Off the Kuff

1. InnerVIEWS
   Congrats to Ernie Manouse for reaching this milestone: Houston-(February 15, 2012) Over the past 10 seasons, the nationally syndicated award-winning series,  InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse hasentertained and informed audiences with interesting, intimate, and revealing conversations with some of today’s most captivating notables. Now,InnerVIEWS, and Emmy winner Ernie Manouse, get ready to celebrate their 150th episode with multi-award winning journalist Bill Moyers. The [...]
2. Interview with Sean Hubbard
   Sean Hubbard has been in the race for Senator longer than any other candidate, having started his campaign in January, 2011, right when Sen. Hutchison made her retirement official. Hubbard is easily the youngest candidate running for Senate at 30 years old, but he has been involved in politics for a decade, starting as a [...]
3. It’s always easier to talk in the abstract
   I have three things to say about this. The city of Houston has been papering over multimillion-dollar budget deficits for nine years by borrowing money, tapping its rainy day fund, selling buildings and just plain putting off bills to the future, according to city finance officials. [...] This year, Mayor Annise Parker has pledged not [...]
4. From the “How can we miss you if you won’t go away?” files
   Rick Perry is doing his best to make us miss him. After almost six months away from the state to campaign for president, Rick Perry has barely returned to his Capitol office since arriving back in Austin, state records show. In the first 16 days since he dropped from the race, covering Jan. 19 through [...]
5. Pinterest
   Rachel brings up a topic that I admit had not occurred to me. Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Pinterest. Chances are, if you’re a woman, your hand is up right now. Chances are, if you’re a man, you are either rolling your eyes because you’ve heard of it and are sick of hearing [...]
6. Two modest campaign finance reform suggestions
   What to do about this? As indicted ex-constable Jack Abercia fights federal corruption and bribery charges brought against him last month, a lack of money for his legal defense isn’t one of his problems. The former Precinct 1 Harris County constable has salted away approximately $423,000 in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance reports. And [...]
7. Santorum surges in January UT/Trib poll
   There will come a day when using the word “surge” to describe the now-frontrunning Republican Presidential candidate in Texas will get old. That day has not arrived yet. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has a commanding lead among Republican presidential candidates in Texas, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Santorum would [...]
8. The feds will run Texas’ health insurance exchange
   That seems to be where we’re headed. Texas is almost alone among the nation’s largest states in failing to start work on a key piece of the Affordable Care Act, as legislators and state agencies follow Gov. Rick Perry’s wish to delay action until after a Supreme Court ruling and the November election. “Politics superseded [...]
9. Rolling blackouts may be on the summer horizon
   Better hope the mild weather we’re getting in winter translates to mild weather for the summer, because the alternative isn’t pretty. Inadequate electric power reserves likely will force Texans to cut back this summer to avoid rolling outages if the weather matches last year’s record heat, utility experts warned legislators [last] Thursday. “We have to [...]
10. Interview with Paul Sadler
    I have just a couple of Harris County Democratic races left to deal with, and I will return to them in two weeks. In the meantime, we now have a sorta-kinda primary date of May 29, but we still don’t have US or State House maps. I’m hoping that we’ll have a bit more certainty [...]