Local Politics

Kill Us Now: We Covered the Houston City Council Today

Things at a Houston City Council meeting can get pretty dull. And by dull, we mean crushingly boring. As in, it was so lifeless today that matters got desperate for several reporters listening to the council members drone on and on. And on. One TV reporter -- an exceedingly friendly fellow -- took ... More >>

Clear Lake Shores Mixers City Council Meetings Feature Alleged Boozing, Personal Attacks and One-Fingered Salutes

Clear Lake Shores residents say some are enjoying a certain Rocky Mountain flavor at city council meetings.​The people who attend Clear Lake Shores's city council meetings get started early...and we're not talking about the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Last week, Hair Balls was co ... More >>

The Red-Light Camera Circus

Step right up, folks: Passion, deceit, money, lots of money, double dealing and a mayor with more flip-flops in her than a Cirque du Soleil acrobat!

City Hall Packed for Red-Light Camera Showdown

Photo by Mandy OaklanderPaul Kubosh addressed city council yesterday. ​As far as city hall meetings go, yesterday's was raucous. Members of the National Black United Front, Houston Ministers Against Crime, city council hopefuls, and Citizens Against Red Light Cameras filled the hall to standin ... More >>

City Council Member Jolanda Jones Distributes (Possibly) Anti-Police Pamphlets at NAACP Meeting

City council member Jolanda Jones says she acted as a lawyer at the meeting.​Small white cards drifted around the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church on February 8, where the NAACP town hall meeting was being held to address Chad Holley's police beating."Know Your Rights With The Police," the ... More >>

Heights Walmart: That Mysterious 380 Agreement Continues Being Mysterious

Latest from the Heights: inaccuracies in the city council's "request for council action."​It's been about three weeks since we last wrote about the Heights Walmart and a possibility of a missing 380 application from developer Michael Ainbinder. We still haven't gotten any clarification from the ci ... More >>

Liveblogging the Walmart Vote

The City Council is set to vote this morning on a proposed 380 agreement with developer Michael Ainbinder, who plans to build a Walmart near the Heights. The vote could technically be delayed another week, but Mayor Parker said yesterday if a council member tries to do that, she'd overrule the ... More >>

Heights-Area Walmart Gets its Public Hearing

The mayor says the Walmart vote can't be delayed any longer; City Council must decide tomorrow. ​The public had its last chance today to talk to the mayor and city council members about a proposed "380 agreement" between the city and developer Michael Ainbinder, who plans to build a Walmart near t ... More >>

Walmart Tagged, Metro Gets Spotlight At City Council

At least one city council member asked Metro if it's time to re-evaluate certain plans. ​At a Houston City Council meeting that was supposed to clear up a few things about a planned Walmart development near the Heights, Metro, and its financial mess, ended up being the issue of the morning. Counci ... More >>

No Changes Needed At Houston's Messed-Up Fingerprint Lab, City Council Decides

Photo by umboodySome council members think money won't make the problems at HPD's fingerprint lab go away. ​The Houston City Council approved today -- despite concerns from several council members -- a contract to keep paying a consulting firm to basically run the police department's fingerprint l ... More >>

Great Moments In Political Debate, La Marque Style

​You can have your Daniel Webster rising in the Senate to give his storied Second Reply to Hayne; the La Marque City Council has set the bar for legislative contemplation far, far higher with its epochal Argument Over A Past-Due Library Book.As noted in the Galveston County Daily News, the ever-sq ... More >>

She's Suing To Make Sure Prayers Get The Hell Out Of City Council Meetings

​To Houston realtor Kay Staley, religion and organized government mix about as well as tequila and jagermeister. That is to say, not very well. And so she has launched a federal lawsuit against the City of Houston and city council member Anne Clutterbuck in an attempt to sever the two incompatible ... More >>

Gay Panic in Cowtown: Houston Pride

This city's gay community pushed back hard.

A Bit Of A Slowdown In The Rush To Approve BARC's Change Agent

Photo by wsilver​City Council did not vote on BARC interim chief Gerry Fusco's contract because it was not completed in time for the meeting, according to the mayor's agenda director."The documents weren't in," Marty Stein told Hair Balls. "....In this case, what happened was, because this is ... More >>

Timing Of Vote For BARC's "Change Agent" Contract Surprises Some, Like Councilmembers

Photo courtesy GHCVB​Silly fuckin' us.We thought that when a Houston City Councilman says something, we're supposed to take him at his word. But sometimes we forget that this is Houston, and things are done a little differently.At the August 3 Human Services Committee meeting on Gerry Fusco's BARC ... More >>

The BARC Survey The City Should Be Conducting

Photo by Daniel KramerBARC is asking for the public's input on how to improve the shelter by completing an online survey. According to the preamble, the Mayor's office is ready to roll up its sleeves and get to the bottom of the "complexity" of BARC's problems. (Apparently, the 2005 Mayor's Task For ... More >>

Tense Times In La Marque

We have one question for La Marque: What the hell is going on down there?There's a crime spree, the City Manager might or might not be keeping his job, and the Mayor resigned. That's just this week. No telling what's gonna happen next. La Marque is the kind of small town where the city council membe ... More >>

Man Allegedly Beaten by Jailor and Denied Tape of Incident

Hippie Cops and Loan Sharks

No beards allowed at HPD

Mister Beebe Goes to Marfa

Thai Xuan Village

The city is handing out grants to spruce up apartments near Hobby Airport. Unfortunately, a group of dilapidated Vietnamese condo units don't qualify

Food for Political Thought

White becomes Houston's big tuna -- and that's no yolk!

The Six-Year Itch

City Hall reality series: Who survives on Bill White's island?

Why Can't They Be Friends?

Bill and Annise confront a City Hall curse

Send in the Election Clowns

Don't worry, they're here

Cockeyed Campaign Gambits

A Republican runs on Lee Brown's coattails

A Little Jump to the Right

Can a ballot triple shift win City Hall for the GOP?

Running Mates

Michael and Nandy Berry are world-class charmers. But what's really behind those two smiles?

Dueling Docs

The city's top MDs collide, but the mayor sides with Shelley

The Highs and Lows of Life with Lee

The best and worst from the Brown days

Parting Shots

Foes of Mayor Lee Brown can't wait to see him gone. And a lot of his friends feel that way, too.

We Know You Like to Watch!

An Internet fishing expedition titillates City Hall

Mayoral Field of Dreams

If you pay them, they will come

The Schmooze Returns to City Hall

Facing an out-of-control council, Brown recalls a veteran vote saver

Do the City Hall Shuffle!

Term limits and raw ambition send local politicos on holiday shopping sprees

Oliver's Story

Houston's former parks director tried to expand his résumé with a political job. He may have torched it instead.

Food Fight Indigestion

A losing lobbyist claims a councilman switched after failing to get his pals in on the deal

Best Activist

Bob Lee

Don't Rock My Boat!

A port commission opening fuels a three-way Hispanic fight

Overdose

Dr. Shelley's new operating room reveals the worst and best of a City Council under term limits

Trading Places

Who wants to be interim city controller?

Midsummer Night's Political Dreams

Mirth and anger follow Berry's decision to run for mayor

Getting Lonely at the Top

A recycled city official comes home to roost

From the Grass Roots Up

A new Houston voting bloc reaches toward empowerment

Barry, Barry, Quite Contrary

A fired investment banker ignites a City Hall rumble

The Immigrant's Song

Carroll Robinson has been running for something ever since he arrived in Houston. Now he may be nearly out of track.

All I Want for Christmas Is...

Some pols count blessings; others keep on running

Smackdown at City Hall

Candidates clash in a castaway district, exes attack, and Bell wringers rumble for a final round with Brown. Voters, pick your fight.

Running on Empty

Local political campaigns struggle to get news coverage

An Early War Casualty?

Mayoral challengers find money, attention and time dwindling