an ongoing outbreak that has infected at least 379 people across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.</p>
  1005. <p>“The confirmed cases in Kansas have a possible link to the outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico. While genetic sequencing of the first Kansas case reported is consistent with an epidemiological link to the Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the source of exposure is still unknown,” Jill Bronaugh, communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said in an email Wednesday.</p>
  1006. <p>Children account for 21 of the Kansas cases, and 20 of the cases are in people who are <a href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2314/Measles-Data">unvaccinated</a>.</p>
  1007. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1008. <p>Tuesday’s update from the <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/health/news---events/newsroom/2025/ok-measles-update.html">Oklahoma State Department of Health</a> indicates links with the Texas and New Mexico cases.</p>
  1009. <p>“All cases are linked through exposures to household or extended family; and initial cases reported exposure to the measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico. At this time, no cases have resulted from exposure to public settings,” the agency said.
  1010. </p></blockquote>
  1011. <p>The bottom line is that while this outbreak started in a tiny and isolated West Texas county among a small Mennonite community, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/measles-outbreak-texas-spreading-mennonite-community-officials/story?id=120209992">it has spread well beyond that</a> by now. </p>
  1012. <p>Meanwhile, back in West Texas, there&#8217;s a <a href="https://www.tpr.org/public-health/2025-03-27/west-texas-children-treated-for-vitamin-a-toxicity-as-medical-disinformation-spreads-alongside-measles-outbreak">new problem</a> for doctors and health officials to deal with.</p>
  1013. <blockquote><p>
  1014. Medical disinformation connected to the West Texas measles outbreak has created a new problem. Children are being treated for toxic levels of vitamin A.</p>
  1015. <p>Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock confirms it is treating children with severe cases of measles who are also suffering from vitamin A toxicity. According to the hospital, they have admitted fewer than 10 pediatric patients who were all initially hospitalized due to measles complications but have elevated levels of vitamin A that is resulting in abnormal liver function.</p>
  1016. <p>Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the CDC to update its measles guidance to promote the use of vitamin A. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, recommended in an article published March 2 on FOX News to take vitamin A under the supervision of a physician for those with mild, moderate and severe infections.</p>
  1017. <p>During a March 4 interview on Fox News, Kennedy suggested that therapies such as the use of cod liver oil — which contains vitamins A and D — were &#8220;working&#8221; in treating measles patients.</p>
  1018. <p>There are reports from the West Texas area that cod liver oil is in high demand and a big seller at area pharmacies.</p>
  1019. <p>But the hospital is informing the public to reduce consumption of vitamin A and has warned that excessive amounts of it may result in significant adverse effects.</p>
  1020. <p>There is no evidence that taking vitamin A will prevent measles.
  1021. </p></blockquote>
  1022. <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/health/texas-measles-vitamin-a-toxicity/index.html">CNN</a> has more on this. </p>
  1023. <blockquote><p>
  1024. Vitamin A is most useful for measles support in people who have a specific deficiency, and studies suggesting its use mainly draw on evidence from low-income countries where that deficiency is common. The patients in West Texas are generally well-nourished, said Dr. Lesley Motheral, a pediatrician in Lubbock, so experts say it’s unclear how beneficial the vitamin might be in this setting.</p>
  1025. <p>Vitamin A has an important role in <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-a/art-20365945">immunity</a> and vision. It’s fat-soluble, so when someone takes too much, it can <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/">accumulate</a> in organs like the liver. <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-a/art-20365945">Excess vitamin A</a> can cause dry skin and eyes, blurry vision, bone thinning, skin irritation, liver damage and other serious issues. In pregnant women, excess vitamin A can lead to birth defects.</p>
  1026. <p>Patients with toxicity can receive supportive care like fluids for low blood pressure or moisturizers for dry skin and eyes, Motheral said. But more serious damage will need to be evaluated and given further management.</p>
  1027. <p>“Recovery for patients with acute toxicity can be rapid when the vitamin is discontinued,” she said. “Chronic toxicity can affect bones, brain and of course the liver. … Sadly, some of the more serious problems with vitamin A toxicity are not always reversible.”</p>
  1028. <p>The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, issued a <a href="https://www.crnusa.org/newsroom/crn-cautions-against-misuse-vitamin-measles-prevention">statement</a> Wednesday warning parents against using high doses of vitamin A to try to keep their children from getting measles.</p>
  1029. <p>“While vitamin A plays an important role in supporting overall immune function, research hasn’t established its effectiveness in preventing measles infection. CRN is concerned about reports of high-dose vitamin A being used inappropriately, especially in children,” the statement says.
  1030. </p></blockquote>
  1031. <p>I dunno, man, I feel like we&#8217;ve had folk wisdom about the dangers of too much of a good thing for literally the entirity of human civilization. I know no one trusts doctors and scientists anymore, but could they maybe read the story of King Midas? I&#8217;m just saying.</p>
  1032. <p>And the fun <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/texas-measles-public-health-funding-cut/">doesn&#8217;t stop there</a> for the people trying to respond to this thing.</p>
  1033. <blockquote><p>
  1034. The Lubbock public health director said Wednesday local efforts to fight a measles outbreak will be affected by the federal government’s announcement that it’s pulling $11 billion in COVID-era funding for public health departments.</p>
  1035. <p>A brief notice sent to Texas local public health departments late Tuesday by the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, provided no real specifics.</p>
  1036. <p>“DSHS was notified that the federal grant funding for Immunization/COVID, Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity (ELC/COVID), and Health Disparities/COVID, is terminated as of March 24, 2025,” the notice from DSHS Associate Commissioner Imelda Garcia, stated. “The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS or System Agency) is issuing this notice to pause all activities immediately. Please do not accrue any additional costs as of the date of this notice.”</p>
  1037. <p>DSHS did not respond to requests for details on exactly how much is unspent COVID-19 era grant money or how many local health departments will be impacted. The grants were issued to help states shore up their public health systems following the pandemic.</p>
  1038. <p>But Katherine Wells, Lubbock’s public health director, said it will definitely impact her office’s work combating the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/series/texas-measles-outbreak/">spread of measles</a>. Lubbock has been using three grants to help pay for extra temporary staff, a part-time nurse and a full-time epidemiologist to help with vaccinations, answering phones and working with testing of patients. Two of the city’s three grants were not to expire until 2026.</p>
  1039. <p>“It’s kind of crazy to have this funding cut,” Wells said. “I don’t have a savings account in public health.”
  1040. </p></blockquote>
  1041. <p>I would like to point out that the <a href="https://www.tdem.texas.gov/">Texas Division of Emergency Management</a>, which is a subsidiary of the Governor&#8217;s office, has the power and the funds to direct resources to affected areas in times of emergency. This is how <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/texas-governor-greg-abbott-emergency-funds-debris-19826055.php">Houston got funds for post-Beryl and derecho cleanup</a>, for example. Greg Abbott could help out here, is what I&#8217;m saying. To be fair, he shouldn&#8217;t have to, because those funds should never have been cut in the first place. Maybe someone should let Donald Trump know that this is hurting his voters. My point here is that this doesn&#8217;t have to be the final word, and the burden doesn&#8217;t have to fall entirely on Katherine Wells&#8217; shoulders.</p>
  1042. <p>And finally, <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article303007044.html">here&#8217;s your Texas case update</a>.</p>
  1043. <blockquote><p>
  1044. The number of measles cases in Texas has reached 400 infections as of Friday, March 28 — a jump of 22% since the state’s last update on cases Tuesday. </p>
  1045. <p>The Texas Department of State Health Services said a total of 41 people have been hospitalized. One school-age child who was not vaccinated <a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">died in February</a>.</p>
  1046. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1047. <p>As of Friday, almost all of the cases have been in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of western Texas, with the exception of 10 cases in Lamar County, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas. </p>
  1048. <p>But Tarrant County health authorities have warned that there’s <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article301868469.html">a “high risk” of measles cases here</a> due to lower vaccination rates. The virus is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are unvaccinated.</p>
  1049. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1050. <p>Here are the latest numbers by Texas county, with increases since Tuesday: </p>
  1051. <p>Andrews: 1 (new)<br />
  1052. Cochran: 8 (up from 7)<br />
  1053. Dallam: 7 (up from 6)<br />
  1054. Dawson: 14 (up from 13)<br />
  1055. Ector: 4 (up from 2)<br />
  1056. Gaines: 270 (up from 226)<br />
  1057. Garza: 1<br />
  1058. Hale: 1<br />
  1059. Hockley: 2 (up from 1)<br />
  1060. Lamar: 10 (up from 5)<br />
  1061. Lamb: 1<br />
  1062. Lubbock: 23 (up from 10)<br />
  1063. Lynn: 1<br />
  1064. Martin: 3<br />
  1065. Terry: 38 (up from 37)<br />
  1066. Yoakum: 15 (up from 13)
  1067. </p></blockquote>
  1068. <p>That&#8217;s a big increase from <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118237">Tuesday&#8217;s report</a> &#8211; 73 new cases, mostly in Gaines County, though that bump in Lamar, northeast of Dallas and hundreds of miles from the initial outbreak, should be worrying. Not much else to say at this point, but do go read <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/threats-to-public-health-at-every">Your Local Epidemiologist</a> for a final word. She notes that we&#8217;re on the five-year anniversary of COVID-19, and for a variety of reasons we are in a much worse position to deal with outbreaks exactly like this one, even though we know a lot more about how to handle them. On that grim note, have a nice weekend. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/health/article/texas-measles-outbreak-update-20238673.php?utm_content=hed&#038;sid=599db56424c17c50398bcb61&#038;ss=A&#038;st_rid=86ccb2e1-c6b3-4289-8697-a2493c6b398a&#038;utm_source=newsletter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=evenings&#038;utm_campaign=hcrn%20%7C%20the%20713%20evening">Chron</a> has more.</p>
  1069. ]]></content:encoded>
  1071. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118288</wfw:commentRss>
  1072. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  1075. </item>
  1076. <item>
  1077. <title>Maria Rojas&#8217; attorneys get a chance to speak</title>
  1078. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118283</link>
  1079. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118283#respond</comments>
  1081. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1082. <pubDate>Sat, 29 Mar 2025 09:40:24 +0000</pubDate>
  1083. <category><![CDATA[Crime and Punishment]]></category>
  1084. <category><![CDATA[Attorney General]]></category>
  1085. <category><![CDATA[Center for Reproductive Rights]]></category>
  1086. <category><![CDATA[Jose Manuel Cendan Ley]]></category>
  1087. <category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
  1088. <category><![CDATA[Maria Margarita Rojas]]></category>
  1089. <category><![CDATA[Nicole deBorde]]></category>
  1090. <category><![CDATA[Rubildo Labanino Matos]]></category>
  1091. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1092. <category><![CDATA[Waller County]]></category>
  1093. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118283</guid>
  1094.  
  1095. <description><![CDATA[And surprise surprise, they say the charges against their client are long on bluster and short on facts. When the Texas Attorney General’s office announced its first arrest under Texas’ abortion laws, the court filings and press statements painted a &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118283">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1096. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>And surprise surprise, they say the charges against their client are <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/houston-midwife-abortion-case-waller-county/">long on bluster and short on facts</a>.</p>
  1097. <blockquote><p>
  1098. When the Texas Attorney General’s office announced its first arrest under Texas’ abortion laws, the court filings and press statements painted a shocking picture.</p>
  1099. <p>Maria Rojas, a Houston-area midwife, was portraying herself as a doctor and using untrained employees to perform illegal abortions for cash, pushing unwitting women into terminating wanted pregnancies, the records said, citing a monthlong investigation involving surveillance, search warrants and first-hand witnesses.</p>
  1100. <p>But at a court hearing Thursday, Rojas’ lawyers got their first opportunity to tell their side of the story. They described an above-board telemedicine-based medical practice that offered a range of services, including maternal health care appropriate for a midwife, and argued the state’s investigator has no first-hand knowledge of Rojas performing the acts of which she is accused.</p>
  1101. <p>The investigation was marked with “complete shoddiness and lack of thoroughness,” and the arrest affidavit was filled with “conjecture,” “wild conclusions” and “rank speculation,” Marc Hearron, senior counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the judge.</p>
  1102. <p>Lawyers for Rojas also have raised concerns about irregularities in the criminal case, including that she was held on an arrest warrant, rather than a criminal complaint, which is much more common. She has not been indicted yet by a grand jury.</p>
  1103. <p>“I would believe if the attorney general had a solid case, they would have filed charges,” said Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, who is representing Rojas in her criminal case. “They have yet to do so.”</p>
  1104. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1105. <p>Rojas was brought to the courtroom from the jail Thursday morning in a pink jumpsuit and orange slide sandals, much to the surprise of her attorneys, who said they didn’t realize she would be in attendance.</p>
  1106. <p>During the hearing, she was informed she could be discharged on bond, and her lawyers asked if she could return to the jail to be processed out. When she returned to the courtroom after lunch, she had changed into a blue tracksuit. After the questioning from Hilton, she was escorted home by her lawyer.</p>
  1107. <p>Rojas had been held on a $1.4 million bond, which is surprisingly high, said Eric Davis, chief of the trial division at the Harris County Public Defender&#8217;s Office.</p>
  1108. <p>“Somebody with no prior criminal history, on a non-homicide case or a non-child sex assault case, it’s really unusual,” Davis said. “It signals to me they may be thinking about charging her with something higher. That bond we’d expect with murder or a high charge like that.”</p>
  1109. <p>Davis has worked as a defense attorney for 30 years, and said the high bond isn’t the only unusual thing about this case. He has rarely, if ever, seen someone arrested and held only on an arrest warrant, as Rojas and her associate were.</p>
  1110. <p>It’s standard practice for a criminal complaint to be filed, laying out what someone is charged with and allowing the defense to begin requesting discovery. It’s so uncommon to hold someone on just an arrest warrant, several defense attorneys said they couldn’t even speculate on why Paxton’s office might be taking this path. Davis said it could mean they’re gathering more evidence or deciding exactly what charges to bring to a grand jury, but he couldn’t be sure.</p>
  1111. <p>“It doesn&#8217;t take much to file a complaint, so why are they waiting?” he said. “It’s standard practice.”</p>
  1112. <p>DeBorde Hochglaube told reporters this lack of clarity has made it hard for her and fellow lawyers to begin preparing their defense.</p>
  1113. <p>“We don’t even have the charges you would ordinarily have in a criminal accusation,” she said. “It’s simply an arrest warrant, nothing more.”
  1114. </p></blockquote>
  1115. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118138">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118157">here</a> for the background. Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube was for awhile one of the Ken Paxton special prosecutors, so she knows a thing or two about his bullshit. The fact that the prosecutors are doing everything in their power to hide their cards for as long as possible is very telling. If they were confident in their case and their evidence, they wouldn&#8217;t be acting like this. Instead, they&#8217;re acting like winning the public relations battle is what really matters to them. Don&#8217;t be fooled.</p>
  1116. <p>The hearing on Thursday was about the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118181">order to close Rojas&#8217; clinics</a>, which will remain in effect through the end of this case. The same judge will be hearing both the civil and criminal cases &#8211; Waller is a small county. There&#8217;s no trial date set for either case, so we&#8217;ll just have to wait and see what happens next. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/maria-rojas-abortion-clinic-shut-down-20243950.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Chron</a> has more.</p>
  1117. ]]></content:encoded>
  1119. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118283</wfw:commentRss>
  1120. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1123. </item>
  1124. <item>
  1125. <title>Dispatches from Dallas, March 29 edition</title>
  1126. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118294</link>
  1127. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118294#respond</comments>
  1129. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1130. <pubDate>Sat, 29 Mar 2025 09:32:08 +0000</pubDate>
  1131. <category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
  1132. <category><![CDATA[Dallas]]></category>
  1133. <category><![CDATA[guest post]]></category>
  1134. <category><![CDATA[linkdump]]></category>
  1135. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1136. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118294</guid>
  1137.  
  1138. <description><![CDATA[This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag: congressfolks on both sides of the aisle making controversial statements; we may &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118294">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1139. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.</em></p>
  1140. <p>This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag: congressfolks on both sides of the aisle making controversial statements; we may have Colin Allred to kick around for one more Senate race; North Texas-related news from the Lege; the latest about the Tarrant County Jail death investigations (nobody died this time); our Republican overlords are trying to investigate a Plano mosque out of town; the Keller ISD split plan dies without even a whimper, but the lawsuits aren&#8217;t over; the Sands people aren&#8217;t getting a casino in their planned Irving resort (yet); the Tarrant County DA won&#8217;t prosecute the Modern; The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington is now open; and music news from the Metroplex including my favorite music festival in these parts. And more!</p>
  1141. <p>This week&#8217;s post was brought to you by the music of Dead Can Dance. Their last album was came out in 2018 but they did tour in 2022, so there&#8217;s hope still for more music from them. If you&#8217;re into goth, post-punk, darkwave, classical-adjacent, or early-adjacent music and you don&#8217;t know them, check them out.</p>
  1142. <p>Let&#8217;s start with some national news with local connections and go on from there:</p>
  1143. <ul>
  1144. <li> The DMN <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/national/2025/03/20/hud-chief-scott-turner-visits-dallas-for-talks-on-tackling-homelessness/">interviewed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development</a>, a former representative in the Texas House. He&#8217;s also an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, one of the big churches in North Texas associated with MAGA Republican politics and Ken Paxton&#8217;s church home.</li>
  1145. <li> Congressman Pat Fallon (R-Frisco) <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/26/pat-fallon-says-his-get-a-second-job-comment-was-taken-out-of-context-in-internet-clip/">got caught saying young people today will need a second job</a> instead of Social Security in their old age. On one hand, my generation assumed we had more chance of meeting alien life than of collecting what we put into Social Security. On the other hand, what a time to put your foot in your mouth about this.</li>
  1146. <li> Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) <a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-03-26/jasmine-crockett-criticized-over-comment-mocking-greg-abbotts-wheelchair">is in hot water for referring to Governor Abbott as &#8220;Hot Wheels&#8221;. Pick your poison: <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/25/jasmine-crockett-greg-abbott-wheelchair/">The Texas Tribune</a>, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/03/26/crude-and-cruel-jasmine-crocketts-hot-wheels-slam-sums-up-politics/">the DMN editorial wagging a finger at her</a>, <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-rep-crockett-calls-abbott-hot-wheels-delights-the-right-21993779">the Dallas Observer&#8217;s &#8220;we love you but STFU&#8221;</a> and then <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/reader-response-to-opinion-column-about-jasmine-crockett-22001172">their readers&#8217; response</a> (the readers are mostly in favor of mocking Abbott).</li>
  1147. <li> Crockett is also <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/jasmine-crockett-department-of-education-office-dallas-fight/287-1d842bdf-5964-463a-8259-5cf342984de3">fighting to keep the Dallas office of the Department of Education open</a>.</li>
  1148. <li> Former local representative and 2024 Senate candidate Colin Allred <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/26/colin-allred-seriously-considering-2026-senate-bid-for-john-cornyns-seat/">is considering a run for John Cornyn&#8217;s seat</a>. I&#8217;m currently indifferent; while I&#8217;m not sure how a guy who couldn&#8217;t beat Ted Cruz can beat John Cornyn without changing his strategy, it does make a difference if Cornyn gets primaried out by Collin County&#8217;s favorite boy, Ken Paxton. Call me when we have a real primary on the Democratic side.</li>
  1149. <li> Speaking of Paxton, earlier this month he <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-13/dallas-sanctuary-city-ken-paxton-investigation">opened an investigation</a> into the City of Dallas as a &#8220;sanctuary city&#8221; based on some comments by our interim police chief (more on that situation below). I haven&#8217;t seen anything else since this announcement came up, so maybe this is just the usual Republican handwaving. As noted in the linked KERA article, there&#8217;s a bill in the Legislature that would render this question moot, so it really does seem like a tempest in a teapot. (Also, Interim Chief Igo is Black, which is a factor for MAGA types.) <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/13/texas-paxton-investigation-dallas-sanctuary-city/">The Texas Tribune</a> has more.</li>
  1150. <li> Lone Star Left has a video of State Rep Brent Money (R-Greenville) <a href="https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/brent-money-both-sided-what-plus
  1151. ">talking about how murky date rape situations can be</a> in discussions around a bill defining consent to sex. Money&#8217;s current seat was previously held by former Rep. Bryan Slaton, whom you may recall was expelled from the House for getting a staffer too drunk to consent and having sex with her. I&#8217;d ask what&#8217;s in the water in Greenville, but I think we already know.</li>
  1152. <li> Local gadfly journalist Steven Monacelli has <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/pastor-texas-gop-christian-nationalism-sex-abuse/">a piece about the Gateway scandal</a> in the Texas Observer, which I note in particular because of the responses of State Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth), a pastor at Fort Worth&#8217;s Mercy Culture church.</li>
  1153. <li> I was out of town on March 23, so I missed <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/23/hundreds-march-sunday-for-queer-trans-rights-in-dallas/">the Queer and Trans Liberation March</a>. They had an estimate 800 marchers. Good for them.</li>
  1154. <li> Earlier I mentioned that we&#8217;d be talking more about the interim chief of Dallas PD. <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-21/city-hall-reveals-the-five-finalists-who-want-to-be-the-next-dallas-police-chief">He&#8217;s one of five officers on the short list for the permanent job as chief</a>. I don&#8217;t know enough about any of the finalists to have a strong opinion. We should have our answer by the third week of April; until then the candidates will be interviewing and doing public meet and greets.</li>
  1155. <li> I have been remiss in reporting much on the Pepper Square story, which is a run-down shopping center at the intersection of Preston Road and Belt Line. The powers that be want to develop it into a mixed-use development. Neighbors claim it&#8217;ll be a traffic nightmare&#8211;not that I notice traffic is bad there on my way home from the Plano HEB where we pick up curbside every week or two&#8211;and are highly opposed. More than 50 neighbors spoke up at Wednesday&#8217;s council meeting against the rezoning, but <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2025/03/26/dallas-city-council-approves-pepper-square-rezoning-despite-neighborhood-outcry/">City Council passed it anyway</a>, though in a much smaller form than originally planned (868 apartments vs 2300). See more from <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/city-council-votes-on-dallas-pepper-square-project-22006516">the Dallas Observer</a> which notes the involvement of Dallas HERO and the impending retirement of D11&#8217;s council member, <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/video/money/business/dallas-city-council-approves-pepper-square-rezoning/287-552db101-75fc-48e4-80d7-5dc6c61d6a5f">WFAA (video)</a>, real estate site <a href="https://candysdirt.com/2025/03/27/after-years-of-acrimony-dallas-city-council-approves-revised-pepper-square-project/">Candy&#8217;s Dirt</a>, which has a lot of details and implications for how the vote will affect the future of D11. The DMN <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/03/26/pepper-square-struggle-reflects-poorly-on-dallas/">also had an editorial hoping that the nastiness of this struggle</a> will be over with the vote. You wish, DMN.</li>
  1156. <li> Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson started the Republican Mayors&#8217; Association, and <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-26/how-much-does-dallas-mayor-eric-johnsons-gop-group-spend-on-candidates-its-complicated">KERA has the details</a> on how it&#8217;s been spending money. It has raised more than half a million dollars, but despite telling the IRS it&#8217;s spent about $330,000, all that KERA can find a little over $10,000 directly on candidates and $6,500 to local conservative groups. More details at the link; they did their homework.</li>
  1157. <li> This week I learned that Dallas is <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-19/dallas-affordable-housing-rental-shortage-low-income">the second-worst metro area in the US</a> for low-income housing, after Las Vegas. We have 14 affordable homes for every 100 families at or below the federal poverty level. A year ago, that number was 17. Statewide, the number is 25.</li>
  1158. <li> Fort Worth is <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/25/fort-worth-ends-10-year-contract-with-fertilizer-company-accused-of-water-land-contamination/">ending its ten-year contract with the waste management company blamed for biosolid pollution in Johnson County early</a>. The contract started in 2019 but they&#8217;re buying out the contractor for $2.4 million. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article302234194.html">the contractor has produced a study</a> saying it&#8217;s not responsible for the PFAS &#8220;forever chemicals&#8221; in Johnson County. There will be more lawsuits before it&#8217;s over.</li>
  1159. <li> Fort Worth has <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/25/signed-sealed-and-delivered-at-226-5m-fort-worth-city-hall-is-open-for-business/">a new City Hall</a>. They repurposed the old Pier One building for $226.5 million instead of building a new one.</li>
  1160. <li> Fort Worth PD has been supposed to investigate deaths in the Tarrant County jail under the Sandra Bland Act. <a href="https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2025-03-24/tarrant-county-jail-death-investigations-mason-yancy">That hasn&#8217;t been happening</a> and it looks like there will be no consqeuences. Also the Tarrant County DA <a href="https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2025-03-26/tarrant-county-jail-death-investigations-phil-sorrells">thinks outside investigations aren&#8217;t necessary in every jail death case</a> and is asking Attorney General Ken Paxton to issue a ruling on whether investigations are needed if a death happens outside the jail (e.g., in a hospital).</li>
  1161. <li> Tarrant County Commissioners got into a slapfight earlier this month because <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-13/in-tarrant-commissioners-court-disagreement-over-proclamation-leads-to-heated-exchange">Commissioner Alissa Simmons mentioned some DEI words in a proclamation honoring social workers</a>. It ended with an amended proclamation along party lines getting rid of mentions of forbidden DEI terms and mentions of immigration reform and ending gun violence.</li>
  1162. <li> A Tarrant County man <a href="https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2025-03-25/tarrant-county-commissioner-manny-ramirez-death-threats">has been arrested for slur-laced death threats against Commissioner Manny Ramirez</a>, a Republican.</li>
  1163. <li> Have an update about <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/17/demand-for-water-in-north-texas-is-soaring-tarrant-agency-is-finding-new-ways-to-meet-it/">the Tarrant Regional Water District&#8217;s upcoming projects</a>.</li>
  1164. <li> As you may have heard, <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/14/keller-isd-abandons-plan-to-split-district-into-two-citing-financial-barriers/">Keller ISD is giving up on its plan to split</a> because the money isn&#8217;t there. The threat of the split has ended with a whimper rather than a bang, but there&#8217;ll be lawsuits over the attempt for the foreseeable future. The Dallas Observer <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/keller-isd-plan-to-split-district-a-timeline-21956390">has a timeline</a> of how it all went down</a>.</li>
  1165. <li> Meanwhile, over in Coppell, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/education/2025-03-19/texas-ag-sues-coppell-isd-in-response-to-undercover-edited-critical-race-theory-video">Ken Paxton is suing Coppell ISD over an edited video where a Coppell official appears to say he&#8217;s ignoring state standards</a> around so-called &#8220;Critical Race Theory&#8221;. The <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/19/texas-critical-race-theory-ban-lawsuit-coppell-schools/">Texas Tribune article on the suit</a> says the video comes from Accuracy in Media, which doesn&#8217;t lead me to have any confidence in it.</li>
  1166. <li> Dallas Area Rapid Transit advocates <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-25/dart-advocates-oppose-funding-cuts-legislature">met in Plano this week</a> to oppose the funding cuts to DART proposed in the Legislature. This is, as you may recall, an ongoing issue and I expect to have more by the end of the session. Related, in good news, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2025/03/14/plano-replaces-paul-wageman-on-dart-board/">Paul Wageman, the Uber lobbyist, is out</a> as Plano&#8217;s DART representative.</li>
  1167. <li> Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/abbott-paxton-wage-war-against-east-plano-islamic-center-development-22003514">have gone all out against the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC)</a>, which is building development in Josephine, on the eastern edge of Collin County. Abbott using consumer protection laws to stop EPIC from performing funeral services (<a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/26/gov-abbott-orders-plano-mosque-to-stop-funeral-services/">DMN</a> and <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-27/muslim-funerals-plano-greg-abbott">KERA</a>) because they&#8217;re unlicensed, having let their license lapse and partnered with a licensed local funeral home instead. Paxton is <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-25/east-plano-islamic-center-development-paxton-paxton-abbott">investigating the Josephine development</a> without specific allegations. And Abbott has <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-03-27/greg-abbott-east-plano-islamic-center-investigation-3">opened a separate investigation about securities fraud</a> (which I guess is not something Paxton could do with a straight face) against land purchasers in the Josephine project. Newsweek, which is not your mama&#8217;s magazine by that name but a conservative outlet under the shell of that older name, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/greg-abbott-gives-update-muslim-city-project-texas-2050015">has some national coverage</a> about Abbott&#8217;s actions. It&#8217;s not a good look.</li>
  1168. <li> If you&#8217;re interested in the mayoral race in McKinney, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-25/four-candidates-are-vying-for-mayor-of-mckinney-heres-what-to-know">KERA</a> and <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections/2025/03/19/4-candidates-for-mckinney-mayor-debate-vision-for-airport-growth-ahead-of-may-election/">the DMN</a> have primers for you.</li>
  1169. <li> Bad news for the Sands people: they had to <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/20/las-vegas-sands-asks-irving-leaders-to-drop-casino-element-amid-pushback/">ask the City of Irving to drop the bid to put a casino in their development</a> to get <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/03/19/irving-planners-green-light-zoning-proposal-for-las-vegas-sands-after-heated-meeting-2/">approval for their zoning proposal for their destination resort</a>. The casino would have remained on hold until (if) the voters amend the state constitution to permit casino gambling. No word on whether the Sands folks, who own the controlling share in the Mavericks, will move the team there after their contract with the American Airlines Center expires.</li>
  1170. <li> In Fairview, which has been wrangling for months with the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) over a proposed temple that its neighbors don&#8217;t want, the LDS church <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/25/lds-church-submits-new-plan-for-fairview-temple-rescinding-plan-for-a-lawsuit-for-now/">has submitted a new plan for the temple with a lower steeple</a> instead of suing the city for religious discrimination. Last year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2024/10/30/fairviews-temple-dispute-with-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-a-timeline/">timeline of the matter from the DMN</a> has been updated.</li>
  1171. <li> Gateway, Robert Morris&#8217; old megachurch, has been sued in federal court by former members for how it spent tithes. A federal judge ruled this week <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2025/03/25/judge-rules-gateway-church-tithe-fraud-suit-wont-go-to-discovery-at-least-for-now/">that the suit shouldn&#8217;t proceed to discovery</a> and the judge is now considering whether to dismiss it.</li>
  1172. <li> The Tarrant County DA <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/25/no-charges-against-fort-worth-museum-after-allegations-that-exhibit-included-child-porn-2/">has declined to prosecute anybody</a> over the kiddie porn accusations ginned up by the Dallas Express against the Sally Mann exhibit at the Modern in Fort Worth. I hope that&#8217;s the end of that.</li>
  1173. <li> The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington held their grand opening earlier this week with a slew of dignitaries. Pick your coverage: <a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/03/23/former-president-bush-gov-abbott-salute-medal-of-honor-recipients-at-arlington-museum-opening/">the Fort Worth Report</a>, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/03/23/a-national-treasure-national-medal-of-honor-museum-celebrates-grand-opening/">the DMN</a>, <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article302542154.html">the Star-Telegram</a>, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-22/letters-from-war-and-stories-of-heroism-a-glimpse-inside-arlingtons-medal-of-honor-museum">KERA</a>, or <a href="https://apnews.com/video/a-new-museum-in-texas-tells-the-life-stories-of-medal-of-honor-recipients-3e79ec26ca5f4b9b8d1fcf6e94fcc146">this two-minute AP video</a> about the museum.</li>
  1174. <li> The Como Motel, a mid-century architectural gem on Central Expressway north of 635 with a storied history (rumor has it Townes Van Zandt wrote &#8220;Pancho and Lefty&#8221; there) <a href="https://candysdirt.com/2025/03/26/the-como-hotel-is-no-mo/">has been knocked down</a>. The culprits are the Pappas Bros., who own two lots next door.</li>
  1175. <li> <a href="https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/entertainment/dallas-international-film-fest-premiere/">The Dallas International Film Festival lineup is out</a>. The festival takes place from April 25 to May 1 and there are some interesting-looking films premiering. This is the festival&#8217;s first year as an Oscar qualifying festival, which has amped up the quality and quantity of films.</li>
  1176. <li> In music news, Dallas icon Erykah Badu <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dallas-superstar-erykah-badu-to-release-first-studio-album-in-15-years-21968588">is going to release her first studio album</a> in 15 years. And local-made-good Charley Crockett, whom I really enjoy and whom I may have missed my chance to see in a more intimate venue, <a href="https://kxt.org/2025/03/charley-crockett-steps-into-the-spotlight-on-major-label-debut-lonesome-drifter/">has just put out his major-label debut</a>.</li>
  1177. <li> Last, but not least, the DMN <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/2025/03/13/they-transport-you-why-irish-bagpipes-arent-like-any-other-instrument/">went to the North Texas Irish Festival</a> earlier this month to learn about the Uilleann pipes, which are the Irish form of bagpipes. As a long-time festival-goer, I strongly recommend you check out <a href="https://www.ntif.org">NTIF</a> next year. The date for 2026 hasn&#8217;t been announced but it&#8217;s usually the first weekend in March.</li>
  1178. </ul>
  1179. ]]></content:encoded>
  1181. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118294</wfw:commentRss>
  1182. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1185. </item>
  1186. <item>
  1187. <title>Commissioners Court keeps Menefee for now</title>
  1188. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118278</link>
  1189. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118278#respond</comments>
  1191. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1192. <pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2025 10:01:17 +0000</pubDate>
  1193. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  1194. <category><![CDATA[Local politics]]></category>
  1195. <category><![CDATA[CD18]]></category>
  1196. <category><![CDATA[Christian Menefee]]></category>
  1197. <category><![CDATA[Commissioners Court]]></category>
  1198. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  1199. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  1200. <category><![CDATA[Harris County Attorney]]></category>
  1201. <category><![CDATA[resign to run]]></category>
  1202. <category><![CDATA[special election]]></category>
  1203. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  1204. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1205. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118278</guid>
  1206.  
  1207. <description><![CDATA[Seems reasonable. Harris County Commissioners have opted to keep Christian Menefee as the county attorney until Gov. Greg Abbott calls an election to fill the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat in Congress. Menefee has served as county attorney for more than four years, &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118278">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1208. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-county-attorney-congress-20240183.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral">Seems reasonable</a>.</p>
  1209. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://x.com/CDMenefee"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1901623229648920576/wt9gF3qB_400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Christian Menefee</p></div>
  1210. <p>Harris County Commissioners have opted to keep <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/joy-sewing/article/possible-sylvester-turner-replacement-meet-20224427.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Christian Menefee</a> as the county attorney until Gov. Greg Abbott <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/sylvester-turner-congressional-seat-20204199.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">calls an election</a> to fill the late U.S. Rep. <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/sylvester-turner-texas-dies-20203885.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Sylvester Turner</a>’s seat in Congress.</p>
  1211. <p>Menefee has served as county attorney for more than four years, and recently<a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/menefee-turner-congress-20224054.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native"> announced a campaign</a> to replace Turner, who <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/sylvester-turner-texas-dies-20203885.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">died March 5</a> following “enduring health complications” at 70 years old.</p>
  1212. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1213. <p>Under state law, Menefee’s campaign filing and announcement triggered his automatic<a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/christian-menefee-attorney-seat-20225871.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native"> resignation</a> from his position as county attorney.</p>
  1214. <p>“Resign to run” laws in Texas dictate that certain local office holders cannot announce campaigns for another seat more than a year and 30 days before the next election. If they announce any sooner, they’re forced to step back from their current position.</p>
  1215. <p>Menefee, who recently won another term as county attorney, filed for Congress hours after Turner’s funeral.</p>
  1216. <p>However, another law holds that the person is allowed to <a class="" href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.16/CN.16.17.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">hold their position</a> until a successor is named. Abbott’s office hasn&#8217;t yet called an election to replace Turner, who represented a solidly Democratic congressional district.</p>
  1217. <p>The absence of a representative in the seat effectively leaves the Democrats shorthanded. Republicans currently hold the <a class="" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/greg-abbott-sylverster-turner-democrat-special-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">majority in the U.S. House by a slim margin</a>.</p>
  1218. <p>Donna Davidson, a legislative and campaign lawyer based in Austin, said she has seen instances where office holders announce a campaign for another position and are replaced immediately. Others, however, have been allowed to stick around, she said.</p>
  1219. <p>“It really just depends,” Davidson said. “Let&#8217;s say you&#8217;ve been a very effective county attorney. They don&#8217;t necessarily want to make a change if they don&#8217;t have to.”</p>
  1220. <p>The commissioners, who are in charge of naming Menefee’s replacement until an election is called, decided on Thursday to not take action to replace him given the disruption choosing a new county attorney might cause.
  1221. </p></blockquote>
  1222. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118161">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118128">here</a> for the background. If the law doesn&#8217;t require Menefee to step down and be replaced right now, then this is the sensible thing to do. If Abbott&#8217;s in <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223">no rush</a> to <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253">schedule the election</a>, then Menefee doesn&#8217;t need to be in any rush to resign. Once the election is on the calendar, then he and the Court can do their thing. I suppose it&#8217;s possible someone could sue to force him to resign now, but I&#8217;m not sure who would have standing, let alone that there&#8217;s a good legal argument to be made. So, barring anything unexpected, this is where we are for now.</p>
  1223. ]]></content:encoded>
  1225. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118278</wfw:commentRss>
  1226. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1229. </item>
  1230. <item>
  1231. <title>New York county clerk refuses to file judgment against Dr. Carpenter</title>
  1232. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118273</link>
  1233. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118273#comments</comments>
  1235. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1236. <pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2025 09:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
  1237. <category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
  1238. <category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
  1239. <category><![CDATA[Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine]]></category>
  1240. <category><![CDATA[Aid Access]]></category>
  1241. <category><![CDATA[Collin County]]></category>
  1242. <category><![CDATA[Hey Jane]]></category>
  1243. <category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
  1244. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  1245. <category><![CDATA[Louisiana]]></category>
  1246. <category><![CDATA[Margaret Carpenter]]></category>
  1247. <category><![CDATA[mifepristone]]></category>
  1248. <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
  1249. <category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
  1250. <category><![CDATA[telemedicine]]></category>
  1251. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1252. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118273</guid>
  1253.  
  1254. <description><![CDATA[Here we go. A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118273">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1255. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/new-york-texas-abortion-doctor-pills/">Here we go</a>.</p>
  1256. <blockquote><p>
  1257. A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-york-louisiana-b9d6a0c821fc444a609cf5cde70efaaa"> a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas</a> against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws designed to shield abortion providers who serve patients in states with abortion bans.</p>
  1258. <p>A Texas judge last month ordered Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who practices north of New York City, to pay the penalty for allegedly breaking that state&#8217;s law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. The Texas attorney general&#8217;s office followed up last week by asking a New York court to enforce the default civil judgment, which is $113,000 with attorney and filing fees.</p>
  1259. <p>The acting Ulster County clerk refused.</p>
  1260. <p>“In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office. Since this decision is likely to result in further litigation, I must refrain from discussing specific details about the situation,&#8221; Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck said in a prepared statement.</p>
  1261. <p>New York is among eight states with telemedicine shield laws, which were considered a target for abortion opponents even before the standoff between officials New York and Texas.</p>
  1262. <p>Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last month <a href="https://x.com/GovKathyHochul/status/1892578137352921302">invoked her state&#8217;s shield law</a> in rejecting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s request to extradite Carpenter to Louisiana, where the doctor was charged with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-indictment-lousiana-new-york-doctor-63ff4d9da8a9b592a7ca4ec7ba538cd3">prescribing abortion pills</a> to a pregnant minor.</p>
  1263. <p>Hochul on Thursday praised Bruck&#8217;s refusal and said “New York is grateful for his courage and common sense.”
  1264. </p></blockquote>
  1265. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117040">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117650">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117750">here</a> for the background. We&#8217;re basically following a script right now, and everything has gone as one would expect. When the federal courts get involved, that&#8217;s when we start ad libbing. Stay tuned.</p>
  1266. ]]></content:encoded>
  1268. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118273</wfw:commentRss>
  1269. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  1272. </item>
  1273. <item>
  1274. <title>Modified Montrose construction to begin on Monday</title>
  1275. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118248</link>
  1276. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118248#comments</comments>
  1278. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1279. <pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2025 09:45:14 +0000</pubDate>
  1280. <category><![CDATA[Elsewhere in Houston]]></category>
  1281. <category><![CDATA[Planes, Trains, and Automobiles]]></category>
  1282. <category><![CDATA[Abbie Kamin]]></category>
  1283. <category><![CDATA[accidents]]></category>
  1284. <category><![CDATA[bicycles]]></category>
  1285. <category><![CDATA[density]]></category>
  1286. <category><![CDATA[drainage]]></category>
  1287. <category><![CDATA[flooding]]></category>
  1288. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  1289. <category><![CDATA[John Whitmire]]></category>
  1290. <category><![CDATA[Montrose]]></category>
  1291. <category><![CDATA[pedestrians]]></category>
  1292. <category><![CDATA[sidewalks]]></category>
  1293. <category><![CDATA[TIRZ]]></category>
  1294. <category><![CDATA[trees]]></category>
  1295. <category><![CDATA[Trees for Houston]]></category>
  1296. <category><![CDATA[urbanism]]></category>
  1297. <category><![CDATA[Vision Zero]]></category>
  1298. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118248</guid>
  1299.  
  1300. <description><![CDATA[Ready or not, here it comes. Workers will break ground Monday on the first phase of a hotly debated plan to revamp Montrose Boulevard from Allen Parkway to West Clay Street. The final roadmap retains the original intent to include an expansive &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118248">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1301. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/environment/article/montrose-boulevard-redesign-tirz-houston-20239908.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referral">Ready or not, here it comes</a>.</p>
  1302. <blockquote><p>
  1303. <a href="https://montrosehtx.org/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://montrosehtx.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Montrose-Tax-Increment-Reinvestment-Zone-27_-1024x819.png" width="200" height="160" /></a></p>
  1304. <p>Workers will <a class="" href="https://montrosehtx.org/projects/montrose-blvd-improvement-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">break ground Monday</a> on the first phase of a hotly debated plan to revamp Montrose Boulevard from Allen Parkway to West Clay Street.</p>
  1305. <p>The final roadmap retains the original intent to include an expansive new underground drainage system, but many other <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/environment/article/montrose-boulevard-tirz-redesign-whitmire-19874280.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">aspects of the redesign shifted</a> after <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/environment/article/montrose-boulevard-tirz-trees-flood-whitmire-19589548.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">months of back-and-forth</a> protests and incoming Mayor John Whitmire&#8217;s total overhaul of the leadership of Montrose&#8217;s <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2022/how-houston-tirz-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone</a>.</p>
  1306. <p>The reconstruction, planned by the Montrose TIRZ and Gauge Engineering, will be completed by MC2 Civil LLC for just under $17.9 million. The contractor is expected to take until mid-2026 to finish its work. In the meantime, <a class="" href="https://montrosehtx.org/projects/montrose-blvd-improvement-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">the TIRZ has promised</a> that at least two lanes of the thoroughfare will be open at all times, one for cars going in each direction.</p>
  1307. <p>&#8220;The Montrose TIRZ is committed to minimizing disruptions and keeping the community informed,&#8221; said Matt Brollier, chairman of the Montrose TIRZ.</p>
  1308. <p>The TIRZ board holds <a class="" href="https://montrosehtx.org/meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">public meetings</a> on the third Monday of every month. Many of these meetings have been filled for over a year with familiar faces either advocating to preserve Montrose Boulevard&#8217;s lane width and existing trees, or pushing for the original redesign plan, which would have increased pedestrian and bicycle accessibility while planting more trees than the number tapped for removal from both sides of the road.
  1309. </p></blockquote>
  1310. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=113962">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114095">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114245">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116494">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116610">here</a> for the background. You know where I stand on this, so I&#8217;ll just shrug and move on, as there&#8217;s not much else to be done on this front. I&#8217;m a little surprised that the DOGEbags didn&#8217;t try to claw back the funds for it. Let&#8217;s hope this is better than we think and that the disruption is minimal. Good luck, y&#8217;all.</p>
  1311. ]]></content:encoded>
  1313. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118248</wfw:commentRss>
  1314. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  1317. </item>
  1318. <item>
  1319. <title>Beware the trojan &#8220;abortion exceptions&#8221; bill</title>
  1320. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118240</link>
  1321. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118240#comments</comments>
  1323. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1324. <pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 10:01:08 +0000</pubDate>
  1325. <category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
  1326. <category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
  1327. <category><![CDATA[Bryan Hughes]]></category>
  1328. <category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
  1329. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  1330. <category><![CDATA[mifepristone]]></category>
  1331. <category><![CDATA[SCOTUS]]></category>
  1332. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1333. <category><![CDATA[Texas Medical Association]]></category>
  1334. <category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
  1335. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118240</guid>
  1336.  
  1337. <description><![CDATA[Jessica Valenti warns us. Texas Republicans are poised to pull a fast one: They’ve convinced Democrats and doctors to support a bill they claim will protect life-saving abortion care and ‘clarify’ the state’s ban. But the rapidly advancing “Life of &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118240">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1338. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://jessica.substack.com/p/urgent-the-texas-exceptions-bill">Jessica Valenti</a> warns us.</p>
  1339. <blockquote><p>
  1340. Texas Republicans are poised to pull a fast one: They’ve convinced Democrats and doctors to support a bill they claim will protect life-saving abortion care and ‘clarify’ the state’s ban. But the rapidly advancing <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/pdf/SB00031I.pdf#navpanes=0">“Life of the Mother” legislation</a> is a Trojan Horse—there’s a 100-year-old ban hiding inside, ready to be revived and used to prosecute abortion funds, helpers, and possibly even patients.</p>
  1341. <p>Legal experts I spoke to in Texas called it “the most dangerous” anti-abortion bill currently before the legislature. So how has this flown under the radar?</p>
  1342. <p>Blame a mix of GOP sleight-of-hand and pro-choice politicians so eager for a win—and so desperate to ease the suffering of Texas women—that they’ve missed the fine print. To be fair, it’s not an easy catch: What’s happening is buried in a maze of dense language and historical statutes. I’m going to do my best to lay it out for you, so please stick with me—this one really matters.</p>
  1343. <p>Chances are, you’ve heard about Senate Bill 31: It’s been framed as Republicans’ oh-so-generous move to ensure doctors can provide life-saving abortions without fear of civil or criminal charges. Texas newspapers and national headlines describe it as a bill that will <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2025/03/14/texas-senate-bill-would-clarify-abortion-ban-expand-protections/82376448007/" rel="">“expand protections”</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/deaths-texas-lawmakers-file-bills-clear-confusion-medical-exceptions-near-abortion-ban/" rel="">“clear confusion”</a> around the state’s ban, while lawmakers on both sides of the aisle claim it will save women’s lives. The Texas Medical Association <a href="https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-03-24/texas-legislation-life-of-the-mother-senate-bill-31-abortion-ban-doctors" rel="">has endorsed</a> the bill, <a href="https://www.texasallianceforlife.org/news/texas-alliance-for-life-supports-the-life-of-the-mother-act/" rel="">as have</a> <a href="https://texasrighttolife.com/new-pro-life-bill-will-help-doctors-treat-pregnancy-emergencies/" rel="">anti-abortion groups</a>.</p>
  1344. <p>In short, SB 31 is being sold as a rare moment of bipartisan agreement—a good-faith effort to help doctors and patients.</p>
  1345. <p>The truth, however, is that Republicans are exploiting Texans’ desperation to stop women from suffering and dying—using that urgency to pass a law that will ultimately <strong>broaden their power to punish.</strong></p>
  1346. <p>At the heart of this deception is <a href="https://www.sll.texas.gov/library-resources/collections/historical-texas-statutes/bookreader/1925/#page/2886/mode/2up" rel="">a 1925 abortion ban</a>. This Texas law made performing an abortion a felony unless it was done to save the patient’s life. But unlike the state’s modern bans, the century-old law also made it a felony to help someone “procure” an abortion—and it didn’t explicitly protect patients from prosecution. (Remember this for later.)</p>
  1347. <p>Obviously, this 1925 ban was unenforceable for decades under <em>Roe v. Wade</em>—but after <em>Dobbs</em>, Texas Republicans argued it could go back into effect. Attorney General Ken Paxton, in particular, was eager to use the law: the same day <em>Roe</em> was overturned, he issued <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/executive-management/Post-Roe%20Advisory.pdf" rel="">an advisory</a> declaring the 1925 ban enforceable—and repeated the claim <a href="https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/executive-management/Updated%20Post-Roe%20Advisory%20Upon%20Issuance%20of%20Dobbs%20Judgment%20(07.27.2022).pdf" rel="">in an updated advisory</a> three days later.</p>
  1348. <p>Why was he so eager to dust off a 100-year-old law? In part, because it would let the state start prosecuting people <em>immediately.</em> (Texas’ trigger ban couldn’t be enforced until the Supreme Court issued its formal judgment in <em>Dobbs</em>, which could take months.) But more importantly, <strong>Paxton knew that reviving the century-old ban would dramatically supercharge his ability to prosecute</strong>. Remember, the 1925 law would explicitly allow Paxton to prosecute abortion funds that help patients ‘procure’ care, and open the door to targeting patients.</p>
  1349. <p>What Republican legislators did next made it even clearer that the punishment was always the point: the ultra-conservative Texas Freedom Caucus started sending threatening <a href="https://www.freedomfortexas.com/uploads/blog/3b118c262155759454e423f6600e2196709787a8.pdf" rel="">letters to companies</a> that promised to reimburse employees for out-of-state abortion travel—citing the 1925 ban. They also <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Texas-judge-hears-arguments-in-abortion-fund-17468124.php" rel="">targeted abortion funds</a>, warning that donors, employees, and volunteers could be prosecuted under the 100-year-old law.</p>
  1350. <p>Thankfully, Texas funds <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64914430/fund-texas-choice-v-paxton/" rel="">sued</a> to stop that from happening. Paxton lost the legal battle in 2023, when <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64914430/120/fund-texas-choice-v-paxton/" rel="">a federal court ruled</a> that the zombie ban had been “repealed by implication.” (Translation: you can’t enforce a nearly century-old ban when newer laws have already replaced it.) And while Paxton and Texas Republicans continued to claim the old ban was still on the books, that federal ruling blocked them from enforcing it.</p>
  1351. <p>You have to imagine Paxton was livid—abortion funds are the ones helping patients access out-of-state care and abortion pills, and the court had just shut down his best shot at punishing them for it.</p>
  1352. <p>That brings us to the present day, where Republican legislators have figured out how to give Paxton exactly what he wanted: the legal firepower of that 1925 ban.</p>
  1353. <p>Here’s how it works. The “Life of the Mother” bill—the one Republicans claim will clarify Texas’ abortion ban—wouldn’t just amend the current law. SB 31 would also add so-called ‘clarifying’ language to the 1925 ban. Why? Republicans will say they’re just being thorough—protecting women and doctors in every abortion statute. But here’s what they won’t admit: <strong>amending the 100-year-old law negates the argument that the ban is no longer in effect. </strong>(At least, that’s what they’ll argue in court.)</p>
  1354. <p>In other words, anti-abortion politicians get the best of both worlds if this bill passes: they get to look like they give a shit about women’s health and lives, while expanding the state’s power to punish.
  1355. </p></blockquote>
  1356. <p>The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/texas-abortion-medical-exemption-20228753.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Chron editorial board</a> also sang the praises of SB31, though they did note that they had heard of the concerns regarding that 1925 law. They just mentioned it in passing, though, so either they don&#8217;t take that concern seriously &#8211; and to be fair, it is at least possible this is correct &#8211; or they didn&#8217;t hear this from someone who did see the danger. </p>
  1357. <p>I will note two things. One is that the author of SB31 is Sen. Bryan Hughes, who was the author of 2021&#8217;s SB8, the vigilante bounty-hunter anti-abortion bill that turned out to be the tip of the <em>Dobbs</em> iceberg, and also of the omnibus voter suppression bill, which is <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118198">still being picked apart by the courts</a> today. Hughes is smart and competent, which given his extremist views makes him highly dangerous. We can&#8217;t help what the newspaper editorial boards do, but I really hope someone is explaining the danger to legislative Democrats. They won&#8217;t be able to stop SB31, but they need to know how to attack it and they need to commit to not voting for it if this 1925 law provision remains.</p>
  1358. <p>And two, regardless of what happens with SB31, there are <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/21/texas-abortion-fight-pills-travel-fund/">lots of other attacks on abortion access in the hopper</a>, with several of them having <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/03/texas-bill-abortion-pills/">broad and far-reaching potential consequences</a> for abortion pills and online advocacy. Again, the Republicans have the votes to pass any bill they want. All I&#8217;m saying is, don&#8217;t give up the moral high ground. It&#8217;s all we&#8217;ve got. The <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/republican-abortion-laws-texas-legislature-exceptions/">Observer</a> has more.</p>
  1359. ]]></content:encoded>
  1361. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118240</wfw:commentRss>
  1362. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  1365. </item>
  1366. <item>
  1367. <title>Yeah, we won&#8217;t get the CD18 election until November</title>
  1368. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253</link>
  1369. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253#comments</comments>
  1371. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1372. <pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:55:40 +0000</pubDate>
  1373. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  1374. <category><![CDATA[Amanda Edwards]]></category>
  1375. <category><![CDATA[Blake Farenthold]]></category>
  1376. <category><![CDATA[CD18]]></category>
  1377. <category><![CDATA[Christian Menefee]]></category>
  1378. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  1379. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  1380. <category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
  1381. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  1382. <category><![CDATA[Isaiah Martin]]></category>
  1383. <category><![CDATA[Ron Wright]]></category>
  1384. <category><![CDATA[Secretary of State]]></category>
  1385. <category><![CDATA[Sheila Jackson Lee]]></category>
  1386. <category><![CDATA[special election]]></category>
  1387. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  1388. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1389. <category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
  1390. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253</guid>
  1391.  
  1392. <description><![CDATA[That&#8217;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 &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118253">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1393. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>That&#8217;s the conclusion to draw from <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/greg-abbott-sylverster-turner-democrat-special-election/">this Trib story</a>.</p>
  1394. <blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/sylvester-turner/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fe65bb798b0db2edab67e8143cca938e/Sylvester%20Turner%20TT.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Rep. Sylvester Turner</p></div>
  1395. <p>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 the seat representing parts of Houston, a Democratic stronghold, in Congress.</p>
  1396. <p>Turner, who previously served in the Texas House for nearly three decades before becoming mayor of Houston, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/sylvester-turner-texas-houston-dies/">died March 5</a>, two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District. His funeral was held in Houston on March 15.</p>
  1397. <p>Turner was elected to Congress last year after his predecessor and political ally, former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/19/sheila-jackson-lee-dies/">died in office</a> after a battle with pancreatic cancer.</p>
  1398. <p>Abbott has the sole authority to call a special election to fill Turner&#8217;s seat for the rest of the two-year term. State law does not specify a deadline for the governor to order a special election. If called, the election must happen within two months of the announcement.</p>
  1399. <p>But the Republican governor has little incentive to send another Democrat to Congress.</p>
  1400. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1401. <p>The next scheduled election date in Texas is May 3. According to the state election code, Abbott would have to order the special election by March 28 for it to take place in May. But the practical deadline to call a May 3 election may have already passed, due to how much time the state needs to program voting machines and prepare and mail ballots.</p>
  1402. <p>The Texas Secretary of State’s office did not respond to a question about how much time the state generally requires to carry out an election.</p>
  1403. <p>Chad Dunn, a longtime Democratic Party lawyer, argued that there was plenty of time for the state to execute a special election on May 3 if Abbott ordered it.</p>
  1404. <p>While Texas law does not set a deadline for the governor to call a special election, Dunn added, “the assumption of Texas laws is that the state doesn’t want to be without representation in Congress.”</p>
  1405. <p>Historically, states were “eager” to ensure their entire delegation was present in Congress, Dunn said. Extreme partisanship in the broader political climate has changed that.</p>
  1406. <p>“Rather than pursue the interests of their state,” he argued, “some partisan governors are not moving expeditiously with replacement elections in these circumstances because they think that benefits their political party.”</p>
  1407. <p>In February 2021, after the death of U.S. Rep Ron Wright, R-Arlington, Abbott called a special election to fill Wright’s seat on the third day after his burial, or just two weeks after his death.</p>
  1408. <p>Abbott called a special election to fill Jackson Lee’s seat just over a week after her funeral, and 17 days after her death.</p>
  1409. <p>In those cases, however, there were several months before the next uniform election date.</p>
  1410. <p>Abbott could also declare an “emergency” special election, which allows for an election to take place outside the May or November uniform election dates.</p>
  1411. <p>He called for an emergency election on June 30, 2018 to replace former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, who resigned that April. Then, Abbott pointed to the recovery from Hurricane Harvey as justifying an emergency election.
  1412. </p></blockquote>
  1413. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223">here</a> for the previous update. The <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/race-for-congressional-district-18-seat-starts-fast-but-election-day-likely-months-away/">Houston Landing</a> concluded that it was already too late for Abbott to call and election for May. I&#8217;m not sure why this is so confusing, but if it isn&#8217;t already too late it will be soon, and there&#8217;s nothing to indicate that Abbott cares. So here we are.</p>
  1414. <p>With all due respect to Chad Dunn, the solution here is not for Texas governors to act in less blatantly partisan fashion when scheduling these elections, it&#8217;s to update the election code to limit their discretion. The Lege could limit the amount of time that governors have to suck their thumbs, or they could mandate that any vacancies created at least X days before a uniform election date requires an election to be scheduled for that date. There may be other ways to do this as well, but the specifics don&#8217;t really matter. The point, which has been made repeatedly over the last, oh, eight years or so, is that in political matters, laws >>> norms. Getting a Legislature in place that can take that action is a separate matter, but when we do, put this on the list of things for them to address.</p>
  1415. ]]></content:encoded>
  1417. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118253</wfw:commentRss>
  1418. <slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
  1421. </item>
  1422. <item>
  1423. <title>The forthcoming travel ban and the MLB season</title>
  1424. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118245</link>
  1425. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118245#respond</comments>
  1427. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1428. <pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:50:04 +0000</pubDate>
  1429. <category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
  1430. <category><![CDATA[La Migra]]></category>
  1431. <category><![CDATA[Astros]]></category>
  1432. <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
  1433. <category><![CDATA[Cuba]]></category>
  1434. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  1435. <category><![CDATA[immigration]]></category>
  1436. <category><![CDATA[Jose Altuve]]></category>
  1437. <category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
  1438. <category><![CDATA[MLB]]></category>
  1439. <category><![CDATA[State Department]]></category>
  1440. <category><![CDATA[Venezuela]]></category>
  1441. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118245</guid>
  1442.  
  1443. <description><![CDATA[Just a little cloud hanging over Opening Day, that&#8217;s all. President Trump&#8217;s expected travel ban on more than three dozen countries could prevent some Astros and other Major League Baseball players from Cuba and Venezuela from coming into — or leaving — the United States. &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118245">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1444. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2025/03/24/trump-travel-ban-mlb-players-cuba-venezuela-houston-astros">Just a little cloud hanging over Opening Day</a>, that&#8217;s all.</p>
  1445. <blockquote><p>
  1446. <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jose-altuve/5417/stats?position=2B"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://images.fangraphs.com/nobg_small_22879173.png" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
  1447. <p>President Trump&#8217;s<strong> </strong>expected<strong> </strong><a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-travel-ban-mlb-players-cuba-venezuela" target="_self" data-vars-link-text="travel ban" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-travel-ban-mlb-players-cuba-venezuela" data-vars-content-id="584857b4-ca28-4053-8984-ea0b202a22a2" data-vars-headline="Trump travel ban may hit Astros players from Cuba, Venezuela" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" rel="noopener">travel ban</a><strong> </strong>on more than three dozen countries could prevent some Astros and other <a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/29/mlb-baseball-negro-leagues-official-records" target="_self" data-vars-link-text="Major League Baseball" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/05/29/mlb-baseball-negro-leagues-official-records" data-vars-content-id="584857b4-ca28-4053-8984-ea0b202a22a2" data-vars-headline="Trump travel ban may hit Astros players from Cuba, Venezuela" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" rel="noopener">Major League Baseball</a> players from Cuba and Venezuela from coming into — or leaving — the United States.</p>
  1448. <p><strong>The big picture:</strong> Trump&#8217;s travel ban<strong> </strong>would mean that Cuban and Venezuelan major and minor league baseball players with <a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/p-1a-athlete" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-vars-link-text="P-1 visas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/p-1a-athlete" data-vars-content-id="584857b4-ca28-4053-8984-ea0b202a22a2" data-vars-headline="Trump travel ban may hit Astros players from Cuba, Venezuela" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link">P-1 visas</a> — non-immigrant visas for internationally recognized athletes and entertainers — could face new difficulties in the U.S., immigration lawyers say.</p>
  1449. <ul>
  1450. <li>Without a special exemption, those players would have a hard time returning to the U.S. after games against the Toronto Blue Jays or after playing in winter baseball leagues in Mexico, Venezuela or the Dominican Republic.</li>
  1451. </ul>
  1452. <p><strong>Catch up quick: </strong>Trump signed an executive order in January requiring the State Department to identify countries &#8220;for which vetting and screening information is so deficient&#8221; that a travel ban is needed.</p>
  1453. <ul>
  1454. <li>The order gave the State Department 60 days to complete the report, which was due Friday.</li>
  1455. <li>Countries that could be subject to the harshest visa restrictions include Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, news reports said.</li>
  1456. </ul>
  1457. <p><strong>The latest:</strong> A White House official tells Axios no decisions have been made, and an MLB spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.</p>
  1458. <p><strong>Zoom in:</strong> On Opening Day last year, the Astros had 16 players born internationally — including Cuban- and Venezuelan-born stars — the most in the league, <a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.mlb.com/news/international-players-on-mlb-2024-opening-day-rosters" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-vars-link-text="according to MLB" data-vars-click-url="https://www.mlb.com/news/international-players-on-mlb-2024-opening-day-rosters" data-vars-content-id="584857b4-ca28-4053-8984-ea0b202a22a2" data-vars-headline="Trump travel ban may hit Astros players from Cuba, Venezuela" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link">according to MLB</a>.</p>
  1459. <ul>
  1460. <li>Across the league, 18 players from Cuba and 58 from Venezuela were on Opening Day rosters in 2024.</li>
  1461. <li>The league&#8217;s total doesn&#8217;t count the many players in the minor leagues and those who were called up or signed later in the 2024 season.</li>
  1462. </ul>
  1463. <p><strong>It&#8217;s unclear </strong>which players hold P-1 visas, but the Astros&#8217; 2025 roster includes second baseman José Altuve of Venezuela and outfielder Yordan Alvarez of Cuba.
  1464. </p></blockquote>
  1465. <p>Opening Day (non-Japan version) is today, so enjoy it while you can. I&#8217;m sure MLB is doing what it can to avoid problems, and there&#8217;s nothing more that Donald Trump likes than being sucked up to, but who knows what could happen. A potentially bigger issue is with the minor leagues, which are stuffed with even more foreign-born players who for the most part don&#8217;t have the financial resources to deal with lawyers and paperwork as might be required to ensure safe passage. Like I said, I don&#8217;t know what happens next. But it&#8217;s Donald Trump, so expect the worst.</p>
  1466. ]]></content:encoded>
  1468. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118245</wfw:commentRss>
  1469. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1472. </item>
  1473. <item>
  1474. <title>Texas blog roundup for the week of March 24</title>
  1475. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118195</link>
  1476. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118195#respond</comments>
  1478. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1479. <pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:45:58 +0000</pubDate>
  1480. <category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
  1481. <category><![CDATA[blog roundup]]></category>
  1482. <category><![CDATA[TPA]]></category>
  1483. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118195</guid>
  1484.  
  1485. <description><![CDATA[The Texas Progressive Alliance is glad for the distraction of March Madness as it brings you this week&#8217;s roundup. Off the Kuff says to be very skeptical of the arrests for allegedly performing illegal abortions announced by Ken Paxton, as &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118195">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1486. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Texas Progressive Alliance is glad for the distraction of March Madness as it brings you this week&#8217;s roundup.</p>
  1487. <p><span id="more-118195"></span></p>
  1488. <p><a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/">Off the Kuff</a> says to be <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118138">very skeptical</a> of the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118157">arrests for allegedly performing illegal abortions</a> announced by Ken Paxton, as all we have so far is Paxton&#8217;s word for it.</p>
  1489. <p><a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com">SocraticGadfly</a> dives deep on a couple of foreign affairs issues, first looking at <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2025/03/theres-at-least-eight-sides-on-russia.html">the at least eight sides</a> in the Russia-Ukraine war, then looking at <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2025/03/shed-not-too-many-crocodile-tears-for.html">post-1949 Tibet-China history</a> and the US role in it, even as a new book by the Dalai Lama ups the stakes there.</p>
  1490. <p>Neil at <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/">Houston Democracy Project</a> noted the Houstonian who <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/houstonian-starts-council-discussion-on-hpd-cooperation-with-ice-theyll-be-disappearing-us-soon-enough">came to Council about HPD’s collaboration with ICE</a> despite Whitmire saying that would not happen. Of course you can be disappeared to El Salvador for dissent. </p>
  1491. <p>=========================</p>
  1492. <p>And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.</p>
  1493. <p><a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/west-texas-measles-death-highlights-concerns-over-immune-system-impact/">Reform Austin</a> highlights concerns that measles has on human immune systems.</p>
  1494. <p><a href="https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/03/19/texas-abortion-laws-national-ban/">The Barbed Wire</a> observes that Texas is a testing ground for anti-abortion policies.</p>
  1495. <p><a href="https://elpasomatters.org/2025/03/20/opinion-constitutional-crisis-read-the-constitution/">Robin Norris</a> would like for us to read the Constitution.</p>
  1496. <p>The <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/resale-value-of-tesla-cars-sliding-into-toilet-both-in-san-antonio-and-nationwide-37037216">Current</a> reports on the declining resale value of Teslas.</p>
  1497. <p><a href="https://inthepinktexas.substack.com/p/send-lawyers-guns-and-money">In the Pink</a> feels like we&#8217;re trapped in the Upside Down.</p>
  1498. <p><a href="https://www.ryanpuzycki.com/p/the-woman-in-the-crosswalk-and-the">City of Yes</a> had a positive experience with a driverless Waymo, but doesn&#8217;t want cities to learn the wrong lessons about them.</p>
  1499. ]]></content:encoded>
  1501. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118195</wfw:commentRss>
  1502. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1505. </item>
  1506. <item>
  1507. <title>Measles update: Hello, Kansas</title>
  1508. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118237</link>
  1509. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118237#comments</comments>
  1511. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1512. <pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:01:48 +0000</pubDate>
  1513. <category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
  1514. <category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
  1515. <category><![CDATA[Centers for Disease Control]]></category>
  1516. <category><![CDATA[Cochran County]]></category>
  1517. <category><![CDATA[coronavirus]]></category>
  1518. <category><![CDATA[Dallam County]]></category>
  1519. <category><![CDATA[Dawson County]]></category>
  1520. <category><![CDATA[Ector County]]></category>
  1521. <category><![CDATA[Gaines County]]></category>
  1522. <category><![CDATA[Garza County]]></category>
  1523. <category><![CDATA[Hale County]]></category>
  1524. <category><![CDATA[Hockley County]]></category>
  1525. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  1526. <category><![CDATA[Kansas]]></category>
  1527. <category><![CDATA[Lamar County]]></category>
  1528. <category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category>
  1529. <category><![CDATA[Lynn County]]></category>
  1530. <category><![CDATA[Martin County]]></category>
  1531. <category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
  1532. <category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
  1533. <category><![CDATA[New Mexico]]></category>
  1534. <category><![CDATA[Oklahoma]]></category>
  1535. <category><![CDATA[RFK Jr]]></category>
  1536. <category><![CDATA[Rockwall County]]></category>
  1537. <category><![CDATA[Roger Marshall]]></category>
  1538. <category><![CDATA[subacute sclerosing panencephalitis]]></category>
  1539. <category><![CDATA[Terry County]]></category>
  1540. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1541. <category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
  1542. <category><![CDATA[vaccinations]]></category>
  1543. <category><![CDATA[Yoakum County]]></category>
  1544. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118237</guid>
  1545.  
  1546. <description><![CDATA[Put a new state on the board, Johnny. State health officials report the number of measles cases is growing in Kansas this year as cases climb nationwide. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported on March 20 on &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118237">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1547. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.ksnt.com/news/kansas/10-measles-cases-identified-in-kansas-children-teens/">Put a new state on the board, Johnny</a>.</p>
  1548. <blockquote><p>
  1549. State health officials report the number of measles cases is growing in Kansas this year as cases climb nationwide.</p>
  1550. <p>The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (<a href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/">KDHE</a>) reported on March 20 on its website that a total of 10 confirmed measles cases are confirmed in the state. All of the cases are being reported in people who are below the age of 17 with the majority in the five to 10-year-old age group.</p>
  1551. <blockquote><p>
  1552. “As of March 21, 2025, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is reporting ten (10) cases of measles within Grant, Morton and Stevens counties. All these cases are in children aged from 0-17. Nine (9) of the individuals were not vaccinated, and one (1) is under-vaccinated having only received 1 out of the 2 doses of the recommended MMR vaccine. There have been no hospitalizations or deaths among the cases. Due to the highly contagious nature of measles, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area in Kansas and in surrounding counties, especially among those that are unvaccinated.”
  1553. </p></blockquote>
  1554. <p>The KDHE confirmed <a href="https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/measles-case-confirmed-in-kansas-resident/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/measles-case-confirmed-in-kansas-resident/">the first case of measles</a> in a Kansas resident since 2018 on March 13. <a href="https://www.ksnt.com/news/kansas/more-measles-cases-found-in-southwest-kansas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.ksnt.com/news/kansas/more-measles-cases-found-in-southwest-kansas/">Multiple other cases were identified</a> earlier this week in Morton and Stevens Counties in southwest Kansas.
  1555. </p></blockquote>
  1556. <p>The <a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/healthcare/2025/03/24/kansas-measles-cases-are-unvaccinated-and-under-vaxxed-children/82636954007/">Topeka Capital-Journal</a> adds some details.</p>
  1557. <blockquote><p>
  1558. Kansas is now up to 10 confirmed cases of measles, all of which have been children who are either unvaccinated or under-vaxxed.</p>
  1559. <p>The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday reported 10 cases of measles, spread across Grant, Morton and Stevens counties. The update came through <a href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1493">the Kansas Health Alert Network</a>.</p>
  1560. <p>The alert said all 10 cases are children ages birth to 17 years old. Nine weren&#8217;t vaccinated, while one child was under-vaccinated with only one of the two recommended doses of the MMR vaccine.</p>
  1561. <p>&#8220;Due to the highly contagious nature of measles, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area in Kansas and in surrounding counties, especially among those that are unvaccinated,&#8221; the KDHE alert said.</p>
  1562. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1563. <p>Kansas officials <a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/healthcare/2025/03/19/kansas-has-6-confirmed-cases-of-measles-amid-texas-outbreak/82548457007/">told The Capital-Journal last week</a> that epidemiologists have not been able to establish a link to the outbreak affecting west Texas. The three Kansas counties with cases are all in the southwest corner of Kansas, about 375 miles from the outbreak epicenter of Gaines County in the Texas panhandle.
  1564. </p></blockquote>
  1565. <p>Well, we did expect this outbreak <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118189">to go national</a>. This may or may not be evidence of that, but if it does turn out that this outbreak is completely independent of the Texas one, is that in any way good news? I sure don&#8217;t think so. The point remains, there&#8217;s a lot of measles out there, and it&#8217;s finding unvaccinated children like Republicans find excuses for leaking confidential national security information when one of them does it. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/03/measles-takes-off-in-kansas-amid-low-vaccination-at-least-10-cases-reported/">Ars Technica</a> has a good roundup of local coverage of the Kansas outbreak. I&#8217;ll keep an eye on this to see if we do get a ruling one way or the other on the possible connection.</p>
  1566. <p>Before I move on, let me join <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article302733844.html">this Kansas opinion columnist</a> in offering kudos to Sen. Roger Marshall for his <a href="https://www.marshall.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-marshall-issues-statement-on-measles-cases-in-kansas/">statement</a> that Kansans talk to their doctors about their vaccination status. It&#8217;s not much, and Sen. Marshall is not at all a good example to follow in general on health matters, but this is the right thing to do and it&#8217;s more than what Texas&#8217; Republicans have been doing.</p>
  1567. <p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-measles-outbreak-grows-327-163700571.html">here&#8217;s your Texas update</a>.</p>
  1568. <blockquote><p>
  1569. The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 18 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 327 cases, according to new data published Tuesday.</p>
  1570. <p>Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). At least 40 people have been hospitalized so far.</p>
  1571. <p>Just two cases have occurred in people fully vaccinated with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the data.</p>
  1572. <p>In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases at 140, followed by children ages 4 and under accounting for 105 cases, according to the data.</p>
  1573. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1574. <p>It comes as another case of measles was confirmed in New Mexico, bringing the total to 43, according to data from the state <a href="https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ideb/mog/">Department of Health</a>. The majority of cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County &#8212; the epicenter of the outbreak in Texas.</p>
  1575. <p>Additionally, two cases of measles were confirmed in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on Monday. A media release from the Erie County Department of Health said the cases were linked to international travel and there is not a high risk of exposure for the general population.</p></blockquote>
  1576. <p>We get these updates twice a week, and it seems to me that the Tuesday updates show smaller growth than the Friday updates. Not exactly sure why that is, but that&#8217;s what it looks like to me.</p>
  1577. <p>And now we have an <a href="https://www.news9.com/story/67e2ebace3173890f1709fd9/oklahoma-measles-update-march-2025">Oklahoma update</a>.</p>
  1578. <blockquote><p>
  1579. The Oklahoma State Department of Health has released a situation update on measles cases in the state.</p>
  1580. <p>As of Tuesday, March 25, there are 9 cases in Oklahoma, with seven confirmed and two more deemed &#8220;probable&#8221; among unvaccinated people in northeastern Oklahoma.</p>
  1581. <p>Two cases that were previously reported as probable have been upgraded to confirmed.</p>
  1582. <p>The OSDH said confirmed cases show symptoms consistent with the standard definition of measles, and they have a confirmatory test result.</p>
  1583. <p>The probable cases lack a confirmatory test result, or like to a lab-confirmed case, according to the OSDH.</p>
  1584. <p>It was determined that no cases were through public exposure.
  1585. </p></blockquote>
  1586. <p><a href="https://kfor.com/news/local/seven-measles-cases-confirmed-in-oklahoma-two-other-cases-probable/">This story</a> clarifies that last sentence for me a bit, saying &#8220;none of the reported cases have resulted from exposure to public settings and public exposure has been limited due to the effected individuals isolating after recognizing their exposure&#8221;. I&#8217;m still not sure how alarming that is. All of the stories that were accessible to me were from local TV station websites, so there&#8217;s no more information that I was able to find. Perhaps this will make it into the next national stories.</p>
  1587. <p>And <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/-worried-getting-worse-texas-measles-outbreak-grows-families-resist-va-rcna196873">there will be more stories</a>.</p>
  1588. <blockquote><p>
  1589. “I’m worried it’s getting worse,” Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, told NBC News.</p>
  1590. <p>Many people aren’t getting tested for measles, and efforts to increase vaccination in the affected areas have gotten a lukewarm response, Wells said during a media briefing by the Big Cities Health Coalition on Tuesday.</p>
  1591. <p>Wells said she thought it could be a year until the outbreak is controlled.</p>
  1592. <p>The <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/anti-vaccine-influencers-weaponized-measles-death-texas-rcna196900">outbreak that started in West Texas</a> in late January has now infected 309 people in 14 Texas counties. “All of the cases in these counties are related to each other,” Wells said, adding: “We are going to see mini outbreaks” as the virus spreads unchecked.
  1593. </p></blockquote>
  1594. <p>Perhaps that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re seeing in Kansas. Or for that matter in Oklahoma, where the illnesses are in the eastern end of the state while in Kansas they&#8217;re in the west. Whatever you want to call it, it&#8217;s happening.</p>
  1595. <p>And finally, in case you needed further evidence that RFK Jr <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/reallcdcorg-fake-cdc-website-childrens-health-defense/">is the fucking worst</a>.</p>
  1596. <blockquote><p>
  1597. A fake website meant to look like a CDC webpage was put up sometime this month and quickly taken offline, but not before diligent information manipulation researchers noticed several signs that it was likely connected to Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization founded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The site falsely suggested a link between vaccines and autism, using “testimonial” videos made by CHD and long-debunked scientific disinformation. While the site has been taken down, the question remains: what, exactly, was the plan here?</p>
  1598. <p>The fake website, RealCDC.org, was first <a href="https://x.com/kyleehmke/status/1884400872467103909">spotted in late Januar</a>y by intel threat researcher Kyle Ehmke. While the page displayed no content then, he noted it was administered<a href="https://gist.github.com/xNV3mHwjPU/7469c3be1d16b551f0c56ac0f2589678"> through the same Cloudflare account</a> as CHD’s website and other domains related to CHD.</p>
  1599. <p>By March 20, according to Ehmke’s later research, and as corroborated by archived versions of the site, the page was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250321015807/https://cdc.chdstaging.org/">populated with content</a> meant to look exactly like an official CDC website, replicating its fonts, links, and presentation.</p>
  1600. <p>But there was a crucial difference: the fake site included a series of papers and other purported evidence claiming “increased risks of various chronic conditions, including ASD [autism spectrum disorder]” from vaccines. It also included testimonial videos from parents claiming their children had been sickened by vaccines, with scaremongering titles like “MMR Vax Gave My Son Autism,” “We Signed His Life Away,” and “Mother of 3: I Will Never Vaccinate Again.” The videos featured on the site are all hosted by Children’s Health Defense.</p>
  1601. <p>The site also contained accurate information about the fact that vaccines don’t cause autism, making what Dr. Bruce Gellin, who previously directed HHS’ vaccine program, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/health/cdc-kennedy-vaccine-disinformation.html">described to the <em>New York Times</em></a> as “a mixture of things that are legitimately peer-reviewed and things that are bogus.” Among the papers was one authored by former physician Mark Geier, whose license to practice has been suspended or revoked in every state where he once held one, and his son David, who has no medical training; both Geiers have <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1839225/">a long history</a> in the anti-vaccine movement and as witnesses in court cases attempting to link vaccines and autism.</p>
  1602. <p>The site was also independently investigated <a href="https://infoepi.substack.com/p/cdc-clone-site-rife-with-false-vaccine?r=9fjqu&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;triedRedirect=true">by E. Rosalie Li</a>, the founder of the Information Epidemiology Lab, which studies information manipulation and malign influence, especially around the intersection of public health and national security, and who, in addition to the Cloudfare account, found further evidence linking it to Children’s Health Defense. Both Li and Ehmke found that RealCDC.org redirected to CHDstaging.org, which has been used by Children’s Health Defense to power projects like its community discussion forum and a site promoting <em>Vaxxed 3</em>, the latest installment in a series of films promoting discredited claims about COVID-19 and vaccine safety. Overall, the CHD sites and RealCDC use “identical infrastructure,” Li says<em>, </em>“that would be unlikely if they were just random websites” unrelated to one another.</p>
  1603. <p>“You click on the videos and it goes to the CHD website,” she told <em>Mother Jones</em>.
  1604. </p></blockquote>
  1605. <p>This has been another edition of &#8220;RFK Jr is the fucking worst&#8221;. Tune in again for the next edition, which is sure to happen sooner or later.</p>
  1606. ]]></content:encoded>
  1608. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118237</wfw:commentRss>
  1609. <slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
  1612. </item>
  1613. <item>
  1614. <title>New teacher evaluation system approved by HISD</title>
  1615. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118217</link>
  1616. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118217#respond</comments>
  1618. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1619. <pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 09:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
  1620. <category><![CDATA[School days]]></category>
  1621. <category><![CDATA[Board of Managers]]></category>
  1622. <category><![CDATA[HFT]]></category>
  1623. <category><![CDATA[HISD]]></category>
  1624. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  1625. <category><![CDATA[Houston Education Association]]></category>
  1626. <category><![CDATA[Jackie Anderson]]></category>
  1627. <category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
  1628. <category><![CDATA[Michelle Williams]]></category>
  1629. <category><![CDATA[Mike Miles]]></category>
  1630. <category><![CDATA[Mike Morath]]></category>
  1631. <category><![CDATA[STAAR]]></category>
  1632. <category><![CDATA[Texas Education Agency]]></category>
  1633. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118217</guid>
  1634.  
  1635. <description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ll see how it goes. Houston ISD’s state-appointed board unanimously approved a new teacher evaluation system Thursday that will go into effect for the next school year. The model, which will be used to evaluate the district’s roughly 11,000 teachers, &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118217">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1636. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://houstonlanding.org/hisd-board-approves-new-teacher-evaluation-system-ahead-of-pay-for-performance-plan/">We&#8217;ll see how it goes</a>.</p>
  1637. <blockquote><p>
  1638. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/HISD_seal.png" alt="" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-full wp-image-111455" srcset="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/HISD_seal.png 222w, https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/HISD_seal-150x150.png 150w, https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/HISD_seal-144x144.png 144w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px" /></p>
  1639. <p>Houston ISD’s state-appointed board unanimously approved a new teacher evaluation system Thursday that will go into effect for the next school year.</p>
  1640. <p>The model, which will be used to <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/houston-isd-releases-new-teacher-rating-system-proposal-as-pay-for-performance-plans-loom/">evaluate the district’s roughly 11,000 teachers</a>, looks similar to the current system that emphasizes classroom observations and student test score growth. However, the district plans to use the evaluation scores to partially determine the salaries of many employees starting in 2026-27, a change that has angered the district’s largest teachers union.</p>
  1641. <p>HISD board members, who have been supportive of Superintendent Mike Miles’ academic and labor proposals since they started running the district in mid-2023, voted 8-0 to adopt the updated evaluation model. Critics of the system have said the regular classroom observations amount to micromanagement and feed into a misguided pay-for-performance system.</p>
  1642. <p>“I’ll say no evaluation system is perfect, and I think any of us in the community who work in an organization, lead an organization, understand that,” board member Michelle Cruz Arnold said. “But from what I’ve seen so far, the attempt to try to recognize the concerns and address how we’re going to incorporate feedback and continue to improve is really important to me.” </p>
  1643. <p>Under the system, 45 percent of a teacher’s evaluation score will be based on 10 to 20 brief classroom observations by campus administrators. Another 35 percent will depend on how much their students’ performance improves on various tests, including exams given throughout the school year and the state’s primary standardized exams, known as STAAR.</p>
  1644. <p>Another 15 percent is tied to lesson planning and professionalism measures, with the final 5 percent is linked to campuswide success.</p>
  1645. <p>HISD spent several months gathering recommendations from over 3,000 teachers and leaders, district administrators said. </p>
  1646. <p>The final version does not include a controversial student survey component, which would have partially tied teacher evaluations to feedback from their students. District leaders said they removed student surveys after most campus-level committees opposed it.</p>
  1647. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1648. <p>Houston Education Association President Michelle Williams spoke in front of the board Thursday, arguing the district will <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/houston-isd-relying-more-on-teachers-with-no-classroom-experience/">continue “hemorrhaging” experienced teachers</a> and won’t be able to attract high-performing educators at some higher-scoring schools with the system. </p>
  1649. <p>“I’ve worked under many evaluation systems but TES is by far the worst I’ve seen,” Williams said. “It’s inequitable. It penalizes teachers with high-achieving students, emerging bilingual students and frankly, parents of children.”
  1650. </p></blockquote>
  1651. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=111268">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117487">here</a> for the background. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/teacher-evaluation-system-approved-20225924.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Chron</a> has some further detail.</p>
  1652. <blockquote><p>
  1653. HISD teacher MinhDan Tran criticized the sincerity with which a <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/what-is-trailblazer-tes-evaluation-system-19926221.php">2024 survey, which drew more than 8,000 teacher respondents, collected feedback</a> on the extent to which teachers agreed with statements regarding the evaluation system&#8217;s components.</p>
  1654. <p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t get real input from teachers about this evaluation system,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Your fake survey didn&#8217;t give teachers any real choice. It was like choosing if you prefer to be eaten by sharks or electrocuted by a sinking boat. Bring back consultation with the union so that the professional teachers can have input on how we teach our kids.&#8221;</p>
  1655. <p>The system would sort teachers scores&#8217; in a &#8220;target distribution,&#8221; with 3% sorted into the Unsatisfactory evaluation level; 12% in Progressing I, 25% in Progressing II; 40% in Proficient I; 12% in Proficient II; 5% in Exemplary I; and 3% in Exemplary II. The distribution is &#8220;to ensure that not only are the assessments across grade bands and disciplines similarly rigorous,&#8221; according to the system&#8217;s guidebook.</p>
  1656. <p>&#8220;Every group has roughly the same target distribution. For example, approximately 40% of Group A teachers will receive an effectiveness level of Proficient I,&#8221; the system&#8217;s guidebook reads. &#8220;This is the same percentage of Proficient I teachers in each of the other categories. This is approximate given there are teachers who fall into multiple Groups.&#8221;</p>
  1657. <p>Carnegie Vanguard High School senior Hira Malik objected Thursday to the target distribution in the evaluation system.</p>
  1658. <p>&#8220;I truly believe that the targeted distribution system is just another chaotic evaluation tactic designed to scare staff and pit them against each other for a better rating,&#8221; Malik said. &#8220;Why is competition being prioritized more than healthy cooperation? Classrooms are being micromanaged with scripted lessons that don&#8217;t give students the individualized mentorship they need. Is this what success looks like? Is this what learning is?&#8221;</p>
  1659. <p>In its score composition, the Teacher Excellence System&#8217;s components is not much of a departure from the district&#8217;s current system. The system bases 35% of a teacher&#8217;s rating on student test scores and learning objectives and 45% on &#8220;Quality of Instruction&#8221; — including routine shorter walkthroughs and a formal classroom observation that would be required for new teachers and teachers who score below a certain threshold the previous year. Fifteen percent would be devoted to a &#8220;planning and professionalism&#8221; component (under the current system&#8217;s &#8220;Quality of Instruction&#8221; umbrella) and a final 5% to how a teacher contributes to their campus&#8217; action plan.</p>
  1660. <p>Danya Serrano, an educational researcher, expressed concern regarding the extent to which the system incorporates standardized exams amid a <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-uncertified-teachers-by-school-19990297.php">shortage of certified teachers</a>.</p>
  1661. <p>&#8220;Research shows that value-added models based on teacher evaluations and higher test scores are biased, unreliable, invalid, unfair and not transparent,&#8221; she said.
  1662. </p></blockquote>
  1663. <p>We are familiar with the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118144">certified teacher shortage</a>. I will say again, I am strongly opposed to <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=113746">rank and yank evaluation systems</a>, which punishes any organization lucky enough to have an abundance of high performers and fosters an environment of competitiveness rather than cooperation. We would not evaluate students via a system that ensures some number of them must fail, so I don&#8217;t know why we&#8217;d want to evaluate teachers that way. Or any other workers, for that matter. </p>
  1664. ]]></content:encoded>
  1666. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118217</wfw:commentRss>
  1667. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  1670. </item>
  1671. <item>
  1672. <title>Some good news for UST</title>
  1673. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118212</link>
  1674. <comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118212#respond</comments>
  1676. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1677. <pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 09:45:27 +0000</pubDate>
  1678. <category><![CDATA[Elsewhere in Houston]]></category>
  1679. <category><![CDATA[Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business]]></category>
  1680. <category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
  1681. <category><![CDATA[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges]]></category>
  1682. <category><![CDATA[Texas Education Agency]]></category>
  1683. <category><![CDATA[University of St Thomas]]></category>
  1684. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118212</guid>
  1685.  
  1686. <description><![CDATA[Situation update. The University of St. Thomas in Houston seems to have turned a corner with its finances in 2024, though its position remains precarious as the school posted a deficit in its operating budget for the seventh consecutive year, &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118212">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1687. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/university-st-thomas-improved-financial-20217954.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&#038;utm_source=t.co&#038;utm_medium=referral">Situation update</a>.</p>
  1688. <blockquote><p>
  1689. <a href="https://www.stthom.edu/Home/Index.aqf"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1610322523689721858/gQ69pXmZ_400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
  1690. <p>The University of St. Thomas in Houston seems to have turned a corner with its finances in 2024, though its position remains precarious as the school posted a deficit in its operating budget for the seventh consecutive year, according to the institution’s most recent annual audit. </p>
  1691. <p>A massive increase in donations and endowment earnings improved St. Thomas’ overall standing, said Julee Gard, a university CFO in Illinois who studies the financial health of small and mid-sized private schools. That contributed to a $15.8 million boost in assets, improving on worrisome reports when available financial resources fell by a combined $30.7 million in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, she said. </p>
  1692. <p>“One year does not make a trend, obviously, but if the prior two years were the start of a really bad trend, they certainly turned that around,” Gard said. “I think it shows relative stability.”</p>
  1693. <p>The private Catholic university released its 2024 audited financial statement this month, ahead of <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/st-thomas-university-accreditation-renewal-concern-20048012.php">a crucial site visit</a> in its once-a-decade <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/university-st-thomas-responds-re-accreditation-20202358.php">reaccreditation process</a>. Financial sustainability is considered a major factor in the review – and St. Thomas’ audit by an independent group showed that asset improvements and cash flows “ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”</p>
  1694. <p>St. Thomas officials similarly pointed to growing assets as a sign of a better financial outlook. The 2024 fiscal year ended with $227 in net assets between cash, investments, property and other means, according to the audit. The endowment, which makes up the majority of the assets at $146 million, performed well, Gard said.</p>
  1695. <p>And while a gap persisted between earnings and spending for core operations, those operating losses narrowed to $5.8 million in 2024, down from $11.9 million in 2023 – as the university still increased financial support to students. </p>
  1696. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1697. <p>Gard, at University of St. Francis in Illinois, said the 2024 financial statement was more promising. She analyzed the document using an index she created to assess the health of small and mid-sized private institutions. Gard doesn&#8217;t use the model to predict school closures, though about 85% of schools that closed since 2016 had performed in the lowest threshold of her index immediately before shutting their doors, she said.</p>
  1698. <p>St. Thomas was in that lower threshold in 2022 and 2023 but scored this year in a middle &#8220;yellow&#8221; zone, according to her analysis. </p>
  1699. <p>The index speaks most to liquidity: While most of St. Thomas&#8217; holdings are not cash and some donations and endowment amounts are restricted, a portion could be converted to cash if necessary, Gard said. Schools that are most financially unstable are usually those that take loans against the endowment, which wasn&#8217;t the case for St. Thomas, she said.</p>
  1700. <p>On its face, a negative cash flow appeared to be the most concerning issue for St. Thomas but was actually misleading, Gard said. A $15 million cash shortfall – the worst it&#8217;s been in seven years – includes amounts spent to pay down accounts and accrued liabilities.  </p>
  1701. <p>“That&#8217;s not a sign of deteriorating financial health,” she said.</p>
  1702. <p>Gard&#8217;s analysis found a decrease in available cash reserves, however. She and other experts also agreed that it&#8217;s a best practice for universities to keep their operating revenues and expenses even. Investments that are used to cover the losses are dependent on the stock market. </p>
  1703. <p>&#8220;I would not say that this is &#8230; a rosy picture, but they&#8217;re making it work,&#8221; said Brown, the Texas A&#038;M professor.
  1704. </p></blockquote>
  1705. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117963">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117988">here</a> for the background. I appreciate that UST is able to provide a college education for a modest price. For the sake of their students, I hope they continue getting their finances in order and are able to carry on with that mission.</p>
  1706. ]]></content:encoded>
  1708. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?feed=rss2&#038;p=118212</wfw:commentRss>
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  1712. </item>
  1713. <item>
  1714. <title>An early overview of the CD18 special election</title>
  1715. <link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223</link>
  1717. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
  1718. <pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:01:30 +0000</pubDate>
  1719. <category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
  1720. <category><![CDATA[Amanda Edwards]]></category>
  1721. <category><![CDATA[CD18]]></category>
  1722. <category><![CDATA[Christian Menefee]]></category>
  1723. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  1724. <category><![CDATA[Cyrus Sanja]]></category>
  1725. <category><![CDATA[Derrell Turner]]></category>
  1726. <category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
  1727. <category><![CDATA[Erica Lee]]></category>
  1728. <category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
  1729. <category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
  1730. <category><![CDATA[Isaiah Martin]]></category>
  1731. <category><![CDATA[James Joseph]]></category>
  1732. <category><![CDATA[Jolanda Jones]]></category>
  1733. <category><![CDATA[Khristopher Beal]]></category>
  1734. <category><![CDATA[Kivan Polmis]]></category>
  1735. <category><![CDATA[Letitia Plummer]]></category>
  1736. <category><![CDATA[resign to run]]></category>
  1737. <category><![CDATA[Sheila Jackson Lee]]></category>
  1738. <category><![CDATA[special election]]></category>
  1739. <category><![CDATA[Sylvester Turner]]></category>
  1740. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  1741. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223</guid>
  1742.  
  1743. <description><![CDATA[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 &#8230; <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118223">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  1744. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://houstonlanding.org/race-for-congressional-district-18-seat-starts-fast-but-election-day-likely-months-away/">Whenever it may be</a>.</p>
  1745. <blockquote>
  1746. <div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/sylvester-turner/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fe65bb798b0db2edab67e8143cca938e/Sylvester%20Turner%20TT.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Rep. Sylvester Turner</p></div>
  1747. <p>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.</p>
  1748. <p>In fact, the candidates vying for attention and support still do not know when Election Day will be, though it likely will not be until near the end of the year.</p>
  1749. <p>“There isn’t even an election called yet, and (Christian) Menefee has come out with full-blown endorsements and money commitments to set himself up as the frontrunner,” University of Houston political analyst Nancy Sims said last week.</p>
  1750. <p>Menefee – the 36-year-old, twice-elected Harris County Attorney – filed as a candidate for the seat the evening of March 15, just hours after the funeral for Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner concluded. That decision also triggered a clause in the Texas Constitution <a href="https://houstonlanding.org/menefee-resigns-harris-county-attorney-post-to-run-for-late-sylvester-turners-cd-18-seat/">forcing his resignation as county attorney</a>.</p>
  1751. <p>By the following Monday morning, a<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/us/houston-house-seat.html"> New York Times article</a> about his candidacy appeared online and a list of endorsements by well-known local and state Democrats followed soon after. <a href="https://www.chron.com/politics/article/menefee-turner-seat-congress-20225545.php">A Houston politico had declared Menefee the “frontrunner”</a> for the race by midday, even though only one other person had made their candidacy known for what is expected to be a crowded ballot.</p>
  1752. <p>“I had to move quickly,” Menefee said of the days following Turner’s death on March 5. “I definitely took some time to process and grieve. Sylvester, Congressman Turner, Mayor Turner, was a friend and mentor.”</p>
  1753. <p>Menefee was the fastest, but he was quickly joined by Isaiah Martin on Monday. The 26-year-old Democrat ran briefly for the seat in the 2024 cycle, but he dropped out ahead of the Dec. 2023 filing deadline. That short-lived campaign left him with $174,000 in cash on hand for a second bid for the seat.</p>
  1754. <p>“We are the cash-on-hand leaders in this race, and we wanted to get out of the gate really quickly to build on that,” Martin said.</p>
  1755. <p>Fifth Ward community advocate James Joseph filed for the seat soon after, and former At-Large City Council Member Amanda Edwards announced her candidacy with a press conference Wednesday morning.</p>
  1756. <p>“I had to start shifting gears fairly quickly, but the good thing is, I wasn’t starting from scratch in terms of my knowledge of the district and my relationships in the district,” Edwards said. “It was just a matter of getting things together with enough time to launch an effective launch. We had to move pretty swiftly, and for me, it was unexpected.”</p>
  1757. <p>Four others – Democrat Kivan Polmis, Republican Cyrus Sanja, Independent Derrell Sherrod Turner and Independent Khristopher Beal – also have <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/elections/house/TX/18/2026/">filed to run</a>. They are unlikely to be the last to join the race.</p>
  1758. <p>At-Large City Council Member Letitia Plummer and state Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, have released statements saying they are strongly considering whether to join the race.</p>
  1759. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1760. <p>At the moment, however, the actual date for the special election to complete Turner’s term remains unknown. The Texas Constitution gives Gov. Greg Abbott the authority to set the election at his discretion. The only restriction is that the special election must be held on a uniform election date at least 36 days after Abbott’s call.</p>
  1761. <p>Abbott must call for the election by March 31 for it to be held on the next uniform election date on May 4. The only other uniform election date this year is November 4, and a runoff election will be required the following month if no candidate achieves 50 percent of the vote on Election Day.</p>
  1762. <p>Abbott is unlikely to be in a hurry to hold an election in the heavily Democratic district, Sims said. The vacancy grows the narrow GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, giving Congressional Republicans slightly more wiggle room as they work to pass priorities of President Donald Trump, Sims said.</p>
  1763. <p>The ongoing session of the Texas Legislature does not end until June 2, and Abbott likewise may hold off to keep any state representatives or senators considering a bid for the seat from being disadvantaged by the work in Austin, Sims added.</p>
  1764. <p>“I don’t expect the governor to call for the special election for another month or two,” Sims said.</p>
  1765. <p>Despite the uncertainty around Election Day, Sims said the speed of campaign announcements is good political strategy. It gives the candidates more time to raise money, secure endorsements and fend off other would-be challengers.</p>
  1766. <p>That speed, however, is frustrating for those waiting to know the details of the election before announcing their own campaigns.</p>
  1767. <p>Plummer is subject to the same “resign to run” rule that forced Menefee to give up his seat. While she would like to run, Plummer said she does not want to abandon her position on City Council until she has a clear picture of the state of the race and implored voters to wait to make up their minds about candidates.</p>
  1768. <p>Plummer also expressed frustration with Menefee’s campaign and the host of Democratic endorsements he quickly pulled together, a list that includes Precinct 1 County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Lee Carter.</p>
  1769. <p>“What’s happened … could not have been done in one day,” Plummer said. “That’s all planning. That takes two months to put together, to roll out with this much. That wasn’t planned in one day. That was planned way beforehand, which to me asks the question, did we know something was wrong with Turner? Was he already deemed as the next person to take that seat? And is it really fair for a person to get the nod without asking the community?”</p>
  1770. <p>Menefee rejected Plummer’s implication, but acknowledged the political need for a swift launch had made for an awkward start to the campaign for all of the candidates.</p>
  1771. <p>“The suggestion that this came before the passing of Sylvester Turner is untrue, it’s unfortunate and I think we should be better than that in our politics,” Menefee said.
  1772. </p></blockquote>
  1773. <p>See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118161">here</a> for the previous update. This is a reminder that filing paperwork with the FEC is not the same as filing to run once the election has been called. We&#8217;ll see what the field looks like when that happens. I think I had an earlier &#8220;last date for Abbott to call this so it can be had in May&#8221; in mind than March 31, but that works for me. I&#8217;m glad this article noted that CM Letitia Plummer (and any other Houston City Council member) would have to resign to run as well. I was pretty sure that was the case but hadn&#8217;t gone looking for the exact wording of the relevant laws. </p>
  1774. <p>As it happens, March 31 is also the fundraising deadline for Q1, so even though I wasn&#8217;t planning to take a look at Congressional campaign finance reports in April, I will be doing so for the special election hopefuls. That will only tell us so much &#8211; people will have had maybe two weeks tops to raise money &#8211; but it will tell us something. By then we&#8217;ll also know if we&#8217;re in a sprint or a slog.</p>
  1775. <p><u>UPDATE</u>: The Landing story has been updated to say that it is officially too late for Abbott to set this election for May. Shameful, but hardly unexpected.</p>
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