Silipint

462 folks applied for the 9 Board of Managers slots who will oversee HISD, according to the Houston Chronicle. 52 are Latino or 11% of the applicants. Here is from the Chron:

The extended deadline netted an additional 88 applications. Still, the Hispanic population remains vastly underrepresented with just 52 applicants. Latinos make up roughly 62% of the student body but 11% of the candidate pool. 

“The reason for this low response has been a poor recruitment process that does not allow community input, a lack of transparency on qualifications, and a very short window of time,” said Sergio Lira, president of the Greater Houston LULAC Council, in a statement. “We feel that this is a calculated process that is meant to keep Latino numbers down.”

Here is the entire article: HISD board of manager application deadline passes with 462 applicants (houstonchronicle.com).

I won’t argue with Sergio.  I just don’t see how it was designed to keep Latinos from applying. Just log on and fill out the forms.

If TEA Commissioner Mike Morath does right and selects a representation of the community, he will name three Latinas/Latinos.  I saw the list just before the deadline was extended and I could easily name three Latinas/Latinos who would be good managers from three different geographic areas of the district.

I have not seen who the additional 88 are.

Remember, the goal is to get our HISD back as soon as possible.

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I am sure you heard about the City of H-Town revenue cap deal and the latest court ruling.  Here is from this weekend’s Chron:

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down part of Houston’s revenue cap, creating the possibility the city may have to comply with an even more stringent cap that current and former city officials say would be “financially devastating.”

Elected officials in Houston long have blamed the city’s revenue cap for lagging services, keeping more than $1.4 billion from the city’s coffers since 2014. The existing cap has allowed that money to stay in city taxpayers’ pockets rather than be used for such things as trash collection, police and fire services, and libraries.

The ruling in the 19-year-old legal dispute stems from the 2004 municipal elections, when Houston voters passed two separate caps on the city’s revenues. Anti-tax activists proposed a measure that would cap increases in total city revenues to the sum of population growth and inflation. That initiative became known as Proposition 2.

Then-Mayor Bill White, in response, offered an alternative: The city would limit annual increases in property tax revenue to the sum of population growth and inflation, or 4.5 percent, whichever is lower. City Council put that measure on the ballot, known as Proposition 1, with language saying it would preempt Proposition 2 if it got more votes. Both caps allow the city to ask for voters’ approval to exceed their respective limits.

Houston voters passed both measures but supported Prop 1 by a greater margin, 64 percent to 56 percent for Prop 2. The city implemented the White administration’s version and came up against the cap for the first time in 2014. It has cut its property tax rate eight times in the last nine years to comply with that measure.

“There is an impact on the services the city can deliver in the general fund with Prop 1,” said former Mayor Annise Parker, who served as city controller when the ballot measures passed. “It would be financially devastating to implement Prop 2.” 

Here is the entire read: Texas Supreme Court ruling result in stricter revenue cap for Houston (houstonchronicle.com).

Sigh. I always thought it wasn’t a good move for Mayor White to put the alternative rev cap in front of the voters. He had the bully pulpit. He could have raised the resources to beat the Bruce Hotze forces in a campaign.  I remember voting against both measures. Sigh.

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I was watching “Houston Newsmakers” on Channel 2 yesterday morning. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg told host Khambrel Marshall that she was running for reelection in 2024 and would be making an announcement next month. That is really not news. I will be voting for her.

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I saw this on the Daily Beast today:

President Joe Biden will appoint Julie Chávez Rodriguez as his campaign manager for the 2024 election, according to reports. Rodriguez served as Biden’s deputy campaign manager on his 2020 race and is currently the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. She has already agreed to take on the new job, although Biden has not yet made the offer himself, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters. The president has still not formally declared his 2024 campaign despite publicly saying he intends to run for re-election. An announcement could be made as early as Tuesday this week.

Julie Chávez Rodriguez is the granddaughter of Cesar Chávez. Congrats and good luck!

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Saint Arnold Brewery has a recycling rewards program that involves returning the six-pack cardboard carriers of their various brews that you can redeem for Saint Arnold swag. They started the program way back. It has been years since I redeemed some points. When the pandemic hit us, for the most part, I stopped buying the six-pack and went the 12-pack route.  There are no rewards for the 12-pack cardboard packaging.

This past Saturday I visited the brewery to return some carriers that had been at my place since before the pandemic.  I decided to redeem some of my reward points. I picked up a Saint Arnold t-shirt, an Art Car IPA pint glass, and a Saint Arnold silipint. Huh?

A silipint is drinkware made of silicone.

The Silipint.com website says it is eco-friendly drinkware. It outlasts glass, ceramic and plastic. It isn’t toxic to soil or organic organisms. It is freezer, microwave, and dishwasher friendly. I didn’t.

I tried it out Saturday night. It is pliable but sturdy for sure. It works.

It is in the featured photo next to the Art Car IPA pint glass.

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Michael Brantley played his first rehab assignment game with the Space Cowboys in Sugar Land yesterday. Good.

The 2022 World Series Champions played this past weekend at the 2021 World Series Champions. The 2022 Champions won all three games. They were all good games with outstanding pitching and clutch hitting. The 2022 World Series Champions now visit the MLB club with the best record (19-3) in baseball and who are 13-0 at their crib this season.

AP Tweeted this yesterday:

The Tampa Bay Rays have 13 straight wins at home, tying the 2009 Dodgers for the second-longest home streak to start a season since 1901. The 1907 New York Giants hold the record with 15 in a row.

Let’s hope we don’t let them set a record as the first game starts at 5:40 pm late this afternoon.