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<title>A few 2026 statewide candidate tidbits</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119191</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119191#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 10:01:15 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Beto O'Rourke]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colin Allred]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democratic primary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2018]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[James Talarico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joaquin Castro]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Cornyn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lite Gov]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nathan Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[polls]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[primaries]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Roland Gutierrez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Terry Virts]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Vikki Goodwin]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119191</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This Politico story is mostly a lot of chatter from Texas Dems who have many different opinions about what kind of candidates ought to be running statewide next year. I’m not interested in that, but there were some newsy bits … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119191">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/08/texas-senate-dems-paxton-cornyn-00393332">This Politico story</a> is mostly a lot of chatter from Texas Dems who have many different opinions about what kind of candidates ought to be running statewide next year. I’m not interested in that, but there were some newsy bits about a few of those potential candidates, so here we go.
<blockquote>
<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" />Still a crook any way you look</div>
Democrats acknowledge they’d stand little chance of unseating Cornyn, who’s been a fixture in Texas politics for decades. But Paxton, a Trump loyalist who was impeached by the Republican-held Texas House (and acquitted in the impeachment trial) and faced a federal <a class=" js-tealium-tracking " href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/03/ken-paxton-federal-charges-dropped-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" aria-label=" (Opens in a new window)">corruption investigation, </a>has been a polarizing figure in the Texas GOP, and, Democrats hope, an opponent they could defeat.
“Democrats are foaming at the mouth about Ken Paxton,” said Katherine Fischer, deputy executive director of Texas Majority PAC, which works to elect Democrats statewide. “We’re seeing in local elections in Texas and across the country there is already a backlash against Trump and against MAGA. Ken Paxton is about as MAGA as you can get.”
First they need to find a viable Senate candidate.
After coming up short in previous cycles, many Texas Democrats are hesitant about supporting former Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke, both of whom have signaled their interest in another bid. O’Rourke, who unsuccessfully ran statewide in 2018 and 2022, has been hosting packed town halls across the state. Allred, who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024 by about 8.5 percentage points, has said he was “seriously considering <a class=" js-tealium-tracking " href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/26/colin-allred-seriously-considering-2026-senate-bid-for-john-cornyns-seat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" aria-label=" (Opens in a new window)">another run</a>. Recent <a class=" js-tealium-tracking " href="https://www.tsu.edu/news/2025/05/new-texas-southern-polling-shows-ken-paxton-with-lead-over-john-cornyn" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" aria-label=" (Opens in a new window)">polling</a> shows Allred maintaining popularity among Texas Democrats even as he trails in a potential head-to-head with Paxton or Cornyn.
“Well, [Allred and O’Rourke are] both talking about it, and I hope that they will resolve that one person’s running and not all,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett.
Allred’s failed campaign has left a bad taste among some Texans, especially progressives, who believe he did not run aggressively or do enough grassroots outreach. And while O’Rourke is still a favorite son in Texas Democratic circles, many of those supporters believe he will be haunted by his position against<a class=" js-tealium-tracking " href="https://www.politico.com/video/2019/09/12/beto-gun-control-gun-confiscation-068788" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" aria-label=" (Opens in a new window)"> assault rifles</a> in a gun-loving state.
[…]
Texas Democrats have talked up potential bids by state <a class=" js-tealium-tracking " href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/06/06/the-trump-musk-divorce-gets-ugly-00391557" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-tracking="mpos=&mid=&lindex=&lcol=" aria-label=" (Opens in a new window)">Rep. James Talarico</a>, the Democratic seminarian and frequently viral member who helped prosecute Paxton during his impeachment.
Talarico told POLITICO: “I’m having conversations about how I can best serve Texas, and that includes the Senate race. But in my training as a pastor, you learn the importance of listening and how hard it is to truly listen. With so much at stake for Texas, I’m trying to listen more than I talk right now.”
His potential candidacy is generating some interest from players who have run successful upstart campaigns. “It’s going to take a Democrat who can make the case against Washington D.C., the status quo, and the powers that to be to win a senate race in Texas,” said Andrew Mamo, a veteran of Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign who is informally advising Talarico. “James is one of the rare people in the party with the profile and most importantly the storytelling skills to get that done.”
State Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Dallas lawyer, is in the mix but he’s also eyeing a run for attorney general. Some party insiders privately worry a state lawmaker won’t bring the necessary firepower, saying they need to find a candidate with experience running statewide — or at least someone who represents Texas in Congress — due to the sheer amount of resources required to compete in the second-largest state.
Veasey and fellow Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro have both been talked up as potential candidates, though Veasey in an interview ruled out a run. A person close to Castro said he was actively looking at the race.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119150">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118700">here</a> for some background. Who knows what “actively looking at the race” means for Rep. Castro, from whom we’ve heard that before. I’m not surprised that there’s some buzz around Talarico, as he’s the new kid on the block and an interesting possibility no matter how you look at him, but let’s see him raise some real money first. If Sen. Johnson is looking at Attorney General – he’s not on the ballot in 2026, so any statewide run for him is a free shot – then that could <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118926">expand the ticket</a> at a good time. We’ll just have to see what people decide. My guess is we’ll start seeing some real movement soon – the nice thing about declaring a candidacy now is that there would be no pressure to report anything of substance for the Q2 period. I’m still waiting for someone to say they’re thinking about challenging Abbott. <a href="https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-as-new-jersey-votes">The Downballot</a>, where I found that link, has more.
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<title>New public defender incoming</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119240</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119240#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 09:53:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Crime and Punishment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Local politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alex Bunin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Commissioners Court]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Genesis Draper]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lesley Briones]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[public defender]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119240</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Congrats all around. For the first time in more than a decade, a new face will lead the Harris County Public Defender’s Office. Commissioners appointed Judge Genesis Draper of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 12 to lead the public defender’s office … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119240">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/genesis-draper-chief-public-defender-20376084.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Congrats all around</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://hcpdo.org/"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRi8OMrDAUhbkp9vS1tSkvsWRumzRJ9hwh2sA&s" width="278" height="182" /></a>
For the first time in more than a decade, <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/misdemeanor-judges-letter-mac-leader-20268654.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">a new face will lead the Harris County Public Defender’s Office</a>.
Commissioners appointed <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-judge-scolds-prosecutors-in-fatal-15045335.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Judge Genesis Draper of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 12</a> to <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/houston-defense-lawyers-salaries-caseloads-reforms-17824432.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">lead the public defender’s office as its chief public defender Thursday</a>. Draper was most recently elected in 2022, and has overseen the 12th criminal court since she first took office in 2019. Her appointment takes effect in July, when she will officially replace Alex Bunin, who has held the position since it was created in November 2010.
“We were appointed to the bench around the same time, and we just immediately bonded. You are a warrior for justice. You’re a warrior for change,” Commissioner Lesley Briones said at Thursday’s Commissioners Court meeting. “You are a person of deep integrity, deep authenticity, and you have the experience of being a federal public defender, a criminal court at law judge, and the conviction that we need to take our public defender’s office to the next level so that we can take at least 50% of the cases.”
Bunin is set to retire in December, and will work with Draper in the meantime as the office transitions under her leadership, according to a Thursday news release. Commissioners are expected to appoint a replacement for Draper to preside over the 12th criminal court in the coming months.
“Justice depends on not just the law, but people being willing to defend it. I appreciate the opportunity to do so,” Draper said in a statement. “We are living through a defining moment, where principles of due process and equal protection are being tested. I’m honored and privileged to join this fight, and excited to join the incredible team at the Public Defender’s Office.”
Draper’s appointment came more than two years after Briones first requested the county look into expanding the PDO, which in recent months has become a major priority for commissioners as <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/harris-county-budget-deficit-20339731.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">ballooning indigent defense costs burden Harris County’s expected $270 million budget gap.</a>
Officials hope that by expanding the PDO, the office can take more cases previously assigned to private attorneys, who are often appointed in place of a public defender at a significantly higher cost to the county. A March analysis conducted by data analysis firm <a href="https://www.januaryadvisors.com/how-campaign-donations-affect-indigent-defense-in-harris-county/">January Advisors</a> found that around 85% of defendants who cannot afford an attorney are assigned a private attorney as opposed to a public defender.
</blockquote>
I’m a longtime fan of the public defender’s office, which does a terrific job at a lower cost to the county than the old (and still way too prevalent) way of hiring private attorneys for indigent defendants. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Alex Bunin and Genesis Draper, they’re both good people. Bunin built a great department, and it’s in good hands going forward. Draper’s bench will be filled by another appointment from Commissioner’s Court, and that person will be on the ballot in 2026, which is when Draper’s term expires anyway. Congrats and good luck to all.
]]></content:encoded>
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</item>
<item>
<title>LurkingHouston</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119229</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119229#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 09:45:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Elsewhere in Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alan Rosen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Astrodome]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Constable]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County Sports & Convention Corp]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LurkingHouston]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119229</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I can’t be too mad at this. The Astrodome hasn’t seen a crowd in over a decade—but it got some unexpected visitors this week when three 18-year-old urban explorers slipped inside the iconic, long-shuttered stadium, exposing the eerily dilapidated “Eighth … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119229">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-astrodome-tik-tok-20370720.php">I can’t be too mad at this</a>.
<blockquote><div style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuff/6968344034/"><img decoding="async" title="Astrodome" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7222/6968344034_152c8b67c5.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>Maybe don’t trespass</div>
<a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/astrodome-development-plan-19912657.php">The Astrodome</a> hasn’t seen a crowd in over a decade—but it got some unexpected visitors this week when three 18-year-old urban explorers slipped inside the iconic, long-shuttered stadium, exposing the eerily dilapidated “Eighth Wonder of the World” in all its forgotten glory.
Three 18-year-old men were arrested for trespassing after sneaking into the closed Astrodome, according to Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen. The iconic stadium, unavailable to the public since 2009, has remained off-limits due to safety concerns and legal restrictions.
The three men now face criminal trespassing charges.
Constable Rosen warned of the dangers: “Sneaking into closed old historic buildings is dangerous. You are taking a risk for yourself and first responders, and it is against the law.”
Security guards spotted the individuals just after midnight and alerted authorities. The suspects were apprehended after they were seen running across a nearby parking lot and jumping a fence near Fannin and Holly Hall.
In a rare and haunting glimpse into the decaying stadium, the footage showcases the explorers (who use the name @lurkinghouston) navigating through the cavernous, dimly lit Astrodome. The grainy footage revealed dark, dusty corridors, crumbling walls, rusted beams, and echoes of the Dome’s former life as Houston’s sports and entertainment epicenter.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, which oversees the entire NRG Park complex—including the Astrodome—did not confirm or deny the break-in. However, in a statement to Houston Public Media, the organization made its position clear: “We strongly discourage anyone from attempting to enter NRG Park without a ticket to an event or a legitimate purpose,” a representative said. “Unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited and will result in prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
</blockquote>
I get it, these guys could have hurt themselves and put first responders at risk rescuing them, which also would have cost the county money. They trespassed, and it’s fine that they got into trouble for it. But let’s please ease up on this “fullest extent of the law” stuff. They’re kids on an adventure, not hardened criminals. Give them some kind of deferred adjudication, where their records will be expunged if they stay out of trouble for however long, along with some community service. Maybe they can use that TikTok account to highlight some county projects or programs that could do with a boost, I don’t know. They don’t need to be punished, just made to understand that what they did wasn’t a good idea and shouldn’t be repeated.
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<title>Weekend link dump for June 15</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119141</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119141#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:48:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[linkdump]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119141</guid>
<description><![CDATA[“In sum, if the choice is between keeping money in the federal Treasury and reimbursing low-income individuals for medical treatment, DOGE has decided the individuals don’t count. If the choice is between financial institutions’ profits and their low-income customers’ savings, … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119141">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[“In sum, if the choice is between keeping money in the federal Treasury and reimbursing low-income individuals for medical treatment, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/06/doge-elon-musk-rip-off.html?via=rss">DOGE has decided the individuals don’t count</a>. If the choice is between financial institutions’ profits and their low-income customers’ savings, the customers don’t count. And, predictably, individuals overburdened by energy costs don’t count either. It’s not that these Americans’ interests lost out in a fair comparison of policy choices—their interests were ignored altogether. That’s the DOGE philosophy.”
“The fact that <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/5/2325968/-Elon-Musk-is-gone-but-Big-Balls-remains-and-we-re-all-paying-for-him?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">DOGE employees are now full-time federal workers</a> shows that while Musk may be gone, his legacy of making cuts that damage critical government functions like Social Security, weather forecasting, and medical research will live on.”
“It was another win for a <a href="https://floodlightnews.org/this-little-known-dark-roof-lobby-may-be-making-your-city-hotter/">well-organized lobbying campaign</a> led by manufacturers of dark roofing materials.”
“Beyond all of our correct fears about Trump’s budding autocracy, this is in a very direct sense <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/digging-into-trumps-attack-on-the-state-of-california/sharetoken/7502eff1-9dc3-4b0a-9d3c-3c146453525c">an attack on the sovereignty</a> of the people of California.”
“Warner Bros. Discovery, grappling with declines in its overall business, said Monday <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/warner-bros-discovery-split-two-companies-streaming-tv-1236423250/">it planned to divide the company into two publicly-traded entities</a>, one devoted to streaming and content production and one devoted to traditional television.”
“But were our ancestors ever truly <a href="https://thenoosphere.substack.com/p/why-gender-norms-nostalgia-is-so">so enamoured with rigid gender norms</a>? And if they were, when — and more importantly, why?”
“Fenway Franks and Moneyball – <a href="https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2025/06/fenway-franks-and-moneyball-what-a-french-sportswriter-saw-at-his-first-red-sox-game.html">What a French sportswriter saw</a> at his first Red Sox game”.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/1209525990/sly-stone-obituary">RIP, Sly Stone</a>, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame frontman and visionary for Sly and the Family Stone, whose many hits include “Dance To The Music”, “Hot Fun in the Summertime”, and “Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Again)”.
CONCACAF <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6414496/2025/06/09/concacaf-rejects-greenland-application-membership/?source=athletic_pulsenewsletter&campaign=13768380&userId=14739098">did Greenland dirty</a>. Justice for Greenland, I say.
“But when it comes to government, <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/10/how-musk-can-kill-trumps-big-beautiful-bill/">Musk has been in the business of destruction</a> (except when accepting lucrative contracts). Taking a wrecking ball to the One Big Beautiful Bill would dwarf his DOGE chainsaw antics. He can easily convince a sufficient number of Republicans that supporting the bill is political suicide.”
Wait, Henry Winkler wasn’t already in the <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/06/tv-academy-hall-of-fame-2025-honorees-1236429049/">TV Academy Hall of Fame</a>? How was that possible?
“Musk’s Government Business Is Too Vital for Trump to Cancel. <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/06/elon-musk-donald-trump-fight-government-contracts.html?via=rss">There’s Still a Way</a> He Could Punish Him.”
“Domestic abusers could have <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/06/trump-proposal-domestic-abusers-gun-access/">easier path to getting gun rights back</a> under Trump proposal”.
MLB has <a href="https://www.pajiba.com/news/mlb-acquires-part-of-youtube-channel-that-helped-expose-cheating-astros.php">purchased a stake in Jomboy Media</a>, which among other things produced the YouTube videos that helped expose the Astros’ trashcan-banging scheme.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/frederick-forsyth-dead-day-of-the-jackal-author-1236260284/">RIP, Frederick Forsyth</a>, bestselling novelist whose works include “Day of the Jackal” and “The Fourth Protocol”.
“It’s part of the broader pattern we can see across the horizon: Trump takes the policing and military powers of the United States and the national tax revenues (drawn disproportionately from the blue states) and <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/funding-the-war-on-yourselves">uses it to make war</a> on states he considers enemies.”
“Meet the woman who sparked <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/11/2327141/-Meet-the-woman-who-sparked-Joni-Ernst-s-we-all-are-going-to-die-outburst?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">Joni Ernst’s ‘we all are going to die’ outburst</a>“. She’s now running for the state legislature in Iowa.
“I mean, what am I supposed to do with that? <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/11/immigration-raid-at-omaha-meat-production-plant-leaves-company-officials-bewildered-00398950">This is your system</a>, run by the government. And you’re raiding me because your system is broken?”
“As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-scam-college-financial-aid-identity-theft-aa1bc8bcb4c368ee6bafcf6a523c5fb2">federal cuts may make it harder to catch criminals and help victims</a> of identity theft.”
<a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-dies-at-82/">RIP, Brian Wilson</a> co-founder and primary songwriter for The Beach Boys.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chris-robinson-dead-general-hospital-bold-and-beautiful-1236262445/">RIP, Chris Robinson</a>, actor mostly known for the soap operas General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, and for uttering the iconic line “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV” in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvOjhnT33Is">commercial</a> for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup.
“One of the most entertaining shows in recent years will be coming to an end. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds <a href="https://www.tvinsider.com/1196940/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-ending-season-5-cast-premiere-date-trailer/">has been renewed for a fifth and final season</a>, Paramount+ announced on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The good news is this comes well in advance. The third season hasn’t even premiered yet — it does on July 17.”
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/harris-yulin-dead-scarface-training-day-ozark-1236263033/">RIP, Harris Yulin</a>, prolific and versatile Emmy-nominated actor who was in a ton of things; I remember him for a guest spot he did on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine but you’ll probably recognize him for something else.
<a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/terry-louise-fisher-dead-la-law-1236429939/">RIP, Terry Louise Fisher</a>, three-time Emmy-winning writer and producer who co-created L.A. Law.
<a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/06/rep-melissa-hortman-killed-in-targeted-attack-was-a-champion-for-minnesotan-families/">RIP, Rep. Melissa Hortman</a>, former Speaker of the Minnesota State House, and her husband Mark Hortman, who were killed in their home by a political assassin.
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<title>No Kings</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119248</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119248#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 10:04:24 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[National news]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[activism]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Charlie Geren]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Conroe]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DPS]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Minnesota]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sarah Eckhardt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sugar Land]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119248</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Good stuff. Thousands of demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights. Governors across the U.S. … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119248">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/14/2328021/-Protesters-turn-out-nationwide-at-anti-Trump-No-Kings-demonstrations?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">Good stuff</a>.
<blockquote>
<div style="width: 285px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/14/2328021/-Protesters-turn-out-nationwide-at-anti-Trump-No-Kings-demonstrations?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://cdn.prod.dailykos.com/images/1444577/large/AP25165524931355.jpg?1749935685" width="275" height="183" /></a>AP photo</div>
Thousands of demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to <a title="" href="https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/no-kings-protest-trump-us-b5de52994b7c592034fb19b7d3e9d577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protest President Donald Trump</a>, marching through downtowns and blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights.
Governors across the U.S. urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering in major downtowns and small towns. Through midday, confrontations were isolated.
Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity <a href="https://apnews.com/article/no-kings-protest-things-to-know-trump-8d37f2bb2bf20ab503205b277e92b885" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“No Kings” rally</a> quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Huge, boisterous crowds marched in New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, some behind “no kings” banners.
In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police worked to track down a suspect <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-d7983e1e4f1a7573a487cab1a98cd172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the shootings</a> of two Democratic legislators and their spouses. Meanwhile, ahead of an evening demonstration in Austin, Texas, law enforcement said it was investigating a credible threat against lawmakers.
Intermittent light rain fell as marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park. They shouted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they listened to speakers on the steps made famous in the movie “Rocky.”
“So what do you say, Philly?” Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”
Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday. There, a massive demonstration toured the city’s streets, led by a banner reading, “Trump must go now.”
</blockquote>
I’m heartbroken by the murder of the Minnesota legislator and her husband, and I’m rooting for the other legislator and his wife to recover. At least they caught the shooter. Unfortunately, there was a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/14/texas-credible-threats-lawmakers/">ripple effect</a> of that crime in Austin.
<blockquote>
The Texas Department of Public Safety warned state lawmakers and legislative staffers Saturday of “credible threats” to legislators planning to attend an anti-Trump rally at the Capitol in Austin, hours after two Democratic Minnesota legislators and their spouses were shot earlier Saturday morning.
The DPS alert was sent out just before 1 p.m. Saturday, according to screenshots of emails obtained by The Texas Tribune, and a DPS spokesperson told the Tribune the Capitol was evacuated shortly after. The warning came hours before several Texas federal, state and city elected officials are scheduled to speak at a protest against President Donald Trump in downtown Austin at 5 p.m.
DPS’ notice did not specify the nature of the threats to lawmakers and the agency did not immediately provide more details to the Tribune on Saturday.
Later Saturday afternoon, Jeffrey Clemmons, communications director for state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, told the Tribune that DPS arrested “what was going to be a copycat person who was going to agitate the protest. I don’t have more details about exactly who that person was, or what the threats in particular were.”
[…]
In a separate email also sent to Texas lawmakers and Capitol staff, Texas House Administration Chair Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said officials are taking “all necessary precautions.”
“I am in communication with our federal partners, and currently, it seems to be an isolated incident,” Geren said in the statement. “However, we’re always concerned about copycats and those who this attack might inspire.”
</blockquote>
The good news is that turned out to be a nothing, and the Capitol was <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/06/14/texas-capitol-austin-credible-threat-no-kings-protest/?sailthru_id=62680768d45f9d03f45b5617&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Breaking_06142025&utm_term=NR%20-%20Newsletter%20-%20Breaking%20News">subsequently reopened</a>. 
There were many protests <a href="https://texassignal.com/the-many-no-kings-protests-throughout-texas/">around the state</a>. Here’s the <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/no-kings-protest-20376197.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vbmV3cy9ob3VzdG9uLXRleGFzL2FydGljbGUvbm8ta2luZ3MtcHJvdGVzdC0yMDM3NjE5Ny5waHA%3D&time=MTc0OTk0MjIzMTUwNg%3D%3D&rid=YWFjMTVlOGItMGZiZS00ZWU5LTg0MTEtY2MyOTY0M2U5ZGNm&sharecount=Mg%3D%3D">Chron’s coverage</a> of the Houston event – scroll down to see an excellent overhead video of the march, with some dogs-at-the-protest photos after that. Houston reported 15K in attendance, Sugar Land had 900, Conroe another 100 and sone jerks trying to mess with them. <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/article/houston-no-kings-peaceful-20374796.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Lisa Gray</a> wrote a great piece about how peaceful the protest was, which you should also read. There’s <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/photos-dallas-no-kings-day-of-defiance-peaceful-protest-signs-22500619">plenty of pictures</a> around, and some judicial social media scrolling will find you plenty more. Threads has been a great source for individual reports, from people all around the state. Whatever they’ve done with the algorithm on that app, it’s especially good for days like Saturday.
I will close with the best and by far most Houston protest sign ever:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
How Houston protests ICE
— Jay (@jayrjordan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jayrjordan/status/1933930134110675281">12:50 PM – 14 June 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
IYKYK. My hat is off to you, sir.
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<title>Is CM Plummer running for County Judge?</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119235</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119235#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 09:54:21 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Annise Parker]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[At Large #4]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[campaign finance reports]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democratic primary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2023]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County Judge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston City Council]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Letitia Plummer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lina Hidalgo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[resign to run]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[special election]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119235</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Maybe! Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer might be entering the race for Harris County judge, according to a copy of a now-deleted document posted by the Spring Branch Democrats Club that was shared with the Houston Chronicle. The Spring … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119235">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/plummer-harris-county-judge-20376533.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Maybe</a>!
<blockquote><div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://x.com/CMPlummer4"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1216415545802874881/P3AtJxGP_400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="size-full" /></a>CM Letitia Plummer</div>
Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer might be entering the <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/annise-parker-harris-county-judge-20371054.php">race for Harris County judge</a>, according to a copy of a now-deleted document posted by the Spring Branch Democrats Club that was shared with the Houston Chronicle.
The Spring Branch Democrats Club posted a copy of a document on Friday that featured a logo that reads, “Dr. Letitia Plummer Democrat for Harris County Judge,” and a caption with the document reads, “Another candidate for County Judge.” Another line of text on the shared post read “Campaign Announcement Day: July 8.”
Plummer has not filed for the seat, according to Harris County campaign finance records.
Pati Limón de Rodríguez, president of the Spring Branch Democrats, told the Chronicle that she didn’t have a comment, and said she needed to check in with their elections support committee chair about how the post came to be. The club’s elections support chair David Galvin declined to comment.
Any announcement from Plummer could trigger a state law that prohibits an office holder from announcing a campaign for a position while actively holding another. The law forces the candidate to resign their current position if the announcement is made more than a year and 30 days before the election.
This means Plummer’s seat as at-large 4 City Council member could potentially be open as a result of the Spring Branch Democrats’ post.
But Plummer, when reached Friday for comment, said that since she did not make the announcement herself, her position on Houston City Council was safe and the law had not been triggered.
Plummer said the document was “inadvertently sent out” from someone on her campaign who no longer works for her. She did not confirm whether she was running for county judge, but said she is “strongly considering it.”
City Attorney Arturo Michel did not immediately return a request for comment on the resign-to-run law and how it would work in Plummer’s situation.
</blockquote>
If CM Plummer does in fact announce her candidacy, then she would join <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119200">Annise Parker</a> in the primary. I will say, <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.251.htm">here’s the law</a> that defines what it means to become a “candidate”, among other things. Here’s the <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.16/CN.16.65.htm">constitutional provision</a> that mandates resign to run for, among others, city officials with terms of office of three years or longer; here’s the <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.11/CN.11.11.htm">constitutional provision</a> about that. (This <a href="https://www.tml.org/DocumentCenter/View/187/City-Council---Resign-to-Run---2014-03-PDF">Texas Municipal League Q&A</a> helped guide me to these places.) I think it’s clear from a reading of the law that CM Plummer has not done anything to make her a “candidate” yet, and as such she is safe where she is. But if this document is an accurate reflection of her intent, that will not be true in a few weeks. We will find out on or around July 8.
If she is running and she does resign, then there would be a special election to fill the vacancy in At Large #4. That would be in November, at the same time as the CD18 election. Mayor Whitmire gets to call that one, and there would be adequate time to call it before the filing deadline in late August. Not a whole lot of time for potential candidates to raise money and fire up a campaign, but we’ll cross that bridge when and if we get to it.
I did get an image of the document with the announcement – you can see it <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/s3ow7m93ynBuyLze6">here</a>. For what it’s worth, when I mentioned that I had heard of another prominent person who was supposedly thinking about running for Judge in the Dem primary, it wasn’t CM Plummer’s name that had reached me. So there may yet already be more out there. I have no idea how much money CM Plummer has on hand right now because as far as I can tell, she hasn’t <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117556">filed</a> <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=115452">any</a> <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=113286">reports</a> since she was re-elected in 2023. If she doesn’t announce her candidacy until July 8, she won’t have a county finance report for June. I sure hope she finally files a city report in June, regardless of what her intentions are for 2026.
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<title>Dan Patrick shilling for his THC ban</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119242</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119242#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jun 2025 09:44:52 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cannabis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dan Patrick]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hemp]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[THC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[veto]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119242</guid>
<description><![CDATA[He’s working for it. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick isn’t giving an inch on his push to ban THC products in Texas. Despite polls showing middling support for the ban from GOP primary voters and backlash by conservative talk radio hosts who are … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119242">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/dan-patrick-uses-statewide-tour-make-case-thc-ban-20375954.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">He’s working for it</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/anderson/article/Lieutenant-Dan-10955094.php?t=3f23819b6a438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium#asset-photo-12437348"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/57/34/35/12437348/7/920x1240.jpg" width="307" height="231" /></a>
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick isn’t giving an inch on his push to ban THC products in Texas.
Despite polls showing <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/thc-ban-texas-poll-20371036.php" data-link="native">middling support for the ban</a> from GOP primary voters and backlash by conservative talk radio hosts who are usually on his side, the Houston Republican has been touring the state to tout all of the Texas Legislature’s accomplishments and in the process, explain <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/dan-patrick-lashes-out-reporters-thc-20349909.php" data-link="native">why he’s trying to ban THC</a>.
“It’s very potent; it’s very dangerous,” Patrick said during a stop in Wichita Falls on Tuesday, one of 12 stops he made early in the week.
As the leader of the Texas Senate, Patrick was the leading force in passing Senate Bill 3, which aims to ban all THC products in Texas starting in September. The bill passed the Texas Senate and Texas House. Now, Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, has to decide whether to let the ban become law or veto it.
“Law enforcement across the state says we need to ban it and we passed a bill to ban it,” Patrick said.
Patrick has consistently said companies selling THC have exploited a loophole in the state’s hemp bill that was never intended to allow the legalization of THC. Texas now has more than 8,500 retailers selling those THC products, many of which can produce the high traditionally associated with marijuana, which is banned in the state except for certain medical uses.
He said those new stores are often popping up near schools and trying to hook underage users on the products.
Patrick said he’s never smoked marijuana before, but said he’s been told the THC products today are more potent than what people may have smoked 20 or 30 years ago.
</blockquote>
I will give him credit for going out there and facing the voters to defend his unpopular and unwanted legislation. Considering how pusillanimous his Congressional colleagues have been, it’s almost honorable. Mind you, I doubt anyone’s getting in his face or challenging his childlike beliefs in any meaningful way. But at least they have the opportunity.
In the meantime, Greg Abbott is out here <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-thc-ban-veto-20372298.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">basking in the drama</a>.
<blockquote>
Gov. Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that he has still not decided if he will sign or veto legislation banning THC products in Texas.
“I’m going to give it the thoughtful consideration from every angle that it deserves,” Abbott said of Senate Bill 3, which would ban all hemp-derived THC products in Texas starting in September.
The Republican governor said he’s going to approach the decision like a judge, weighing the evidence on both sides of the issue before making a decision. Abbott was a judge in Harris County and later served on the Texas Supreme Court before becoming the state’s attorney general in 2002. 
“This is a time when I will once again put on my judicial hat and weigh arguments on both sides and figure out a pathway forward,” Abbott said.
</blockquote>
Gag me. Either he’s channeling Hamlet or he’s just stringing us all along. Greg Abbott will do what Greg Abbott thinks is best for Greg Abbott. Maybe he hasn’t figured out what that is yet, but that’s all there is to it.
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<title>Measles update: Maybe I should call this the “RFK Rampage update”</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119214</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119214#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jun 2025 10:05:16 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Centers for Disease Control]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cochran County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collin County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[coronavirus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dallas County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dawson County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Denton County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[El Paso]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gaines County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lamar County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New Mexico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[RFK Jr]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rockwall County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tarrant County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Terry County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[US Department of Health and Human Services]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vaccinations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Yoakum County]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119214</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Welp. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots — especially during the … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119214">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/rfk-jr-appoints-8-new-members-cdcs-vaccine/story?id=122750907">Welp</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/1cqaea9/the_busy_world_of_rfk_jr/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://preview.redd.it/the-busy-world-of-rfk-jr-v0-jco0ditjk00d1.jpeg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=41021ea9eb791d4c7157498369c8196be11c7295" width="200" height="200" /></a>
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It comes just two days after Kennedy <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/rfk-jr-removing-17-members-cdcs-vaccine-advisory/story?id=122670046">removed all 17 sitting members</a> of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), claiming the panel was plagued by conflicts of interest and was a “rubber stamp” for all vaccines.
The ACIP makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy and clinical need of vaccines, and the CDC has the final say on whether or not to accept the recommendations.
Kennedy said in a post on X that the new members include “highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.”
The new members will be at an upcoming ACIP meeting scheduled to be held between June 25 and June 27, according to Kennedy. The meeting is to discuss new recommendations for several vaccines, including the HPV vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well,” Kennedy wrote in the post on X.
The new eight members appear to have strong credentials related to medicine, public health, epidemiology and statistics, but with less of an emphasis on credentials related to immunology, virology and vaccinology in comparison with previous committees.
Kennedy told ABC News on Tuesday that the replacements for ACIP would not be “anti-vaxxers.” However, some of the new members have previously espoused anti-vaccine sentiments, especially around COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology.
One of them, Dr. Robert Malone — who made some early contributors to mRNA vaccine technology — spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-joe-rogan-ap-fact-check-a87b1044c6256968dcc33886a36c949f">claiming people were “hypnotized”</a> into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19, such as vaccination.
</blockquote>
It goes from there, and <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/06/rfk-jr-fires-vaccine-panel-replacements/'>The 19th</a> also has some details about who these people are. As with everything else associated with this cursed administration, it’s all about ideological purity, and nothing to do with competence, expertise, doing good work, or any other quaint old-fashioned concern. Remember when RFK Jr swore to Sen. Kennedy, who is a physician, that he wouldn’t go all anti-vaxxer on ACIP? So much for that. The effect on public health is going to be terrible.
In a post from after the firings but before the appointment of the wackos, <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-guts-the-us-vaccine-policy">Your Local Epidemiologist</a> tried to make sense of it.
<blockquote>
For 64 years, ACIP has been the backbone of vaccine policy in the U.S., guided by scientific processes, transparency, and collaboration. Its members are independent experts in pediatrics, immunology, vaccinology, and epidemiology who review the evidence to recommend who should receive which vaccines and when. It’s a critical step in ensuring vaccines are safe and effective.
ACIP appointments have always been somewhat opaque, but each member is rigorously vetted for conflicts of interest. Once appointed, members participate in a remarkably open process. Meetings are live-streamed, presentations and data are posted online, conflicts of interest are disclosed, and public comment isn’t just accepted, it’s required by law.
Historically, this process has been grounded in the nonpartisan belief that vaccine policy should be shaped by science, experience, and diverse perspectives—not ideology.
This has changed.
The Secretary of Health (a man named one of the <a href="https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_b7cedc0553604720b7137f8663366ee5.pdf" rel="">Disinformation Dozen</a> by the Center for Countering Digital Hate) now controls the levers of federal vaccine policy and is pulling them fast based on his decades of false beliefs about vaccines.
It doesn’t take much to counter his talking points yesterday:
<ul>
<li>No, ACIP doesn’t have undisclosed conflicts of interest. RFK Jr. reaffirmed this process himself after he called for a full review of the current committee’s disclosures. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acip/disclosures/by-member.html" rel="">Nothing was found.</a></li>
<li>No, ACIP isn’t paid by big pharma. An <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/rfk-jr-says-federal-vaccine-advisers-are-beholden-industry-evidence-does-not-support?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" rel="">investigation</a> in March 2025 found no systemic evidence of undue pharmaceutical company influence on the members.</li>
<li>Yes, ACIP has voted against a vaccine. Some examples include RotaShield (1999), nasal influenza vaccines (2016-2017), Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine (2021).</li>
</ul>
This move is the latest in a broader arc of undermining the long-standing process for assessing and approving vaccines in the United States: rolling back Covid-19 vaccine eligibility, bypassing FDA processes, imposing impossible standards, and pushing cherry-picked, incomplete, AI-generated policy statements. These moves have already prompted the resignations of senior vaccine officials at the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cdc-official-resigns-covid-vaccine-committee-advisory-role-sources-say-2025-06-04/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" rel="">CDC</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/health/fda-vaccines-rfk-jr-peter-marks.html" rel="">FDA</a>, citing misinformation and the abandonment of science.
</blockquote>
She discussed this on a <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/alert-rfk-jr-vacates-cdc-vaccine">video chat</a> with a colleague, if you’d rather hear people talking about it instead of reading their writing.
Other doctors are <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/10/2327048/-Doctors-and-health-workers-warn-US-is-spiraling-toward-crisis?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">equally concerned</a>.
<blockquote>
“I hate to say this, but we are heading in the direction of U.S. vaccine policy becoming the laughing stock of the globe,” Dr. Jonathan Temte, former chair of the panel,<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/09/nx-s1-5428533/rfk-jr-vaccine-advisory-committee-acip" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> told NPR</a>. Temte told the outlet that the panel has historically been seen as “the paragon of solid, well thought out, evidence-based vaccine policy.”
The American Medical Association also criticized Kennedy’s action.
“Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,” said Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the association in<a title="" href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-statement-advisory-committee-immunization-practices" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> a statement</a>. “With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.”
Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in<a href="https://www.idsociety.org/news--publications-new/articles/2025/statement-on-the-advisory-committee-on-immunization-practices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> a statement</a>, “Unilaterally removing an entire panel of experts is reckless, shortsighted and severely harmful.”
[…]
Ian Morgan, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow who signed the letter,<a title="" href="https://www.importantcontext.news/p/nih-workers-demand-changes-in-new" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> told the outlet</a> Important Context, “this is an extinction level event for biomedical research and for the health and well being of the American people and global public health more generally.”
</blockquote>
The crazy and the malevolence goes <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/leland-lehrman-make-america-healthy-again-institute-antisemitism-september-11/">a lot deeper than all that</a>. You should click and read, the subject matter is nasty enough that I don’t want to quote from it here.
This is normally where I would put the measles case count update, based on the biweekly updates from the <a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">Department of State Health Services</a>. Apparently, they’re now only doing those on Tuesday, when there were <a href="https://www.tpr.org/bioscience-medicine/2025-06-10/measles-update-health-officials-link-2-more-cases-to-west-texas-outbreak">two new cases</a> to report. Since then, there has been a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/first-case-measles-dallas-county/">case confirmed in Dallas County</a>, which means another big population center needs to take care to make sure this doesn’t spread around. We’ll see soon enough if they are successful at that.
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<title>Miles given five-year contract extension</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119227</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119227#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jun 2025 09:55:40 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[School days]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Board of Managers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Edgardo Colon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD Board of Trustees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lauren Gore]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Marcos Rosales]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Martyn Goossen]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Miles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Morath]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New Education System]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Placido Gomez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Savant Moore]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[schools]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Education Agency]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119227</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is some bullshit. With no public discussion, Houston ISD’s Board of Managers on Thursday approved a five-year contract extension for state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. The five-year term will ensure that Houston ISD “can continue its transformation for the duration … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119227">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-contract-mike-miles-extension-20374160.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">This is some bullshit</a>.
<blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114532" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles.jpg" alt="" width="171" height="136" srcset="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles.jpg 682w, https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles-300x238.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px" />
With no public discussion, Houston ISD’s Board of Managers on Thursday approved a five-year contract extension for state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles.
The five-year term will ensure that Houston ISD “can continue its transformation for the duration of the state intervention, while allowing for continuity and a smooth transition when the district returns to local control,” board president Ric Campo said in a statement shortly after the meeting. While official contract documentation and pay were not disclosed, Campo said the new contract “maintains rigorous evaluation criteria and compensation” that aligns the position with comparable districts in Texas.
The vote comes after Miles touted earlier that day <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-staar-prelim-20374554.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">improvements in state exam preliminary scores</a> for the third through eighth grade, with increases on nearly every exam. The state recently <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-state-takeover-two-years-20332091.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">extended its takeover</a> of Texas’ largest school district for two more years to sustain these academic achievements, the state education commissioner said at the time of the announcement.
“With the recent release of STAAR exam results, it is clear that under his leadership, our schools and students are making extraordinary academic progress,” Campo said in a statement. “The HISD Board is proud of the incredible success of HISD students, and with Superintendent Miles’ ongoing leadership, we look forward to continued progress.”
This contract decision comes after the <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-board-member-removal-20355232.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">replacement of nearly half of the nine-member board</a> by <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-state-takeover-two-years-20332091.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">TEA Commissioner Mike Morath</a>: Vice President Audrey Momanaee, Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Rolando Martinez and Adam Rivon. In their places, <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-board-managers-changes-20357339.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">the state put</a> Edgar Colón, Marty Goossen, Lauren Gore and Marcos Rosales.
The board also chose Angela Lemond Flowers to become the new board vice president and Paula Mendoza to become the new board secretary.
Some elected trustees, who have no decision-making power during appointed leadership, were concerned by the removal of board members who they say asked the most questions and pushed back.
Trustee Plácido Gómez said at the board meeting that the Texas Education Agency sent a message to the community that it did not value collaborating with or listening to community members.
“So last week, when TEA announced that not only was the takeover going to be extended, but also four of the board members were being replaced — just so happened coincidentally to be the four board members who have the most questions, who have the most pushback,” he said to audience applause.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119092">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119090">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119178">here</a> for the background. Obviously, I’m glad for the academic improvements. It’s why Miles was foisted on us in the first place. But the deal, at least as I understood it, was that he’d make things better and then get the hell out. I guarantee you, no elected Board would have done this. The fact that this was done by an all-appointed Board, one that had been freshly purged of anyone who dared question anything Miles did, stinks to high heaven.
We don’t know yet if any of this is sustainable, academically or financially. As I asked before, what happens if student performance plateaus, or even starts to drop? What happens if the exodus away from HISD continues? What happens if the extra money Miles is spending on the NES schools, which again seems to be the basis of those improved scores, can’t be sustained because of Republican scorn for public schools? What happens if HISD’s finances get screwed as a result?
I’m being a bit of a doom-and-gloomer here, and that is perhaps not fair. All I’m saying is we didn’t have to extend Miles out past the two more years that HISD is under the state’s thumb. If he would have walked if we hadn’t thrown a bunch of money at him, then fine. I’m sure someone else could maintain the good parts of his reforms, while hopefully being a better communicator and leader. If not, if literally the only way any of the improvements could continue are with Mike Miles and only Mike Miles in charge, then that to me is the strongest possible evidence that all of this is unsustainable and nothing more than a sugar high. Extending Miles out five years is a reckless and irresponsible decision in addition to being a slap in the face of the voters. It’s a giant middle finger to all of us, and we should be extremely pissed off about it. The <a href="https://www.houstonpress.com/news/mike-miles-gets-a-new-contract-and-the-budget-he-wanted-20652680">Press</a> has more.
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<title>A closer look at Waymo and Tesla</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119208</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119208#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jun 2025 09:46:49 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Planes, Trains, and Automobiles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cybercab]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[driverless cars]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elon Musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Phoenix]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Francisco]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[taxis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Uber]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Waymo]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119208</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Slate’s Henry Grabar takes a closer look at how the two main robotaxi ventures differ in approach and likely effect. Waymo is now clocking more than 250,000 paid rides a week, on track to double last year’s total. It currently … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119208">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://slate.com/business/2025/06/waymo-tesla-self-driving-cars-cities-infrastructure.html?via=rss">Slate’s Henry Grabar</a> takes a closer look at how the two main robotaxi ventures differ in approach and likely effect.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://waymo.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y0NDpC-7oniC9slFnMuTccBRN0FCNShRbCh26nl0KKJGrnVu3-z6WIZIdl4Tf0BGeJ_sYiKHhBiCNfhbcYs5NvTQD2A2tXBcddIy5Xg=rw-w2880-e365" width="200" height="146" /></a>
Waymo is now clocking more than 250,000 paid rides a week, on track to double last year’s total. It currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, and plans to expand to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C.—with Boston, Nashville, New Orleans, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Diego, Orlando, Houston, and San Antonio in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, Tesla says it will deploy “full self-driving” taxis in Austin this month, the long-awaited debut of a service that Elon Musk has been promising for a decade—and one that, to his most bullish investors, will <a href="https://www.ark-invest.com/articles/valuation-models/arks-tesla-price-target-2029">soon represent 90 percent</a> of Tesla’s value as a company. The two approaches could not be more different, in ways that suggest different possible futures for what autonomous vehicles mean for society.
[…]
Google parent company Alphabet has sunk billions into the technology, and the business may lose nearly $2 billion a year. (The financials are buried in Alphabet’s Other Bets division.) It <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/04/technology/waymo-expansion-alphabet.html">costs as much as $100,000 to equip Waymo’s cars</a> with their array of lidar sensors, and further expenses include mapping, maintenance, electricity, insurance, parking, and on-call staff to help pilot the car if it gets stuck. Or, presumably, set on fire—as happened this week at <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/photos-waymo-fire-la-protests.html">anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles</a>.
Tesla is trying something different: A low-touch approach based on cameras and A.I. “The issue with Waymo’s cars,” Musk said this spring, “is they cost way-mo money.” Tesla’s “full self-driving” hardware may cost as little as $400. But its safety is in dispute, to put it mildly. On Friday, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-tesla-full-self-driving-crash/">published a video</a> of a Tesla in “full self-driving mode” killing a woman on an Arizona highway in 2023. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into the company last fall, but U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/self-driving-autonomous-vehicles-duffy-transportation-new-rules-b7f03d1e23b68256a051cef490aead3b">seemed less than eager</a> to press automakers on crash reporting, and the version of the GOP tax bill that passed the House would suspend states’ abilities to regulate artificial intelligence.
Certainly, Tesla’s tech is cheap. The question is whether the technology works well enough to avoid the kinds of gruesome accidents that halted its competitors. (The cars must also avoid construction sites, tractor trailers, snow banks, wet concrete, and other hazards of the urban environment.) For Waymo, it’s the opposite: The tech clearly works. The question is whether the cost can come down to make robotaxis profitable—and competitive with Ubers, public transit, and even private cars.
To fundamentally reshape urban transportation, robotaxis have to be both functional and cheap. Currently, ordering a Waymo costs as much as an Uber or more—and the company is largely competing for the same clientele (some <a href="https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/Trends_Artificial_Intelligence.pdf">data from San Francisco</a> suggests Waymo is eating up Uber and Lyft trips). But without human drivers to pay, it is easy to imagine the service being substantially cheaper. If that happens, we might see a supercharged “Uber effect” like what happened in cities in the 2010s—increased mobility for people who do not or cannot drive themselves, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities. One estimate concluded that we might see <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968090X16301590">14 percent more traffic</a> if those nondriving groups traveled at the same rates as current drivers. Every trip for which a robot replaces a human driver will come with a lower risk of crashing.
If Waymo’s higher-cost model proves to be the path for self-driving tech, we might see a divide between rich, deep markets that justify its presence—and those that don’t. Lewis Lehe, an assistant professor of transportation systems at the University of Illinois, <a href="https://criticaldensity.substack.com/p/big-if-true">notes on his Substack</a> that this service will have different economics than today’s ride-hail. You can ride an Uber anywhere someone is willing to drive one, and drivers have different hours (and different wages) in low-demand places. Not so for a Waymo, which will cost the same to deploy in a rich city and a poor town—and see much less demand in the latter. “The divide will beget tropes about the ‘two Americas.’ ” Lehe writes. “Country musicians will never shut up about driving. President Vance will speak for the drivers whom global elites have left behind.”
As with the rise of Uber, this boom will decrease transit ridership and increase traffic congestion. Tens of thousands of full-time ride-hail drivers will struggle with auto debt, while cities try to wield congestion pricing against an adversary with little obligation to share data and considerable power to withhold service for leverage. Unlike Ubers, whose drivers flood the roads at rush hour and sleep at night, Waymo fleets could struggle to meet peak demand—but offer low-priced, off-hours service when there are more vehicles than riders. And while public transit agencies are required to offer paratransit services to people who use wheelchairs, the expectations for ride-hail companies are much murkier—and <a href="https://abc7news.com/wheelchair-accessible-vehicle-disabled-transportation-uber-lyft/13499065/">many wheelchair users report</a> being stranded by Uber and Lyft.
</blockquote>
Read on to see what the effect could be if Tesla wins the battle for hearts and minds. I admit, I didn’t consider any of this before I advised not doing business with Tesla. But I’m still comfortable saying not to do business with Tesla. Screw Elmo.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/tesla-robotaxi-testing-20371943.php">here’s an update</a> on the preparation for Tesla’s robotaxi launch in Austin.
<blockquote>
<a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/tesla-texas-registrations-sales-20368168.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Tesla</a> is “tentatively” aiming to <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/business/article/musk-says-tesla-s-robotaxi-service-to-20371285.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">begin its robotaxi service in Austin</a> on June 22. But leading up to the launch, residents in Southeast Austin are noticing some strange activity from the vehicles.
According to a <a class="" href="https://fortune.com/2025/06/10/tesla-robotaxi-launch-austin-residents-vehicles-testing-neighborhood-streets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">report by Fortune</a>, neighbors have spotted robotaxi tests in different forms. One neighbor noticed a Tesla Model Y with another Tesla closely following as it circled the same block throughout the day. Others have similarly shared Teslas driving by repeatedly, sometimes with a person in the passenger seat and other times with a person driving the car, or parked in the middle of the road or in front of homes for long periods. The community has even turned to Nextdoor to discuss the activity, with one resident posting, “it’s freaking me out.”
But beyond the repeated Tesla sightings drawing attention, the activity also raises questions about Tesla’s methods. CEO Elon Musk has <a class="" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/7/16988628/elon-musk-lidar-self-driving-car-tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">previously criticized LiDAR technology,</a> the laser-based system that other self-driving projects such as <a class="" href="https://www.chron.com/culture/article/waymo-driverless-cars-houston-20351087.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Waymo use in Houston and Austin</a> to perceive objects and other road users. Instead of using LiDAR, radar and pre-mapping that competitors use, Tesla has opted for a camera-only system. Without the more common tech used for self-driving, it’s confounding that Tesla would still circle the same areas. Its approach would seemingly remove the task of mapping an area for months in order to test performance under various road conditions.
</blockquote>
“Making people freak out on Nextdoor” is probably not the energy you want to bring to your product launch, but here we are. Have I mentioned that you should not engage with the Tesla robotaxi service? Do not engage.
Oh, and it turns out that Tesla’s robotaxis were supposed to be on the road as of Thursday, but <a href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/tesla-robotaxi-austin-delay-20371846.php">we’re still waiting</a>.
<blockquote>
Everyday Texans will have to wait a little while longer for Elon Musk’s <a class="" href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/austin-tesla-robotaxis-20369865.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">inaugural fleet of Tesla robotaxis</a> to hit the streets of Austin.
The world’s richest man has been teeing up the rollout of a <a class="" href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/travel/article/tesla-robotaxi-safety-austin-20351329.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">paid, self-driving robotaxi service launching in the Texas capital</a> for months, with the fleet set to comprise autonomous Model Y Tesla vehicles. Initially, the robotaxis were reportedly <a class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-28/tesla-targets-june-12-launch-of-robotaxi-service-in-austin?embedded-checkout=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">set to role out on Thursday, June 12, according to Bloomberg</a>; now, Musk himself confirmed it’ll be a little while longer for the self-driving vehicles to cruise through Texas.
On Tuesday, June 10, Musk shared on social media: “Austin >> LA for robotaxi launch lol.” When asked by someone when the first public rides will be available, he noted it won’t be this week.
“Tentatively, June 22. We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift,” he wrote on X. “First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28.”
</blockquote>
“Tentatively”, says the man famous for predicting that we’d have full self-driving vehicles and be on Mars every year for at least a decade now. We’ll check back then and see where we are.
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<title>Republicans not saying anything about the re-redistricting proposal</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119223</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119223#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:01:21 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD07]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD15]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD16]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD23]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD28]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD32]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD34]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2022]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Julie Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lizzie FLetcher]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pat Fallon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[special session]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Veronica Escobar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Wesley Hunt]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119223</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A mostly no news update. Texas Republicans were evasive Thursday about a request from the White House to redistrict the state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections after exiting a meeting in Washington to discuss the proposal. President Donald Trump’s … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119223">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/texas-redistricting-trump-gop-20372169.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">A mostly no news update</a>.
<blockquote>
Texas Republicans were evasive Thursday about a request from the White House <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/trump-white-house-congressional-districts-20370864.php">to redistrict the state</a> ahead of the 2026 midterm elections after exiting a meeting in Washington to discuss the proposal.
President Donald Trump’s political team is pushing lawmakers to redraw Texas’ congressional districts to help Republicans to pick up additional seats next November as they look to defend their U.S. House majority against a potential Democratic surge.
“I’m sworn to secrecy,” said U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, after the gathering of Texas U.S. House members Thursday.
“I forgot everything that was said in there,” said U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Frisco.
But behind the scenes, many Texas Republicans are concerned the strategy could put incumbents at risk, opening the door for Democrats to gain more ground. 
[…]
Back in Texas, state legislators are worried if they go ahead with redrawing congressional districts, their districts could be drawn in as well.
Right now, the state is in its third week of a federal trial in El Paso defending GOP lawmakers’ last redistricting effort in 2023, which civil rights groups claim intentionally diluted Hispanic voting power in violation of federal voter rights law. Even though Latinos drove the state’s population growth over recent years, the Legislature drew fewer majority Hispanic districts for Congress and the Legislature, according to court filings.
If lawmakers reopen the redistricting process this year, the judges hearing the case could potentially push them to redraw the state-level maps too. Even with those risks, Republican leaders in Texas may be reluctant to defy Trump, especially if his administration is pushing hard for the changes.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119205">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187">here</a> for the background. Greg Abbott also had a nothing quote in the story in response to a question about calling a special session, which he would have to do to make this happen. I can’t tell if everyone is being coy or if they just don’t have anything to say because there’s not an actual plan or proposed map, just some aggro BS from the White House. I’m also not sure what to make of the “behind the scenes” and “state legislators are worried” bits, as there are no quotes, not even anonymous quotes, associated with them. I just don’t know how seriously to take any of this. I don’t doubt that they could do it, they have no restraint or principles to hold them back. I do think they need to be convinced since it would be a significant change and some level of risk to themselves, and I think they haven’t gotten anything serious from the White House yet. If that changes, everything else could also change. We’ll see.
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<title>Undocumented students want to challenge that ridiculous settlement</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119203</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119203#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:53:42 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DREAM Act]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DREAM.us]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FIEL Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[immigration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MALDEF]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119203</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Seems clear to me that they should be allowed to intervene, but the same judge that allowed the settlement has to allow this as well. A group of undocumented students on Wednesday asked a judge to let them intervene in … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119203">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/texas-in-state-tuition-undocumented-students-lawsuit-paxton-trump/">Seems clear to me that they should be allowed to intervene</a>, but the same judge that allowed the settlement has to allow this as well.
<blockquote>
A group of undocumented students on Wednesday asked a judge to let them intervene in a case that revoked their access to in-state tuition, the first step in their ultimate goal of overturning the ruling.
The filing comes a week after the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas over its 24-year-old law that allowed undocumented Texans who had lived in the state for three years and graduated from a Texas high school to qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Texas quickly agreed with the Trump administration’s claim that the law was unconstitutional and asked a judge to find the law unenforceable.
The quick turnaround — the whole lawsuit was resolved in less than six hours — represents a “contrived legal challenge designed to prevent sufficient notice and robust consideration,” lawyers for these students argued in their motion.
They’re asking U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to allow them to join the lawsuit and argue for why the statute should remain in effect. The Justice Department and the Texas attorney general’s office oppose the motion on the grounds that the matter has been resolved and the case is terminated, court documents say.
[…]
The people who are most impacted by a lawsuit typically have a right to have their voices heard on a case, said David Coale, a Dallas appellate attorney. Getting O’Connor to agree to reopen might be a tough sell, he said, but if they’re denied, they could appeal that ruling and the rest of the case alongside it, to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The 5th Circuit’s obviously a very conservative court, but part of that conservatism is a pretty limited view of the judicial role,” Coale said. “So if they get a chance to argue their case there … they may have some luck.”
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119147">here</a> for the background, and be sure to read the excerpt from law professor Steve Vladeck, who outlines clearly why the collusion in this case was so suspect. That doesn’t mean the students, who are represented by MALDEF, will prevail, but it’s a good starting point. 
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<title>Ogg may face contempt hearing</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119219</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119219#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:45:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Crime and Punishment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[District Attorney]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kim Ogg]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sean Teare]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[State Bar of Texas]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119219</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Oops. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday said it was not opposed to a holding a criminal contempt hearing against former District Attorney Kim Ogg. The announcement increased the likelihood that Ogg could be called to court, and potentially punished, … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119219">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/kim-ogg-contempt-request-jocelyn-nungaray-20373731.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Oops</a>.
<blockquote>
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday said it was not opposed to a <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/kim-ogg-gag-order-jocelyn-nungaray-20354153.php" data-link="native">holding a criminal contempt hearing against former District Attorney Kim Ogg</a>.
The announcement increased the likelihood that Ogg could be called to court, and potentially punished, for <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/kim-ogg-gag-order-jocelyn-nungaray-20354153.php" data-link="native">comments she made in a local news interview</a> about one of the men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.
Judge Josh Hill didn’t make an immediate decision on holding a contempt hearing. Lawyers, however, said they would be available for proceedings in July.
Lawyers for Franklin Peña last week said they believed Ogg, who left office in January, violated a judicial gag order that was supposed to prevent lawyers involved in the capital murder case from talking to the media.
Ogg on May 29 appeared on Fox 26, and revealed that a woman had told the DA’s office that Peña had assaulted her in Costa Rica.
In a motion filed Wednesday, the defense attorneys wrote that Ogg’s interview violated the parts of the gag order that were meant to prevent media interviews that could possibly prejudice a future jury against their client.
“At this point, the acts have already happened and the court must hold her in criminal contempt to vindicate the court’s authority,” the lawyers wrote. “Not doing so would set a dangerous precedent that any attorney involved in this capital murder case could go to as many media outlets as they please with no consequences whatsoever.”
The defense team also said that Ogg should be punished for an interview she gave to Fox & Friends in December, when she announced <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/jocelyn-nungaray-death-penalty-kim-ogg-19978331.php" data-link="native">the DA’s office would seek the death penalty</a> against Peña and Johan Martinez-Rangel.
[…]
Last week, prosecutors and defense attorneys both told Hill they believed Ogg violated the gag order and agreed it still applied to her despite her being removed by voters.
Both sides said they had filed complaints about Ogg to the State Bar of Texas, which would decide if Ogg violated ethics rules.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119109">here</a> for the background. It should be noted that the general counsel for the DA’s office has said that he didn’t think Ogg crossed the line on criminal contempt. I’m sure the judge will take that into consideration. Let this stand as a lesson in discretion and knowing when to keep your mouth closed.
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<title>Annise Parker will run for Harris County Judge</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119200</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119200#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:01:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Annise Parker]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democratic primary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2018]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2022]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County Judge]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lina Hidalgo]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119200</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A long-expected announcement. A familiar face is planning a comeback to Houston’s political scene. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday that she will run for Harris County judge in 2026. Parker, who led Houston from 2010 to 2016 and … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119200">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/annise-parker-harris-county-judge-20371054.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">A long-expected announcement</a>.
<blockquote><div style="width: 181px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.anniseparker.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fbff52_21f1e413d10242acaab6a50483805f86~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_540,h_631,al_t,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/fbff52_21f1e413d10242acaab6a50483805f86~mv2.jpg" width="171" height="200" class="size-full" /></a>Annise Parker</div>
A familiar face is planning a comeback to Houston’s political scene. 
Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday that she will run for Harris County judge in 2026. Parker, who led Houston from 2010 to 2016 and made history as the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city, declared her intent to run for Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office following a more than nine-year hiatus from office. 
“Now more than ever, the people of Harris County need a strong, competent leader,” Parker said. “I have the experience, I have the background, and I’m ready to prove that to the residents of Harris County.”
Parker officially debuted her campaign during a news conference held in front of the Harris County Civil Courthouse Wednesday morning. 
Beneath gathering rain clouds, Parker said the coming years will be challenging for Harris County, particularly as major flooding events become more common — an issue compounded by President Donald Trump’s recent cuts to the National Weather Service. Parker said her campaign promised to restore some sense of certainty amid a political climate dominated by uncertainty. 
“Harris County residents need certainty. There’s no waffling, there’s no hesitation. I’m standing up and saying, I’m ready to lead. I’m ready to serve. Let’s go,” Parker said. “This is hurricane season. We’re on our own down here. They’re also working really hard to throw people off of Medicare, Medicaid, Harris County Hospital District, right in the line of fire. Everything rolls downhill to local government, and it’s going to come faster and harder.”
Parker is the first major Democratic candidate to emerge as a contender for Hidalgo’s seat. Hidalgo <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/hidalgo-whitmire-election-plans-19976241.php">has not publicly stated</a> whether she intends to run again.
But Parker said she feels confident in a Democratic primary election, regardless of who she’s running against. 
“I am not running against anybody. I’m running for the citizens of Harris County,” Parker said. “I want to make sure that there’s strong leadership down here. It’s going to get tougher for all of us. I have no idea if the incumbent is going to run or not.”
Parker, who has championed herself as a major proponent of ensuring sound, responsible fiscal management, also addressed the county’s looming budget deficit. 
“There is no government anywhere in America that has enough money to do all the things that they want to do. So it’s all about setting priorities, and just as I did as mayor with a priority on public safety,” Parker said. “I sincerely hope that in the next 18 months, as I’m running for this job, I have an opportunity to really get to know the ins and outs of the budget and look for opportunities.”
</blockquote>
There’s a lot to be said here so let me bullet-point this:
– Parker’s name first came up as a possible candidate <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114374">last May</a>, after she stepped down as CEO and president of the Victory Fund. It’s well known that she thought about running against then-Judge Ed Emmett in 2018 but decided against it.
– Judge Hidalgo told the Chronicle <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114753">she planned to run again in 2026</a> in an interview a couple of weeks after that. She has not made a formal announcement, but the last word we had from her was that she intended to run.
– That said, Judge Hidalgo <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117449">has basically no cash on hand</a> and has not only raised minimal amounts over the past year, she’s spent more than she’s raised. The <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/lina-hidalgo-officials-campaign-finances-20351629.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Chron</a> made note of this recently. As I have said in each of the last posts I’ve done on the semiannual finance reports, this is not the activity you want to see for someone who was sure to face not only an expensive general election, but was known to have at least one high-profile opponent circling around a primary challenge. We don’t know yet what her July 2025 finance report looks like, but I can’t say I’m aware of any big fundraisers she’s had. Money isn’t everything, Judge Hidalgo is widely admired by Democratic voters, and she could be busier behind the scenes than I’m aware of. But on the surface, this is not the behavior you’d expect from someone who is in fact gearing up for another race.
– If in fact Judge Hidalgo decides not to run, then as <a href="https://camposcommunications.com/2025/06/annise/">Campos</a> says there will surely be other contenders in the primary. I’ve already heard one prominent name, which I won’t say now because it’s nothing more than chatter. There may be other entrants into this race regardless of what Judge Hidalgo decides to do; she did draw a crowd in 2022, though none of them put up much of a fight and she easily won renomination. Having a million bucks in the bank might have been a deterrent, but we’ll never know.
– Parker won a total of nine city of Houston elections, so she certainly knows what she’s doing. But as many people have pointed out, she’s never run in a Democratic primary before. It’s a different audience, and I feel confident saying the 2026 Dem primary electorate is going to be more interested in a candidate’s fighting spirit than bipartisan credentials. Parker is saying the right things about Trump and the state government in her opening statement. But if she does wind up running against Hidalgo, she’s going to have to position herself against her. That is going to be harder than it might look.
– Not mentioned in any of the coverage I’ve seen so far, but definitely on the mind of Dem activists, is the Victory Fund’s past support of former DA Kim Ogg, who let’s just say is not a popular figure with the primary electorate. I also feel confident saying that this will be a topic of debate in the 2026 primary election.
Now we wait to see what Judge Hidalgo has to say. I will say again, I hate the idea of Parker and Hidalgo, two people I know and like very much, running against each other. But it is what it is. <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2025/06/11/523702/former-houston-mayor-annise-parker-announces-run-for-harris-county-judge/">KUHF</a>, the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/harris-county-judge-lina-hidalgo-annise-parker-2026/">Trib</a>, and <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/elections/annise-parker-files-for-potential-2026-harris-county-judge-run-setting-up-possible-primary-clash-with-lina-hidalgo/">Reform Austin</a> have more.
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<title>More on the re-redistricting proposal</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119205</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119205#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:55:39 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Beth van Duyne]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD07]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD15]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD16]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD23]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD28]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD32]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD34]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2012]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2022]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Julie Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Killer Ds]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lizzie FLetcher]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike McCaul]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pete Sessions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[quorum]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[special session]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tony Gonzales]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Veronica Escobar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Wesley Hunt]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119205</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Votebeat addresses a few questions. How do Texans in Congress feel about the proposal? On Capitol Hill, members of the Texas GOP delegation huddled Monday night to discuss the prospect of reshaping their districts. Most of the 25-member group expressed … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119205">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2025/06/11/congressional-redistricting-to-help-republicans-congress/">Votebeat</a> addresses a few questions.
<blockquote>
How do Texans in Congress feel about the proposal?
On Capitol Hill, members of the Texas GOP delegation huddled Monday night to discuss the prospect of reshaping their districts. Most of the 25-member group expressed reluctance about the idea, citing concerns about jeopardizing their districts in next year’s midterms if the new maps overextended the GOP’s advantage, according to the two GOP aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, was skeptical of the idea.
“We just recently worked on the new maps,” Arrington told The Texas Tribune. To reopen the process, he said, “there’d have to be a significant benefit to our state.”
The delegation has yet to be presented with mockups of new maps, two aides said.
[…]
If Texas redraws its maps, what would it mean for the ongoing lawsuit over the existing maps?
A <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/21/texas-redistricting-map-court-challenge-discrimination/" rel="">trial is underway</a> in El Paso in a <a href="https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2025/03/13/justice-department-withdraws-texas-redistricting-voting-rights-case/" rel="">long-running challenge</a> to the state legislative and congressional district maps Texas drew after the 2020 U.S. Census.
If Texas redraws its congressional maps, state officials would then ask the court to toss the claims challenging those districts “that no longer exist,” Levitt said. The portion of the case over the state legislative district maps would continue.
If the judge agrees, then both parties would have to file new legal claims for the updated maps.
[…]
Why does Trump’s political team view Texas as a prime target to pick up seats for House Republicans via redistricting?
When Republicans in charge of the Legislature redrew the district lines after the 2020 census, they focused on reinforcing their political support in districts already controlled by the GOP. This redistricting proposal would likely take a different approach.
As things stand, Republicans hold 25 of the state’s 38 congressional seats. Democrats hold 12 seats and are expected to regain control of Texas’ one vacant seat <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/07/greg-abbott-special-election-sylvester-turner/" rel="">in a special election this fall</a>.
Most of Texas’ GOP-controlled districts <a href="https://x.com/jaspscherer/status/1909586653594649041" rel="">lean heavily Republican</a>: In last year’s election, 24 of those 25 seats were carried by a Republican victor who received at least 60% of the vote or ran unopposed. The exception was U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, who captured 57% of the vote and won by a comfortable 14-point margin.
With little competition to speak of, The Times reported, Trump’s political advisers believe at least some of those districts could bear the loss of GOP voters who would be reshuffled into neighboring, Democratic-held districts — giving Republican hopefuls a better chance to flip those seats from blue to red.
The party in control of the White House frequently loses seats during midterm cycles, and Trump’s team is likely looking to offset potential GOP losses in other states and improve the odds of holding on to a narrow House majority. Incumbent Republicans, though, don’t love the idea of sacrificing a comfortable race in a safe district for the possibility of picking up a few seats, according to GOP aides.
[…]
What comes next?
Texas Republicans are planning to reconvene Thursday to continue discussing the plan, according to Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, who said they will attend the meeting. Members of Trump’s political team are also expected to attend, according to Hunt and two GOP congressional aides familiar with the matter.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187">here</a> for the background. The problem with the logic in the second item is that, as I showed, outside of the two South Texas seats that would be obvious targets, the rest of the Dem-held districts were also won with over 60% of the vote. It would take some significant changes to move the needle, and that’s before we engage with the idea that 2026 will be a good year for Dems, certainly a better one than 2024 was. I won’t be surprised if maps that make a decent effort at it can be drawn, but it’s interesting that Team Trump hasn’t presented any examples yet. You’d think they might lead with that.
<a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/trump-white-house-texas-redistricting-push/">Christopher Hooks at Texas Monthly</a> has some thoughts as well.
<blockquote>
In a certain light, the big plan here makes sense. The U.S. House has been closely divided since the last election, with a less than ten-vote Republican majority. It’s conceivable that if Texas can wring another two to three seats for the party, those gains might matter in the next Congress. But the cost to the Legislature for undertaking this scheme is great, and there are risks to the president’s party.
A major difference between 2003 and now is that DeLay’s gang could at least plausibly assert that it was ungerrymandering Texas—that it was illegitimate for a state that collectively voted for Republicans by about ten-point margins to have a congressional delegation in which a slim majority were Democrats. That popular-vote margin can be a little wider today—the GOP won congressional races by around 18 percentage points in 2024, though it was just 3 points in 2018—while the congressional delegation right now consists of 25 Republicans and 12 Democrats, with 1 seat currently empty.
The state is already heavily gerrymandered, in other words, and reopening the district map to try to get even more wins could backfire. “This has ‘dummymander’ written all over it,” said Texas redistricting expert Michael Li, of the Brennan Center, a legal advocacy group.
What is a dummymander? When lawmakers draw districts, they do so imagining a certain set of future political conditions. But if something unexpected happens politically—say, prosperous suburban voters in rapidly growing neighborhoods across Texas defect from the Republican Party en masse, as happened in 2018—the lines you drew for one set of conditions may end up screwing you. If the GOP pushes its advantage too far by spreading solidly Republican voters too thinly across too many districts, it creates the risk that a high blue tide washes candidates that should have been safe out of office.
The Texans in Congress, unlike Trump’s team, will be keenly aware that this came close to happening at the end of the previous decade. Texas had grown and changed so fast that the lines Republicans drew in 2011 started to look less favorable for them in 2018 and 2020, when traditionally right-of-center voters were revolting against Trump. When it came time to draw new lines in 2021, they <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-effect-of-gerrymandering-on-elections-2022/">created safer districts for themselves</a>, trying to shore up the seats they had rather than press their advantage further. In 2024, <a href="https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2024/texas-2024-general-election-results/">only two</a> Congressional seats were won with a margin of less than ten percentage points.
This reflects a nuance in how gerrymandering actually takes place. The desire to boost the ruling party’s numbers is sometimes in tension with the desires of incumbents in both parties to protect themselves. Members of the Texas congressional delegation—Republicans and Democrats alike—would prefer to stay in Congress. But the Trump administration now wants incumbent Republicans to accept riskier seats in order to benefit him and the national party. This may work out fine. But if the economy is in the toilet when early voting starts next year, all bets are off. While others are keeping mum about the Trump redistricting push, Congressman Pete Sessions is <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/texas-redistricting-congress-house-republicans-midterms/">telling the media about it</a>. He lost a once safe seat in 2018 and had to move to a different part of Texas to win a safer one in 2020, and you can bet that he would prefer not to do that again.
</blockquote>
Again, I will note that this gambit could succeed, especially if the target is two or three seats and not the five suggested in the original story. Make CDs 28 and 34 a little redder, shift a bunch of West Texas voters into CD16 without screwing over Tony Gonzales in CD23, and hope for the best. Getting beyond that feels awfully greedy to me, but then it would. 
Hooks also notes that blue states like California and New York could retaliate, and Texas Dems could attempt to delay matters to past the point of the 2026 filing deadline by fleeing the state a la the Killer Ds of 2003; the <a href="https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-redistricting-maps-trump-push-mccaul-incumpents/">Texas Standard</a> also notes the latter possibility. Both of those are a bit more complicated than that. California has a non-partisan commission that draws its maps, and New York’s top court threw out an aggressively gerrymandered map in 2021 on the grounds that it violated state law. Both the Texas House and Senate have passed rules to punish members who break quorum, and a special session to pass a new map could also mandate a later primary in 2026, as we had in 2012. I’m not saying these aren’t considerations, especially for the queasier and more risk-averse among the Republicans, but they may not be as risky as they first appear.
If there’s a meeting today, we’ll probably know more about what they plan to do soon. I have no idea what to expect.
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<title>Some people are big mad at Dan Patrick</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119194</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119194#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:50:26 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dan Patrick]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hemp]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lite Gov]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Hemp Business Council]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[THC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tom Oliverson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Vikki Goodwin]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119194</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It’s fun to watch. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was clear from the start. Weeks before this year’s legislative session began, and before he announced any other priorities, the Republican Senate leader said he wanted lawmakers to ban, at any cost, … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119194">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/10/dan-patrick-texas-thc-ban-republican-gop-backlash/">It’s fun to watch</a>.
<blockquote><a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/anderson/article/Lieutenant-Dan-10955094.php?t=3f23819b6a438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium#asset-photo-12437348"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/57/34/35/12437348/7/920x1240.jpg" width="307" height="231" /></a>
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was clear from the start.
Weeks before this year’s legislative session began, and before he announced any other priorities, the Republican Senate leader said <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/texas-thc-ban-dan-patrick-delta-8-9-hemp/">he wanted lawmakers to ban</a>, at any cost, products that contain the psychoactive compound in weed. His target was the multibillion-dollar hemp industry that had sprouted up thanks to a loophole in a 2019 state law that legalized products providing a similar high to marijuana.
Patrick justified his conviction by contending that retailers had abused that loophole to sell products with dangerous amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. He accused the retailers of preying on the state’s young people with shops posted near schools and marketing aimed at children.
“I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave here knowing if we don’t do something about it in the next two years — how many kids get sick?” Patrick <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/texas-legislature-thc-ban-dan-patrick-special-session/">said in March</a>, talking about his willingness to force a special legislative session by blocking must-pass legislation from making it through the Texas Senate.
And ultimately, Patrick <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/25/texas-thc-hemp-ban-abbott-dan-patrick/">got his way</a> — and an explosion of backlash.
As <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/02/texas-thc-ban-greg-abbott-dan-patrick/">pressure mounts on the governor</a> to veto a THC ban sent to his desk, Patrick finds himself in the unfamiliar position of taking flak from conservative activists and media personalities outside the Capitol, many of whom typically march in political lockstep with a man who has long been a darling of the right and done more than perhaps any other elected official to drive Texas rightward.
After spearheading the THC ban, Patrick has been accused by some on the right of creating a nanny state and giving Mexican drug cartels a business opportunity to fill demand in the black market. He has been <a href="https://x.com/johnburk39/status/1930251198524776731">labeled</a> a booze lobby shill for beer distributors who stand to benefit. A hardline conservative state lawmaker who voted against the ban <a href="https://x.com/RepBriscoeCain/status/1926046662595686509/photo/1">said</a> it contradicted “the Texas mantra of being pro-business, pro-farmer and pro-veteran.”
[…]
Some opponents of the total ban have vowed retribution against Patrick, who is running for reelection in 2026 armed with an endorsement from President Donald Trump and more than $33 million in his campaign coffers. Those factors — and Patrick’s long history of promoting policies that most primary voters see as higher priorities than preserving THC access — mean it is unlikely the blowback will cost Patrick much, according to political observers.
“It’s hard to imagine given Patrick’s position and where he is now that somehow this is going to be in and of itself the source of some fundamental political threat,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “Honestly I think we’re not used to seeing Dan Patrick criticized very much from within his own party and so it’s really sticking out, and that’s fair.”
</blockquote>
I do not for a minute think this will have anything more than a marginal effect on the 2026 Republican primary, where I expect Patrick to draw the usual no-name challengers. He may lose some protest votes, but likely not enough for anyone to raise an eyebrow. But I am of course hoping this spills over into the general election, where plenty of nominal Republicans who aren’t regular primary voters are. I hope very much that they are mad enough about this to take it out on him next November, and I have <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118960">expressed that sentiment</a> many times. I hope <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118926">Vikki Goodwin</a> makes this a part of her campaign. It may well not be enough, but it’s a good opening and seems to have legs from a news perspective. No reason not to press forward with it.
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<title>Texas blog roundup for the week of June 9</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119126</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119126#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:45:45 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[blog roundup]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[TPA]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119126</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Texas Progressive Alliance has always known about hurricane season as it brings you this week’s update. Off the Kuff still thinks Greg Abbott will not veto the THC ban bill. Riffing on this year’s Lege session, SocraticGadfly first snarks … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119126">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Texas Progressive Alliance has always known about hurricane season as it brings you this week’s update.

<a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/">Off the Kuff</a> still thinks Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119111">will not veto</a> the THC ban bill.
Riffing on this year’s Lege session, <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com">SocraticGadfly</a> first snarks about the death of the Lottery Commission <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2025/06/texas-lottery-comm-is-dead-as-is-miriam.html">killing Miriam Adelson’s casino dreams</a> (if she and Patrick Dumont get that), then <a href="https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2025/06/hey-kids-dont-take-your-phones-to-school.html">goes Johnny Cash</a> on the student cellphone ban bill.
Neil at <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/">Houston Democracy Project</a> said it was good <a href="https://www.neilaquino.com/houston-democracy-project-blog/3-vote-no-on-regressive-whitmire-budget-public-kicked-out-thomas-asks-they-not-be-arrested">3 councilmembers voted no on Whitmire’s regressive budget</a> & Council chambers did not need to be cleared when there was protest against budget. 
=====================
And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.
The <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-lege-2025-anti-lgbtq-bills-passed/">Texas Observer</a> rounds up the anti-LGBTQ+ bills that were passed.
<a href="https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/06/04/texas-voted-to-mandate-schools-display-the-ten-commandments-this-bite-me-greg-activist-wants-them-in-arabic-with-a-dash-of-satanism/">The Barbed Wire</a> reports on some malicious compliance ideas for the Ten Commandments bill.
<a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/covid-vaccines-for-pregnancy-and">Your Local Epidemiologist</a> sorts fact from chaos about COVID vaccines for pregnant people and babies.
<a href="https://franklinstrong.substack.com/p/what-does-it-look-like-when-book">Franklin Strong</a> analyzes the current strategies of the professional book banners.
The <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/review-rob-schneiders-stand-up-show-at-granada-was-just-sad-22430442">Dallas Observer</a> attended Rob Schneider’s latest standup show so you don’t have to, not that you would have.
<a href="https://evilmopacatx.substack.com/p/a-quick-q-and-a-with-willie-nelson">Evil MoPac</a> got to ask Willie Nelson a few questions.
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<title>Texas Congressional Republicans considering a new map for 2026</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Beth van Duyne]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD07]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD15]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD16]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD23]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD24]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD28]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD32]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[CD34]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colin Allred]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2022]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Julie Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lizzie FLetcher]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike McCaul]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Monica de la Cruz-Hernandez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pete Sessions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[redistricting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ron Reynolds]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[special session]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tony Gonzales]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Trey Martinez-Fischer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Veronica Escobar]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187</guid>
<description><![CDATA[WTF? President Trump’s political team is encouraging Republican leaders in Texas to examine how House district lines in the state could be redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections to try to save the party’s endangered majority, according to people … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119187">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/us/politics/trump-texas-redistricting.html">WTF</a>?
<blockquote>
President Trump’s political team is encouraging Republican leaders in Texas to examine how House district lines in the state could be redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections to try to save the party’s endangered majority, according to people in Texas and Washington who are familiar with the effort.
The push from Washington has unnerved some Texas Republicans, who worry that reworking the boundaries of Texas House seats to turn Democratic districts red by adding reliably Republican voters from neighboring Republican districts could backfire in an election that is already expected to favor Democrats.
Rather than flip the Democratic districts, new lines could endanger incumbent Republicans.
But a person close to the president, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk publicly, nevertheless urged a “ruthless” approach and said Mr. Trump would welcome any chance to pick up seats in the midterms. The president would pay close attention to those in his party who help or hurt that effort, the person warned.
At an “emergency” meeting on Monday night in the Capitol, congressional Republicans from Texas professed little interest in redrawing their districts, according to a person briefed on the gathering who was not authorized to comment publicly. The 20-minute meeting, organized by Representative Michael McCaul, a senior member of the state delegation, focused on the White House push.
Representative Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, said lawmakers plan to gather again to share data and “be on the same page” on the possible redrawing of the map.
“We assured each other, you need to bone up. We need to have a conversation. We need to think about what those impacts would be on the entire delegation,” Mr. Sessions said.
[…]
The maps that were drawn by the Republican Legislature in 2021, after the last census, are <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/21/texas-redistricting-map-court-challenge-discrimination/">still being fought over, in forums including a trial that began last month</a> in a federal court in El Paso.
But talk among Republicans of taking the task on again has been swirling around the Texas Capitol since the Legislature was in session earlier this year. The governor, the lieutenant governor and the attorney general have all discussed the possibility in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
In recent days, that talk has become more serious. It appeared to be driven in part by President Trump’s concern that the Republican Party could lose its slim majority in the House, derailing the second half of his term and empowering Democratic investigations of his administration.
[…]
Still, those pushing for the plan believe that Republicans could potentially pick up as many as four or five House seats in 2026, according to two of the people with knowledge of the discussions.
To do that would involve pushing Republican voters from safe Republican districts into neighboring Democratic districts to make them more competitive. In a wave year for Democrats, that could endanger incumbent Republicans as well as Democrats.
“The only way you make the state more competitive congressionally is you do it at their expense,” State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat, said of congressional Republicans. “I think the Republicans have already maximized their map, given the demographic changes in the state.”
[…]
Any attempt at a mid-decade redistricting would require the Texas Legislature to approve new maps. Since the Legislature is not in session again until 2027, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, would have to call a special session.
“From my understanding, this would be in July,” said Ron Reynolds, a Texas House Democrat from the Houston area, saying his information had come indirectly from a Republican member of the Texas House. “This is something that they’re keeping very tight-lipped.”
</blockquote>
Gotta say, I did not see this coming. On the assumption that the gains made by Republicans among Latino voters in South Texas last year were real and not transitory, it’s not hard to imagine tweaking things in a way to make CDs 28 (Henry Cuellar) and 34 (Vicente Gonzalez) at least red-leaning. To get to four or five new seats, well, here are the next three closest blue districts:
2022
<pre>
Dist Incumbent Dem % GOP %
===============================
CD16 Escobar 63.46% 36.54%
CD07 Fletcher 63.79% 36.21%
CD32 Allred 65.36% 34.64%
</pre>
2024
<pre>
Dist Incumbent Dem % GOP %
===============================
CD16 Escobar 59.50% 40.43%
CD32 Johnson 60.45% 36.97%
CD07 Fletcher 61.28% 38.72%
</pre>
Eight GOP Congressfolk has percentages lower than Rep. Escobar in 2022, with three under 60%. Another two had percentages lower than Allred. 2024 was a stronger year for Republicans, as only two GOP members had lower percentages that Fletcher’s 61.28%, though another nine were within three points of her. I’m sure there’s a map out there that could endanger one or more of those folks, at least in another decent Republican year. I can’t imagine what a hellish spaghetti bowl such a map might resemble, but that’s not an issue right now. But for sure, there would be some potentially very narrow margins for a number of Republican incumbents, especially if 2026 is a good Democratic year. You know the old saying about pigs and hogs, right?
Basically, all other considerations aside, this is an exercise in risk assessment. Going after just Cuellar and Gonzalez is the least risky action on paper, but some of the Republican votes you’d need to harvest are going to come from CDs 15 and 23, which were both under 60% for the GOP in 2022 (Tony Gonzales did better in 2024 against a lesser opponent), so the downside is there as well. Beyond that, I dunno. It’s all pretty wild to consider. I’m not surprised that the Congressfolks themselves are maybe not too thrilled about this.
If this happens, it would have to happen quickly. Candidates need to be recruited and money needs to be raised, not just for the new challengers but for some number of less-secure incumbents. This will also attract a lot more Democratic action and fundraising, in a year where Dems <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119150">once</a> <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118926">again</a> have <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118700">statewide dreams</a>. There’s also a non-zero chance that a court could order a halt to any new map-drawing until the <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118932">ongoing redistricting litigation</a> has concluded. I don’t think the Republicans are stupid to consider this – evil, sure, but not stupid – but it’s a big swing and could definitely come with a steep price. Never a dull moment around here. Via the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/texas-redistricting-congress-house-republicans-midterms/">Trib</a>.
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<title>HISD enters its AI slop era</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119176</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119176#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:53:43 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[School days]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[artificial intelligence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Board of Managers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD Board of Trustees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Miles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Morath]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Prof Jim]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[schools]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119176</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ugh. The Harlem Renaissance produced a rich tapestry of poems, novels and paintings of Black life in the early 20th century, all expressing the artistry and brilliance of people whose equal citizenship and full humanity had long been denied. Yet … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119176">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/hisd-state-takeover-mike-miles-ai-prof-jim-20359937.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Ugh</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/hisd-state-takeover-mike-miles-ai-prof-jim-20359937.php"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/50/46/01/27418718/3/ratio3x2_960.webp" width="300" height="200" /></a>
The Harlem Renaissance produced a rich tapestry of poems, novels and paintings of Black life in the early 20th century, all expressing the artistry and brilliance of people whose equal citizenship and full humanity had long been denied.
Yet this February, when eighth graders in the Houston Independent School District sat down for a lesson about the movement’s significance, they were treated to a slideshow with zero images made by Harlem Renaissance artists.
Instead, students were shown two obviously AI-generated illustrations. Both depicted Black people with missing or monstrously distorted facial features, a tell-tale sign of “AI slop.”
Buildings pictured were inscribed with gibberish, including a misspelling of the word “Renaissance.”
And when students turned to a passage about poetry and literature in the Harlem Renaissance, they found more AI-generated illustrations in the margins — but no actual poems. With strictly-timed exercises forcing students to move swiftly through a set of multiple-choice questions like those they would see on end-of-year tests, there was little time for verse.
On May 8, the HISD Board of Managers <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-curriculum-miles-20318429.php">approved the controversial curriculum</a> that contains lessons like this one for use again next year. The rubber stamp was expected, given the Board’s unstinting support for the state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles and his New Education System (NES).
But this decision is only the latest of many reasons why we — as educators at Rice University and parents of HISD students — are so concerned about the district’s direction since its takeover by the Texas Education Agency in 2023.
[…]
Little is publicly available about the content of HISD’s centrally planned curriculum, aside from<a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-ai-prof-jim-inc-19958093.php" data-link="native"> the district’s decision to hire a new “artificial intelligence” company called Prof Jim</a> to help generate worksheets, slides and reading passages for use in Miles’s schools. HISD is the company’s first school-district client.
Most Houstonians therefore remain in the dark about the district’s materials, which are already part of the curricula at all but a handful of HISD campuses. In our experience, it’s not always clear where a given lesson has come from. Elements of our own children’s curriculum this year were culled from or generated by a variety of sources, including Canva, Edmentum, Khanmigo, voronoiapp.com and flocabulary.com. More sources are listed in the district’s <a class="" href="https://www.houstonisd.org/AIGuidebook" data-link="native">AI guidebook</a>.
HISD parents, though, can see what is going on. All school-year long, in <a class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/293811383988916" data-link="native">online forums</a> and community meetings, we have shared troubling findings from our students’ computers and backpacks: worksheets <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/hisd-teachers-say-curriculum-ordered-miles-18417404.php" data-link="native">riddled with errors</a> and lifeless lessons that stifle curiosity and emphasize standardized tests.
We commiserate about the lazy misspellings in district-provided PowerPoints (Brahmins, not Bhramins!), YouTube videos of questionable origin, and generally confounding discussion questions — with incorrect punctuation to boot: “What is the exclamation point(s) to something that surprised you.”
We try to laugh about our most absurd discoveries, like the worksheet on transportation technology that asked seventh graders to analyze a picture of an automobile mashed up with a chariot — pulled by an AI-generated horse with three hind legs.
Or the one for a third-grade “Art of Thinking” class that asks students to match prompts to a chatbot’s responses and then “identify how AI positively impacts critical thinking.”
Or the Harlem Renaissance slides without Harlem Renaissance art.
All of these examples come from students and parents we personally know, but we worry over the future for all of Houston’s children as alarm bells about HISD sound.
[…]
For-profit “educational technology” companies like Prof Jim are eager to turn the crisis of public disinvestment into a money-making opportunity. In a <a href="https://www.asugsvsummit.com/video/ai-transforming-education-and-skills">public talk last year</a>, the company’s CEO and founder proudly claimed that, “We are now able to use AI to automatically create things like slide decks for teachers … You just push a button.” He predicted that within 10 years, robots would be good enough to enter physical classrooms and teach.
</blockquote>
Hell no to that. This is from a long op-ed that ran in Sunday’s print edition. Among many other things, I feel confident saying we would not be in this position of having moronic AI content in our schools if we still had elected representation. When we finally <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119090">do get that back</a>, undoing or at least very strictly reviewing and revising this bullshit needs to be a top priority. I would argue that imposing this kind of curriculum, with its associated costs, is outside the bounds of Mike Miles’ mandate. But of course he’s never felt confined by any mandate, and he can simply wave away <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119092">any unfortunate obstacles</a>. It’s going to be such a big damn celebration when he finally slinks out of town.
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<title>The weather folks are doing their best</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119173</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119173#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:45:06 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Hurricane Katrina]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elon Musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FEMA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Harris County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hurricane Beryl]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hurricanes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lesley Briones]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[National Weather Service]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NOAA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119173</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Hold space in your hearts for them, because our safety depends to some extent on their success. With hurricane season underway and an above-normal activity forecast, some National Weather Service offices like Houston — where as many as 44% of positions are vacant … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119173">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/texas-noaa-hurricane-season-forecast-nws-trump-cuts/">Hold space in your hearts for them</a>, because our safety depends to some extent on their success.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://x.com/NOAA"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1770469994297716736/T76gtJDu_400x400.jpg" width="161" height="161" /></a>
With hurricane season underway and an <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2025-atlantic-hurricane-season">above-normal activity </a>forecast, some National Weather Service offices like Houston — where as many as 44% of positions are vacant — are operating with staff shortages, prompting concerns about their capacity to monitor future storms.
The shortages stem from federal cuts that slashed <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/as-noaa-braces-for-more-cuts-scientists-say-public-safety-is-at-risk#:~:text=NOAA%20is%20now%20tasked%20with,and%20track%20extreme%20weather%20events.">roughly 10%</a> of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s workforce and triggered a wave of early retirements. While no staff members from the Houston/Galveston office were laid off, several hundred employees at NOAA, which hosts the National Weather Service, took a voluntary early retirement package.
Among those stepping down: Jeff Evans, longtime meteorologist-in-charge in Houston, who retired after 34 years with the NWS, 10 of those in Texas. He<a href="https://www.click2houston.com/weather/2025/04/29/whats-going-on-at-the-national-weather-service-office-in-houston/"> told KPRC Click2Houston</a> that it was “an honor and a privilege” to serve Texas through countless disasters.
The Houston office has <a href="https://www.weather.gov/hgx/office_staff">11 vacancies</a> — 44% of its regular staffing.
The NWS provides weather warnings for tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and floods, and produces river and hydrological outlooks and long-term climate change data. It serves as the forecast of record for many, including TV meteorologists, journalists and researchers, as well as emergency managers, who use it to plan for potential evacuations and rescue coordination during extreme weather events.
Mark Fox, who usually works at the Oklahoma office, has stepped in to help as acting meteorologist-in-charge in Houston. Despite the strain, Fox and other local meteorologists say they’re committed to delivering life-saving forecasts and supporting emergency preparedness.
“We can continue 24/7 with the staff that we have,” Fox said. “If we need to augment staff to kind of help out and give some people a break, we can do that. But the mission is going to be fulfilled.”
[…]
Since the start of the year, the National Weather Service has<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/nx-s1-5298738/trump-administration-layoffs-hit-noaa-the-agency-that-forecasts-weather-and-hurricanes"> lost nearly 600 employees</a> due to cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration. After backlash, earlier this month, 126 positions, including “mission-critical” ones, were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/weather/nws-job-cuts-weather-service-hiring.html">approved for hire as exceptions to a federal hiring freeze</a>. Erica Grow Cei, a National Weather Service spokesperson, said these were approved to “stabilize frontline operations” and added that the new hires will fill positions at field offices where there’s “the greatest operational need.”
The nearly 600 employees that NWS has lost in the last six months has been about the same amount the agency lost in the 15 years prior, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, a union that represents weather service employees.
Fahy called the quick exodus unprecedented, saying it “definitely disrupts the entire staffing requirements for the National Weather Service” in a way previous reductions did not.
Jeff Masters, former NOAA Hurricane Hunter and a meteorologist who writes about extreme weather for Yale Climate Connections, says most of those roles won’t be filled in time to help this hurricane season.
“This was done very inefficiently,” Masters said. “First, all of the probationary employees were fired, then incentives were given to get the most experienced managers out through early retirement. Now they’re trying to do some rehiring, and then it’s just not being done very efficiently.”
Masters said that the local offices have lost critical institutional knowledge and expertise.
Nationwide, reduced staffing has also meant <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/weather-balloons-stop-trump-cuts-forecasts-less-accurate-rcna198055">fewer balloon launches</a>, which are essential for collecting upper-atmosphere temperature, humidity and wind speed data critical to accurate storm modeling. A reduction in launches may lead to larger errors in hurricane tracking, says Masters.
Faced with these gaps, offices across the country are lending staff — either in person or virtually — to ensure continuous coverage during major weather events. Fahy said that this is what will keep Texas as whole “in very good shape and ready for hurricane season.”
“It’s kind of like binding hands and helping each other out wherever we can,” said Jason Johnson, hydrologist in charge at the NWS Fort Worth office. “We’ve expanded our training so meteorologists and hydrologists in other regions are ready to support us if needed.”
Despite the cuts, Johnson says Texas NWS offices remain focused on protecting lives and property.
“We’re not expecting any drop in the quality or quantity of information that we provide,” he said.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118214">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118802">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117932">here</a> for some background. I’m most of the way through watching The Pitt, that HBO show about overworked emergency room doctors and nurses, and the optimism expressed in this story by NWS folks about their ability to handle whatever comes at them despite the insane workload and insufficient managerial support sounds a lot like what the folks at the Pitt would say. I trust their abilities and I’m buoyed by their faith, but we all know they shouldn’t be in this position. When something goes wrong, and sooner or later it will, don’t go blaming them.
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<title>The beer and liquor difference on THC</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119102</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119102#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:01:40 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[beer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cannabis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dan Patrick]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hemp]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[liquor]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lite Gov]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Hemp Business Council]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Package Stores Association]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Wholesale Beer Distributors]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[THC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[veto]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119102</guid>
<description><![CDATA[My head is spinning. As Gov. Greg Abbott weighs Texas’ proposed THC ban, one industry is working overtime to influence his decision: the alcohol lobby. Amid plunging alcohol sales, some groups representing liquor stores are opposing the ban as they … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119102">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/thc-ban-abbott-beer-liquor-20353495.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">My head is spinning</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/anderson/article/Lieutenant-Dan-10955094.php?t=3f23819b6a438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium#asset-photo-12437348"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/57/34/35/12437348/7/920x1240.jpg" width="307" height="231" /></a>
As Gov. Greg Abbott weighs Texas’ proposed THC ban, one industry is working overtime to influence his decision: the alcohol lobby.
Amid plunging alcohol sales, some groups representing liquor stores are opposing the ban as they see THC beverages as an opportunity to draw in more business. Beer distributors, meanwhile, launched an ad campaign in recent weeks to promote the dangers of THC.
“The beer companies would prefer a ban because they’re losing market share to THC drinks,” said Cynthia Cabrera, chief strategy officer with the hemp company Hometown Hero. “Rather than just participate in the market, they would rather do what they’ve done for 100 years and make sure that there is no competition in the beer market.”
Abbott, who is the last hurdle in Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign for a statewide THC ban, is already under a ferocious onslaught of public pressure to veto the bill from veterans’ groups, hemp industry leaders and even some prominent conservative commentators. He has until June 22 to decide.
The alcohol industry wasn’t particularly loud during the committee hearings or other public debate, but has sway at the Capitol and with the governor. Abbott’s campaign treasurer is John Nau, the CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, one of the nation’s largest beer wholesalers. The company also carries some THC beverages, <a href="https://www.silvereagle.com/beverage-catalog/#catalog=brands/tab/8">according to its website</a>. Nau has donated nearly $1.5 million directly to Abbott’s campaign since 2020, according to campaign finance data. John Rydman, the president and an owner of the Houston-based liquor store chain Spec’s, gave the governor $185,000 in that time.
Both the liquor and beer lobbies also give regularly to House and Senate members.
Alcohol distributors have long opposed decriminalization of marijuana, fearing it could siphon off their customer base amid already-declining alcohol consumption trends.
But the arrival of hemp-derived THC beverages in the last year, accounting for a growing portion of sales at liquor stores, has changed the calculus for some.
National surveys show <a class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/12/alcohol-consumption-industry/" data-link="native">alcohol sales have declined</a> in recent years across multiple categories like beer and spirits. <a class="" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx" data-link="native">Young adults</a> are also less likely to report consuming alcohol than in prior decades. Meanwhile, cannabis and hemp products are becoming <a class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/01/31/cannabis-drinks-thc-dry-january/" data-link="native">increasingly popular</a>.
“Liquor stores are really viewing this as a growth lever,” said Jake Bullock, CEO of the THC drinks company Cann. “As younger folks, and the whole general population, are reevaluating its alcohol consumption more broadly, liquor stores see that, they understand it.”
For the last year, Cann has sold on shelves at Total Wine & More, which has 39 stores across Texas, and has proved “extraordinarily” popular, Bullock said, outselling some established categories like chardonnay in a recent quarter. Spec’s also <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/specs-delta8-18628060.php" data-link="native">added delta-8 infused seltzers</a> to its 250 stores last year.
The Texas Package Stores Association, which represents liquor distributors, recently posted <a class="" href="https://x.com/TXPackage/status/1924528008532005103" data-link="native">graphics on X</a> advocating against a THC ban and arguing beverages should be sold through their existing regulatory channels.
[…]
Meanwhile, groups including the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas launched a <a class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/@SaferTexasAlliance?app=desktop" data-link="native">“Safer Texas Alliance” project</a> in recent weeks, producing videos and advertisements arguing in favor of a ban.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118982">here</a> and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119004">here</a> for some other reactions to the ban. The Texas Hemp Business Council has collected <a href="https://texashempbusinesscouncil.com/petition/">a lot of petition signatures</a> in favor of a veto, but who knows <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119040">what Greg Abbott will do</a>. Money talks, of course, but he’s used to bigger numbers than that. I suppose at some level I’m not sure he wants to pick this fight with Dan Patrick. We’ll know in less than three weeks.
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<title>A former Board Manager speaks</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119178</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119178#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 09:53:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[School days]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Adam Rivon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Audrey Momanaee]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Board of Managers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cassandra Bandy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HISD Board of Trustees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Miles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Morath]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New Education System]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rolando Martinez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[schools]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Education Agency]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119178</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Who knows why he and three others were streeted. But we can speculate. Adam Rivon, one of the four recently ousted members of the Houston ISD Board of Managers, won’t speculate on why he was suddenly removed from his role … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119178">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/adam-rivon-board-removal-20366229.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Who knows why he and three others were streeted</a>. But we can speculate.
<blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114532" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles.jpg" alt="" width="171" height="136" srcset="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles.jpg 682w, https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GoAwayMiles-300x238.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px" />
Adam Rivon, one of the four recently ousted members of the <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-board-managers-changes-20357339.php" data-link="native">Houston ISD Board of Managers</a>, won’t speculate on why he was suddenly removed from his role this week, though he said “people are intelligent and they can make their own assumptions.”
<a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-mike-morath-school-visit-20298888.php" data-link="native">Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath</a> <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-board-member-removal-20355232.php" data-link="native">unexpectedly removed Rivon</a>, along with three other appointees, from their roles on the Board of Managers this week, and replaced them with four new board members. Morath also announced <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-state-takeover-two-years-20332091.php" data-link="native">the extension of the state intervention</a> of the district through June 1, 2027.
In an interview with the Chronicle, Rivon said the TEA told him they “wanted to bring in a new team,” but he wasn’t given any specific reasons why they decided to remove him from the appointed board after serving in the role since <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/timeline/houston-isd-takeover/" data-link="native">the state takeover</a> of Texas’ largest school district in June 2023.
“I was a little shocked when I was told. I think that I’d be more than happy to serve four more years or two more years, or whatever number was right, but you have to learn to control what you’re controlling,” Rivon said. “Me being upset about a thing or trying to throw gas or what have you on the situation, I don’t think that helps the students.”
[…]
Rivon, along with the other replaced board members, have almost always approved proposals from <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/new-hisd-superintendent-mike-miles-18121136.php?t=ed324b45cc" data-link="native">state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles</a>’ administration, although they have voted no in a few rare occasions. Rivon said he has no regrets and went to sleep after every board meeting feeling comfortable with every decision, including all of his “no” votes.
“There were times when I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna be the only no vote on this thing. Should I really vote no, right? It doesn’t really change anything if I vote no,’” Rivon said. “It probably, politically, would have been better if I didn’t vote no, but … I wasn’t seeking political gain through my votes.”
Rivon was one of four board members to vote <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/mike-miles-budget-vote-19513165.php" data-link="native">against the district’s $2.1 billion budget</a> in a narrow 5-4 vote in June 2024 — one of the school board’s first public rebukes of Miles. Rivon said he voted against the budget due to concerns about a growing deficit and feeling like the district was trying to “plug” a budget hole through future property sales.
“It was important to me that what we communicated to the stakeholders, the community and to ourselves, that we maintain the integrity of our word, and I didn’t see that happening,” Rivon said. “I didn’t see effectively that budget achieving the outcomes that we wanted and staying within the bounds that we’ve set for ourselves, so that’s why I voted no.”
Rivon said he had entered into the budget process for the 2025-26 year with the expectation of voting yes on the budget. However, he said Miles’ reform program known as <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/hisd-new-education-system-expansion-20192889.php" data-link="native">the New Education System</a> is “costly,” and he was concerned about the projected fund balance declines and HISD’s ability to achieve its objectives going forward without more spending discipline.
The planned base funding per student in the 2025-26 year <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/hisd/article/nes-pua-2025-breakdown-budget-per-student-20336980.php" data-link="native">is $8,566 at NES schools</a> compared to $6,133 at non-NES schools, which doesn’t include special education funding. Much of the difference is due to higher salaries for NES teachers and the addition of “learning coaches” and “teacher apprentices” in NES schools, <a class="" href="https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=109240&dataid=447222&FileName=May%2022%20Budget%20Workshop.Updated%205.21.25.pdf" data-link="native">according to the district</a>.
“I don’t know what adjustments they’re going to make (at) this next meeting (or) if they’re going to make any adjustments at all, but based on what was on the page, I was not comfortable with the state of the budget,” Rivon said.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119092">here</a> for the background. We have understood from the beginning that the Board can’t have oversight over Mike Miles if Mike Miles can get Board members removed by asking Mike Morath to remove them. We don’t know that is what happened here – like with so many other things related to this takeover, there’s zero transparency about the processes involved – but like I said, we can speculate. If Morath and Miles would like for there to be less speculation, they are free to provide more information.
And as long as we’re singing the greatest hits here, we see again that the secret to the success of the NES program is spending a bunch more money on those schools. You get better outcomes with more resources, who could have possibly seen that coming? And hey, while I strongly approve of spending more money on our public schools, that really only works in the long term if the Legislature does its part. Which it most definitely has not done, thanks in large part to Greg Abbott. If one of the legacies Mike Miles leaves is the district’s finances in shambles and a future Board needing to make drastic cuts to stave off financial ruin, that would be bad. Having a Board in place that can ask questions and vote No when it doesn’t get satisfactory answers would help avoid that situation. Too bad that’s not what we have.
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<title>The stakes of the Tesla robotaxi debut in Austin sure are higher now</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119153</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119153#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 09:45:19 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Planes, Trains, and Automobiles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ADMT]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Austin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Avride]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cybercab]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[driverless cars]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elon Musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Francisco]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[taxis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tesla]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Uber]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Volkswagon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Waymo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zoox]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119153</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Good luck, Elmo. You’re gonna need it. Tesla’s long-awaited entry into the robotaxi market — expected later this month — is coming to Austin, Texas, which has emerged as a key battleground for self-driving technology. CEO Elon Musk wrote in … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119153">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/03/tesla-robotaxi-launch-in-austin-has-musk-playing-catch-up-in-hometown.html">Good luck, Elmo</a>. You’re gonna need it.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/Tesla"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1337607516008501250/6Ggc4S5n_400x400.png" width="140" height="140" /></a>
Tesla’s long-awaited entry into the robotaxi market — expected later this month — is coming to Austin, Texas, which has emerged as a key battleground for self-driving technology.
CEO Elon Musk wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1927970940874354941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1927970940874354941%7Ctwgr%5E08a916f734b7ba53e938093e8d9a6f0d6eff8e21%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finsideevs.com%2Fnews%2F761120%2Fmusk-robotaxi-driverless-rides-testing%2F">post on X</a> last week that the company has been testing Model Y vehicles with no safety drivers on board in the Texas capital for several days.
Tesla’s Austin robotaxi service will kick off with 10 vehicles and expand to thousands, moving into more cities if the launch goes well, Musk said in a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/elon-musk-tesla-robotaxi.html">May 20 interview</a> with CNBC’s David Faber.
But while the market remains nascent, Tesla already faces a hefty amount of competition.
The electric vehicle maker is one of several companies using Austin as a testing ground and debut market for self-driving technology. They’re all taking advantage of Austin’s robotics and AI talent, tech-savvy residents, affordable housing relative to other technology hubs and a city layout with horizontal traffic lights and wide roads that makes it particularly conducive to mapping software.
But the biggest reason they love Texas may be the state’s robotaxi-friendly regulation.
Already in Austin are Alphabet’s Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox, Volkswagen subsidiary ADMT, and startup Avride.
Waymo <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/04/waymo-uber-begin-offering-robotaxi-rides-in-austin-ahead-of-sxsw.html">began offering</a> robotaxi rides in Austin with Uber in March. Zoox <a href="https://zoox.com/journal/austin-miami-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> testing there last year, while ADMT has been <a href="https://media.vw.com/releases/1750" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testing</a> Volkswagen’s electric ID vehicles in the city since 2023. Avride is headquartered in Austin and is <a href="https://www.avride.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testing</a> its autonomous vehicles and delivery robots in the Texas capital, with plans to offer a robotaxi service in the city at some point.
“The winners of the space are emerging, and it’s just a matter of scaling,” said Toby Snuggs, head of sales and partnerships at Avride.
According to Uber, its Austin launch with Waymo has proved successful thus far. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors in May that riders are choosing the robotaxis over regular cars, and the company is preparing to scale its Austin autonomous fleet to hundreds of vehicles in the coming months, ahead of a robotaxi <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-robotaxis-competing-uber-lyft-drivers-phoenix-los-angeles-price-2024-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expansion into Atlanta</a> later this year.
“These approximately 100 vehicles are now busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day,” Khosrowshahi told investors in May.
Avride, which spun out of former parent company Yandex last year, has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/self-driving-technology-startup-avride-partners-with-hyundai-expand-robotaxi-2025-03-05/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivery robots</a> in a fleet of about a dozen Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles in downtown Austin. The company said it plans to expand its Austin fleet to 100 vehicles later this year and aims to begin offering robotaxi rides in Dallas with Uber in 2025.
Tesla primarily relies on camera-based systems and computer vision to navigate its vehicles rather than the Waymo model of using sophisticated sensors such as lidar and radar. Tesla’s “generalized” approach to robotaxis is more ambitious and less expensive than Waymo’s, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/waymo-toyota-partner-to-bring-self-driving-tech-to-personal-vehicles-.html">Musk said</a> during Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call with investors in April. Musk has been <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/musk-someday-driving-a-car-will-be-illegal.html">promising</a> Tesla investors that a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/04/05/is-tesla-fsd-finally-full-self-driving.html">self-driving car</a> is on the way for roughly a decade and has repeatedly missed self-imposed deadlines.
“There’s probably a lot of ways it can be done, but we’re the only ones that have done it,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa in May. “We’ve been doing it 24 hours a day for almost five years. And so to us, it’s really important to focus on safety … and then cost — not cost and then safety.”
“You have to be able to see at night, you have to be able to have this vision that’s better than humans,” Mawakana said.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118958">here</a> for the previous update. Didn’t realize there were that many robotaxi pilots going on in Austin right now. That’s either super awesome or a massive pain in the ass, depending on one’s perspective. 
This story was from before the epic war or words between Elmo and Trump on Thursday, in which among other things President Wannabe Autocrat threatened to cut Musk and Tesla off from federal contracts. That would put a crimp in Elmo’s bottom line, and as the crown jewel in his stock price-based empire is Tesla and Tesla <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118209">ain’t doing so well lately</a>, he really needs his self-driving tech to be a big hit. Which is why it would be such a shame if nobody in Austin chose to use his shitty business, wouldn’t it? Do not engage, do not engage, do not engage.
There’s a <a href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/travel/article/tesla-robotaxi-safety-austin-2035">side story</a> here that’s worth noting, and could be a big deal for this rollout.
<blockquote>
Tesla is test-launching about 10 to 20 autonomous Model Y vehicles in some parts of Austin, with plans to expand to a thousand within a few months. The June robotaxi debut will be <a class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-debut-austin-teleoperations-remote-control-cybercab-2025-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">invite-only at launch</a>, so if you’re not in with the richest man in the world you’ll have to wait your turn.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas visited Tesla’s Palo Alto office in California and learned that the robotaxis will be teleoperated with remote operators watching the vehicles through embedded cameras, to control it incase it gets stuck, <a class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-debut-austin-teleoperations-remote-control-cybercab-2025-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Business Insider reports</a>.
There will also be “audio inputs” to pick up siren sounds from emergency vehicles, a Tesla rep said in an April earnings call.
The robotaxis will rely on Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. Both have been linked to hundreds of nonfatal incidents, while Autopilot has been connected to 51 reported fatalities and FSD has been linked to at least two deaths as of October 2024, <a class="" href="https://www.theverge.com/news/676548/tesla-robotaxi-launch-vehicles-date-lack-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">The Verge reports</a>. In early May, the <a class="" href="https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/elon-musk-robotaxis-austin-20324690.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration raised questions</a> about Tesla’s (FSD) technology to learn more about its development before its use in robotaxis.
More specifically, the NHTSA wanted to know how well the vehicles will operate in bad weather or reduced roadway visibility conditions such as sun glare, fog, dust, rain, and snow. NHTSA gave Tesla a June 19 deadline to submit this information.
The agency has been investigating crashes involving Teslas (FSD) feature for years, with two deaths having linked to the technology, according to the Verge. More recently, a Tesla vehicle using its latest FSD <a class="" href="https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/self-driving-tesla-plows-into-dummy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">reportedly ran over a child-size mannequin</a> crossing in front of a stopped school bus.
</blockquote>
Tesla <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-seeks-block-city-austin-releasing-records-robotaxi-trial-2025-06-06/">seems to be particularly worried</a> about the public knowing some of the details about its safety record.
<blockquote>
Tesla is trying to prevent the city of Austin, Texas, from releasing public records to Reuters involving the EV maker’s planned launch of self-driving robotaxis in the city this month.
The news agency in February requested communications between Tesla and Austin officials over the previous two years. The request followed CEO Elon Musk’s announcement in January that Tesla would launch fare-collecting robotaxis on Austin public streets.
Austin public-information officer Dan Davis told Reuters on April 1 that “third parties” had asked the city to withhold the records to protect their “privacy or property interests.” Austin officials on April 7 requested an opinion on the news agency’s request from the Texas Attorney General’s office, which handles public-records disputes.
On April 16, an attorney for Tesla wrote the AG objecting to the release of “confidential, proprietary, competitively sensitive commercial, and/or trade secret information” contained in emails between Tesla and Austin officials. The Tesla attorney wrote that providing the documents to Reuters would reveal “Tesla’s deployment procedure, process, status and strategy” and “irreparably harm Tesla.”
Tesla and the Texas Attorney General’s office did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Neal Falgoust, who oversees public records issues for Austin’s Law Department, said the city “takes no position on the confidential nature of the information at issue” but is required to seek the Attorney General’s opinion when “a third-party asserts that their information is proprietary and should not be released.”
[…]
In an April 23 response to Tesla’s letter, a Reuters lawyer wrote that Tesla’s intent to deploy the unproven technology on Texas roadways makes its plans “an issue of enormous importance to Texas and the public at large” and underscored the public’s right to know.
Falgoust, the Austin law department official, did not respond to questions about whether the public was entitled to information about Tesla’s driverless technology.
Texas state law requires the Attorney General’s office to decide within 45 business days, which would be next week.
</blockquote>
I feel like Trump Bestie Elon Musk would get concierge service from the AG’s office on this request. But Trump Sworn Enemy/Bitter Ex Elon Musk, probably not so much. I can’t wait to see how this turns out. But whichever way this goes, all you need to know is not to use this service. Let Elmo flail. Let him deal with the consequences of his actions. Do not engage.
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<title>Gina Ortiz Jones wins SA mayoral runoff</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119165</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119165#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 10:01:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gina Ortiz Jones]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mayor]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rolando Pablos]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ron Nirenberg]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[runoff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Antonio]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119165</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Good. San Antonio’s next mayor will be Gina Ortiz Jones, a 44-year-old West Side native who rose from John Jay High School to the top ranks of the U.S. military on an ROTC scholarship. Jones defeated Rolando Pablos, a close ally of … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119165">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-mayor-result-who-won-gina-ortiz-jones-rolando-pablos/">Good</a>.
<blockquote>
<div style="width: 154px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/gina-ortiz-jones-2025-san-antonio-mayor-candidate/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/sanantonioreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/gina-ortiz-jones-.png?fit=744%2C746&ssl=1" width="144" height="146" /></a>Gina Ortiz Jones</div>
San Antonio’s next mayor will be <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/gina-ortiz-jones-2025-san-antonio-mayor-candidate/">Gina Ortiz Jones</a>, a 44-year-old West Side native who rose from John Jay High School to the top ranks of the U.S. military on an ROTC scholarship.
Jones defeated <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/rolando-pablos-2025-san-antonio-mayor-candidate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rolando Pablos</a>, a close ally of Texas GOP leaders, 54.3% to 45.7% Saturday night in a high-profile, bitterly partisan runoff.
Thanks to new longer terms that voters approved in November, this year’s mayor and council winners will be the first to <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-2025-municipal-election-city-council-terms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">serve four-year terms</a> before they must seek reelection.
The closely watched runoff came after <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-mayor-election-2025-results-runoff-candidates/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jones took a commanding</a> 10-percentage-point lead in last month’s <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-mayor-may-municipal-election-voter-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">27-candidate</a> mayoral election, but <a href="https://sanantonioreport.org/campaign-spending-san-antonio-mayor-race-runoff/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weathered nearly $1 million</a> in attacks from Pablos and his Republican allies.
At the Dakota East Side Ice House, a beaming Jones said she was proud of a campaign that treated people with dignity and respect.
She also said she was excited that San Antonio politics could deliver some positivity in an otherwise tumultuous news cycle.
“With everything happening around us at the federal level and at the state level, some of the most un-American things we have seen in a very, very long time, it’s very heartening to see where we are right now,” she said shortly after the early results came in.
When it became clear the results would hold, Jones returned to remark that “deep in the heart of Texas,” San Antonio voters had reminded the world that it’s a city built on “compassion.”
Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” blared over the speakers to the roughly 250 supporters celebrating with drinks on a hot spring evening.
At Pablos’ watch party, he said Jones’ overwhelming victory surprised him. The conservative Northside votes he was counting on to carry him didn’t wind up materializing.
“The fact is that San Antonio continues to be a blue city,” Pablos told reporters at the Drury Inn & Suites’ Old Spanish Ballroom near La Cantera. “This [race] became highly partisan, and today it showed.”
</blockquote>
I was not following this very closely, partly because of the end of the legislative session, but in the last week or so there were <a href="https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-why-democrats-worry">concerns being expressed</a> about Ortiz Jones underperforming, Pablos generating a bunch of excitement among Republican voters, and on and on. There was a lot of money being poured into the race, former Mayor Ron Nirenberg and many of the Democratic former Mayoral candidates declined to endorse in the runoff, Pablos is a Greg Abbott minion – the avalanche of takes that would have followed a Pablos victory would have swept us all into the Ship Channel. I found <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/gina-ortiz-jones-wins-san-antonio-mayoral-race-despite-being-outspent-by-conservative-rival-37687786">this reaction</a> from one of the race-watchers to be particularly interesting.
<blockquote>
Some 17% of San Antonio’s registered voters turned out for Saturday’s runoff, rivaling the turnout for the hotly contested 2021 matchup between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Greg Brockhouse. The number far exceeded analysts’ expectations.
“Originally, it looked like Pablos did a good job getting people to turn out in early voting, but [Jones] actually won that by a lot — and she also won election-day voting,” UTSA political scientist Jon Taylor told the Current. “I’m truly surprised.”
Despite his close alignment to Abbott, who’s unpopular in San Antonio, Pablos portrayed himself not as a culture warrior but as a fiscal conservative focused on economic development, crime and poverty reduction.
“I will continue to serve this community with pride,” Pablos told supporters at his campaign watch party. “We want the best for this community and for our families.”
While Jones racked up a convincing victory, her campaign was anything but smooth sailing.
The candidate took heat for not speaking to the media following the May 3 general election, and the Pablos campaign raised allegations that she used her cell phone to cheat during a televised debate.
Although outside partisan money flowed into both races, Pablos had a considerable financial advantage and the backing of a deep-pocketed Abbott-tied PAC. The candidate and his allies used that funding for $1 million in ad buys, including a spate of negative spots about Jones.
However, in the end, the Jones campaign brought together a diverse, citywide coalition that erased the spending difference, UTSA’s Taylor said. During her watch party, Jones thanked a litany of progressive organizations ranging from the Texas Organizing Project to Vote Vets to San Antonio LGBTQ+ groups for getting out the vote.
“They had a really good mobilization effort, and they brought in a lot of organizations that are really good at getting people to the polls,” Taylor said. 
What’s more, anger about the Trump administration’s increasingly extreme immigration policies, combined with concerns about what some speculate is the homophobic killing of San Antonio actor Jonathan Joss, may have boosted Election Day turnout in Jones’ favor, Taylor speculated.
“Those issues came up late [and] I’m not sure they impacted all the voters, but it was definitely in the background,” he said. “I think ultimately, this a blue city, and we defaulted to a blue candidate for mayor.”
</blockquote>
I for one would like to get a better understanding of why the early vote seemingly looked (*) much better for Pablos than it turned out to be. I’m willing to bet a reasonable number of the early voters have a primary voting history, so was there something off about the data or was it just misinterpreted? I don’t want to overinterpret anything, I just want to understand what the surprise was.
Be that as it may, congratulations to Mayor-elect Gina Ortiz Jones. I wish you all the best over the next four years. The <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/progressives-hold-strong-majority-on-san-antonio-city-council-after-runoff-37685597">Current</a> has more.
(*) From that Downballot story:
<blockquote>
<a href="https://chismstrategies.com/new-poll-ortiz-jones-holds-lead-but-early-vote-shows-tight-race/">The lone public poll of the runoff,</a> released on Thursday by the Democratic firm Chism Strategies, simultaneously offered hope and flashed warning signs for Jones. The survey found Jones ahead 50-41, but among those who said they’d already voted, Jones was up just 49-47. Early voters, says the pollster, “were significantly more Republican” in the second round compared to the first, making it harder for Jones to make up ground on Election Day, when the electorate tends to lean to the right.
</blockquote>
It’s very hard to poll low-turnout races, because it’s difficult to accurately model what the electorate looks like. This poll was actually quite accurate, as it would predict something like a 55-45 race, which is very close to the final result. It was on the “already voted” sample where it was less accurate; sample size probably had something to do with that. I’m sure that part of the result colored people’s perspectives on the early vote, whereas if it had just been “Ortiz Jones leads by nine in this one poll” it likely would have drawn a shrug. I’d put it down as yet another reason to limit how far one should go with a single poll result, especially on a smaller sample.
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<title>You’ll get to vote on some unsustainable tax cuts this November</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119128</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119128#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 09:53:45 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[budget]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Constitution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[constitutional amendments]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homestead exemption]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[property taxes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119128</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Get out your figurative credit card, we’re about to put a big charge on it for our future selves to pay. Voters will be asked to approve property tax cuts for Texas homeowners and businesses in November. If voters agree, … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119128">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/texas-legislature-property-tax-cuts-2025/">Get out your figurative credit card</a>, we’re about to put a big charge on it for our future selves to pay.
<blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Constitution.png" alt="" width="228" height="212" class="alignright size-full wp-image-70312" />
Voters will be asked to approve property tax cuts for Texas homeowners and businesses in November.
If voters agree, homeowners will see increased breaks on the taxes they pay toward school districts, with those above the age of 65 or living with disabilities seeing even bigger cuts, if Texas voters approve them in November. Business owners will get help, too, on the taxes they pay on their inventory.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a champion of tax cuts, said Friday he plans to sign the deal, one more procedural step before the fall election. Abbott urged voters to approve the increases.
“Never before has the Texas Legislature allocated more funds to provide property tax relief than they did this session,” Abbott said in a news release.
Texas lawmakers plan to put $51 billion toward cutting property tax cuts — maintaining ones enacted in previous years as well as enacting new ones — over the next two years. That’s a gargantuan figure, state budget analysts and some lawmakers worry will come back to haunt the state. Legislators tapped once-in-a-lifetime multibillion-dollar budget surpluses, the result of inflation and massive influxes of federal stimulus dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, to pay for tax cuts in recent years.
Those federal dollars are all but spent. Though Texas’ economy is healthy, it has slowed. Uncertainty around the Trump administration’s back-and-forth tariff policies, lower levels of immigration, lower oil prices and federal spending cuts could make matters worse for the state’s economy, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said in May.
The state budget, which lawmakers approve every two years, could take a hit as a result, said Shannon Halbrook, a fiscal policy expert at the left-leaning Every Texan. Tax cuts may not be on the chopping block, but other government services would be.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of extra money lying around next time,” Halbrook said. “The conversation is not going to be, ‘how do we spend all this extra revenue?’ It’s going to be, ‘How do we deal with a really tight environment? What do we cut? How do we go from here?’”
Texans who own their home are slated to see a boost in the state’s homestead exemption, or the slice of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools. Lawmakers raised the exemption from $100,000 to $140,000.
The owner of a typical Texas home — valued at $302,000 last year, according to Zillow — would have saved about $490 on their school property taxes had the higher exemption been in place last year, a Tribune calculation shows. Those savings result from a combination of the increased homestead exemption and $2.6 billion in cuts to school tax rates in the state’s upcoming two-year budget.
</blockquote>
That one I’ll vote for, I approve of raising the exemption as it provides more benefit for people on the lower end of the property scale. The rest I’ll vote against, they’re the ones that will really put our future revenue to the test. I have no illusion that my vote will be part of a majority – these will likely pass with more than 70% of the vote – but one does what one must. Good luck, and as many dope slaps as appropriate, to the future legislators who will be left wondering how we got into this predicament.
(Yes, I agree, handling tax rates via Constitution and referendum is dumb. Yes, I agree, our Constitution itself is a ridiculous overstuffed hodgepodge of things that don’t belong in a properly written Constitution. No, it’s never going to be reformed, I’m not going to waste time worrying about it.)
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<title>It’s more than just FEMA</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119157</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119157#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jun 2025 09:45:10 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Hurricane Katrina]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Army Corps of Engineers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elon Musk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Environmental Protection Agency]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FEMA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[HUD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hurricane Beryl]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hurricanes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[National Weather Service]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Natural Resources Defense Council]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[NOAA]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[US Department of Education]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119157</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The 2025 hurricane season is underway. It won’t be just the storms that determine how bad it is. FEMA leads the federal response when disaster strikes. It coordinates rescue efforts, provides temporary housing and medical help, and offers financial assistance to … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119157">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The 2025 hurricane season is underway. It won’t be just the storms that determine <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/trump-budget-cuts-fema-hud-hurricane-season-20302737.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">how bad it is</a>.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://x.com/fema"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/875380682637234176/Fw_Rx4T-_400x400.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a>
FEMA <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/beryl-assistance-what-to-expect-19579330.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">leads the federal response</a> when disaster strikes. It coordinates rescue efforts, provides temporary housing and medical help, and offers financial assistance to repair homes or elevate them above flood levels. Its goal is to ensure that survivors have a safe place to stay and the means to rebuild.
Harris County is one of the state’s most disaster-prone areas and depends increasingly on FEMA resources. After Hurricane Beryl last July, more than 650,000 Harris County residents applied for FEMA aid, <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/beryl-fema-applications-assistance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">the most in over 20 years</a>.
But federal disaster assistance does not stop with FEMA.
HUD offers grants to help local governments buy out flooded homes and rebuild in safer locations. Farmers and ranchers can seek emergency loans from the Department of Agriculture to replace lost crops and repair equipment. The Army Corps of Engineers may be called on to strengthen levees, clear debris from bayous and fix clogged drainage ditches.
The Department of Education provides recovery grants to help reopen classrooms when school buildings are damaged. The Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and small businesses so they can begin repairs shortly after an extreme weather event.
Other federal agencies go beyond immediate relief and help communities like Houston prepare for disasters and improve long-term resilience.
The Environmental Protection Agency provides research grants and technical support to manage stormwater. The <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/article/severe-storm-season-texas-june-atmospheric-pattern-20362477.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">National Weather Service</a> issues forecasts and flood warnings so residents can evacuate in time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funds studies on coastal erosion and sea-level rise, giving local planners data to predict the impact of future disasters.
These programs are crucial to tackling chronic flooding, water quality issues and other enduring environmental threats, according to Matthew Tejada, senior vice president of environmental health at the <a class="" href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Natural Resources Defense Council.</a> He previously led <a class="" href="https://airalliancehouston.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21260438853&gbraid=0AAAAABcnKX0mnrKkSqWdeucgc7w-KCmbD&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgIXCBhDBARIsAELC9Zjmnn6S7lcrWBh-epRogCukbEauQbDoTluUwBfiDX-vJVJAyUhuQNMaAnnnEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">Air Alliance Houston</a>, a local environmental advocacy group.
“They are some of the toughest challenges we face in the United States. They impact people’s health. They foreshorten their lives. They minimize their economic prosperity. That has impacts for our entire society,” Tejada said. “These are problems that are not going away.”
</blockquote>
We’ve <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=117932">discussed</a> this <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118802">before</a>. We may or may not feel the effect here, but someone will somewhere – it’s a matter of when and not if. The chaotic and disorganized response to Hurricane Katrina twenty years ago contributed to the steep decline in then-President Bush’s popularity and led the way to some major political change. I have no idea what could happen this time. It might not be anything, if this winds up being a not-so-bad hurricane year or if there’s enough of a visible response to hide everything else. But there will be suffering and long-term damage, and we won’t know what it is until it happens. Hope for the best, because it could be really bad.
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<title>Weekend link dump for June 8</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119049</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119049#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 18:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blog stuff]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[linkdump]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119049</guid>
<description><![CDATA[“To put it simply, Elon Musk’s brief time in Washington made American life worse, with actions that will continue to reveal the true extent of their immense damage for years to come.” “Exclusive State Department records show: As the Trump … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119049">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[“To put it simply, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/elon-musk-made-your-life-worse/">Elon Musk’s brief time in Washington made American life worse</a>, with actions that will continue to reveal the true extent of their immense damage for years to come.”
“Exclusive State Department records show: As the Trump administration abandons its humanitarian commitments, diplomats are reporting that <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-usaid-malawi-state-department-crime-sexual-violence-trafficking">the cuts have led to violence and instability</a> while undermining anti-terrorism initiatives.”
“As I said, I’d love it if Musk failed. But he didn’t. He accomplished a ton. He ran an anti-constitutional blitzkrieg through the federal government, did massive harm, violated a slew of criminal laws. And he only tired of his antics when the reputational harm to his companies became steep enough to really endanger them. <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dont-fall-for-elon-inc-s-press-campaign/sharetoken/cea686ef-157d-44dc-8406-e75e282dcbe5">He’s a destructive crook who needs to be held accountable for his actions</a>. And that’s exactly what this press roll-out, along with gauzy interviews, is all about thwarting.”
“Hundreds of ‘DEI’ books <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/05/dei-books-naval-academy/">are back at the Naval Academy</a>. An alum and a bookshop fought their removal.”
“Call Centers Replaced Many Doctors’ Receptionists. Now, <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/ai-call-centers-medical-receptionists-replaced-bots-human-touch-unions/">AI Is Coming</a> for Call Centers.”
“The Trump administration is <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/05/domestic-violence-prevention-trump/">making the country less safe</a> for domestic violence victims”.
“As American cities have grown in size and population and gotten hotter, they — not the federal government — <a href="https://grist.org/cities/mayors-climate-action-personal-cleveland/">have become crucibles for climate action</a>: Cities are electrifying their public transportation, forcing builders to make structures more energy efficient, and encouraging rooftop solar. Together with ambitious state governments, hundreds of cities large and small are pursuing climate action plans — documents that lay out how they will reduce emissions and adapt to extreme weather — with or without support from the feds.”
“Shari Redstone better change her tune, or she, her board, and her corporate officers <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/02/shari-redstone-might-be-headed-for-jail/">may go to prison on bribery charges</a> in 2029.” Or <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/05/paramount-cbs-lawsuit-payoff-trump-california-senate-probe-1236414776/">even sooner</a> than that.
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/30/trump-federalist-society-leonard-leo-maga-00378303">Let them fight</a>.
“Support for the law firms that didn’t make deals has been growing inside the offices of corporate executives. At least 11 big companies <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/law-firms-trump-deals-clients-71b3616d?st=szXmnR">are moving work away from law firms that settled with the administration</a> or are giving—or intend to give—more business to firms that have been targeted but refused to strike deals, according to general counsels at those companies and other people familiar with those decisions.”
From the <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/2/2325121/-Republicans-are-pissed-that-a-Democrat-is-using-their-shady-tricks?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">“they can dish it out but they sure can’t take it”</a> department.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/valerie-mahaffey-dead-northern-exposure-desperate-housewives-1236234453/">RIP, Valerie Mahaffey</a>, Emmy-winning actor who was on a ton of shows including more recently on Young Sheldon and Dead to Me.
<a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-actor-jonathan-joss-has-been-shot-and-killed-according-to-media-reports-37641377">RIP, Jonathan Joss</a>, actor known for King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation.
“One of the constants in the evolution of the openly gay athlete in the major North American men’s professional sports leagues — the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS — is that everyone who comes out is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6396179/2025/06/03/pride-month-gay-pro-athletes-evolution/?source=athletic_pulsenewsletter&campaign=13701503&userId=14739098">providing a for-free blueprint</a> for those who dare to be next.”
“The first is that even very positive technological revolutions (say, the Industrial Revolution) end up hurting a lot of people. Second, this revolution is coming to us under the guidance and ownership of tech billionaires who are increasingly wedded to and driven by predatory and illiberal ideologies. Both those facts make me think that <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/artificial-intelligence-and-the-posture-of-skepticism/sharetoken/7532a982-65cf-430b-8064-706d9d6e3bc6">we should approach every new AI development from a posture of skepticism</a>, even if some or most may end up being positive. Trust but verify and all that.”
“We’ve overproduced [computer science] degrees <a href="https://futurism.com/computer-science-majors-high-unemployment-rate">without addressing how exploitative and gatekept the tech hiring pipeline has become</a>. Entry-level roles are vanishing, unpaid internships are still rampant, and companies are offshoring or automating the very jobs these grads trained for.”
“The [Council for Christian Colleges & Universities] makes a lot of noise about defending its “religious freedom” but as Trump and Rubio explicitly restrict that freedom, <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/06/03/mass-deportation-now/">they seem content to sit back and take it</a>. OK, then.”
<a href="https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/local/2025/06/02/betsy-sockum-jochum-of-all-american-girls-professional-baseball-league-dies-at-104/84000250007/">RIP, Betsy “Sockum” Jochum</a>, last surviving original player from the All American Professional Girls Baseball League, who debuted with the 1943 South Bend Blue Sox. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AAGPBL/posts/pfbid0mP11KJx5f7wkqNqMwZHm8T4wW1U5ySyoqWhzpmkv83eF265FKpoxjesKmqZbuXWtl">AAGPBL Facebook page</a> has more.
“[Former University of Michigan President Santa] Ono will no longer be a top educator at the biggest, most beloved schools we have. But if his former colleagues are paying attention, he has at least offered them one parting educational gift. <a href="https://slate.com/life/2025/06/university-michigan-santa-ono-donald-trump-florida-uf.html?via=rss">Ono is proof that there is no length the leadership of the country’s crown-jewel universities can go to that will convince right-wing assailants to give them a soft landing</a>. Ono played a stupid game and won a stupid prize.”
“The tale of how smart toilet startup Throne landed its seed round is so full of serendipities, one could almost believe it was orchestrated by the hand of Fortuna, Roman goddess of providence.” They’re in Austin, I found this link via <a href="https://austin.citycast.fm/newsletter/2025-06-04?id=austin.99a6e114-2c64-46a8-95f6-81dca75802ca">the daily email from CityCast Austin</a>. Lance Armstrong is an investor. It actually sounds useful, but OMFG.
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2025/06/04/edmund-white-death-author-hiv/84025436007/">RIP, Edmund White</a>, prolific and pioneering gay author.
“I cannot think of anything like this level of politicization being formally introduced into the hiring process. Under the George W. Bush administration, it was a scandal when appointees in the Justice Department were caught scanning candidate CVs for civil servant positions to try to discern their political leanings. <a href="https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-politicization-of-federal-hiring">Now they will just ask them to explain how they can serve President Trump’s agenda</a>. Within the space of a generation, backdoor politicization practices went from being a source of shame to a formal policy.”
“For decades, the FBI and the Justice Department have been the main enforcers of laws against political corruption and white-collar fraud in the United States. In four months, the Trump administration has dismantled key parts of that law enforcement infrastructure, creating what experts say is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/firings-pardons-policy-changes-gutted-doj-anti-corruption-efforts-expe-rcna200571">the ripest environment for corruption by public officials and business executives</a> in a generation.”
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shigeo-nagashima-baseball-japan-da9d28bf17a6b34ed2093fdf3cea8559">RIP, Shigeo Nagashima</a>, Japanese baseball icon known as “Mr. Pro Baseball” in Japan.
“<a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2025-06-01/ohtani-homer-chase-hernandez">Everyone has a story</a>. You ask them where they live, where they work and there’s usually something interesting. We’re writing human-interest stories with [Shohei] Ohtani as a cover.” That’s from an LA Times story about the Japanese sportswriters who track down and write stories about the fans who catch Ohtani home run balls.
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45444339/vikings-great-jim-marshall-played-282-straight-games-dies">RIP, Jim Marshall</a>, Hall of Fame defensive lineman mostly for the Minnesota Vikings, one of the “Purple People Eaters”, held the NLF record for consecutive games played with 282.
“The US Institute of Peace <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-us-institute-of-peace-digs-out-of-under-doges-weed-stash-and-tries-to-rebuild/sharetoken/b641aff2-8cfb-4546-9ba8-aedb9fe49d31">Digs Out of Under DOGE’s Weed Stash</a> and Tries to Rebuild”.
“Now, here’s a story you don’t see every day. London-based AI startup Builder.ai has filed for bankruptcy after it was discovered that <a href="https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/builder-ai-collapse-microsoft-backed-fake-ai-services">its “AI” services were secretly operated by a team of 700 human employees in India</a>, masquerading as AI chatbots.”
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<title>The THC ban and the Houston retail market</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119130</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119130#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 09:55:31 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cannabis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dan Patrick]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Greg Abbott]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[hemp]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sales taxes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[THC]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[veto]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119130</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Wow. The bright lights of Bahama Mama’s flagship store along Lower Westheimer turned on a year ago, welcoming passersby into a hemp shop unlike anything else in Houston. A red carpet rolled into a mirrored showroom stocked with nearly every … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119130">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2025/thc-ban-abbott-vacancies/?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vcHJvamVjdHMvMjAyNS90aGMtYmFuLWFiYm90dC12YWNhbmNpZXMv&time=MTc0OTA1OTczODc2MQ==&rid=YWFjMTVlOGItMGZiZS00ZWU5LTg0MTEtY2MyOTY0M2U5ZGNm&sharecount=MQ==">Wow</a>.
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kuff/54574050429/in/dateposted-public/" title="PXL_20250605_164839719"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54574050429_6a578608d7_w.jpg" width="400" height="301" alt="PXL_20250605_164839719"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The bright lights of Bahama Mama’s flagship store along Lower Westheimer turned on a year ago, welcoming passersby into a hemp shop unlike anything else in Houston. A red carpet rolled into a mirrored showroom stocked with nearly every type of legal hemp product and accessory imaginable. A Las Vegas-like mix of color, chrome and cannabis culture gave the 5,000-square-foot boutique an Instagram-ready vibe.
The bold design reflected Bahama Mama’s even bolder real estate strategy. Over the past five years, the company has filled more than 115,000 square feet across 85 stores in Texas, including more than 50 in Houston. CEO Greg Laird said the brand pays about $7 million in rent and $3 million in sales taxes annually in Texas.
All of that could disappear if Gov. Greg Abbott does not veto Senate Bill 3, which would ban hemp-derived THC and nearly all CBD products starting on Sept. 1. Although Bahama Mama holds a large stake in each store, they are jointly owned with the independent operators who personally invest in their shops.
“That’s 85 operators who could lose their livelihoods (across Texas),” Laird said, in addition to their 200 Houston-based employees.
Bahama Mama is just one of thousands of shops in Texas facing this potential wipeout. The hemp industry has ballooned into a sector with $5.5 billion in annual sales supporting about 53,000 jobs across 8,500 businesses, according to a recent <a href="https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/us-states/texas/news/15741185/new-report-reveals-texas-hemp-market-contributes-10-billion-to-state-economy">Whitney Economics report</a>.
In the Houston area, more than 1,500 businesses are licensed to sell hemp, according to a Chronicle analysis of Texas State Department of Health Services data. About 400 of those are smoke or vape shops that rely heavily on hemp products.
Most of those 400 stores could be forced to close if the ban takes effect, dumping between 600,000 and 815,000 square feet of retail space into the market. That equates to roughly the square footage of Toyota Center. While that is a tiny piece of Houston’s 446 million-square-foot retail space market, for the tenants who fill those spaces, the shutdown could be devastating.
The fallout will be felt most sharply by tenants and small business owners who may lose their stores, investments and life savings. Meanwhile, landlords will be left scrambling to backfill space or resolve lease disputes.
[…]
Most tenants can’t simply walk away. Many signed personal guarantees, allowing landlords to pursue personal assets if rent isn’t paid. That puts homes, savings and vehicles at risk.
Melanne Carpenter, co-owner of Serenity Organics in Missouri City, said her landlord leased to her in part because she had a corporate job and signed a personal guarantee. She and her husband took out a business loan, which they’re still repaying. Her $4,300 monthly rent is sustained by a loyal customer base of mostly suburban parents who use hemp for anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain.
Tucked in a strip center near Chick-Fil-A, Serenity Organics has a spa-like design. Nearly all wellness products, from tinctures to dog treats, contain trace amounts of THC. If SB 3 is signed, she’ll likely close Aug. 31.
Carpenter, who is also a retail real estate agent, expects a wave of defaults.
“You’re talking about a lot of empty space. It’s going to affect landlords, because they’re going to have vacant space, and they’re going to have it very, very quickly.”
The uncertainty comes just as she’s weighing whether to renew her lease. This time, she’s trying to negotiate an exit clause, something her original lease didn’t include.
Some tenants secured exit clauses allowing them to break leases if regulations change. But these clauses aren’t universal, especially if landlords used boilerplate language in the lease. And some tenants didn’t know to ask for an exit clause.
</blockquote>
At the aggregate level, this is a small piece of the real estate market, which is currently in good shape and likely can withstand the hit. But that’s still a lot of people who are going to be unemployed or in the lurch financially as a result. <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118982">You know what I think should happen next</a>, whether Abbott does veto this bill or not. That’s primarily going to be on campaigns and candidates, but if you frequent one of those 400+ locations, you might mention to the owner and/or the employees who they can thank for their current situation.
Side note #1: I wonder how much of that $5.5 billion in annual sales is within Houston specifically. Whatever happens to the real estate, that could be a significant short-term blow to our sales tax revenue.
Side note #2: There are now two of these shops within walking distance of my house. I can’t say they add anything to the character of the neighborhood, but whatever, they’re there and they don’t seem to be a problem. I don’t think either of them has been there for much more than a year. The law that (inadvertently) allowed these shops to open was passed in 2019. I wonder what percentage of these places are more than, say, three years old.
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<title>Humble ISD candidate challenges her disqualification</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119159</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119159#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 09:44:11 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2025]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brittnai Brown]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Humble ISD]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tracy Shannon]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119159</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This story isn’t over yet. Meanwhile, former trustee-elect Brittnai Brown has challenged the notion stipulated in a lawsuit against her that she did not reside in Humble ISD for the required six months before the filing deadline to run for … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119159">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/humble-isd-election-recount-20357922.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">This story isn’t over yet</a>.
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<a href="https://www.humbleisd.net/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://cmsv2-assets.apptegy.net/uploads/14444/logo/15795/Humble_ISD.png" width="150" height="150" /></a>
Meanwhile, former trustee-elect Brittnai Brown has challenged the notion stipulated in a lawsuit against her that she did not reside in Humble ISD for the required six months before the filing deadline to run for office. 
The district found Brown was ineligible because she was not a registered voter in Humble ISD before the filing deadline, despite living in the area. 
Brown said she updated her voter registration a few hours before filing for office, with the understanding that when she received a confirmation from the website that she had initiated her address change, that meant she had taken the appropriate measures. 
“Verifying both residency and voter registration falls under the shared responsibility of the election administrator and the district. As a candidate, I followed all stated procedures and submitted documentation in good faith,” Brown said in an email to the Houston Chronicle.
It takes <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/election-texas-not-registered-vote-what-to-know-19846334.php">up to 30 days for voter registration</a> to become valid after a person changes their address, meaning that Brown’s registration was not technically valid until one month after the filing deadline. She said she was not aware of this discrepancy. Humble ISD representatives had previously said that they had not previously encountered an issue with voter registration of candidates before.
 “I chose to run because I believe in the power of education to transform lives. My goal in running for the school board was to ensure that every student regardless of background receives a quality education in a safe, supportive learning environment,” Brown said.
The candidate who filed the challenge against Brown’s candidacy, Tracy Shannon, had asked in her lawsuit to be named victor since she received the second highest number of votes, but district counsel said last month that the only legal recourse they could take in the wake of Brown’s ineligibility was to have the current trustee, Ken Kirchhofer, stay on until the board decides how to fill the vacant seat, either by appointment or by a special election. 
Shannon said that she would await which option the board chose for filling the seat, and added that “this whole issue highlights some need to change the law to clarify that the election authority needs to have some responsibility to determine eligibility beyond looking at the application.”
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118954">here</a> for the background. The first half of that story was about a recount that I wasn’t interested in. I appreciate the explanation that candidate Brown provided, but it’s not clear to me that even if it’s accepted it would re-qualify her. The original story didn’t specify when Brown updated her registration but said it was likely around the time of the filing deadline, which is generally around ten weeks before the election. That’s still not enough time to meet the “registered to vote in Humble ISD six months before the election” rule. She may be saying she was living in Humble ISD before then and perhaps her voter registration just hadn’t been updated in a timely fashion to reflect that, but if that’s the case I would think she’d need to sue to challenge the six-month requirement for it to matter. I Am Not A Lawyer, etc etc etc, so who knows what comes next. The Humble board didn’t take it up in their June 3 meeting, but their next meeting is this Tuesday, and one way or another they have to decide what to do with that seat. I’ll keep an eye on it.
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<title>Wisk gives a virtual demo</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118939</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118939#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 09:34:37 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Planes, Trains, and Automobiles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[air taxis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[downtown]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ellington Field]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[eVTOL]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Federal Aviation Administration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[flying cars]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Hobby Airport]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston Airport System]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[IAH]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sugar Land]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[taxis]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vertiport]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Wisk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[I’d want to see the real thing, but I suppose that wasn’t practical under the circumstances. Saemi Poelma eagerly posed for a photo Tuesday inside a model autonomous air taxi, impressed by the possibility of a new way of traveling … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118939">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/wisk-flying-taxi-display-houston-20336651.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">I’d want to see the real thing</a>, but I suppose that wasn’t practical under the circumstances.
<blockquote>
<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-02-29/sugar-land-set-be-launch-pad-wisks-evtol-air-taxi-services"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full" src="https://www.ainonline.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,format=webp,quality=95/https://backend.ainonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/fpsc_1200x630/public/2024-02/Wisk_Gen6_AirTaxi_1-1_0.png?h=8f9cfe54&itok=GiFUBsr6" width="300" height="158" /></a>
Saemi Poelma eagerly posed for a photo Tuesday inside <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/wisk-airports-self-flying-taxi-19519894.php">a model autonomous air taxi</a>, impressed by the possibility of a new way of traveling without a human pilot.
“This is something that we all imagined as kids,” Poelma said.
The sleek, self-flying aircraft drew a crowd of curious onlookers at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Wisk Aero, a California-based air mobility company, showcased the air taxi at the 2025 Xponential Conference. The company plans to establish the transit in the greater Houston area by the end of the decade.
Wisk signed a 12-month agreement with <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/wisk-airports-self-flying-taxi-19519894.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">the Houston Airport System</a> and <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/wisk-pilotless-air-taxis-houston-18690676.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">the city of Sugar Land</a> last year to support the strategic planning efforts needed to launch the new form of air transportation.
Wisk’s collaboration with Houston Airports and Sugar Land consisted of identifying and assessing potential locations for developing infrastructure for air taxi operations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, Ellington Airport and Sugar Land Regional Airport.
“I do believe that with this new technology in the aviation industry, people are going to be able to travel to farther places quicker, and it’ll also help alleviate some of that traffic,” said Elizabeth Rosenbaum, assistant city manager of the city of Sugar Land, who also attended the convention. 
Wisk also plans to extend the agreements with both cities, according to Emilien Marchand, director of ecosystems partnerships. 
[…]
The company <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/wisk-routes-vertiports-air-taxi-19961324.php">revealed proposed flight pathways</a> to the Houston Chronicle, showing six vertiport locations in the Houston area and nine routes. 
Marchand said Wisk has been collaborating with the Houston Airports and the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the best places to land the aircraft without affecting commercial traffic. 
“No routes have yet been approved by the FAA,” he said.
Wisk offered attendees a chance to wear virtual reality headsets to simulate riding in the aircraft traveling from the center to IAH. From the sky, attendees could see Daikin Park and the nearby Marriott Hotel in downtown Houston. 
The virtual experience also showed examples of how the vertiport would look on top of the center or near the airport during landing or takeoff.
</blockquote>
See <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=113650">here</a>, <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=114983">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116958">here</a> for some background. Wisk is <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=116961">not the only eVTOL aiming to operate in Houston</a>, but they were there providing their virtual rides, so they get the story. I don’t know how convincing a virtual reality demo ride is – I mean, you can take a VR ride on the Millennium Falcon at Disneyland – but it’ll have to do for now.
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<title>Measles update: There’s nowhere to go but down</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119143</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119143#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2025 10:00:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[The great state of Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Centers for Disease Control]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cochran County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collin County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[coronavirus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dawson County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Denton County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[El Paso]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[flu]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Gaines County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lamar County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lubbock]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[measles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New Mexico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[RFK Jr]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rockwall County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tarrant County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Terry County]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Department of State Health Services]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[US Department of Health and Human Services]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vaccinations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Xavier Becerra]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Yoakum County]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[What a depressing headline. Amid a widespread decline in childhood measles vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, a study published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state. Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119143">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/measles-vaccination-rates-us-counties-study/">What a depressing headline</a>.
<blockquote>
Amid a widespread decline in childhood <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/measles-outbreak-us-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http="">measles</a> vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, a <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2834892" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">study</a> published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state.
Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination rate decreased from 93.92% in the 2017-2018 school year to 91.26% in the 2023-2024 school year. Other states were not included because they had missing vaccination data, the authors of the study said.
Of the 2,066 counties the study looked at, 78% saw a decline in vaccination rates. Only four of the 33 states — California, Connecticut, Maine and New York — saw an increase in the average county-level vaccination rate, the study found.
The data shows significant diversity in the levels of vaccination within and across states, which the authors of the study say could “help inform targeted vaccination strategies.”
[…]
The CDC has also reported <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html">state-level declines in vaccination coverage for kindergartners</a> by school year, saying the rate among U.S. kindergartners has decreased from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% in the 2023-2024 school year.
</blockquote>
It sure would be nice to have a federal government that had a strategy for improving vaccination rates, wouldn’t it? The one grimly optimistic thing I can think of to say here is that we have seen an uptick in measles vaxxes in Texas since this outbreak began. Nothing quite focuses the mind like the specter of actual risk. It may be a blip, but against that we’re almost certain to see more outbreaks like this, so maybe there will be more of the resulting boosts. Depressing, but it is what it is.
Pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable, and practice some deep breathing as you read <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/measles-outbreak-mennonites-west-texas-seminole-vaccines-rcna208284">this</a>.
<blockquote>
Sick children began showing up at Texas hospitals in January.
Dr. Leila Myrick was on call when the first child landed in Seminole’s emergency room, where she consulted a medical textbook to confirm measles, a disease she had never actually seen.
Myrick had moved her family from Atlanta to Seminole in 2020, drawn by the promise of small-town medicine in a city cut out of the desert, a conservative but diverse community where many of her patients were Mennonite and Latino. She had taken care of their families in the five years since — through Covid and baby deliveries and everything in between. A framed poster of Myrick cradling newborns hangs in the hallway outside her office.
Measles now threatened these children, and Myrick did what she could to persuade parents to vaccinate them. She gave interviews, answered calls on a local German-language radio show, stayed late at her clinic and worked weekends at the hospital.
But her message faced competition.
Children’s Health Defense, the country’s largest anti-vaccine nonprofit, has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/measles-outbreaks-anti-vaccine-misinformation-rcna136994" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downplayed</a> the danger of measles for decades, falsely calling it benign and beneficial to the immune system. Seminole’s outbreak didn’t deter the group, which <a href="https://x.com/ChildrensHD/status/1892697323580592382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrongly</a> suggested it had been caused by a local vaccination campaign and then <a href="https://x.com/ChildrensHD/status/1894036984814883242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floated other</a> contradictory theories: that the vaccines were failing, shedding the measles virus, or perhaps working too well, leading somehow to a super virulent strain.
Myrick watched her neighbors repeat these distortions in a local Facebook group, “Seminole TX Residents NEED to KNOW,” sometimes naming her directly.
“Every doctor that pushes the jabs gets commission from the big Pharma,” one woman wrote.
In late February, the Gaines County library posted a flyer “kindly” asking that unvaccinated and measles-sick patrons not come in. By the evening, after an outcry in the comments, the library removed the post.
“I see a vulnerable population getting fed the wrong information and making decisions for their children’s health based on wrong information,” Myrick said. “And I feel helpless.”
Responsibility for managing the outbreak fell on Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District.
Holbrooks grew up in Seminole and after stints in Lubbock and Austin moved back in 2008 to lead public health across four counties. Run on about $2 million in grants a year, the health department’s responsibilities are broad — vaccines and family planning, but also disaster response, fire protection, food safety, landfills, inspections, permits and more.
Holbrooks didn’t see measles coming, though he is quick to say he probably should have — vaccine exemptions in Gaines County had more than doubled in the last 10 years, and about 1 in 5 kindergarteners were now skipping the shots.
When the first cases were confirmed at the end of January, “my heart sank,” Holbrooks said.
The district kept only a couple of doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines on hand — enough for new families moving into the area, not to meet the sudden need of an outbreak. The two epidemiologists Holbrooks had on staff were immediately overwhelmed by case investigations. Holbrooks also didn’t have outreach materials in Low German or a relationship with the Mennonite community, which he now urgently needed a way into.
He turned to the state, which brought in nurses, testing supplies and vaccines. He set up a vaccine and testing clinic outside Seminole Hospital District; a spray-painted arrow on unfinished plywood signaled where to go.
Billie Dean, a nurse and site leader at the clinic, remembered one Mennonite woman who drove by every day in a compact gold car.
“We would see her pull in, and we were like, ‘Oh, she’s back,’” Dean said. Each day, they told her how many people had gotten vaccinated the day before, how none had come back with side effects. After two weeks, she rolled down her window and said she was ready. A few days later, she came back with her daughter and grandson.
Holbrooks printed flyers in English, Spanish and, with the assistance of a local author, Low German, to distribute at grocery stores, libraries, post offices and churches, and he gave updates on the local TV and radio stations.
Still, cases in the area ticked up, nearly doubling in a week to 80, a sure undercount, since officials knew many people weren’t being tested. In a letter published in February in The Mennonite Post, a German-language newspaper, a married Seminole couple <a href="https://anabaptistworld.org/texas-community-hit-with-measles-outbreak/">reported</a> “a lot of sick people here. Many have fever or diarrhea, vomiting or measles.”
Epidemiology deals in numbers. With <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/measles/symptoms/complications.html">measles</a>, they go like this: With 1,000 cases, about 200 children will require hospitalization, 50 will develop pneumonia, and one to three will die.
The numbers caught up to Seminole on Feb. 26.
</blockquote>
To invoke the old Mister Rogers maxim, there are a lot of helpers to see in this story. A lot of people in Gaines County and Lubbock and elsewhere did their level best to keep people healthy, answer their questions, get them and their kids vaccinated, and just generally beat back the avalanche of disinformation and bullshit from the professional deniers and bullshit peddlers. The article starts with a focus on one of them, so be prepared going in. And look, it’s easy for us to fall into non-empathetic ditches, in part because there are so many people involved in this story who will be on the express train to hell if such a place exists, but we can’t lose our own humanity. Look again at how many helpers there are in this saga. For all the darkness, there’s also plenty of light.
<a href="https://fortworthreport.org/2025/06/03/tarrant-county-in-the-clear-as-measles-cases-drop-in-texas-heres-why/">This</a> is a good sign for the short-term future.
<blockquote>
Measles is on a downward trend in the state, and the four people in Tarrant County who were infected appear to have not infected anyone else, Dr. Brian Byrd, director for Tarrant County Public Health, said during a recent meeting.
“The message is we’re trending in the right direction, however, we need to stay vigilant,” Byrd said at the June 2 Tarrant County Mayors’ Council meeting. “There are still pockets of unvaccinated people around Tarrant County.”
Measles symptoms appear one to three weeks after a person is exposed. Byrd said the 21-day window has passed since anyone was last exposed by the four people in Tarrant County who were infected. The four were family members.
“We don’t expect any cases stemming from those four cases,” Byrd said.
</blockquote>
I’ve been keeping an eye on the known exposures in population centers as a possible vector for the case rate to go back up. So far it seems like the response from the local health officials has been enough to prevent that from happening. Kudos to them, let’s hope they can keep it up.
And let’s <a href="https://www.tpr.org/bioscience-medicine/2025-06-03/measles-update-state-reports-4-new-cases-in-west-texas-outbreak">remember to do our part</a>.
<blockquote>
The Centers for Disease Control wants everyone with international travel plans to make sure they’re fully vaccinated against measles, a change that comes as outbreaks simmer all over North America.
A recent measles outbreak in Colorado was tied to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed in Denver. Canada and Mexico are wrestling with outbreaks, too, and now the CDC has stepped up its advice to international travelers: make sure you’re fully vaccinated or don’t go.
At least 1,088 measles infections have been reported in the U.S. so far this year — most connected to local outbreaks, including one in Texas that accounts for 742 of those cases. But CDC has also gotten 62 reports of air travelers contagious with measles while flying this year.
Each unvaccinated person on a plane with an infected traveler is at high risk for contracting the airborne virus and passing it to others, so the CDC wants travelers to confirm they’ve had both doses of the measles vaccine at least two weeks before they travel.
</blockquote>
Travelling while unvaccinated is irresponsible. Travelling while actively sick is downright malevolent. Don’t be that guy.
We will end with some <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/texas-health-department-reports-no-additional-measles-cases-state-since-june-3-2025-06-06/">good news</a>.
<blockquote>
The Texas health department reported no new cases of measles on Friday, the first time the state has not recorded an increase since the outbreak began in February.
The state, which is the epicenter of the current measles outbreak, has a total of 742 confirmed cases as of Friday.
The number of new cases continues to decrease, from an average of about 12 per day around the peak to fewer than one case per day recently, Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations at the Texas health department, told Reuters in an email.
“The fact that (we) haven’t had any new hospitalizations reported in more than two weeks gives us confidence there are not major numbers of unreported cases still occurring out there,” said Van Deusen.
The United States is battling one of the worst outbreaks of the highly contagious airborne infection it has seen, with over 1,000 reported cases and three confirmed deaths.
Despite the slowing spread of the infection in Texas, the country continues to record weekly increases in measles cases elsewhere.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a total of 1,168 confirmed measles cases were reported by 34 jurisdictions as of Thursday, an increase of 80 cases since its previous update last week.
Since 2000, the only time infections surpassed the 1,000 mark was in 2019, when the country reported 1,274 cases.
There have been 17 outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, reported in 2025, the CDC said.
</blockquote>
There were <a href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-measles-outbreak-2025-june-3-update">four cases in the Tuesday report</a>, so four for the week, and a step down from the around-ten-per-week plateau we’d been at. If this is the new normal, then so much the better.
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<title>Add Rep. Talarico to the “thinking about running for Senate” list</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119150</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119150#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2025 09:54:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Beto O'Rourke]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colin Allred]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Democratic primary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2018]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2024]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fundraising]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[James Talarico]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joaquin Castro]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Cornyn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lite Gov]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nathan Johnson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[polls]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[primaries]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Roland Gutierrez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Terry Virts]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Vikki Goodwin]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[Join the party, there’s plenty of room. State Rep. James Talarico, a former schoolteacher who often goes viral on social media for his feisty exchanges with Republicans, told Hearst Newspapers he is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate in … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119150">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/james-talarico-us-senate-race-20362725.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral">Join the party</a>, there’s plenty of room.
<blockquote>
<div style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/james-talarico/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full" src="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/84cf57ae40c2c9c71840d37d4ba6787b/James_Talarico.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a>Rep. James Talarico</div>
State Rep. James Talarico, a former schoolteacher who often goes viral on social media for his feisty exchanges with Republicans, told Hearst Newspapers he is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
“The legislative session just ended, and I am having conversations about how I can best serve, and that does include the Senate race,” said Talarico, an Austin Democrat.
The seat is currently held by <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/john-cornyn-senate-reelection-campaign-20232800.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">longtime U.S. Sen. John Cornyn</a>, who is facing a Republican <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ken-paxton-john-cornyn-senate-20265874.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="native">primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton</a>.
No Democrats have officially declared for the race. But former U.S. Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke, who both unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, have also voiced interest in running.
Talarico, 36, joined the state Legislature in 2019 after flipping a Republican-held seat that stretches north from Austin. This session, he emerged as a forceful voice against Gov. Greg Abbott’s push for private school vouchers, frequently castigating the policy in floor debates and committee hearings as a “scam” pushed by West Texas billionaires to provide “welfare for the wealthy.”
He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. As a pastor, Talarico frequently <a class="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/16/james-talarico-texas-democrats-00101231" data-link="native">quotes scripture</a> and invokes religious ideas to criticize policies like displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
[…]
In addition to the U.S. Senate seat, governor, attorney general, lieutenant governor and the other statewide offices are on the ballot in 2026.
A U.S. Senate run would take significant capital; last year’s contest was the most expensive in the nation with <a class="" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/ted-cruz-colin-allred-most-expensive-senate-race-19874369.php" data-link="native">more than $165 million in fundraising.</a> Talarico’s state campaign account had $639,000 at the end of last year. Democrats said they are confident he could bring in national donors because of his ability to gain traction on social media.
Talarico’s legislative speeches are often clipped and posted on his official accounts. On TikTok he has 880,000 followers. In the last month alone, his videos have racked tens of millions of views, surpassing even national Democratic figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I’ve talked to him about running for governor all session long, but he’s told me he’s looking at Senate instead,” said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, another Austin Democrat.
“I think that he’s good at taking the fight to Republicans,” she said. “There’s probably no more vulnerable Republican statewide candidate than Ken Paxton, and Talarico has shown that he’s very adept at challenging and taking on Republicans on their weaknesses.”
</blockquote>
The <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118700">list of people who are “thinking about” a Senate race</a> is considerably longer than what is shown above. Like Rep. Hinojosa. I would have encouraged Rep. Talarico to consider running for Governor, but he’s going to do what he’s going to do. I believe at least one person from the “maybe Senate” list will eventually run for something else.
Dems do have a <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=118926">candidate for Lite Guv</a> in State Rep. Vikki Goodwin. With the legislative session over and fundraising now open, we’re likely to hear more announcements of retirements, re-elections, and candidacies for various offices. Fundraising will of course be a big deal – as noted Talarico had <a href="https://prd.tecprd.ethicsefile.com/public/cf/2025/pdfs/ScrubbedReport_100987670.PDF">$638K on hand</a> as of January; he’ll need to step that way up, and he’s got some time to make an impression for the July report if he’s serious. (Rep. Goodwin has <a href="https://prd.tecprd.ethicsefile.com/public/cf/2025/pdfs/ScrubbedReport_100986251.PDF">$150K on hand</a>, and as she is in for Lite Guv, she will definitely need to get it going.) Talarico has been successful on social media and that will help him. The <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/former-san-antonio-teacher-state-rep-james-talarico-considering-us-senate-run-37678913">Current</a> and <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/politics/can-a-viral-democrat-take-down-ken-paxton-in-2026-talaricos-rise-signals-a-new-chapter-in-texas-politics/">Reform Austin</a> have more.
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<title>A change in when we vote early</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119096</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119096#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2025 09:44:59 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[That's our Lege]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bob Hall]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[early voting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2026]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Election 2028]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[John Bucy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119096</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Very interesting. Texas will no longer have a three-day gap between the end of early voting and Election Day under a bill passed by the Texas Legislature that is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott. Currently, Texas ends in-person early voting … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119096">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://link.houstonchronicle.com/view/599db56424c17c50398bcb61nvxyk.3r/5f11ee51">Very interesting</a>.
<blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-45332" src="http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/EarlyVoting.jpg" alt="" width="254" height="199" />
Texas will no longer have a three-day gap between the end of early voting and Election Day under a bill passed by the Texas Legislature that is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Currently, Texas ends in-person early voting on the Friday before Election Day and restarts voting on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. for Election Day. But under the new changes, the gap is gone and Texas will essentially have one voting period that runs for 13 days.
“So this means once the voting starts — the same number of early vote days — it just doesn’t stop,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said of the changes.
The bill by state Sen. Bob Hall, a North Texas Republican, had big support among Democrats too.
“What it means is we’ll now have two weekends of early voting instead of just the one,” said State Rep. John Bucy, a Williamson County Democrat.
Bucy said he’s always wary of changes to election laws, but in this case, voters are getting two full weekends of early voting.
It’s one of the few bipartisan election bills in recent years at the Capitol, where there’s been fierce battles over Republicans’ efforts to change voter registration rules, limit voting hours and change vote-by-mail rules all in the name of rooting out fraud.
If Abbott signs the bill into law, the change won’t go into effect until after the 2026 elections to give counties time to adjust to the new scheduling. They are expected to be in place for the next presidential election cycle in 2028.
The bill also changes how the state reports election results. No longer will state election officials report early vote results shortly after polls close on election night. Instead, those results will be included later when voting results from Election Day are also ready to be released.
</blockquote>
The bill in question is <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB2753">SB2753</a>, and the key passage is this:
<blockquote>SECTION 15. Sections 85.001(a) and (e), Election Code, are amended to read as follows: 
(a) The period for early voting by personal appearance begins on the 12th [<del datetime="2025-06-03T00:25:03+00:00">17th</del>] day before election day, [<del datetime="2025-06-03T00:25:03+00:00">and</del>] continues through the [<del datetime="2025-06-03T00:25:03+00:00">fourth</del>] day before election day, and includes Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, except as otherwise provided by this section.</blockquote>
So if I’m interpreting this correctly, instead of early voting in person beginning three Mondays before Election Day (this is assuming a Tuesday election) and running through the Friday before, it will begin two Thursdays before and run through the Monday immediately before. If this were in effect this year, instead of early voting starting on Monday, October 20 and running through Friday, October 31, it would begin on Thursday, October 23 and run through Monday, November 3, with Election Day being on Tuesday, November 4. Still twelve days of early voting in person, just shifted forward by three days.
I think I like it. I agree with Rep. Bucy, it’s nice to have that second weekend included. There’s more to the bill than just this, and I’ll leave that to others to explore at this time. Senator Hall is, to put it mildly, not someone to trust in electoral matters, so I remain at least a little wary. But again, if my interpretation is correct, this sounds fine to me. Am I missing something? What do you think? <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/elections/texas-to-expand-weekend-voting-ahead-of-election-cycle/">Reform Austin</a> has more.
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<title>Texas DREAM Act suddenly killed by activist judge</title>
<link>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119147</link>
<comments>https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119147#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Charles Kuffner]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2025 10:01:06 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Legal matters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DREAM Act]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[DREAM.us]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[FIEL Houston]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[immigration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ken Paxton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[lawsuit]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mayes Middleton]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[The Lege]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119147</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is some bullshit. Undocumented students in Texas are no longer eligible for in-state tuition after Texas agreed Wednesday with the federal government’s demand to stop the practice. The abrupt end to Texas’ 24-year-old law came hours after the U.S. … <a href="https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=119147">Continue reading →</a>]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/texas-justice-department-lawsuit-undocumented-in-state-tuition/">This is some bullshit</a>.
<blockquote>
Undocumented students in Texas are no longer eligible for in-state tuition after Texas agreed Wednesday with the federal government’s demand to stop the practice.
The abrupt end to Texas’ 24-year-old law came hours after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was suing Texas over its policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower tuition rates at public universities. Texas quickly asked the court to side with the feds and find that the law was unconstitutional and should be blocked, which U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor did.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed credit for the outcome, saying in a statement Wednesday evening that “ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,” echoing the argument made by Trump administration officials.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Wednesday. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas, where <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/19/reed-oconnor-federal-judge-texas-obamacare-forum-shopping-ken-paxton/">O’Connor</a> <a href="https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/orders/3-343.pdf">hears all cases</a>. O’Connor, appointed by President George W. Bush, has long been a favored judge for the Texas attorney general’s office and conservative litigants.
Texas began granting in-state tuition to undocumented students in 2001, becoming the first state to extend eligibility. A bill to end this practice <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/06/texas-undocumented-immigrants-in-state-college-tuition/#:~:text=The%20Senate's%20K%2D16%20committee,State%20Sen.">advanced out of a Texas Senate committee</a> for the first time in a decade this year but stalled before reaching the floor.
The measure, <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB1798">Senate Bill 1798</a>, would have repealed the law, and also required students to cover the difference between in- and out-of-state tuition should their school determine they had been misclassified. It would have allowed universities to withhold their diploma if they don’t pay the difference within 30 days of being notified and if the diploma had not already been granted.
Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston authored the legislation, which would have prohibited universities from using any money to provide undocumented students with scholarships, grants or financial aid. It would have also required universities to report students whom they believe had misrepresented their immigration status to the attorney general’s office and tied their funding to compliance with the law.
Responding to the filing Wednesday, Middleton <a href="https://x.com/mayes_middleton/status/1930375147594363226?s=46">wrote</a> on social media that he welcomed the lawsuit and hoped the state would settle it with an agreement scrapping eligibility for undocumented migrants.
[…]
This issue has come before the courts before. In 2022, a district court ruled that federal law prevented the University of North Texas from offering undocumented immigrants an educational benefit that was not available to all U.S. citizens. The <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/10/texas-tuition-lawsuit-undocumented-in-state/">5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals</a> threw out that case on procedural grounds, but noted there likely were “valid preemption challenges to Texas’ scheme.” Trump administration lawyers repeatedly cited that finding throughout Wednesday’s filing.
“States like Texas have been in clear violation of federal law on this issue,” said Robert Henneke, executive director and general counsel at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the conservative think tank that brought the 2022 lawsuit. “If anything, it’s surprising that this wasn’t brought earlier.
Don Graham, a co-founder of TheDream.US, the largest scholarship program for undocumented students, said these young people already face significant hurdles to get to college. They cannot access federal grants and loans, so legal action to rescind in-state tuition could prevent them from completing or enrolling in college altogether, he noted.
“It’ll mean that some of the brightest young students in the country, some of the most motivated, will be denied an opportunity for higher education,” Graham said. “And it’ll hurt the workforce, it’ll hurt the economy.”
Hundreds of Texas students who have been awarded a <a href="https://www.thedream.us/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dream.US</a> scholarship went into nursing and education, professions that are struggling with shortages. Recent <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/economic-cost-repealing-state-tuition-texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">economic analysis</a> from the American Immigration Council suggests rescinding in-state tuition for undocumented students in the state could cost Texas more than $460 million a year from lost wages and spending power.
The loss of thousands of students will also have an immediate financial impact on universities, according to available data. About 20,000 students using the law to enroll at Texas universities paid over $81 million in tuition and fees in 2021, according to a <a href="https://everytexan.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Texas-Dream-Act-fact-sheet-May2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> from progressive nonprofit Every Texan. In the wake of the court’s ruling, advocates said stifling those enrollments would create cascading effects.
“This policy has been instrumental in providing access to higher education for all Texas students, regardless of immigration status, and dismantling it would not only harm these students but also undermine the economic and social fabric of our state,” said Judith Cruz, assistant director for the Houston region for EdTrust in Texas.
At least one organization, <a href="https://fielhouston.org/">Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight</a>, which goes by its Spanish acronym FIEL, released a statement saying it would challenge the court’s judgment. “Without in-state tuition, many students who have grown up in Texas, simply will not be able to afford three or four times the tuition other Texas students pay,” FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said. “This is not just.”
</blockquote>
I want to note that the 2001 law passed with near-unanimous support in both chambers. It was not only uncontroversial, it was popular. Political support for such laws can certainly change over time, but it’s bizarre to me that it could have been illegal all this time. And that’s even before we get into this lightning-fast lawsuit-followed-by-immediate-settlement, which sure doesn’t seem like how the legal system usually acts. I may not be a lawyer, but <a href="https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-155-the-six-hour-settlement">Steve Vladeck</a> is, and he calls bullshit, too.
<blockquote>
Within a span of just over six hours, (1) the federal government sued Texas challenging a state law under which undocumented immigrants who reside in Texas are eligible for in-state tuition at Texas’s colleges and universities; (2) Texas agreed to “settle” the lawsuit by consenting to a judgment under which the state would be permanently enjoined from enforcing the law because it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (ostensibly because it is preempted by federal law); and (3) the consent judgment was approved by the district judge—Judge Reed O’Connor, who had a 100% chance of having this case assigned to him, since it was filed by the federal government in … the Wichita Falls Division of the Northern District of Texas.
There are at least three problems with what happened here. First, the Supreme Court has <a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep319/usrep319302/usrep319302.pdf" rel="">long made clear</a> that Article III courts lack the power to adjudicate such transparently collusive lawsuits—because <a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep402/usrep402047/usrep402047.pdf" rel="">there is no true case or controversy</a> when “both litigants desire precisely the same result.” Indeed, district courts are supposed to have an obligation, in such circumstances, to protect the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Not so much, here.
Second, even if there’s some way to satisfy Article III in this context, it’s Republicans who have spent much of the past decade railing against what they’ve described as “sue-and-settle,” where a federal agency defendant agrees to settle a lawsuit with a plaintiff on the (alleged) ground that the agency agrees with the plaintiff’s regulatory goals. Those cases (1) usually take longer than six hours; (2) tend to involve contexts in which the agency has a good-faith argument that it’s going to lose the lawsuit if it doesn’t settle; and (3) are typically brought by directly affected interest groups. In all three respects, this seems … worse. Indeed, part of what appears to have prompted yesterday’s activity was the fact that two bills intended to repeal the 2001 state law failed this week in the Texas Legislature. A collusive lawsuit by the United States against a state shouldn’t be a backdoor when the democratic process has already declined to intervene.
And third, of all of the courthouses in which the United States and Texas could’ve played this game, they singled-out Wichita Falls—one of the handful of “single-judge” divisions remaining in any federal district court in the country after the Judicial Conference’s March 2024 policy statement strongly discouraging the practice. Not only does that suggest a lack of confidence on the parties’ part that a randomly assigned judge would have endorsed these shenanigans, but it also drives home that, for all of the complaining by the current administration and its supporters about “judge shopping” by litigants challenging Trump policies, the only real judge shopping that’s currently going on is by the federal government.
It’s all a stain on the federal courts—one that, in this case, comes at the literal expense of as many as 20,000 Texans who have been living in the United States since they were children. Everyone involved in this sham proceeding ought to be ashamed of themselves—and, if given the chance, the Fifth Circuit shouldn’t let it stand. I’m not holding my breath.
</blockquote>
The long list of things that the next Democratic government needs to deal with includes as a high priority killing off these judicial cheat codes for the likes of Ken Paxton and his cronies. That’s too far in the future to worry about right now. The thing to do now is appeal, however long a shot that is. I wish I had a better answer. The other thing to do is make this a part of the case against Trump on the grounds of limitless, unrelenting grift, corruption, and crime. The biggest problem there is that it’s so vast regular people have a hard time wrapping their minds around it. The best way to deal with that is to tell relatable stories about it, and boy is there no shortage of those. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/5/2326151/-Texas-throws-immigrants-under-the-bus-as-it-caves-to-DOJ?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main">Daily Kos</a> and <a href="https://www.reformaustin.org/education/texas-ends-in-state-tuition-for-undocumented-students-after-doj-lawsuit/">Reform Austin</a> have more.
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