Daniella in the Mornings
From the Chron:
The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to establish a citywide curfew on electric scooter use and rentals between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., citing what officials called a growing public safety risk downtown.
It was a unanimous vote. The folks that make H-Town Downtown happen supported the curfew. Good.
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We really don’t know how this mid-decade redistricting thing is going to play out here in Texas. I will say that this exercise has unhinged some folks. See this from KPRC Channel 2 News yesterday:
One day after a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that Texas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, the dissenting judge slammed his two colleagues, saying they rushed the decision and published their opinion before he even had a chance to finish writing his dissent.
Judge Jerry Smith, who sits on the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, published his 100-page dissent on Wednesday.
In the preliminary statement, he spoke of highlighting the “pernicious judicial misbehavior” of US District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who wrote the majority decision in the case.
“In my 37 years on the federal bench, this is the most outrageous conduct by a judge that I have ever encountered in a case in which I have been involved,” Smith said in the statement.
Smith accuses the two other judges of rushing to get their ruling out on Tuesday even after he told them he had not wrapped up his part of the case.
Judge Jeffrey Brown, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and appointee of President Donald Trump, wrote in the majority opinion that there was “substantial evidence that Texas racially gerrymandered” its maps.
Smith disagreed vehemently with Brown in his dissent, arguing that the “obvious reason” behind the decision to redraw the state’s congressional maps is “of course, partisan gain.”
“Judge Brown commits great error in concluding that the Texas Legislature is more bigoted than political. I dissent,” Smith wrote. “It’s all politics, on both sides of the partisan aisle. George and Alex Soros have their hands all over this.”
Smith also mentioned California Governor Gavin Newsom in his dissent.
“Gavin Newsom took a victory lap in Houston to celebrate the Democrat redistricting win with Proposition 50,” he wrote. “That tells you all that you need to know – this is about partisan politics, plain and simple.”
Also in his preliminary statement, Smith gave a timeline of what happened before the release of the majority decision
Smith says that Brown told him last week that the majority intended to issue their ruling in coming days because they believed they could not wait any longer due to an election law principle that says courts should avoid making last-minute changes to how elections are run before the contests get underway.
Smith also said Brown sent him a note on Tuesday saying, “I’m sorry that we can’t wait on your dissent. Purcell compels us to get the ruling out as soon as we possibly can. It turns out that’s today.” Shortly afterwards, the majority opinion was released.
“This outrage speaks for itself,” Smith wrote in his statement. “Any pretense of judicial restraint, good faith, or trust by these two judges is gone. If these judges were so sure of their result, they would not have been so unfairly eager to issue the opinion sans my dissent, or they could have waited for the dissent in order to join issue with it. What indeed are they afraid of?”
Wow! Now that is what you call an unhinged dissent. Credit to Democrats in the Texas Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom for getting under the skin of this judge.
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It looks like KPRC Channel 2 News evening anchor Daniella Guzman will move to the early morning news program on weekdays. See this from her Facebook post:
Daniella Guzman
I’m SO incredibly EXCITED to share with you that I will be joining our AWESOME morning team here at @kprc2 from 5am-10am.
I’ve been a morning anchor for 15 years in 2 of the top 3 TV markets including Chicago and Los Angeles.
I moved my family back to my Houston 4 years ago when I was offered to be a prime time evening news anchor at @kprc2 in my hometown which is a HUGE honor on a personal and professional level. I’ve loved working with my evening friends Keith, Randy and Anthony and all the talented behind the scenes team… but I was offered an incredible opportunity to bring my morning show experience to our morning team and join the sweet, beautiful and talented Sofia Ojeda and the hilarious, and so smart and talented Meteorologist Justin Stapleton!!! Together, we want to help elevate and energize your already chaotic mornings!!
I absolutely LOVE the opportunity, I LOVE morning TV, and I LOVE that I will get to spend more time with my two young daughters in the evenings.
Life evolves, careers evolve and I’m ready to ride this new wave of this crazy but beautiful chapter in my life.
I don’t know who will replace me in the evenings but I do know the search is on for a great journalist to join us here at @kprc2 at 5pm, 6pm and 10pm.
The change happens Dec. 1st… until then, join me as I enjoy every last minute I can with my evening TV family! #sweetdreams #goodmorning #careermoves #announcement
@Kprc2keithgarvin @kprc2randymcilvoy @kprc2anthony @kprc2sofia @kprc2justinstapleton #houstonnews #houston #localnews
I like Daniella. She is a pro. I look forward to watching her weekday mornings.
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On MLB, Sunday night baseball will now move to NBC next season. See this from the Chron:
ESPN and Major League Baseball appeared headed for an ugly separation after the network opted out of its rights deal in February.
Nine months later, it appears to be the best thing to happen to both parties.
ESPN has a reworked deal that includes out-of-market streaming rights while NBC and Netflix will air games as part of a new three-year media rights agreement announced by MLB on Wednesday.
“I think it’s really important that we manage to continue a relationship with ESPN. They’ve been kind of the bedrock of our broadcast program for a long time,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
NBC/Peacock will become the new home of “Sunday Night Baseball” and the Wild Card Series while Netflix will have the Home Run Derby and two additional games.
That’s good news for sure.
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A fan favorite is leaving us. See this news we got yesterday from the Chron:
The Houston Astros traded utilityman Mauricio Dubón to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Nick Allen on Wednesday night, paring payroll early in the offseason by dealing their most versatile defender.
Dubón spent most of the last four seasons in a super-utility role for Houston, twice winning American League utility Gold Glove awards. The Astros exchanged him in a one-for-one deal for Allen, a defense-first light-hitting middle infielder who has played for the Braves and Athletics.
Entering his final year of salary arbitration eligibility, and of team control, Dubón was projected to earn $5.8 million next season by MLB Trade Rumors. That makes the deal a cost-saving one for the Astros, as Allen is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility and projected to earn $1.5 million in 2026.
Dubón played in 133 games last season, batted .241, 7 dingers, and 33 RBIs. Allen played in 135 games, batted .221, zero dingers, and 22 RBIs.
We will miss Dubón.