Economic Policy

Tex Kerschen: Tidal Economics

Christian Lopez, Overtaxed Yankee Fan, The Sequel (Where He Becomes A Charity)

Christian Lopez: Now sponsored by the champagne of bottled beers​That's it, you win, Christian Lopez. I give up. You all remember, Christian Lopez, right? (It's only been like 24 hours since I last wrote about him. Please tell me you remember.) Just in case, Lopez was the ample Yankee fan wh ... More >>

Ron Paul: Yes, People Are Still Laughing If You Think You Will Be The 2012 GOP Nominee

Lake Jackson's favorite congressman, Ron Paul, proudly announced to the nation yesterday that no one's laughing at him anymore when he says he could become the Republican nominee for president and maybe get in the White House. "They mocked me for my foreign policy and they laughed at my monetary po ... More >>

HISD Trustees Prove They Can Go Hours Without Peeing

Margaret DowningTrustee Michael Lunceford and Superintendent Terry Grier wade through another marathon budget meeting​Houston ISD board members resolutely stayed anchored at the board room table for hours Monday, picking through programs, considering projections (What if there's a 3.3 percent ... More >>

It's 'Big Girl, Big Boy Time,' HISD's Paula Harris Says

HISDPaula Harris gets tough with fellow board members.​In a lengthy and sometimes tense board meeting that brought Houston ISD trustee Juliet Stipeche to tears, trustee Carol Mims Galloway to call for a tax increase and announce that all was not hunky dory with the board, and board President P ... More >>

It's Nut-Cutting Time at HISD

The axman cometh​There was no talk of raising taxes as Houston ISD trustees reviewed a list of proposed reductions to the district's budget next year and prepared to approve the first step in a notification process calling for fewer teachers by fall 2011. Cuts to schools alone came in at $65 m ... More >>

Texas Finances in Tatters, State Tells HISD It's "The New Normal"

Get used to it​Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett passed on the new buzz phrase coming out of the state capital at today's Houston ISD workshop session: "The New Normal," which is being used to explain that the current state budget crisis isn't a transitory thing but something that will b ... More >>

Metro Warns Suppliers To Buy American: Barn Door Officially Closed

Don't do what we did, Metro tells suppliers​Perhaps just a wee bit late, Metro has sent out a letter to its suplliers making clear that they need to follow "Buy American" guidelines. "All steel, iron and other manufactured products bought for Metro's light rail expansion project must be produ ... More >>

KTRH "News": More Of A Joke Than Ever

Unfair and unbalanced, perhaps unhinged​KTRH used to be the radio-news powerhouse of southeast Texas, filled with aggressive and competent reporters who covered the city well.Now....well, budget cuts have affected all media, so it's no surprise the newsroom staff ain't what it used to be. But the ... More >>

"2nd Annual AMG Visual Stimulus Package"

Give the economy a boost, buy work by local artists

Still Recovering From Ike, Galveston Ponders A $35 Million High School Stadium

Illustration courtesy GISD​The residents of Galveston Island, still trying to recover from Hurricane Ike, have a decision to make: whether a $34.9 million new multipurpose stadium is worth an approximate 11 cents pday tax increase.The new stadium, proposed by the Galveston Island Independent Schoo ... More >>

How HISD Might be Facing a $57 Million Shortfall Next School Year

​The Houston Independent School District might be facing a shortfall in public education funding of as much as $57 million in the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2010. That less than happy news was delivered at this morning's school board agenda meeting, in a power point demonstration by ... More >>

Enemies of the State

Questioning Texas's legal and educational systems.

Be Proud, Texas: Your Public School System Is So Great It Can Turn Down $700 Million

​Governor Rick Perry, in a valiant bid to be talked about approvingly on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh's show, came to Houston today to announce he will be rejecting $700 million in federal stimulus funds for education.Because, you know, Texas has the whole education thing covered."Texas is on the ri ... More >>

The Tug of War

Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are locked in a pitched battle over the soul of the GOP. They are also running for governor.

No Justice

We've bailed out the banks. When do we go after the crooks behind our financial collapse?

Stimulus Money: How To Stop Homelessness In Houston Before It Happens

​When Lorenzo Timmons was hurt and out of work last summer, and finally ran out of money to pay the rent, he had little choice but the unthinkable: to gather his wife, daughter and whatever he could carry and move his family into a homeless shelter. The Houston Press reported in a cover story ... More >>

A Different "Cash for Clunkers" Program at Daniel Boone Cycles

Photo by Rob Ainsley​At first glance it seemed like the cash for clunker bike promotion at Daniel Boone Cycles was little more than a spoof on the government program to get some advertising for the bicycle shop. Turns out, you might call it a political statement. "It's a matter of making people a ... More >>

Milo, Maine Gets More Federal Stimulus Cash For Cops Than Houston

Photo courtesy MiloMilo Town Hall​We've been reading all day about how Houston got stiffed on the latest handout of federal stimulus money for cops and were kinda blase about it.Houston, after all, has gotten its fair share of Homeland Security cash because of the port and our target-rich refineri ... More >>

Stimulus Funds Helping Houston Firm Give Out Free Home Fixes

Photo courtesy Sheltering ArmsPeople are sometimes suspicious when one of Scott Pool's inspectors calls. The offer -- to weatherize one's house for free -- sounds too good to be true. "We have to convince them that, really and truly, nobody's going to charge them," says Pool, the weatherization ... More >>

Neil Bush Wants Him Some Of That There Stimulus Money

Love it, hate it, the federal stimulus money is coming and it's got to be spent on something.Why not Neil Bush?Bush, the wayward son of the Bush family (and that's saying something) is, of course, the guy behind Ignite!, the company that tries to get schools to buy its Schoolhouse Rock-like gadgetry ... More >>

The Stimulus Package And The McCain-est County In Texas

Photo by MyEyeSeesWe wrote after the election about King County, the Texas county that gave John McCain his biggest percentage margin in the presidential race.Fully 93 percent of King County's voters went for the Republican, even though the county clerk told us the county is "pretty Democratic."Eigh ... More >>

The T. Boone Pickens Road Show

A former wildcatter and corporate-takeover tycoon preaches alternative energy across America.

Rick Perry Chooses The Perfect Place To Make A Bold Stand

Photo courtesy rickperry.orgGovernor Rick Perry boldly announced today that he won't take a half-billion in federal stimulus funding because...part-time workers might benefit.There's a stance for you.The proposed stimulus funds are designated for unemployment benefits, but come with a mandate that p ... More >>

Where The Stimulus Jobs Will Be, By Congressional District

Photo by dcJohnThe winners and losers of Barack Obama's stimulus plan can be figured out -- to a degree -- by a new study by the White House's Council of Economic Advisors.It breaks down by congressional district how many jobs will be created or saved by the act; the big loophole there, of course, c ... More >>

KTRH Continues To Try To Out-Fox Fox

Remember the days when KTRH was worth listening to?It remains the only AM news station in town, and the largest. But layoffs have damaged the product, although not as much as the decision by Michael Berry to throw objectivity out the window in order to appeal to the Dittoheads and Hannity fans who l ... More >>

KTRH Continues On Its Fox-ification

KTRH, the only major AM news operation in town (and it ain't as major as it used to be) continues its ever-quickening descent into Fox News hell.This morning a major item was about....how the media have been trashing George Bush and hurting his legacy. We heard old quotes from his mother and father ... More >>

Ain't No Party Like A Libertarian Party

KTRH, the only major AM news operation in town (and it ain't as major as it used to be) continues its ever-quickening descent into Fox News hell.This morning a major item was about....how the media have been trashing George Bush and hurting his legacy. We heard old quotes from his mother and father ... More >>

Fanfare For The Area Man

KTRH, the only major AM news operation in town (and it ain't as major as it used to be) continues its ever-quickening descent into Fox News hell.This morning a major item was about....how the media have been trashing George Bush and hurting his legacy. We heard old quotes from his mother and father ... More >>

It’s Mathew Knowles’s Town. We Just Live Here.

KTRH, the only major AM news operation in town (and it ain't as major as it used to be) continues its ever-quickening descent into Fox News hell.This morning a major item was about....how the media have been trashing George Bush and hurting his legacy. We heard old quotes from his mother and father ... More >>

Passing a Buck to the Smokers

KTRH, the only major AM news operation in town (and it ain't as major as it used to be) continues its ever-quickening descent into Fox News hell.This morning a major item was about....how the media have been trashing George Bush and hurting his legacy. We heard old quotes from his mother and father ... More >>

Holiday Spirit

A real-life Christmas move in Kemah

Trainspotting

Here's how Metro wants to sell us on light rail

Bill's Bargain Tax Bill

The county says a candidate's home value is no White lie

Glass Houses

Mayoral candidate Michael Berry might want to vet his own supporters' bill-paying histories

Dead Heat

Veteran Danburg tries to hang on against Wong in the new 134th District

Letters

Pull Back the Cover, Bellaire Brats, Do It Yourself

Tax Rebate Waste?

Lest tax payers forget about the rebate, U.S. Rep John Culberson drives the message home with $36,000 worth of mailings

Taxing Tales

Two trustees didn't pay their bills, even if HCCS wants yours to go higher

Campaign Appearances

For Bush, the legislative session shows it's better to look good than do good

Bush Dole

The Guv readies surplus handouts in a legislative lovefest

Easygoing George W. Bush

With help from Democrats Pete Laney and Bob Bullock, Bush has been a Republican governor Texans love. But who'll be his pals if he sets his sights on the presidency?

The Insider

With help from Democrats Pete Laney and Bob Bullock, Bush has been a Republican governor Texans love. But who'll be his pals if he sets his sights on the presidency?

The Insider

With help from Democrats Pete Laney and Bob Bullock, Bush has been a Republican governor Texans love. But who'll be his pals if he sets his sights on the presidency?

Archer's Way

Don't like the IRS? Neither does Bill Archer. And now the mild-mannered Houston congressman is pushing a radical plan to shut it down.

The Insider

Don't like the IRS? Neither does Bill Archer. And now the mild-mannered Houston congressman is pushing a radical plan to shut it down.

A Taxing Situation

What are the penalties in Harris County's tax collection deal with Heard, Goggan?

Letters

What are the penalties in Harris County's tax collection deal with Heard, Goggan?

Term limits and a domineering mayor have combined to make the City Council little more than a rubber stamp. And Houston may pay dearly for that down the line.

What are the penalties in Harris County's tax collection deal with Heard, Goggan?

Passing the Budget Buck

The hospital district gives the county $30 million, it gets a budget back. Good deal.