ByYou City: Houston Launches Culture/ Planning Input Initiative

Ask anyone that is more than casually familiar with Houston, and they will tell that it is a city full of surprises.

Whether it’s cool public structures like the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, or more exclusive gems like the Villa de Matel Convent, Houston is a city that keeps some of its greatest hidden attractions… hidden.  Long time residents will often discover places or sights that they never knew existed.  Tourists to the city often have to do extensive research if they want to see some of Houston’s coolest stuff.  Attractions are often not well advertised and difficult to find for visitors.

Toursim is just one area where the Bayou City has great potential that has yet to be realized.  But the attitude towards tourism, cultural activities and planning in Houston appears to be changing.  City Government has launched a new website, ByYou City:  Houston’s Home for Civic Engagement, which is designed to be a central collector for direct ideas that citizens have for cultural improvements.  The leaders receiving the feedback from the site are Rick Lowe and Philamena Baird, tasked by Mayor Annise Parker to create a comprehensive culture plan for the city.

Citizens can post directly to the forum and offer suggestions which may be incorporated into the plan.  Does Houston need more parks?  Better tourism venues?  Improved transit?  If you have a great idea that can make Houston a better city in the future, visit ByYou City and share it with the group.  Your idea could become a part of Houston’s future.

WaterWall

 

 

(Photo of the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, a popular Houston Tourist attraction) 

Texoblogosphere: Week of January 21st

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes the Supreme Court finishes the job on marriage equality as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff offers some thoughts on emphasizing local elections for the next cycle or two.

light seeker, back from his sabbatical leave at Texas Kaos, reexamines the state of the Democratic Party and the need for and challenges to grow its voter base. The Great Progressivism Debate, Part I.

From WCNews at Eye on Williamson. The rotten fruit of one party rule in Texas, See The Corruption Inherent In The System?.

Texas Leftist kicked off the 84th Legislative Session with a new blog series. Big Government Texas is a catalogue of the endless hypocrisy waged from Texas’ TEApublican CONservative leaders. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

Texas Republicans clearly love their cronies profits more than they care about the safety of our workers. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme morns along with those missing an actual fighter for workers and Texas children.

Handicapping the race for Houston mayor this early in the cycle is a dirty job, but PDiddie at Brains and Eggs did it anyway.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs:

Juanita explains what “local control” really means.

The Lunch Tray highlights Ag Commissioner Sid Miller’s grandstanding on “cupcake amnesty”.

Better Texas Blog lays out its legislative priorities.

CeCe Cox wants rationality to win out over fear-mongering in Plano.

Lone Star Ma bemoans the STAAR requirements.

Newsdesk eulogizes Linda Bridges, president of the American Federation of Teachers chapter in Texas, who died unexpectedly last week.

Finally, the TPA wishes Paul Burka all the best as he begins the next chapter of his life.

 

(Photo of of the Houston skyline from the Wells Fargo sky lobby– 2015 by L. Wayne Ashley)

DTH2

Candidates Gravitate To Houston At Large 1 Race

Though we are still a long way out from the high campaign season, Houston City Council races are already starting to get complicated… especially for Progressive, Pro-Equality voters. As John Wright reports via Project Q Houston, two of the city’s most notable political forces are now in a crowded field for City Council…

 

After narrowly missing a runoff for Houston City Council in 2013, Jenifer Rene Pool hoped 2015 would be her year.

Pool, who’s vying to make history as Texas’ first transgender elected official, decided in early 2014 to run for the At-Large Position 1 seat, which will be open in November because incumbent Stephen Costello is term-limited.

Pool, who ran for the At Large Position 3 seat in 2013, changed her website and Facebook page to reflect the new campaign, in addition to printing business cards and voter pushcards.

“Anybody who knew me knew that I was running for At-large Position 1,” Pool said. “I’d always hoped that this year the community would rally behind my campaign – to win this time.”

But those hopes were dampened during a holiday party for Houston Democratic clubs in December, Pool said. That’s when Lane Lewis, a gay man who serves as chair of the county party, announced he’ll also seek the At-Large Position 1 seat.

 

Wright’s post goes on to state that Pool was not pleased with Lewis’ decision to run for the seat.  Lewis had no comment.

On the one hand, Houston’s Progressive, Pro-Equality community should be glad to have a strong slate of candidates for the 2015 election.  Even with Mayor Parker’s time in office coming to a close, it’s great to see other LGBT leaders, allies courageous enough to join the cause.

On the other hand, it is perplexing that everyone insists on running for one very popular seat when others are available. Strong candidates like Pool, Lewis and newcomer Philippe Nassif have continued to pile into the At Large Position 1 race, while another seat for At Large Position 4 remains noticeably thin on challengers… save for the well-qualified Laurie Robinson. Those unfamiliar with Houston politics may wonder why so many candidates are filing for one seat over another.  Both are At Large, meaning any Houston resident can run for the seat, regardless of where they live.

The short answer?  Many assume that because Council Member C.O. Bradford is African-American, there has to be another African-American take over his seat.  But the assumption is inaccurate.  With 11 district seats and 5 At Large, the Council has plenty of opportunities for anyone and everyone that would like to run.  Saving At Large 4 for candidates that haven’t even filed yet is not logical.

Which brings us to the original post topic. “Opportunity” is also a key term in this equation, because each candidate has a unique set of opportunities that they can leverage in the 2015 elections.  But they don’t all rest in At Large 1.  For example, if Pool were to switch to At Large 3, she would likely have a much larger support base in a head-to-head match up with CM Kubosh than she could attain having to split the “Democrat” vote and donor/endorsement base with Lewis. Given the unique history surrounding Pool, Kubosh and their opposing roles in the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, this seems the most logical match up for a 2015 contest.  At Large 4 is also an option for anyone wishing to pursue it, but would seem a much better fit at this point for Nassif.

With months to go before the filing deadlines, we can all expect to see much political jockeying.  When all the dust settles, let’s hope that those changes don’t leave the city’s healthy community of Progressive voters with some tough choices to make.  Unlike past election cycles, 2015 is a year where there seems to be room enough for all.

 

Extremism: From Dr. King and Beyond

Here are Dr. King’s thoughts on Extremism as excerpted from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail…  

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label.  Was not Jesus an extremist for love:  “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice:  “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel:  “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln:  “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” So the question is not whether we will extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.

Will we be extremists for hate or for love?  Will we be extremists for preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified.  We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime – the crime of extremism.  Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment.  The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.  Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

 

This very blog spends a lot of time speaking about the ways of extremism… often implying that the ways of extremists are wrong.  But as Dr. King reminds us here, there are very different types of extremism at play in every complex situation.  Standing for what is right often means standing to the extreme of society.

Extremism is certainly at play in today’s society… protesters standing for extreme changes in the American justice and law enforcement system.  Parisians rallying for the preservation of liberty in the wake of heinous killings from “religious” terrorists.  Texas Workers on strike for higher wages because they cannot earn enough to support their families. Hopefully at some point, we will all be extremist.  But Dr. King’s words ring true today… which kind of extremists will we be, and which ones will win out in the end? This remains one of the essential and eternal questions that society is trying to answer.


 


 

Bexar County GOP Votes Down Anti-LGBT Resolution

As the Republican Party’s Civil War over LGBT equality continues to play out, it’s always nice to hear about those that are standing up for common- sense and fairness.  Here’s what happened recently in the city of San Antonio, via Out In SA

The executive committee of the Bexar County Republican Party on January 8 voted down a resolution that sought the “repeal of our local governments’ pro-homosexual policies.”

The resolution, which was circulated to local GOP precinct chairs in mid-December, called for the repeal of the nondiscrimination ordinance that was approved by the City Council last September and urged the roll back of domestic partner benefits to city and county employees. (Click here for related article.)

The committee that drafted the ordinance was chaired by Jack M. Finger, perennial City Council gadfly and Christian extremist. It was revealed at the meeting that Finger’s committee had not been appointed by the party chairman and was acting of its own accord.

The other committee members are Gene Ryder, Alma P. Jackson, Mike Hoffman, Mark Dorazio, Paula Moore, Donal Varella, Barbara “Bobbie” Mueller, Jeanine Owens, Laura Pope and Robert Wilson.

Attorney Justin P. Nichols, a precinct chair who attended the executive committee meeting, told Out in SA that despite the cold weather about 75 precinct chairs were present.

“The resolution in question was the last agenda item,” says Nichols. “After Mr. Finger’s fear mongering presentation, the floor was opened for discussion. Not a single precinct chair spoke in favor of the resolution, with at least four other people speaking against it on various grounds.

[…]

Nichols added that Finger was alone in spreading his anti-LGBT message. “Beside Jack’s befuddled scrambling to hand out his classic bush-league leaflets, and his own absurd explanation of the NDO, not a single person at the meeting spoke a word of disdain or disrespect for any LGBT person or group.

Politics can be so divisive, but it’s important to remember that some issues are much larger than any particular political philosophy.  Kudos to the Bexar County Republican Party for doing what is right, and standing against extremism. We can only hope that their vote is a better representation of the true view of the Texas Republican Party than the mess coming from leadership in Austin.

Big Government Texas Part 2: ‘Open Scary’ Spooks Texas Lege

All year we’ve heard from various Texas lawmakers about their rights the 2nd amendment… even Governor-Elect Greg Abbott himself has pledged to sign the first Open Carry Bill that comes across his desk.  If enacted open-carry legislation would allow gun owners to take their lethal weapons to virtually any public venue.

But apparently what legislators seem to keep forgetting??  The state capitol is also a public venue, and these guns ain’t just for show. From the Houston Chronicle, here’s a rundown about how legislators got a big dose of reality…

AUSTIN – The Texas House on Wednesday approved new rules that will allow legislators to eject hostile members of the public from their offices and recoup the cost of installing panic buttons to summon Department of Public Safety officers following confrontations between a handful of lawmakers and pro-gun activists on the opening day of the session.

The move, which was approved 137-5 in the Republican-dominated House, has some open-carry advocates worried the bad impression left by a small number of activists could endanger their legislative agenda.

“The chances of passing what they call ‘constitutional carry’ got more remote with yesterday’s shenanigans,” said former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who supports efforts to legalize the unlicensed open carrying of handguns in Texas. “That set the stage. That’s the topic of discussion now.”

On Tuesday, roughly 15 to 20 members of the group Open Carry Tarrant County visited several lawmakers’ offices urging them to support House Bill 195, which seeks to undo Texas’ 125-year ban on carrying handguns openly. Several House members, including Democrats Poncho Nevarez of Eagle Pass and Celia Israel of Austin, said the group hassled them or staff members.

In a video posted Tuesday online by Kory Watkins, the Tarrant County group’s leader, open-carry activists can be heard calling Nevarez “a tyrant to the Constitution” and telling him he “won’t be here very long, bro.” Nevarez, who repeatedly asked the group to leave, later said he was concerned for the safety of his staff, family and constituents and complained one activist “reeked of marijuana.”

Catch the video in question right here…

Yep that’s right… even TEACONs in the Texas legislature felt threatened enough by the vigilante group from Tarrant County that they quickly wanted to protect themselves with beefed up security and panic buttons.  Which begs the rest of us to ask one question…

Where is our panic button??

If a couple of gun-toting guys can spook grown adults at the Texas state capitol, why on earth are Republicans in the lege pushing for any and every person in the state to be able to take their guns wherever they choose?  No where in the bill does it say that the state of Texas will pay for all 27 million of us to carry around panic buttons and a security guard.  I suppose the protection of lawmakers far outweighs protecting the rest of us?

Here’s the simple answer to this conundrum.  Guns have a place, but that place is not in the public arena.  The best way to keep Texans safe is to have fewer deadly weapons around, not more.  Even without the threat of some mysterious criminal looking to do harm, guns, by their very nature, are dangerous.  Children in the United States are 17 times more likely to die from accidental gun deaths than children in any other developed nation.  This is not a talking point… it is fact.  Why?  Because the United States has more guns in public use than other developed nations.  A parent could be the most responsible person on the planet, but when they have a young child, they should know that children pick things up.  They touch hot stoves and irons.  And if they see a gun, there’s a huge chance they will try to play with it.  No matter how many people in Open Carry Tarrant County or other groups threaten, they are still a clear minority and do not represent the views of most Texans, as evidenced by swift actions from the Texas House.

As this legislature gets rolling, let’s hope that they remember one thing about guns.  If you pass an Open Carry law for Texas, you pass it for everyone.  All the panic buttons in the world won’t change that.  It’s time for Texans to unite for common-sense policies, and say no to a Big Government legislature that would force all of us to be less safe.

Without Medicaid Expansion, Harris County Healthcare Workers Laid Off

Home to an estimated 4.4 million people, there’s not too much that is small about Harris County, Texas.  It is the 3rd-largest county in the United States of America, and of course is the home for most of the city of Houston.

As a rapidly-growing county, no one should be surprised that there is also a rapid need for expansion of health services.  So many people may be shocked to hear that one of the country’s largest public health systems is actually laying people off this week, with more lay-offs possible in the near future.  And as Kyrie O’Connor of the Houston Chronicle notes, these lay-offs have little to do with falling oil prices…

Facing an expected budget shortfall of $71.8 million, Harris Health System is in the midst of laying off about 113 employees, an agency spokesman confirmed Tuesday. A number of vacant positions where employees have already left won’t be filled, bringing the total to 261.

Harris Health, formerly known as the Harris County Hospital district, is the county’s primary public health service agency serving low-income people. It employs 8,237 workers.

[…]

Harris Health officials have blamed the deficit on several factors, chief among them the state’s decision not to opt for expanded Medicaid from the federal government. They also cite decreased payments to the agency from other federal programs. Expanded Medicaid would have offset those cuts. Harris Health says it has expanded its services in recent years in response to growing demand.

“We are this community’s safety net health system. Nobody provides healthcare to those most in need better than Harris Health,” Masi said. “We will continue to deliver high-quality health services as efficiently as possible with the resources we have available.”

The board is scheduled to meet Thursday to consider proposals to offset the $71.8 shortfall and possibly to tentatively adopt a budget. At last week’s meeting, the members discussed the possibility of approving a budget with a $11.8 million shortfall, to preserve as many of the threatened patient services as possible.

Harris Health officials state that this round of lay-offs “will not result in a cut in services”, which is hard to believe at this point.  And even if that is the case, what happens when the next round of cuts come through??

These people do not have to lose their jobs at all, as legislators in Austin have it in their power to accept the Medicaid Expansion, or come up with a unique Texas solution right now.  But thanks to their selfishness, real Texans are paying real consequences.  As smart Republican leaders like Harris County Judge Ed Emmett already know, it is anything BUT Conservative to be letting go of health professionals in a place growing as rapidly as Harris County.  It’s time to drop the political games around the ACA and do what’s best for Texas.

These may be the first round of area layoffs due to the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid, but they likely will not be the last.  If you ever cared about this issue enough to write your lawmakers in Austin, now is the time to do it.