27 October 2009
Chron/Hearst sue Gov. Perry over clemency report
CHRON REPORTER R.G. RATCLIFFE, apparently charged with the task of turning a press release into a news story, writes that the Chron/Hearst will be suing Gov. Rick Perry to try to obtain a legal report given the governor before he denied clemency to Cameron Tood Willingham.
As a matter of law, Perry may well prevail. However, Perry could surely release the report as a matter of policy. He should.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 09:24 PM |
Houblog on Houston finances
UBU ROI posts his thoughts on the Lemer/Farb/Roberts analysis of Houston's poor financial situation.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 09:15 PM |
Our conversation with Mike McGuff
MIKE MCGUFF posts our recent email conversation about the recent changes here, local blogging, and other stuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 09:13 PM |
Chron: Sports Authority may still need a public bailout
THE CHRON'S BRADLEY OLSON follows up on his earlier reporting today by noting that the Harris County Sports Authority is still on a financial course that could lead to a bailout from taxpayers.
Officials with the organization continue to deny that this is the case.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 08:51 AM |
Sheriff Garcia continues to favor 287g participation (updated)
LAST WEEK, KHOU-11'S ALEX SANZ reported that Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia continues to support the department's participation in the 287(g) federal immigration program (which Senate Candidate/Mayor Bill White has waffled on). KPRC-2's Mary Benton blogs that the issue is scheduled for debate today at Commissioners Court.
UPDATE: Commissioners Court extended participation in the program (KTRK-13, KRIV-26).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 08:46 AM |
Dolcefino investigates Spring ISD, Part 1
KTRK-13'S WAYNE DOLCEFINO is taking a look this week at wasteful spending at Spring ISD. In this installment, Dolcefino examines travel expenses and quotes unhelpful superintendent Ralph Draper, who told Dolcefino "I'm not going to conduct an inquiry through the news."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 06:25 AM |
More mayoral polling
ANNISE PARKER'S CAMPAIGN has released an internal poll that *shock* shows Parker leading the mayoral race.
KHOU-11 has released a poll that shows Peter Brown in the lead, which is consistent with the earlier Chron poll that showed the same. KHOU's story also quotes their "political expert" Bicyclist Bob Stein, who says expertly that if the poll holds up, Brown will make the runoff!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/09 06:18 AM |
26 October 2009
We worked hard not to invoke a particular deity when cursing about this lawsuit
THE CHRON'S MARY FLOOD reports that a woman is suing City Council because she is "aggravated" and "offended" by the prayers at City Council. The woman singled out Councilmember Anne Clutterbuck. Favorite line from Flood's reporting: "[Clutterbuck] said she's worked hard not to invoke a particular deity."
The woman previously sued (successfully) to have a Bible removed from a County courthouse display.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 09:40 PM |
TW: Does Pam Holm have an assistant/analyst problem?
TEXAS WATCHDOG asks, "Did Pam Holm inflate her job title in ads for city controller's race?"
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 09:17 PM |
Dallas Observer interviews Senate Candidate White
THE DALLAS VILLAGE VOICE CORPORATE ALT-WEEKLY'S LIVELY UNFAIR PARK BLOG interviews Houston's own Senate candidate Bill White (hat tip to the Houston Village Voice corporate alt-weekly's less lively blog).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 09:08 PM |
Chron: Locke/Brown battle for the black vote heats up
BRADLEY OLSON reports on the recently energized Locke/Brown competition for black votes. Bay Area Houston blogs that "the Black community should tell both candidates to grab a pole and go fishing for the next 8 days." Marc Campos wonders "how this feud is playing out among non African American voters."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 08:54 PM |
We pick the potted plants
SELF-DESCRIBED "INSIDER" NANCY SIMS gives out her latest "Sam" award, this time for mayoral debate/forum performance.
As outsiders, we would have been more inclined to follow Slampo's lead and give a little love to the potted plants.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 08:45 PM |
Chron circulation plummets again; BH link ban fails to arrest decline
NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION FIGURES for the six-month period that ended in September have been released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and it's more bad news for newspapers overall and the Houston Chronicle especially, which saw a daily circulation decline of 14.24% and a Sunday circulation decline of 6.30%.
As always, we look forward to Chron publisher Jack Sweeney's spin on the numbers (although we have sympathy for the poor reporter assigned to "cover" this news).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 12:00 PM |
Lemer/Farb/Roberts: The City of Houston is broke
CPAS BOB LEMER, AUBREY FARB, AND TOM ROBERTS have produced an independent, detailed analysis of City of Houston finances. It's not pretty.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/09 06:16 AM |
METRO board vote not publicized
FROM TODAY'S MOVEIT! COLUMN:
At its October meeting, the Metro board gave the go-ahead for the future conversion of highway HOV lanes to so-called "HOT" lanes (high-occupancy toll) like the ones operating on the Katy Freeway. A HOT lane has electronic scanning equipment that allows a solo driver to pay a toll to use a segregated carpool lane during rush hours.
The board vote, which was not publicized by the agency,[...]
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/26/09 04:23 AM |
25 October 2009
Dangerous time/place/behavior update: A deadly weekend
JUST A FEW DAYS AGO, LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS were excitedly regurgitating the HPD press-release news on the city's 10-day murder-free steak (the Chron had a few problems with their reporting and editorializing). That streak ended just about as soon as the press release rolled out.
The news has been somewhat different in the last few days: Three deaths by gunshot at an apartment complex (KTRK-13), a death related to a video-game dispute (KTRK-13), and one death (and several wounded) after a shootout near an apartment complex (KHOU-11).
Not to worry, though. After all, we just had a great 10-day streak. And, as Chief Hurtt says, "If you're not involved in specific types of behavior, not out on the streets at particular times of night and particular areas of the city, you have a pretty good chance of not becoming a victim of violent crime in the city of Houston."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/09 09:29 PM |
Slampo on the final mayoral wheeze-off
SLAMPO'S PLACE blogs about last night's mayoral debate and the current state of the campaign.
It's the most entertaining, compelling analysis of this race we've seen to date.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/09 11:44 AM |
Chron: Brown continues to outspend others on advertising
THE CHRON'S MIKE SNYDER looks at the coffers of the mayoral campaigns and their related advertising choices. There are also new quotes from the local media's go-to sources on the race, Marc Campos and Nancy Sims (in case their blogs haven't sated your appetite).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/09 11:11 AM |
Meyer: Washington Avenue and a real-world dilemma
NEAL MEYER blogs about Washington Avenue, development, and his real-world dilemma:
The planners are going to gripe about how City codes dictate how much parking there is supposed to be. They're going to gripe about strip centers and shopping malls full of acres of concrete. They're going to gripe about off street parking, a lack of sidewalks, and all the rest of it. But it still doesn't erase the dilemma I find myself in - whether to pull the trigger and buy?
Real business decisions involving real money and real consequences for Houston's future are made every single day in the city, even as urban planners produce their colorful maps and plot dress-code redesigns and imagine new bureaucracies to "help" Houstonians with such decisions. The perspective of decisionmakers like Meyer is worth considering every once in a while.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/09 09:07 AM |
Morales (quietly) gets HCRP nod
THE HARRIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY finally endorsed Roy Morales in the Houston mayoral race. Very quietly.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/09 08:45 AM |
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