Subject:

Public Finance

  • Blogs

    April 30, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    April 16, 2012

    Tax Day: The 5 Best Things About It

    Tomorrow is deadline day for filing your federal income taxes. Normally, that's a terrible thing. No one except Warren Buffett is eager to pay taxes. And it's worse for us members of the hoi polloi, for while we're handing over a big chunk of our wages, we do it knowing some one-percenter member of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 28, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 13, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 8, 2011

    Protest Your Drainage Fee Via the World's Most Boring How-To Video

    The city has announced the procedures it will use to hear protests over assessed drainage fees, and they look like they're about as much fun as protesting your property tax assessment. Worse, they involve watching the above, five and a half minutes of instruction on how to use the "You think you ca ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 9, 2011

    Sherwood Oaks Eyesore: Owners Aren't Talking

    Welcome to Sherwood Oaks​We were intrigued by reporter Emily Akin's story on a long-vacant Sherwood Oaks strip mall that residents say is an unwelcome hangout for vandals and crackheads -- intrigued mostly because her story stated that "it's unclear who owns the property since the owner on rec ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 26, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    April 14, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    March 9, 2011

    Actually, HISD Already Did Spend General Funds on Apollo 20

    Previous statements are inoperative​Friends of Hair Balls have been besieging us in the last couple of days, insisting that Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier misspoke when he testified before a Senate Committee on Education that the district has never used general funds to finance Apollo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 8, 2011

    Mario Gallegos Goes Off on Terry Grier at Senate Education Hearing

    Mario & Terry: Can two grown men share a city without driving each other crazy?​Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier went all the way to Austin to testify before the Texas Senate Committee on Education, only to be ripped apart by Sen. Mario Gallegos, who continues to not like much of anythi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    Higher Taxes, Fewer Teachers: HISD Readies Itself for a Tough Sell

    Margaret DowningTerry Grier and the board face tough financial decisions​Higher taxes, a sweeping change in bus times, a cut in the number of police officers in the schools and an end to special school adjustments that for the noted T.H. Rogers elementary and middle school alone would mean a l ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 18, 2011

    Comment of the Day: Justin Bieber, Political Sage

    ​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 >>

  • Blogs

    January 19, 2011

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    December 9, 2010

    Curtis Doss: Tax Collector Pleads Guilty To Misusing Public Funds, Keeps Job

    No, it was the OTHER elected position I misapplied funds in​Curtis Doss is the Tax Collector of Burleson County. Curtis Doss pleaded guilty last week to misapplying public funds. Curtis Doss will not be losing his job as Tax Collector of Burleson County. Why? The wily Doss misused public fu ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 28, 2010

    DWI: Getting Away With It Is Getting Tougher In Harris County

    Blood tests for drunk drivers will be the norm now that Harris County got a fat chunk of federal cash. ​Drinking and driving is serious business in Harris County, and to prove it, the District Attorney's office held a press conference this morning to promote some changes they've made. "A lot of dr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 15, 2010

    Machete's Potential Tax Incentives Rile Conservatives

    Texas tax breaks for THIS? Tea Party unite!​Machete, the bloody, gory, spoofy film by Robert Rodriguez, has become the latest mini-scandal de jour for conservatives.Why? Because it might get tax breaks from Texas, and it portrays a race war that favors immigrants over right-wing politicians like t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 15, 2010

    Rick Perry & Bill White: Midnight Is Nigh In The Great (And Silly) Deadline For Debates

    Debates over debates are so fun​The finger-pointing continued Wednesday as the great gubernatorial debate over who's at fault for not having a gubernatorial debate came to Houston.Republican Governor Rick Perry has given Democrat candidate Bill White until midnight tonight to release tax returns f ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 15, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 2, 2010

    Houston And Texas Letting Money For Low-Income Housing Go To Waste

    The feds gave Houston money to clean up foreclosed houses, but the money isn't being spent. ​According to a new report from a low income housing group, the City of Houston may have to repay millions of dollars in federal funds that were meant to clean up neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosed hom ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 28, 2010

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    June 8, 2010

    Bill White Releases Tax Forms; Perry Still Won't Debate

    Accountants, revel in the data​Former Houston Mayor Bill White, after months of getting pounded by Governor Rick Perry on the subject, has released his income tax forms for the time he headed the city.Click here to see the data in all its glory. Bottom line: He makes a lot more money than yo ... More >>

  • News

    May 27, 2010

    Train Wreck

    How Metro and its president Frank Wilson got so far off track.

  • Blogs

    May 14, 2010

    City Budget Includes Getting More Bucks From Metro

    ​In the mayor's proposed budget, released earlier this week, Metro is on the hook for almost twice as much money than it had to pay the city in previous years.The money comes from an agreement that gives the city a portion of Metro's sales tax revenues, and the city used the money for building and ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 3, 2009

    Hard To Believe, But Texas Is Fouling Up The Process Of Distributing Food-Stamp Relief

    ​It's taking longer for people to get their food stamps these days, and that's because so many people are trying to get food stamps. (INSTEAD OF GETTING A FREAKING JOB, as KTRH listeners are no doubt saying after reading that sentence.)Two civil-rights groups have sued the Texas Health & Human ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 7, 2009

    Texas, Unfortunately, Leads The Country In Hungry Kids

    More than anywhere else the country, children in Texas don't know where they'll get their next meal.That's according to a recent study by Feeding America, the nation's food-bank network, which analyzed stats on "household food insecurity" published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 11, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    January 21, 2009

    People Rich Enough To Own Boats Find It Easy To Evade Taxes

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 5, 2008

    Sugar Land, Missouri City Get Into The Entertainment Business

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 9, 2008

    Taqueria Arandas Offers Tax Fraud On The Side (Allegedly)

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 8, 2008

    Taqueria Arandas Offers Tax Fraud On The Side (Allegedly)

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 20, 2008

    Good News For Metro! A Political Speech!

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 5, 2007

    Passing a Buck to the Smokers

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • News

    January 6, 2005

    Holiday Spirit

    A real-life Christmas move in Kemah

  • News

    November 20, 2003

    Political Identity Crisis

    Ronald Green's the only black Democrat left on the city ballot. Or is he?

  • News

    December 19, 2002

    City Blames Metro for Cash Crunch

    A transit official says delayed payouts are Houston's problem

  • News

    March 7, 2002

    Keeping On Task

    The DPS will oversee state drug forces troubled by a track record of abuses

  • News

    September 6, 2001

    More District D Footprints

    Airing out Darryl Carter's dirty laundry, with the help of Womack's campaign

  • Best of Houston

    September 21, 2000

    Best Gadfly

    Dan Hart

  • News

    April 6, 2000

    Officials Probe Refund Collector

    Dallas CPA failed to use required disclaimers in collecting a quarter-million dollars

  • News

    March 16, 2000

    The Vulture Factor

    Officials ought to do more to protect the elderly from tax schemes

  • News

    January 20, 2000

    Doug's Deals

    Real estate consultant Williams continues to serve two masters

  • News

    December 23, 1999

    Food Stamp Fracas

    A lawsuit questions whether welfare fraud is committed - by the state

  • News

    January 21, 1999

    Striking Out

    Reid Ryan embarked on a new career as a team owner facing one big obstacle: voter approval of a new stadium. Then he called in a campaigner with the perfect pitch: a father named Nolan.

  • News

    January 21, 1999

    Bush Dole

    The Guv readies surplus handouts in a legislative lovefest

  • News

    May 14, 1998

    Embarrassing Little Secrets of Hotel Six

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

  • News

    April 16, 1998

    Tales From the IRS

    Three stories of taxman terror

  • News

    November 28, 1996

    Midtown Jamboree

    Why let a few conflicts of interest get in the way of a grand redevelopment scheme?

  • News

    June 6, 1996

    Cash from CACHH

    As arts funding shrinks, the downtown powers rush to make sure they get theirs

  • News

    June 8, 1995

    The Rule of Men, Not Law

    Who gave Lanier & Co. permission to loot Metro? They did.

  • News

    December 1, 1994

    Hard Habit to Break

    M.D. Anderson just can't say no to research funding from the tobacco industry

  • More >>
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