Tag Archives: Harris County

Harris County Officer Escapes Indictment in Death of Ashtian Barnes

The numbers are startling, the similarities are haunting, and the frequency… incomprehensible.  As citizens across this country continue to be unlawfully detained, arrested and even killed by police under circumstances that are questionable at best, the grieving families of these victims are left with little peace or consolation.

Such is the case for the family of Ashtian Barnes, 24, who was killed by Harris County Police Officer Roberto Felix on April 28th.  Today, Officer Roberto Felix was No-Billed by a Harris County Grand Jury, which means he will not be indicted or face charges for the death of Barnes.  Here’s more from Fox 26 Houston

– After two sessions, a grand jury has not indicted a Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constable in the April 28 deadly shooting of Ashtian Barnes.

“What we can say is that the presentation was comprehensive and responsive to the needs of the grand jury,” said Harris County District Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division Chief Julian Ramirez. “The 183rd Grand Jury handled this case with great care.” The grand jury of twelve people included three African Americans and three Hispanics.

[…]

At least nine of the 12 grand jurors needed to find probable cause to indict the deputy constable. DA Anderson said that the panel’s decision shows there was not enough evidence for a charge.

But the newly released video via Black Lives Matter- Houston has many people seeing the outcome differently.  The video, which seems to counter the officer’s account of the incident, is leading many viewers to cry foul with the Grand Jury’s decision.  As one may recall from earlier this summer, those standards to find Probable Cause against policemen were significantly toughened when a Supreme Court decision decimated the Fourth Amendment, giving police virtual right to profile and suspect any citizen that they want. As seen and heard from the video, the officer seems to be looking for reasons to conduct a search of Barnes’ vehicle. Beyond the lack of probable cause, BLM members also stated that officers and lawyers for Felix were “laughing in the face” of activists outside the trial.

At this moment, BLM members are gathering for a protest in front of the Harris County courthouse, calling for Justice for Ashtian Barnes.  The protest begins at 6pm.  Texas Leftist will be following the developments.

Do you agree with the Grand Jury’s assessment??  Leave your feedback in the comments.

Ashtian Barnes

Texoblogosphere: Week of March 21st

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes your brackets are in better shape than its own as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff looked at the legislative and judicial primary runoffs for Harris County.

When Libby Shaw learned some of the drinking water supplies in the state well exceed the federal standard for arsenic, she asked how will small government, government loathing lawmakers react? What will they do? Nothing, of course. Pretend the problem does not exist. No Worries Texas. We Can Shoot the Arsenic Out of the Water.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is disgusted to see Greg Abbott leading the charge against legal voters in Texas, but, he is not the only one. The wrongly named American Civil Rights Union wants to disenfranchise voters, too.

Socratic Gadfly, with new news about it, updates a major blog piece from last fall about the First Amendment, politicization of academics, academic freedom, and fired professor Melissa Click.

Hillary Clinton admitted to Chris Matthews that she sold her vote to invade Iraq for $20 billion, to George W. Bush. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs is glad that’s finally cleared up.

Neil at All People Have Value said that people in the Houston area should stop doing dumb things that cause wildfires. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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

The Texas Election Law Blog highlights what President Obama said about innovation in civic technological engagement.

Juanita contemplates the sheer awesomeness of a Trump/Carson ticket.

Grits for Breakfast wants to know why the Texas Rangers seem incapable of rooting out local corruption when they are called upon to investigate it.

Ty Clevenger complains about the State Bar of Texas’ refusal to take action against Ken Paxton.

Lone Star Ma focuses on the 9th of the United Nations’ new sustainable development goals: “Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.”

Dan Solomon talks to Wendy Davis about Dawn Porter’s abortion law documentary Trapped, among other things.

The Makeshift Academic reminds us that Merrick Garland has a lot of company in the confirmation process.

 

Galv Bay

Today’s feature photo is from the beautiful Harris County Coastline.  Yes!  Though we sometimes forget, the same Harris County which houses Houston is actually on the Texas Coast.  This is taken from Sylvan Beach in the city of La Porte.  Formerly known as The Grove, the historic beach front park has been in operation since 1893.

 

 

Marriage Equality Comes To Texas

In the wake of today’s historic SCOTUS decision, marriage equality for the state of Texas went from dream to reality.

But depending on the county that one lives in, that reality may be harder to swallow than it is for others.

As we speak, legal marriage ceremonies are being conducted in  several Texas Counties, including El Paso, Hidalgo, Travis, Bexar and Dallas are now granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

However in the state’s most populous county of Harris, a pathetic waiting game is still being played, as County Clerk Stan Stanart is trying desperately to slow down the process of granting loving couples their constitutional rights.

Even after County Attorney Vince Ryan directly instructed Stanart to comply with federal law, the elected official seems to be ignoring federal law. One Houston couple, Hunter Middleton and John LaRue were the first in line at the Harris County Clerk’s office waiting to apply for the marriage license.  Sadly they were also the first to be turned down. This is a risky stance for the Clerk, as it leaves Harris County and its taxpayers liable for deniability.  In fact, several Houston couples have already begun proceedings to sue the county.  

As of 3pm today, LGBT couples can now wed in Harris County!!!  Here’s what you need to do to obtain a marriage license.  

 

If LGBT Texans were hoping for some support from their governor on this historic day, they sadly will not find it.  As Rebecca Elliott of the Houston Chronicle reports, Governor Greg Abbott has issued a directive in hopes of preventing same-sex spouses from receiving now federally-mandated benefits…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott opened the door for state agencies to withhold benefits from same-sex couples Friday, hours after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

In a letter released Friday afternoon, Abbott ordered heads of state agencies to prioritize religious freedom, writing that no adverse action should be taken against a state official “on account of the person’s act or refusal to act that is substantially motivated by sincere religious belief.”

“This order applies to any agency decision, including but not limited to granting or denying benefits, managing agency employees, entering or enforcing agency contracts, licensing and permitting decisions, or enforcing state laws and regulations,” Abbott wrote.

Yet again, we have a measure of grand irony from the Texas Governor.  preventing loving couples from getting married or receiving benefits is of the highest priority, but letting millions of poor Texans suffer without health insurance of any kind can wait??  Actions like these border on shameful.

CRITICAL UPDATE!!

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses at 3pm, whether he has the correct forms or not!  Marriage equality has come to the nation’s 4th largest city!

3:20pm

And it’s DONE.  Congratulations to Hunter Middleton and John LaRue, the first same-sex couple ever to marry in Harris County and the City of Houston!  

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An historic day indeed!!

 

 

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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.

Judge Ed Emmett Pressures Austin Over ACA Expansion

At an estimated population of over 4.3 million people, Harris County is the largest county in the state of Texas, and the third largest in the United States.  In population, Harris County is actually larger than 24 states.

With those big numbers come big challenges, especially regarding healthcare costs.  Thanks to the belligerence of Republicans in the Texas legislature, Harris County continues to shoulder a massive burden in uncompensated healthcare costs, while large counties in other states have access to new funds under the Affordable Care Act. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, himself a Republican, is now speaking out to let Rick Perry and other Texas politicians know that the politics over the ACA cannot continue.  Here’s the story from News92 FM

Harris County taxpayers right now have to bear the entire cost of paying for indigent healthcare.

Judge Ed Emmett said the Affordable Care Act could help provide some relief.

Emmett said while certain people at the state can argue about the “benefits or detriments” of the Affordable Care Act, those are our tax dollars in Washington and state law makers need to find a way to bring them back to Texas.

“The tax dollars in Washington, those belong to people here too,” Emmett said. “And so those need to come back to the state of Texas to help us off set some of these property taxes.”

Emmett and other urban county judges from across the state, both Republicans and Democrats, have written to Texas lawmakers urging them to find a solution.

Emmett says during the last legislative session, Harris County missed out being reimbursed hundreds of millions of dollars.

$900 million over a two-year period would have come back to Harris County, of that less than $100 million would have gone to the Harris County Hospital District,” Emmett said.

Ask any property owner in Harris County… their taxes have shot up in the recent years, mostly thanks to a booming economy which increases property values.  But what hasn’t improved are the amount of funds available to appropriately combat a growing burden of uncompensated care.

This is a point on which Judge Emmett agrees with Leticia Van de Putte and Wendy Davis… if elected, they have already promised to make Medicaid Expansion a priority for the upcoming legislative session.  Outside of Austin, a bi-partisan coalition is forming to end senseless opposition to the Affordable Care Act.  Texas cannot afford to play any more political games, and the politicians that choose to continue do so at their own electoral risk.

BREAKING: Houston Texans, Rodeo Plan To Level The Astrodome

For those that were holding on to hope that the historic, iconic and uniquely Houstonian structure could be saved, this secretive deal is certainly a big blow.  Here’s the news via the Houston Chronicle

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans have devised a $66 million plan to demolish the vacant Astrodome and turn the site into an outdoor green space that is reminiscent of downtown’s Discovery Green and also pays tribute to the historic stadium.

The project, titled the “Astrodome Hall of Fame,” would be completed in time for the 2017 Super Bowl at NRG Stadium, according to a 37-page proposal obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

The plan is designed to pay tribute to “the Astrodome’s history” and realize its potential as an “outdoor fulcrum” of the South Loop sports complex, according to the plan drawn up by two construction and architecture firms.

After last year’s contentious vote and with the time clock ticking closer to 2017, this news shouldn’t come as a surprise. What should we expect to happen to a building if it remains abandoned for a over a decade without any maintenance or care?

Another interesting point per above… thus far, these plans by the Texans and the Rodeo are not public knowledge were not officially released, but apparently uncovered by Chronicle reporters.  It would be interesting to know how long the organizations would be willing to hold on to them before just taking action, in hopes of avoiding a sustained public outcry.

UPDATE: This proposal has yet to be presented to Harris County Commissioner’s Court.