Dirty Cop
How does this dirty cop get off the hook? See the featured photo. See this from today’s Chron:
A Harris County judge on Tuesday quashed two felony murder indictments against retired Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines, potentially throwing a long delay until he could face trial in the deaths of two people in a botched 2019 drug raid.
It could end Goines’ prosecution over the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas entirely. The decision by 482nd District Court Judge Veronica Nelson puts District Attorney Kim Ogg’s prosecutors in the position of needing to appeal her decision or seek a reindictment.
Here is the entire read: Gerald Goines Harding St felony murder indictments dropped by judge (houstonchronicle.com)
This is so frustrating and raises my ire. I hope they figure out a way to refile the charges on this dirty cop.
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This is also from the Chron:
Houston Controller Chris Hollins has projected a budget shortfall of $230 to $280 million for the upcoming fiscal year, warning that the city’s savings cannot sustain the extra costs from the latest firefighters’ deal beyond another year.
Mayor John Whitmire recently announced a landmark settlement with the firefighters union, putting an end to a bitter contract dispute that had dominated Houston’s municipal politics since 2017. As part of the deal, the city promised the firefighters $650 million in back pay and salary increases of up to 34% over the next five years.
Houston was able to build up its budget reserves during former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s tenure using federal COVID-19 relief money. Its fund balance currently stands at about $428 million, $241 million above the legally required minimum. Hollins cautioned Tuesday, however, that this buffer provides the city with only about a year to fix its finances.
The Whitmire administration is planning to issue a judgment bond to finance firefighters’ back pay over the next 25 to 30 years, which Hollins said will amount to between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion when factoring in interest.
Combining debt repayments, interest and planned salary hikes, the city’s budget is bracing for an additional cost of $70 to $80 million in the next fiscal year that starts in July. This is on top of an already projected deficit of $160 to $200 million that does not account for the impact of the firefighters’ agreement, Hollins said.
“This is a long-standing pattern that the city for years and years has been spending on a recurring basis more than is brought in,” Hollins said during a Tuesday press conference. “You start to look at the numbers and they pile up, and it’s my job to at some point say, ‘hey, we can no longer foot this bill.’”
This isn’t new. The Mayor already said we’re broke. I would hope the new controller would be part of the solution rather than operate by press release. Grow up. We will see. Oh, well.
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NBC News saw the light and cut ties with former RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel as a paid contributor. Good.
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We all know that the home opener is tomorrow. See this from the Chron today:
There are 25,000 parking spots in garages and lots available within a half-mile of Minute Maid Park with six lots dedicated to the stadium. The Astros lots are cashless. The non-Astros lots closest to the stadium are, unsurprisingly, the most expensive. The priciest lot on SpotHero as of Tuesday morning for Thursday was $125, at the corner of Preston and Hamilton. For those willing to walk, there will be spots available for as cheap as $10 several blocks from the ballpark.
I never pay exorbitant parking. Never. When I know it is going to be sold out, I head to the Metro Red Line Station on Quitman. I get off downtown and walk a few blocks to where we meetup.
This is also from the same Chron story:
The Astros are one of four teams using what Major League Baseball calls Go-Ahead Entry, which uses facial authentication to allow enrolled fans to walk into the ballpark through a special lane without having to show their ticket. Fans can enroll in the program for free through the MLB Ballpark app.
I signed up for this a couple of days ago. It took me less than a minute to enroll. We will see if it works.
I also stopped by the Team Store yesterday to get a new lid.
