Public Finance

Retired Lab Chimps Pressed Back Into Service

A San Antonio lab says primate research is necessary for curing diseases like AIDS and hepatitis. But what progress has really been made.

Rick Perry's War on Planned Parenthood Suffers Setback

A federal judge has put a hold on Governor Perry's war on Planned Parenthood, in part because he doesn't believe Texas will keep Perry's promise to make up for lost federal funding. Texas, of course, has banned Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving Women's Health Program funds, beginning tomorr ... More >>

Taqueria Arandas Owner Gets Year in Prison on Tax Charges

Jesus Huerta, the owner of two Taqueria Arandas restaurants in Houston, has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for filing false tax returns that underestimated income by $4.6 million over five years. Huerta was also ordered to pay $543,646 in restitution; he's already repaid $276 ... More >>

Metro Gets the Light-Rail Federal Funding It Craved

Metro had itself a party this morning, with tons of local officials making happy speeches and a federal official on hand to dole out cash. The transit agency announced it's officially been cleared to get $900 million in federal funds to build more light rail in town, funds that had been endangered ... More >>

HISD Joins the Lawsuit Against State's Educational Funding Plan

Taking it to the courthouse.​The Houston school board voted unanimously this morning (with four absentees) to join the burgeoning lawsuit against Rick Perry's latest funding scheme for public education, which cuts $5 billion over the next two years. HISD's state funding was cut $78 million th ... More >>

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 >>

Texas Cities and Nonprofit Entities to Get About $3.5 Million in National Settlement of JPMorgan Suit

Settlement helps, a little.​Financial giant JPMorgan has agreed to pay $228 million to settle charges that it manipulated deals involving the government bond market, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the state's portion of it will be about $3.5 million. The money will go to Texas mu ... More >>

Jimmy Mitlo: Incredibly Successful Machine Repairman Gets Two Years. Owes IRS $550,000

Repairmen just don't rock the cool hats anymore.​Jimmy Mitlo is one industrious guy, but he's going to have a lot of time on his hands pretty soon. He'll be in a federal prison, perhaps contemplating how he's going to come up with the $550,000 he needs to reimburse the IRS for unpaid taxes. ... More >>

Joel Kotkin Says Houston & Gulf Coast Poised To Soar

Panama Canal expansion will bring boon​Urban expert Joel Kotkin has always been bullish on Houston, and now he's not even more bullish, he's spreading the love. Kotkin has a piece on the Forbes magazine blog saying the U.S. Gulf Coast -- including, of course, Houston -- is ready to soar, and ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Back to the `50s, But All The Way

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Celebrity Tax Cheats: Five Pieces of Crap Produced to Pay the IRS

Tax time is looming, and even though you get a weekend reprieve this year -- the deadline is April 18, not the 15th, because of an obscure Washington, D.C. holiday -- you'd no doubt like to skip the whole thing altogether. Some famous people have taken that same route. Unfortunately for them, they ... More >>

Sheila Jackson Lee is Fasting for a Budget Deal

Fasting for a "moral budget"​You probably didn't know that people are fasting as a call for a fair budget deal in Congress. Among them: our own Sheila Jackson Lee. (We didn't know of the fast until we read about it in the Houston Chronicle's religion blog.) We cannot begin to imagine what so ... More >>

Grier Backs Off From His Controversial Magnet Changes

HISD magnet changes won't come anytime soon​After a marathon meeting of parental dismay with proposed changes to the Houston school district's magnet program last week, superintendent Terry Grier has waved the white flag and postponed any action until next school year. District spokesman Jaso ... More >>

Tamraka McGriff: Judge Says No More Tattoos for School Administrator

Tamraka McGriff's philosophy​Tamrake McGriff is the coordinator of transportation for the Beaumont school district and, apparently, she loves her skin art as much as she doesn't like her body. So much so, in fact, that a judge has barred her from getting any more tattoos or plastic surgery unt ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Liquor Laws and Church

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Conservatives' Plan to Close Budget Gap: Sell Liquor on Sundays!!

Drink up and close that budget gap​The conservative-dominated Texas House has come out with its plan on how to close the state's massive budget gap, and it's not just full of silly stuff like "make state employees pay for parking." Although that is part of the plan. No, the conservatives who ... More >>

Ron Paul: Colbert Report Smackdown With The New York Times

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire Blog</a>March to Keep Fear AliveBrazoria County's finest politician, in terms of name recognition, is of course Ron Paul. The Gold Standard Guru was on the Colbert Report last ... More >>

Annise Parker: Merry Christmas, Employees!! Take An Unpaid Furlough Day!!

Mayor Annise Parker, celebrating Christmas​Mayor Annise Parker, in conjunction with a municipal union, is asking City of Houston employees to take voluntary furlough days before the end of the year to ease the city's budget crunch. "While the City has been able to withstand the current econom ... More >>

Bill White the Loser, HISD Declares

Bill White's going down, HISD declares​Houston ISD's assessment of the upcoming state legislative session on Monday began with the declaration that Bill White doesn't have a chance and that Rick Perry will continue as governor. Rebecca Flores, the director of Government Relations for HISD, and bo ... More >>

Harris County Tax Rate: Shockingly, No Increase In An Election Year

Renovated courthouse to open in August​Harris County's mid-year budget review is out, and it recommends no change in the tax rate from what it has been since 2007.There will be a little juggling involved: the tax rates for the port and the flood control and hospital district will go up, while the ... More >>

Two-Thirds Of Texans Blow Off Church; Even More Don't Want No "Social Justice" With Their Religion, Thank You

Two-thirds of those polled knew who this guy was?​The latest UT/Texas Tribune poll shows some stuff to give Democrats hope (Rick Perry polling at his usual 39 percent, etc.), but there are also some interesting things in the throw-away questions on the survey.UT/TT polled 800 registered voters, an ... More >>

Game Time: George Steinbrenner's Death Raises Anxiety of Billionaires

You may be rich, but your heirs may be dangerous come December​If you're one of those people that has tried a thousand different ways to take off weight, somewhere along the way you've probably tried Bill Phillips "Body For Life" program. It's a pretty popular one because (a) it works and (b) it ... More >>

Feds Fine Texas Over Food Stamps; Legal Aid Groups Say "We Told You So"

Accepted...if you can get approved​The federal government has levied a fine of almost $4 million against Texas for mishandling its food stamp program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the state made too many errors over the past two fiscal years.Those mistakes include both underpaying ... More >>

Gimme (A Tax) Shelter

​Even if Uncle Sam took a great big bite out of your wallet this year, there are still ways to enjoy a good meal today -- several, in fact -- thanks to local restaurants taking advantage of your newfound poverty to offer free or reduced-price goodies today. It's like a crack dealer giving you ... More >>

Pre-K In Danger, Tax Rolls Down, HISD Looks For The Rabbit In The Hat

​Houston ISD's tax rolls look to be down 4.32 percent in the next year, with a loss of almost $5 billion in assessed values for 2011 over 2010. Most of the lost money is coming from lowered commercial property values, with the least decrease among residential property owners.Things could be even w ... 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 >>

White-Washing Those Black Rodeo Gala Tickets

Well, Warner Ervin, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District's south region, must be feeling pretty good today. He's the administrator being reluctantly investigated by the Texas Education Agency -- after a lot of urging from citizen and former HISD high school teacher Del Murphy -- ... More >>

Texas Salutes You, Mr. (or Ms.) Beer Drinker!

Photo courtesy of Randy OHCWhy do we salute you?  Because your enjoyment of a cold mug of suds has contributed $16 billion to the Texas economy in the last year, far more than our budding entertainment industry (only $409 million), and provided over 78,000 jobs at breweries and distribut ... More >>

Ron Paul, Crusading Against All Pork But His

Photo courtesy Ron PaulOf all the Republicans in the US House of Representatives, who do you think has the most earmarks in the omnibus spending bill? Some RINO from up north?Nah. It's our own Ron Paul, stalwart criticizer of government spending (that's not in his district.)Fox News is touting the s ... More >>

Fic at NiteBoomsday

Web exclusive

Sugar Land, Missouri City Get Into The Entertainment Business

Good News For Metro! A Political Speech!

Mexican-American Culture

Passing a Buck to the Smokers

Charity Begins at Home

Fixer-Upper Downer

HUD hammers the city for botched house repairs for seniors and the disabled

Food Fight Indigestion

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

NoDo Invades; Rebels Skirmish

A downtown taxing zone flushes the Warehouse District from its quaint quarters

Letters

From the week of February 03, 2000

Doug's Deals

Real estate consultant Williams continues to serve two masters

Broken Promises

Fourth Ward residents are left with a harsh reality

Ad Nauseam

Despite what the campaign says, that new arena will cost plenty

Trash Talk

Condo groups want the mayor to pay up on a campaign promise

Raising a Red Flag

Former Bellaire High School student shakes things up in the Capitol

Embarrassing Little Secrets of Hotel Six

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You ...

Tales From the IRS

Three stories of taxman terror

Sweet Deal

Why did county commissioners agree to subsidize a swanky golf resort that will benefit a wealthy Harris County developer?

Stadia Watch

Letters

The Year-Round Go-Round

Cy-Fairs experiment with year-round schools is being watched by other local districts. What they're seeing isn't pretty.