Rodney Ellis

Bipartisan Bill Filed Creating Hike & Bike Paths From Houston's Utility Easements

People have been talking about it for years, but the idea came one step closer to reality this week when a bipartisan group of legislators filed bills to help create hike-and-bike paths along Houston's utility easements. Those easements -- the property surrounding, say, those large electricity towe ... More >>

Judge Tosses Out Texas' Method Of Funding Schools, Saying It's Unfair

A state district judge ruled today the method Texas uses to fund its schools is unconstitutional and unfair and must be overhauled. Ruling in a suit brought by the Houston school district and other districts, Judge John Dietz said the state has not met the basic requirements of fairness in funding ... More >>

Senator Rodney Ellis Joins Chorus Questioning the Statewide Voter Purge

Amid the increasing uproar over the state of Texas purging its voter rolls and notifying people that their names will be expunged from the rolls because they are dead -- who aren't -- State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) asks a good question. Why now? Why is House Bill 174 calling for a check of ... More >>

Texas GOP Slapped Again: Now Judges Toss Voter ID Law

For the second time this week, federal judges have dealt setbacks to grand plans by Texas Republicans to suppress the minority vote protect the sanctity of the ballot. Tuesday a federal panel found the state's new redistricting maps to be biased; today another panel has ruled that the new voter ID ... More >>

Feds Toss Out Texas's Redistricting Maps: Biased Against Minorities, Panel Says

The Texas GOP's lengthy effort to create redistricting maps that federal judges say don't discriminate against minorities hit another snag today when a three-judge panel in D.C. threw out the latest plan. The judges said the proposed maps failed to meet fairness standards using various tests and an ... More >>

Tour de Houston

Feds Block Texas's Voter ID Law: Unfair to Hispanics, They Say

Texas's strict new voter ID law, put in place by this past session's Tea Party legislature to stem the tidal wave of voter fraud that is actually not happening at all, has been blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice. The new law unfairly targets Hispanic voters, the feds said. "[T]he state has ... More >>

Mario Gallegos and Rodney Ellis Spar over Redistricting, and It Gets Ugly

Mario Gallegos gets on Rodney Ellis's fighting side.​An attempt to move the downtown George R. Brown Convention Center into Sen. Mario Gallegos's senate district caused a minor skirmish between Gallegos and his longtime Democratic colleague Sen. Rodney Ellis. Emotions during redistricting al ... More >>

UH Holding Out for More Tier One Funds, Blocking Legislative Deal

Coogs pushing hard in Austin.​The University of Houston is the last holdout in a vote to set the funding distribution method out of a voter-backed endowment devoted to ramping up the number of nationally ranked universities in Texas. The University of Texas and Texas A&M University are the st ... More >>

HISD: Will Apollo 20 Become Apollo 60?

Senator Rodney Ellis​Under a bill proposed by Texas Senator Rodney Ellis, the Houston ISD could open up its Apollo 20 program for low-performing schools to some 60 campuses or about 20 percent of all the district's schools, extending school days and school years beyond what's called for by the ... More >>

Local State Senator Pushing for Sunday Liquor Sales in Texas

pamlaneSunday Funday indeed.​Such times as these - the economy in recession, federal and state governments mired in debt, and more than 8 percent unemployment - are leading state lawmakers around the country to question the financial logistics of blue laws restricting any business from operati ... More >>

Texans Support Statewide Smoking Ban, Says Group Pushing for Statewide Smoking Ban

Joe Camel is in the other 30 percent​If you want to ban smoking in all indoor work and public places in Texas, then you agree with 70 percent of residents here, according to a new poll by the Smoke-Free Texas Coalition. Such a ban is supported by 67 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of Indep ... More >>

BBVA Compass Tour de Houston

On your mark, Madam Mayor

You May Be Dead, But You Can Still Get A (Too Late) Pardon, Texas AG Rules

​Good news if you were wrongfully imprisoned by the state of Texas for a long, long time, but you then died before you could be pardoned -- and face it, in those circumstances you could use some good news -- state attorney general Greg Abbott ruled today that you can be pardoned posthumously!!Yay? ... More >>

The Recruit

Places all over Houston want Trevor Falk and pitch the wonders of community life. He is 24 and has Down syndrome, which makes him a hot commodity for private group homes.

Texas, You're Not Drinking Enough Hard Liquor, Say Hard-Liquor Sellers

Photo by NoiseCollusionThe people who are trying to sell hard liquor to hard Texans are upset.They're petitioning the legislature, hoping to push Senate Bill 1216 (sponsored by Houston's Rodney Ellis), which would allow liquor-store owners to have more than five stores.Right now, the only people who ... More >>

5th Annual Guaranty Bank Tour de Houston

Web deck: See the city from the seat of your bike

Statewide Smoking Ban For Bars: Coming Soon?

Photo by Daniel KramerIt's been tried before, but this time there may be some possibility of a statewide smoking ban in Texas.Two bills address the subject, (one by Houston's Rodney Ellis) and the Texas Restaurant Association has announced it can support a ban.Although the TRA says it has "som ... More >>

Letters to the Editor

Letters

Best Lobbyist

Bill Miller

Return of the Boogie Man

Can the Texas Ten "MoveOn" without him?

Rockets My-Nority Tryouts

Potential partners face a steep ante

Les's Lost Weekend

Minorities' suit against the Rockets revs up, with a mayoral hopeful caught in the fray

Rockets Court Date?

The NAACP rattles sabers in the arena vendor disputes

Rocket Rodney

A state senator moonlights as arena point guard

Mayoral Field of Dreams

If you pay them, they will come

Best Activist

Bob Lee

Old Ways Die Hard

A state law can't break up a juvenile courtroom gang

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.

Raw Roots

Excavations for plantation artifacts - and the real truth - are unraveling the genteel gloss covering Texans' old notions about the slave era here

Innocence Lost?

Despite its increasing importance, DNA evidence routinely gets destroyed here

From PACman to Port Chairman

After a career serving kingmakers, can Jim Edmonds really be his own leader?

Bully on the Bench?

Abrasive encounters with some Hispanics, cash-and-carry court appointments coupled with hefty campaign contributions. Critics wonder if Pat Shelton's speedy dockets are outrunning justice.

Playing the Games

Book of Love

William July wrote about achieving great relationships. Then he had one.

Rodney Made Me Do It

Letters

Insider

The Insider

Undiscovered Country

The Insider

The Insider

The Insider

The Insider

Letters

Center of Dispute

A proposed facility for troubledyouth raises hackles, and ire, in Riverside Terrace

Picks

Press Picks

The Year of Living Anxiously

Are We Having Fun Yet? Or is it just the jangly buzz of advanced urban stress syndrome?