My son is turning 10 this week and, as such, is truly beginning to recognize more about the world around him. He is slowly becoming aware of the fact that there is a universe beyond his realm of home, school, church and friends. This caused him to ask one of those questions that make parents […]
Continue reading →The City Council voted this week to add two new Council Districts to their elite group of 14. We will now have 16 people representing a population of 2.1 million, give or take. I had to miss the actual debate this week as I was traveling on business in Chicago. As a local government junkie, […]
Continue reading →The Houston City Council has initiated their Redistricting process. And, already, it has become contentious. The City is ahead of the Legislature as it holds elections this November and has a tight deadline to meet for Justice Department approval. Last week, Council took up the discussion and immediately a disagreement emerged over the addition of […]
Continue reading →Guess what? The City of Houston needs to trim approximately $130 million from the next fiscal year budget. That budget will be adopted by Council sometime in June and the Fiscal Year begins on July 1. The Mayor is trying her best to keep informing everyone that these dollars need to be found in the […]
Continue reading →Today, March 2, is the 175th anniversary of the Republic of Texas. We still recognize this as an important day in our state. When I was young, Texas Independence Day was even a school holiday. We were the Republic of Texas from 1836-1846, after winning a revolution with Mexico. People who have lived in Texas […]
Continue reading →“I want my cake and to eat it too!” So proclaimed Texans in a poll conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune. A quick “spin of the wheel” on public opinion illustrates that Texans are in full “reality show” mode while not facing actual harsh realities. The poll clearly reflects that we […]
Continue reading →We last discussed “Reality Show” voting and the way voters have become very fickle over the last few years. Today, let’s analyze “reality show” governing. Contestants arrive at the prescribed location and are psyched to win. They are pumped up. After months of talking “smack”, or in this case, promoting their platform to the roars […]
Continue reading →Voting behavior is a major field of study for many reasons. Voting behavior has always reflected the times and culture of America. In the last several years, voting has become reflective of America’s obsession with reality shows. Reality shows dominate our televisions and references to them have become lexicons in our culture. On reality shows, […]
Continue reading →As I mentioned, we will continue to digest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. As I have been digesting the overwhelming amount of information available on our state, one area particularly stands out. Fort Bend County has come to reflect the “new” America. With more than half a million residents, it breaks down as follows: […]
Continue reading →Alas, the long-awaited Census data for Texas has been released. It is full of fascinating information and this geek will be busy for days pondering the information. Preliminary reviews indicate some things we already knew. Texas is officially a minority majority population. The number of white/non Hispanic residents has dropped below 50%. Our urban areas […]
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