Posted onApril 22, 2024|Comments Off on Early Voting Begins for May 4 Election
In case you didn’t know, we have two elections in May. While the Democratic Primary run-offs will be decided later this month, today is the first day of EARLY VOTING for the May 4 Uniform and Special Election, which includes the Senate District 15 race to replace the guy that left to move to city hall.
Added to this is the election to elect three individual to the all-new Harris Central Appraisal District board of directors.
Posted onDecember 15, 2023|Comments Off on Thoughts on Viernes – 12152023
Post Election Thoughts
Well, I for one was not happy with the outcome of the Houston election, but that’s the way it goes. What is more insulting is an article stating that because there are more Spanish-surnamed members on Council that somehow there is more Latino representation. Hardly.
One of those elected (Julian Ramirez) has right-wing leanings and supporters, though, he doesn’t necessarily run away from his background. Still any poll of Latino voters will find us to be in favor of health care access, equal opportunity, public education, civil rights, voting rights, etc. Is Ramirez one of those voters?
I find it disappointing that local groups think an extra brown-skinned person makes it better for us just on optics alone, especially when some of these groups fight for civil rights. Houston had an opportunity to elect Richard Cantu, someone who has represented all of Harris County, and dropped the ball by failing to vote in larger numbers. Thankfully, voters defeated Orlando Sanchez, despite a push from some of the same local Latino groups who favor optics over good policy.
That said, it does seem that City Council took more of a right turn adding a right-winger to the horseshoe, and with a “conservative independent” or whatever he told republinuts he was, it would seem that any hot-button issue would have the incoming Mayor as the deciding vote. There are some issues, such as bringing Abbott’s DPS to “attack crime” in the city without any local oversight, of which Dems should be worried. I’m sure having a right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ preacher makes other nervous, too, since he could easily add things to Council’s agenda with the help of a right-wing colleague, now. Just something to think about. While others feel it, the warm and fuzzies are far from being felt by this bloguero.
Thoughts on the 2024 Dem Primary
Kudos to those precinct chairs who called out Kim Ogg for being a bad Democrat and a bad DA. She has abused her office by going after good Democrats for her own political again, while failing to prosecute and indict bad killer cops. Her endorsement of a right-winger for city council didn’t help Richard Cantu, either. We need change in that office, and this was a good first step. I look forward to the next steps, which include her electoral defeat.
What is worrisome is that there are a few incumbent civil and family district judges who are being challenged. Are their opponents funded by sore loser lawyers in those courts? Or are they just playing that old game to achieve demographic-based victory? I’m not saying no one should run against incumbents. We do have a democracy, right? But there are plenty of judges who could have been challenged. Why these judges? I hope there is an actual discussion because I’m not convinced Dems should get rid of these incumbent judges just because they can. Silly me, I’m just one of those voters who don’t vote for Latinos just because they’re Latinos.
We’ll have a busy race for Tax Assessor-Collector with some familiar names–some former office holders, others former candidates. Some had plans to run prior to the retirement announcement of Ann Bennett, which means they wanted to challenge her? Well, that doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies since Ann is a friend of the DC family. So, I’m listening to all in the running.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez will have some challengers, but I’m pretty sure he can overcome them handily. Still, the GOPers are set to go after him and I hope he knocks them out in November.
I’m still smarting from being gerrymandered into SD15 when I was being represented perfectly fine by SD13. Well, with the current State Senator switching offices on Jan. 1, there will be a busy primary that includes some familiar names, including the previous challenger, Molly Cook. Molly has been working all along and did great in the 2022 primary, as well as helping lead on fighting the I-45 expansion and the recent Prop B campaign. We’ll just have to see what the others offer.
More on the Primary later. Especially the US Senate race!
The COVID Report
Apparently, there was a slight drop in the viral load of the wastewater to 161%. That’s not much of a drop and it does not include the first week of holiday parties of which I have seen plenty of close-quarter selfies. Either way, there are a lot of sick people around.
But COVID isn’t the only disease going around. The Flu, RSV, pneumonia, and other airborne diseases are going around. You know a good way to stop it is WEARING A PINCHE MASK! That’s right, the masks that kept infections down during the pandemic (they sure have kept me unCOVIDed) can help avoid other respiratory diseases.
Healing Thoughts for Joshua Ray Walker
Over the last year, I’ve become a fan of singer/songwriter Joshua Ray Walker. Over the last year, he’s toured the world, he performed at the Grand Ol’ Opry, on CBS This Morning and Jimmy Fallon, and has achieved critical acclaim. He’s not your typical performer, but he is quite the guitarist and musician, offering up good and sometimes pain-driven tunes about everyday problems we all face and then some. He released this new tune this week, Thank You For Listening, dedicated to his fans for supporting him. The tune has a different meaning as he faces a colon cancer diagnosis which will keep him off the road for the next few months. Thanks to Joshua Ray Walker for the music and get well soon!
Posted onApril 24, 2023|Comments Off on May 11, 2023: Texas Poet Laureate Celebration
Local poet and artist Lupe Mendez has been serving us as the Texas Poet Laureate over the last biennial and is about to end his service next month. Throughout his term, he has presented his own poetry, along with that of other poets from around the state of Texas. While others don’t do much with the ceremonial title, Lupe added some value to it, offering up the talents of various artists. He will have a final reading featuring various talents on May 11.
Congrats to Lupe. He will continue to serve us well, no doubt, but he has done well in what he set out to do as Texas Poet Laureate. Gracias, Lupe!
Comments Off on May 11, 2023: Texas Poet Laureate Celebration
Posted onAugust 15, 2022|Comments Off on 43rd Festival Chicano – The Schedule is Out!
My heart skips a beat whenever the schedule for the Festival Chicano is released. Three days of the best Tejano music in a great venue with an amazing sound system. And it’s FREE! thanks to some great sponsors, the City of Houston, Miller Outdoor Theater, and efforts of local legend Mr. Daniel Bustamante and volunteers.
The King of the Brown Sound, Little Joe has played in everyone of the festivals, except one, during his storied 60 year career. He never disappoints and the crowd will definitely sing-along. Jay Perez is currently touring in support of his Freddie Records release, El Maestro. Elida y Avante is one of the top live acts en la onda on her Block Party Tour. Pasadena’s own La Fiebre is supporting its latest album Historico and puts on the equivalent of a Tejano rock show. David Farias of the famous Hermanos Farias brings his own band while also supporting his latest album, Volando Alto. Finally, The Most Wanted Man, Ram Herrera is touring with his new band of top flight musicians and a new album, Back on Track. This is a pretty hard-core line-up ready to give folks new and classic hits.
The “43nd Annual Festival Chicano” is a reflection of the artistic creativity that has developed in the Chicano cultural experience after centuries of influence from native peoples, Mexico, Europeans, and the U.S.A..
Chicano music has been historically shaped by many diverse styles such as Mexican rancheras, corridos, mariachi, orchestra, tejano, conjunto, big band, rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll, and many others.
The festival is a celebration of culture through the musical expression of countless generations of artists. It is truly a unique, original American sound.
Thursday, Oct. 6
Jay Perez David Farias Band
Friday, Oct. 7
Elida Reyna y Avante La Fiebre
Saturday, Oct. 8
Little Joe y La Familia Ram Herrera
All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are FREE!
The Friday, October 7th Performance Will Also Be Livestreamed.
The latest 14-day COVID-19 positivity report from Houston Health now has us at 14.5% and the viral load in the wastewater is at 242%. I’m a little confused as to whether they call this “low,” or if they are saying vaccines will keep the number low. Well, I’m still back in 2020 when 5% positivity was causing freak-outs and freaking out that people are still allowing the rate to increase by staying unvax’d and/or unmasked.
I did a couple of reportable by app at-home tests last week. I got hit hard by something last week that laid me out, at least for parts of a few days. Fatigue, low-grade fever, chills, sinusitis, but no COVID-19 positivity. Thankfully, I’m doing better and I’m glad that it wasn’t COVID-19. Still, quite a few friends and acquaintances report they’ve been hit by COVID-19. I try not to be mean and ask, “Are you still wearing masks in crowds? Because I see your partying selfies without masks.” So, I just wish them well and hope they get through it quickly.
I still mask up at stores, at restaurants while I wait for my order, or in any kind of crowd. Too many unmasked folks out there! I’ve opened my life to a few more friends in my vicinity, and while it warms the heart, I still worry. Thankfully, those I associate with are not anti-maskers, don’t get offended by masks if I wear one, and are very much vaccinated. And that’s how I keep fighting against COVID-19.
The summer is just starting and things may worsen for some. Get vax’d and boosted, and do what you can to promote mask-wearing and staying away from crowds.
ABC-13 and others reported on this new plan from the Harris County Toll Road Authority to spend $53 million on connecting 236 miles of hike and bike trails along the Sam Houston Tollway.
According to Commissioner and avid cyclist Rodney Ellis, expending money from toll road surplus monies for this work is in compliance with the statute that created the Toll Road Authority as it improves accessibility, safety and transportation. Connecting the trails would provide, in the long run, an opportunity for an 80 mile loop around the region.
It is definitely something that is needed as Houston competes with the Central Texas region which is creating a San Antonio to Austin trail which runs for 100 miles and would connect the Great Springs of the region, including Barton, San Marcos, Comal, and San Antonio springs. Like HCTRA’s, this is a long-term project. No doubt, such projects create opportunities for economic development and tourism, not to mention healthier communities.
As far as paying for it, the 2 right-wing, naysaying commissioners who voted against it feel that the toll road authority wasn’t created for this purpose. But alternate transportation on 2 or 3 wheels is still transportation and we need to get beyond Cagle and Ramsey’s concrete and air pollution thinking.
Personally, I like the idea as we need more connected trails out here on the West side of town and the trails/lanes need to reach inward toward the Galleria area (my neighborbood). That means we need a new County Commissioner who actually listens to the people to work with a supportive city government. Precinct 4 is not well-represented at the moment, as Cagle’s no vote on so many Dem-supported programs tells us. La Leona, my Trident Trikes recumbent trike, is ready for some new trails and connectors.
We are learning just how important elections are, and a Democratic majority on the Harris County Commissioner’s Court must remain for these innovative programs to continue.
Yesterday, the City of Houston reported that the 14-day average in COVID testing positivity has reached 4.4% and the wastewater load is at 79%. They call it “low,” but there is no doubt that the creep-up continues.
It’s not surprising that this is happening. Masks seem to have come off for most at stores and especially at large events. With the mask mandates on public transportation coming off, I see more and more unmasked folks at Park and Ride buses headed for the ‘burbs.
Why should we be worried? Well, at one point in time, the World Heath Organization called 5% positivity too high; high enough to tell governments to consider stronger restrictions. Some would say that things are different since we have vaccines which lessen symptoms for some people and we have a high number of people who have already been infected, but with variants still creating themselves, anything can happen. And, oh yeah, some of us don’t want to get COVID-19–even with “mild” symptoms.
Speaking of anything can happen, Texas Democratic candidate for Governor Beto O’Rourke self-reported that he has tested positive. Talk about unsurprising. He’s the type of candidate that literally throws himself into a crowd. That it didn’t happen sooner is the more surprising part of this story. While O’Rourke states he “tests frequently,” testing doesn’t help you not get it, nor does it stop you from spreading it while you wait to “surprisingly” test positive. Masking up and requiring masks at your events does–at least it lessens the risk.
As someone who has always sought examples on how not to get COVID-19 from our leaders, I’m disappointed that many continue to push the envelope, mixing in with larger crowds, exercising close contact, etc. If a skinny, boosted, healthy, and well-insured dude can get it (Beto), imagine someone with comorbidities and/or immunocompromised systems. And I do see these folks in all the FB event pics.
There are ways to participate in “the re-opening” that do not expose you to COVID-19. But people seem to refuse even that. Meanwhile, these kind of events lead to workplace exposures and that just increases the probability of spread, not to mention negatively affecting the economy and productivity. If that sounds familiar, it’s what we went through early on. Two years later, one would figure we would know how to act.
Anyway, that’s today’s COVID-19 report of disappointment.
“The oversight occurred between the hours of 1 and 4 a.m. as the political parties that make up the Central Count Committee were reviewing ballots,” Longoria’s office said in a press release.
They said the votes were scanned into the tabulation machines but not transferred, which meant they were not being counted in the unofficial count on Election Night. The votes are set to be added to the final count when the Central Count Committee next meets on Tuesday, according to the elections administrator’s office.
The good news is that the elections folks at the Secretary of State’s office caught the error when the reconciliation forms did not match between votes tabulated and the number of actual votes. So, it’s not like the votes were “lost” or “missing.” They just didn’t get tabulated once entered into the system. But the question remains: How was this not checked at Harris County before anyone clicked [SEND} to the Secretary of State’s office?
While the buck stops with whomever is in charge of the elections office, there needs to be a full accounting as to procedures and employee actions occurring throughout the vote count. Staff involved in this should also be held accountable in one way or another. No doubt, republican whining didn’t help, but the focus should always stay with the vote count.
From a political sense, I’m pretty sure there is no turning back from this. The Republicans whined enough that something simple, yet so major, will stick when calling for resignations, now. In other words, the elected officials who created the office and hired the election administrator will need to decide which direction to go. And in an election year. With two elections happening soon and a major one in November. It’s not really a good time for upheaval in the elections office.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has placed us back at COVID-19 Level Orange.
BREAKING: I’ve just lowered our COVID19 Threat Level Indicator from Level 1: Red to Level 2: Orange, as cases/ICU populations are decreasing. We’re moving in the right direction but we can always see another wave. Please get vaxxed and boosted, and help us keep the virus at bay.
Just in time for the OmicRodeo! Not that any warnings or suggestions would have done anything to keep people masked or distanced at crowded places like NRG. We’ve been on our own the whole damn time to do the right thing and have failed miserably, especially Texas-wide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission — roughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data.
The new metrics will still consider caseloads, but also take into account hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have been markedly improved during the emergence of the omicron variant. That strain is highly transmissible, but indications are that it is less severe than earlier strains, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data.
No doubt, there will be more confusion. That’s OK, even the bluest of states and cities want to pretend the pandemic is over and are getting rid of masks. Or, at least confusing people as to whether masks are required, recommended, or go fuck yourself.
Anyway, we’re still at CODE RED at DC HQ. We wear N-95, KN-95 and KF-94 masks in all places with breathing people, sometimes with a cloth mask over it just because we have some pretty cool cloth masks that we still want to show off. And we breathe just fine and don’t whine about it. We work in places with weak masking and vaccination regs thanks to the bad leadership of Greg Abbott and others, thus, keeping us on a testing regimen whenever some unmasked fool breathes on us. All these threats with no support for our family members who are immunocompromised–whether from workplaces or our government, or even friends/family who insist on going to mass events unmasked.
Yes, COVID-19 is here to stay, they just haven’t thrown the word “endemic” at us locally like they have in California; at least, not officially.
Posted onJanuary 31, 2022|Comments Off on Arctic Front Expected This Week
Looks like Texas is expecting a bit of a cold snap this week as an Arctic front makes its way down here starting on Wednesday evening. It’s time to be prepared, especially with the 4Ps: Pets, Plants, Pipes, and People.
Arctic cold front will arrive Wednesday evening. Very cold conditions expected Thursday-Saturday with lows in the mid 20’s possible for many areas. Wind chills likely 10’s on Thursday.
At this time any winter precipitation is expected to remain N and W of SETX although it could be close Thursday AM around the College Station area. While this will NOT be a repeat of last February, take time Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare the 4 P’s for the cold. Stay tuned for forecasts changes.
One word of advice is not to panic buy at the grocery stores. And, considering shelves have been somewhat empty due to pandemic supply chain issues and lack of production, it’s smart to just buy what you need. Armageddon is not expected, weather-wise, so, let’s not cause one at the grocery stores.
I will definitely stay tuned to all sorts of weather forecasts this week.
For those who live outside of Texas, we’ll forgive the laughter. It’s just that we suck at winter here in Texas and our state government sucks even more.
doscentavos.net 
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