On Sam
The Harris County Democratic Party Primary runoff election is tomorrow.
The Family Empowerment Coalition PAC based out of Austin is reportedly a pro-voucher outfit. In the runoff campaign reports filed last week, the PAC donated $25,000 to State Representative District 139 Democratic Party runoff candidate Angeanette Thibodeaux and $65,000 to State Representative Shawn Thierry who is in a tough reelection runoff fight in District 146. Now you know.
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The featured photo is from the front page of today’s Chron hard copy, like lead story stuff. See this from the article:
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña, who has led the fire department for nearly eight years, faces uncertain job prospects as the firefighters union advocates for a new policy requiring chiefs to be selected from within the department’s ranks.
A state district court judge on Tuesday approved a settlement between the city and the union — which officials estimate will cost $1.5 billion over the next two to three decades — marking another significant step toward ending their bitter, yearslong dispute.
Meanwhile, the two parties are still finalizing the details of the firefighters’ labor contract for the next five years, set to take effect July 1. One notable provision under consideration would require the mayor to select future fire chiefs from current or retired Houston Fire Department rank-and-file members with at least 15 years of service.
Peña, who served as El Paso’s fire chief before former Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed him in late 2016, does not meet this criterion. He said during a Thursday City Council hearing that, depending on the final agreement, he might be disqualified from his job.
Union president Marty Lancton and City Attorney Arturo Michel told the Houston Chronicle that the proposed clause, if approved, would not apply to Peña but only to future chiefs. Under Houston law, they said, it will still be up to Mayor John Whitmire to decide who leads one of the nation’s largest fire departments.
And this:
Whitmire has yet to announce whether he will keep the fire chief in his current position. He told the Chronicle on Friday that he has not determined Peña’s future and likely will wait until at least the end of June before making a decision.
“I’ve said all along everybody gets six months, and I’ve only been here five months. We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.
Here is the entire read: Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña faces uncertain job prospects (houstonchronicle.com).
Commentary gets along with Chief Sam Peña. I have always found him to be an outstanding fella. The Chief is also a fixture among H-Town’s Latino leadership. He is very popular among local Latino leaders.
I am sure the H-Town Mayor will make a thoughtful decision. Stay tuned.
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I have to put a ditto to the following I saw on Next Door yesterday:
People, if you see a large vehicle with a claw picking up the debris in our neighborhood, please take another street, give them time to work. Their response to the cleanup on Waverly has been amazing. The woman that honked at them and shot them the bird should be ashamed of herself. I handed them bottles of cold water to thank them. Show some kindness during a trying time and better yet, all the time.
Why would someone shoot the bird to folks who are picking up the storm debris. That huge arse truck with a tow made it down my street on Saturday. The truck blocked my entire street, and my neighbors were certainly accommodating. It took them a few hours to complete my two-block long street. Nice job.
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This is in today’s Chron:
Ed Young, the senior pastor of Houston’s Second Baptist Church, announced during Sunday’s services that he will be stepping aside from the church’s top post after 46 years.
I am sure he will find another venue to continue spewing his hate message, after all, haters got to hate.
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Commentary watched the last 25 laps of the Indy 500 yesterday. Josef Newgarden edged out Pato O’Ward in the final lap down the stretch. Afterwards, a disappointed O’Ward was interviewed on live TV and here is part of what he said:
“It’s hard to put it into words. I’m proud of the work that we did today. We recovered, we went back, we went forward, we went back. Some people are just driving like maniacs. We had so many near-race-enders and just so close again. So fu_king close.”
He dropped the F-Bomb on live TV. Too funny.
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Hall of Fame great Frank Thomas is 56 today. Happy Birthday, The Big Hurt!
Hall of Fame great Jeff Bagwell is 56 today. Happy Birthday, Baggy!
The Astros are in Seattle for four. I don’t want to over hype this series. I just hope we play well.
