H-Town Mamdani
I mentioned last week that my Chron subscription increased. I support local journalism. I am still trying to figure out where Evan Mintz is taking the opinion page these days. See the H-Town Mamdani headline and sub-headline of today’s editorial in the featured photo. I read the entire editorial, and my first reaction was “and?” I. Support. Local. Journalism.
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I had heard about this. See this from the Chron:
Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin is garnering support to potentially be chosen by Harris County leadership as the new interim county attorney as they contend with a potential opening.
Kamin has gathered a list of nearly 60 elected officials, labor organizations, faith leaders and community leaders who are supporting her “appointment … as Interim County Attorney,” according to a document obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
Among the officials on the list are U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and Minority House Leader Gene Wu.
Here is the entire Chron read: Houston council member collects support for county attorney nomination.
Harris County Commissioners Court will make the decision on who gets to be an interim county attorney. Council Member Kamin is my council member, but I really don’t know how she operates politically. I really don’t know if the four democrats on the Commissioners Court will appreciate being lobbied on this. I don’t think this is how they operate. I think the Democrats on Commissioners Court like cutting their own deals without interference from other Democratic Party players. Just saying.
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What a waste of manpower by MAGA Gov. Greg Abbott. I saw this online this past weekend:
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — The 200 federalized California National Guard members sent to Portland, Oregon, and another 200 federalized Texas National Guard members sent to Chicago will return to their home states, according to two U.S. officials.
The federalized Guard troops arrived to the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago in early October, but they never deployed operationally because of legal challenges that continue playing out in court.
Late Friday night, U.S. Northern Command hinted that changes were coming to the federalized troop mission in those cities but provided no details when it it posted on X that “in the coming days, the Department will be shifting and/or rightsizing our Title 10 footprint in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago to ensure a constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city.”
An official with the City of North Chicago shared a statement with ABC7 Chicago Saturday, saying “The city received notification yesterday at about 3:30 p.m. that DHS finished packing up their operations and vacated the Naval Station. We are not aware of any DHS activity post that notification that would lead us to believe anything to the contrary.”
What was the point other than appeasing Donald Trump. What a punkarse.
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I saw this late last week on KPRC Channel 2 News. It got me to thinking. See the story first:
HOUSTON – A new $80 million METRO infrastructure contract is sparking debate inside the agency’s boardroom, with one board member openly questioning whether taxpayers are getting clear answers about how the money will be spent.
The funding request comes on top of more than $40 million already approved for similar paving and roadwork projects across Houston yet some METRO board members say they still don’t have a full picture of what work is underway, which streets are included, or how the money has been allocated so far.
And during this week’s board meeting, those frustrations boiled over.
Board member Roberto Treviño delivered some of the sharpest criticism, saying METRO staff is asking the board to approve tens of millions in spending without providing basic details.
“The board has yet to receive a complete list of streets that this work was done,” Treviño said during the meeting. “Here’s package three, and yet again we’re doing work. What work are you asking the board to approve that is in the value of in excess of $80 million?”
Treviño said approving the contract without transparency leaves board members unable to make informed decisions or explain the spending to the public.
He ultimately voted against the proposal.
METRO’s Executive Vice President of Infrastructure Improvements, Shri Reddy, defended the approach, saying contractors bid on the project based on broader categories like bus routes, major thoroughfares, and two-lane roads.
He said the latest package covers about 70 lane miles of roadwork, and the detailed street list is still being finalized with the City of Houston.
“This isn’t one street at a time, like on first package and second package,” Reddy said. “We’re going to do five times the volume. We will have better updates in terms of a longer list of streets.”
Reddy added that METRO has ongoing work on Texas Avenue, Washington Avenue, Kirby, Holcombe, parts of Harrisburg, and East 20th Street.
METRO Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock said the agency routinely shares information and that projects are publicly visible.
“We are very much aware of what’s under construction,” Brock said. “Not only are they reported at every single board meeting, but we have signs out that say, you know, this is a metro construction project.”
However, she acknowledged that the list Treviño was referencing is not a complete one.
In a statement to KPRC 2, Anna Carpenter, METRO’s Director of Communications, said the agency is approaching its maintenance projects more strategically to improve mobility and prioritize safety.
“METRO is assessing maintenance projects from a macro approach in an effort to improve on-time performance and address growing traffic gridlock,” Carpenter said.“METRO is prioritizing thoroughfares that are dangerous and hindering mobility. The street selection and timeline is also dictated by major construction disruptions and events like the I-10 project, NHHIP, and the World Cup.”
Carpenter emphasized that METRO provides monthly reports to board members and will continue to do so.
She also clarified the structure of the latest funding request:
“Package 3 is a larger version of Packages 1 and 2,” she said. “In all of these packages, we have maintenance quantities to cover roadway resurfacing, sidewalks, and bus stops. Package 3 quantities were bid for 70 lane miles. These lane miles could be anywhere in the METRO service area, based on the criteria described above.”
Despite METRO’s explanations, Treviño says the board should not approve such a large contract without a clear list of streets, timelines, and cost breakdowns.
“When you bid work out, there has to be a scope of work,” Treviño said. “We essentially know where the work is, but you’re not sharing it with the board.”
The board ultimately moved toward approving the $80 million package, though concerns about transparency remain unresolved for at least one member.
Board member Treviño is the Executive Director of the Harris County Toll Road Authority. He is one of two METRO board members appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court. He also makes $485,000 per year. The majority of the METRO board is appointed by the H-Town Mayor and confirmed by city council. In other words, the City of H-Town controls METRO.
This past Texas legislative session, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt sponsored a bill that passed the Texas State Senate that would give the City of H-Town 30% of the Toll Road Authority’s surplus funds. The legislation died in the Texas House.
It just got me to wondering.
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This is in the Chron today:
After a season in which injuries decimated the Houston Astros‘ roster, general manager Dana Brown said the club would “take a deep dive” into the issue and its training and rehab procedures.
That evaluation is ongoing, Brown said at last week’s MLB general managers meetings in Las Vegas. The Astros made one change by parting with former head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall, whose contract was not renewed after the season. Brown said last week the team is still assessing aspects of its training program including the “return to play” procedure for players after injuries.
“We’re still working through all the details of that,” Brown said at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “But what I would say is the return to play is something that we’re taking a really good look at. Because we want to be very efficient. We don’t want to rush guys back.”
It seems like wanting to be very efficient and not wanting to rush guys back doesn’t belong in back-to-back sentences.