Houston Blogs: Houston Political Blog

Who's ducking a Debate? (no, not THAT one)

Okay, as far as we know, the Vice Presidential debate is still on! But, one debate that looks fully deflated is the locally scheduled debate for Harris County Sheriff.

Challenger Adrian Garcia's campaign is accusing embattled Sheriff Tommy Thomas of ducking this week's planned debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.  It's set to air on Channel 8, the PBS station.  Apparently, Garcia's folks says Thomas is claiming to be too busy with the Hurricane Ike recovery efforts to attend the debate.

Not so, says the Thomas campaign.  The Sheriff's spokesperson told me over the phone that he never agreed to the debate because there was a scheduling conflict.  She said the Sheriff had Sheriff duties to attend to, and was willing to debate on a different date.  Besides, she says, Thomas can't really duck a debate he never agreed to in the first place.

Um... okay.. come to think of it, I did see Sheriff Thomas at Transtar the Friday before Hurricane Ike.

So will the two men meet face to fact? Let's hope so, and soon!

Mayor takes on Lyondell

Mayor Bill White wants a public hearing on Lyondell's request for
benzene release permit

House defeats bailout plan

Having spent the past week, I wasn't entired surprised by the defeat:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry. Stocks started plummeting on Wall Street even before 228-205 to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.  More than enough members of the House had cast votes to defeat the Bush administration-pushed bill, and the vote was being held open, apparently as efforts were under way to persuade people to change their vote.

None of the Houston area members of Congress I spoke to liked the bailout. NOBODY.  Politics? Perhaps.  But there seemed to be a universal disdain for bailing out Wall Street, especially considering locals are still bailing themselves out from the hurricane.

Another Day in D.C.

We are staying another day in Washington.. to get our hands around the banking bailout proposal.  We'll let you know what the Texas Delegation thinks!

Mayors ask for $2.4 billion a piece, and that's just the beginning

Mayor White of Houston and Mayor Tohomas of Galveston did a quick tour of Congressional offices and testified in front of a Senate Sub Committee today.  The schedule was very tight, as both are already on their way back to Houston and Galveston.

Both Mayors are asking for an initial infusion of $2.4 billion dollars a piece.  The money will be used to rebuild the infastructure of both communities, as well as pay for debris clean up, and any necessary equipment.  Federal dollars have come in prvious hurricanes, but it usually takes FOREVER.

The Mayors want the Texas Congressional delegation to press for faster response from FEMA, and more flexibility in the way the money is distributed. 

We'll have more details later.  By the way, Mayor Bill White has a nasty sunburn on his head,  he didn't wear sunscreen while managing the recovery effort, and it's showing!

Mayor in DC

Early morning in DC

The CenterPoint Map

Here's the link for the big map.

Water is safe to drink!

Yea! Water is safe to drink in Houston, and the PODS are working today. People are in a good mood, not perfect, but in a much much better mood.

Chertoff Returns!

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is returning to Houston today.  He's once again touring the most heavily damaged areas.  We'll see what he says in an afternoon news conference.

The Lights are on at Transtar!

After four days of Generator power, Transtar.. where the County's emergency services are based, has returned to the power grid! Yea!

Electricity, FEMA, and METRO

CenterPoint  says so far, 690,000 people have had their power restored.  Still, more than 1.4 million people without power.  There are now 8500 skilled workers in the field.  The company now estimates that 50-75 percent of its customers will get power restored by Tuesday, Sept. 23rd.  Let's hope you're part of htat 50-75 percent.

The FEMA transitional housing program starts.  FEMA will begin paying their hotel expenses.  You can go through the FEMA.GOV program or call 800-621-FEMA to get the list of participating hotels.  There are delays at peak hours, but it's a 24 hour program.

METRO restores full service on Wednesday.   Park and Ride lots on shorter service schedule.  No Light Rail because there is no electricity yet. 1,700 people were rescued in the past week by METRO

A sign of things to come

Restaurants are slowly opening.  Even ones not usually serving lunch or dinner are opening.  It gives people some place to go, to chat, and to begin the healing process.

Some Limited Access at Transtar

Today: PODS Open, lines are long, the Governor visits Orange

Now that our Helicopter has finally been allowed to fly over Bolivar Peninsula, the sight is simply hard to believe.  The destruction of hundreds of homes down to the slab.  We are still waiting for some answers as to the extend of possible casualties, but the scale of the damage is hard to believe.   We've talked to Anne Willis, who runs one of the most well known real estate company on the Peninsula.  She's safe, but told us over the phone she can't even comprehend the destruction.

Things in Houston are finally looking up.  The POD sites opened up today.  There are long lines, but people are finally getting the supplies they need.  Staffed with County and City volunteers, things have run smoothly.

Governor RIck Perry visits Orange today.  President George Bush visits Houston tomorrow.

Target stores are back open!!

More Hurricane Recovery Details

Sorry haven't been blogging, been a little busy!   We are now up on Twitter.  If you have it, follow us at www.twitter.com/ktrkhouston

Basics:

All of Houston under curfew:  9pm to 6am daily until Friday.  You can go out if you have legitimate business. 

As for what's open, there are some Kroger, HEB, and and the Galleria.  Most of Mid town is open.

What you can expect in your neighborhood

From Chief Meteorologist Tim Heller:

Galveston Island:  Sustained winds 100-120 mph with higher gusts, 15-17' storm surge flooding most of the island, more than 8" of rain, isolated tornadoes.

Texas City, Baytown, Deer Park, Seabrook, La Porte, Bacliff, Kemah, Anahuac, Smith Point and other communities along Galveston Bay, Trinity Bay, the lower Houston Ship Channel, northern Chambers County and southern Liberty County: Sustained winds 100-120 mph with higher gusts, 15-22' storm surge flooding most neighborhoods near the shore, 5-10" rain, isolated tornadoes.

Gilchrist, Crystal Beach, High Island and other coastal communities along Bolivar Peninsula: Sustained winds 100-120 mph with higher gusts, 17-20' storm surge flooding the entire peninsula, more 5-10" of rain, isolated tornadoes.

Surfside Beach, Freeport, Lake Jackson, Sargent and other coastal communities along the Brazoria and Matagorda County coastline: Sustained winds 100-120 mph with higher gusts, 8-14' storm surge, more than 8" of rain, isolated tornadoes.

Matagorda, Palacios, Port O'Connor, Port Lavaca and other communities along Matagorda Bay: It now looks like Matagorda Bay will be on the weaker side of the storm with sustained winds 75-100 mph, 3-7' storm surge, more than 8" of rain with some flooding likely, isolated tornadoes.

Houston, Bellaire, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Humble, Kingwood, Pasadena, Pearland, Jersey Village, Richmond, Alvin, Bay City, Angleton: Sustained winds 75-110 mph winds, 5-10" rain with flooding in poor drainage areas, isolated tornadoes.

Liberty, Cleveland, Livingston, Huntsville, Conroe, Spring, the Woodlands, Katy, Sealy, Hempstead, Navasota, Wharton, El Campo: Sustained winds 60-90 mph, 5-10" rain with flooding in poor drainage areas, isolated tornadoes.

The longest day... waiting for Ike!

The last news conference for a while ended around 8:30 Friday morning.  From then on, it is a waiting game.  Mayor Bill White and County Judge Ed Emmett basically saying two things:  Get out if you are in an evacuation, and prepare to hang on if you are not.

For the rest of us, it's all about the "hunker down" mentality.  What that means for the people charged with keeing you safe?  They are spending the night here at Transtar.  Person after person brought in pillows and  sleeping bags.  Then there is the politician count.  I see it as this:

The intensity of the storm is directly proportional to the number of elected officials who show up at these news conferences.  So this morning, we had a lot.  Beside Mayor Bill White and County Judge Ed Emmett, there were a number of others who came and just stood there, in agreement.  That included:  Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Rep. Ted Poe, Rep. Al Green, and Rep. John Culberson.  Also showing up were council members Sue Lovell, Wanda Adams, Mike Sullivan, Adrian Garcia, and James Rodriguez.

The details on Ike: County, City together

Evacuation zip codes starting at noon today:

77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586, 77598.

Everyone else, stay put!  Here at Transtar, Mayor Bill White and Ed Emmett are holding semi-regular news conferences.  They were joined this morning by Council Member Mike Sullivan.  I expect more council members later on in the day.  There is no trash service tomorrow, and all non-essential county/city employees operations will be shut down.  Don't go to jury duty, and don't go to get your car registration renewed.  Stay off the highways, and good luck!

The Scene at Transtar, getting ready for Ike

Sarah Palin in Houston!

Update: Organizers are planning for a couple of hundred people for the reception, and a limit of 100 for the "private" dinner to follow.  As of right now, it doesn't look like Palin will be doing public events, but as we all know... that can always change!

---

Could the current Republican Rock Star be swinging through Houston for a fundraiser soon?

That seems to be the buzz among some veteran Republican fundraising attendees.  I heard from at least two people last night that they're waiting for info for the big shindig... and now there is news!

Here is the official release:

Governor Sarah Palin is coming to Houston for a one time only before the Nov. 4 election for a reception and dinner.  The event will be at the home of Mica and Bob Mosbacher on Friday, October 3 at 5PM.  This is a fundraiser and the levels of participation are as follows:

$1,000 for the General Reception

$2,300 for the VIP Reception

$5,000 for the photo reception

$28,500 for the dinner for two plus the VIP reception - limited to 100 guests

This is the only chance before the election to hear her speak and meet this exciting woman and hopefully raise enough funds for the McCain-Palin.

Get out your checkbooks!

Mayor: the price is in my head!

Mayor Bill White spoke about the success of the Convention Hotel today.  He trotted out a number of stats showing the hotel has been well receivedd since its opening.  Now, if you've been to the Hilton Americas, you would probably agree. It's a very nice hotel, and it's basically the only one next to the GRB Convention Center.  And while everyone seems pretty satisfied, Mayor White has now decided it's the perfect time to try and sell the hotel and make a profit for the City.  There wasn't much discussion about whether selling the hotel is a good or bad idea.  However, the Mayor did try to pre-address the usual City Hall rumor mill.

"There will be a reserve price," said White regarding to the bids for the hotel.  "The price will be in my head, and my head only."  He then continued to say any rumors of any reserve price would be false, because, again, "It will be only in my head."  Now, this won't keep anyone from still talking about the reserve price.  After all, we are talking about politics.  So, any guesses?

Booting the Boot?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- You could get the boot when you park in downtown Houston if you're not careful. But critics say the relatively new parking enforcement tool needs someone to enforce it.

The problem is, if you park in one of those private surface lots, there's nothing to regulate someone who decides to boot your car because they say you didn't pay to park. City council has heard a lot of complaints, and now they're trying to pass regulations to give the boot to the boot.
If you ever had to park downtown for any reason, you're probably familiar with the cash-only parking boxes.
"You roll your money up, maybe it goes in all the way, maybe it doesn't," said driver Dennis Kettler. "You're always worried about someone coming back and pulling your money out. You never know if anyone really checks it."
Story continues belowAdvertisementA growing trend on the private lots is to boot cars in allegedly unpaid spots. But with no receipts for back up, city council is hearing lots of horror stories. Mark St. Sir is one who says he paid to park and got booted anyway.
He said, "Please, let there be some kind of regulation on private property of booting... Or least show that you've paid and get a receipt." The council is listening, proposing a comprehensive ordinance for the first time to regulate the paid surface lots so many Houstonians use. If passed, the new ordinance would get rid of the cash-only boxes altogether. It would require parking lot owners to provide some sort of receipt.
"Due to its high cost of maintenance, receipt-giving machines do not make financial sense for operators to install on a number of parking lots," argued parking lot owner Louis Macey.
Several parking lot owners told city council that the new regulations would only increase costs. But council members seemed determined to make the change.
Houston City Council Member Sue Lovell wanted to know, "What's the objection to giving your customer a receipt like in every other business people do?" Council members agreed that people who spend money deserve a receipt to show they paid. The topic is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday, but it could be delayed a week

In Sheila's Shadow..

In local politics, there are always things that strike me as a bit curious.  Recently, every time I see Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee at a community event, I also find John Faulk.  Who is that, you ask?  He's the Republican candidate running a very uphill battle against Jackson-Lee.  Over the weekend, I ran into John Faulk attending a Jackson-Lee sponsored town hall meeting at the Heights library branch.   The meeting was about the ongoing problems of copper thefts. Jackson-Lee was with her Congressional staff, not campaign staff.  Yet, there was Faulk,  wearing a sticker with a big red slash against the initials SJL.  Faulk was none-too-shy about shaking voters’ hands and telling them why he was there.  He even put some campaign signs in front of the library.  In this heavily Democratic district, even the most optimistic Republican operatives don't give Faulk a chance.  That's not stopping him from trying, however.  He even stayed for the entire copper theft meeting, hanging out in the back of the room.

A busy day for HPD

HPD Brass certainly has a full schedule.  As I write this, some in the department are trying to convince the City Council that Patriot Advertising should be given another contract to recruit more officers.  The local company was given a contract last year to help increase HPD recruiting.  The responsibilities involved building a website, and advertising on the internet.  The contract ran out in the Spring, and council members weren't sure juswt how effective it was.  Hence, a hearing before council gives it approval.

After that, council members are expected to grill HPD on the Taser audit.  A while back, Controller Annise Parker began working on a Taser audit, since auditing stuff is part of her job.  Apparently, Parker's audit was completed weeks ago.  However, we haven't seen the light of day on it.  Why?  Maybe because HPD doesn't want it released?  The reluctance, according to Parker, is coming straight from the top at HPD.  We are expecting some of this reluctance to be aired out at City Hall this morning.

After all that, expect some major news from our 13 Undercover unit today... about.. what else, HPD!

Barking about BARC

About thirty animal lovers showed up at City Hall this morning to give City Council members an earful.  Basically, last week, an animal control officer left eight dogs in a car while she went to lunch.  For some reason, the air conditioner wasn't on and the eight dogs eventually died.  Now, the officer is on desk duty while the investigation filters down.  However, the animal actvists want the officer fired, and want the City of Houston to increasing funding for the Animal Control department.

Council Member distributes school supplies

At the beginning of every school year, your various local elected officials try to do their part to help needy kids get back to school with all their supplies.  This year is no different.  Case in point, Council Member Ronald Green will be passing out back-to-school supplies to kids at the House of Tiny Treasures.  According to Green's people, that the only accredited childhood development center that exclusively meets the needs of homeless children.  Distribution of school supplies are between 12:30p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

An Eventful weekend...

Whew! We'd love to say after a week of politics, you'd think everyone's going to get a slight break.. no chance,.. sorry just getting around to posting.. catching up on some sleep!

First, the speech.  It was stronger, more direct, and less lofty than any of Barack Obama's prior major speeches.  That might feed the political pundits for a few hours of discussion, but for the people who attended, the occasion was so much more than about a speech.  Standing among the Texas delegates, it was clear that most appreciated the historic nature of the occasion.  A young African American delegate from Austin had tears in her eyes when Obama began to speak.  And then there was State Sen. Royce West of Dallas.  An African American with a booming voice and a large presence, he looked like a kid on Christmas Day.  "What this day means, " Sen. West said  while waving a change placard, "is that Dr. King's dream that we would one day be judged not by the color their skin but the content of their character."

After the speech, getting out of Invesco Field was a nightmare.  80,000 people including lots of media with tons of equipment is not an easy situation.  There was a lot of walking, and that.. after a good eight hours inside the stadium.. was not fun.  However, we all survived..

Then, before even a chance for that cup of coffee on Friday morning... we get Sarah Palin as VP for John McCain.  That was a surprise.  Now, apart from Gustav, just about every political pundit across the country is wondering how the choice will help/hurt McCain.  Sure, she's got great conservative credentials, but what about experience?  We shall see what the next sixty or so days bring.

Then, late this morning, the news from the McCain camp that Bristol, Palin's 17-year-old-daughter, is pregnant and will marry the father.  The campaign says it released the information to combat Internet rumors.  It also asked for privacy for the family.

Finally, we have a convention interrupted.  If hurricane Gustav doesn't cause major damage, the Republican Convention should return to relative normalcy by tomorrow.   My colleague Tom Abrahams is keeping everyone updated on that.. stay tuned!