I am taking a short break.
Not a long hiatus, but a short break for a bit as I deal with real life issues such as health, family and work. Nothing major, so don't celebrate, I'm not stopping, just stuff that will make it impossible for me to grind out a post in the evenings for publishing the next morning.
I want to take this chance to bring your attention to BlogHouston which is back and posting some pretty salty weekly updates on the goings on in Houston and Harris County.
Be back soon.
Thursday, February 07, 2019
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
HALV: Two News Items that lay out the Vacuum in stark detail.
First:
"A Step Below Hell" Video gives inside look at HISD Dysfunction. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
The old saying "this mess is a place" seems to be very salient here. This is also a good job by the Chronicle of watchdog reporting, good use of FOIA requests and good reporting on a school board that has clearly run off the rails.
It is also the strongest case for TEA control that anyone has ever made.
Second:
The Trouble with the Midtown Innovation District. Sophie Asakura, HoustonChronicle.com
I'm not questioning Ms. Asakura's intentions, or her motivations. It appears that what she is advocating for is pure and focused. That she is concerned about the homeless and working poor in the area is admirable.
However, it's also painfully clear that her solutions to the problem are patently wrong. In fact, it could be argued that Ms. Asakura doesn't even really understand what she should be arguing for.
At it's root, the problem of chronic homelessness is a gigantic mental health issue that Houston, Harris County and the State of Texas are currently wholly unable to address. That Rice is purchasing parcels of land that acted as a homeless encampment is not a negative, neighborhood improvement is good. What is bad is that there are several people living in homeless encampments for one reason or another whose core needs are not being addressed.
Finally, for all of her concern about the people living in and around the Ion, and the problems that occur because of rising property values what she is really advocating for is property tax reform. If you have control of property tax then you have a situation where rising property values become a good thing due to increased equity minus the burden of excessive tax increases.
I doubt that Ms. Asakura would view it this way, but reforming property taxes in Texas would assuage most of her concerns and would actually help the home-owners in the area should property values rise.
Both of these stories show the flaws in both the operation of Harris County's elected leaders and the short-sightedness of our "thought leaders".
The HISD board is a dysfunctional mess, lacking both good intentions and a basic understanding of acting like an adult, while Ms. Askaura injects in a debate without understanding the issues for which she's advocating, or possible fixes for them.
All of this fuels the Houston Area Leadership Vacuum which is saddening, but not unexpected.
I will say this: I've respect for Ms. Asakura because her intentions are pure. I have no respect for the HISD Board because theirs are not. Honestly we need more people like Ms. Asakura who at least are approaching the issue concerned about others, if only their ideologies allowed them to view things through a wider lens.
"A Step Below Hell" Video gives inside look at HISD Dysfunction. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
The old saying "this mess is a place" seems to be very salient here. This is also a good job by the Chronicle of watchdog reporting, good use of FOIA requests and good reporting on a school board that has clearly run off the rails.
It is also the strongest case for TEA control that anyone has ever made.
Second:
The Trouble with the Midtown Innovation District. Sophie Asakura, HoustonChronicle.com
I'm not questioning Ms. Asakura's intentions, or her motivations. It appears that what she is advocating for is pure and focused. That she is concerned about the homeless and working poor in the area is admirable.
However, it's also painfully clear that her solutions to the problem are patently wrong. In fact, it could be argued that Ms. Asakura doesn't even really understand what she should be arguing for.
At it's root, the problem of chronic homelessness is a gigantic mental health issue that Houston, Harris County and the State of Texas are currently wholly unable to address. That Rice is purchasing parcels of land that acted as a homeless encampment is not a negative, neighborhood improvement is good. What is bad is that there are several people living in homeless encampments for one reason or another whose core needs are not being addressed.
Finally, for all of her concern about the people living in and around the Ion, and the problems that occur because of rising property values what she is really advocating for is property tax reform. If you have control of property tax then you have a situation where rising property values become a good thing due to increased equity minus the burden of excessive tax increases.
I doubt that Ms. Asakura would view it this way, but reforming property taxes in Texas would assuage most of her concerns and would actually help the home-owners in the area should property values rise.
Both of these stories show the flaws in both the operation of Harris County's elected leaders and the short-sightedness of our "thought leaders".
The HISD board is a dysfunctional mess, lacking both good intentions and a basic understanding of acting like an adult, while Ms. Askaura injects in a debate without understanding the issues for which she's advocating, or possible fixes for them.
All of this fuels the Houston Area Leadership Vacuum which is saddening, but not unexpected.
I will say this: I've respect for Ms. Asakura because her intentions are pure. I have no respect for the HISD Board because theirs are not. Honestly we need more people like Ms. Asakura who at least are approaching the issue concerned about others, if only their ideologies allowed them to view things through a wider lens.
Monday, February 04, 2019
HALV: "Trust me, because....some votes or something"
"Trust me"
That's the crux of Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia's argument when approached on the subject of "pay to play" in the Harris County Court....
Harris County Relies on Contractors, Commissioners Rely on their Cash. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
Uh huh.
This is an issue that seems to pop its head out of the mud occasionally and it's certainly not just limited to Garcia, or Democrats. The prevalence of pay to play deals is part and parcel of a governmental authority with non-existent ethics rules and little to no oversight. We're asking the wolves to guard the chicken coop, with nothing more than a vague promise from the wolves that they've actually sworn-off chicken, just ignore the feathers around their mouth.
Despite her office having no direct say on spending of the type mentioned in this story, it was hoped that Lina Hidalgo's commendable step of refusing campaign money from firms with county contracts would prod the other commissioners to up their game and end what is clearly a bad-governance practice.
So much for hopes and dreams.
Of course, an easy fix to all of this would be to change the rules and force all of these awarded contracts to go through a bid process, but that might prove detrimental to the people currently rigging the game, and they're the ones that would have to enact those changes, so it's doubtful it would ever happen.
Yes, the Texas Legislature could act, but the County spends tens of thousands (if not more) every session for lobbyists to descend on Austin and lobby against the taxpayers, and there's never much, if any, push for real reform from a State Lege that NEEDS County support to handle their unfunded mandates.
They say the closer you get in government to where you live the greater the corruption really is. Cities are by nature more corrupt than counties and counties more corrupt than State government and the States are more corrupt than the Federal Government. Judging by what we're seeing at the Federal level it's a miracle green slime isn't spewing out of some of our electeds mouths on a day to day basis.
But hey, trust them. Because at one time in the distant past they may have cast a vote on an issue that goes against the wishes of their campaign donors. Given the make-up of the donor's list that's highly possible.
It's also likely that the votes Garcia would use as an example go against every day citizens who donated or was a case where one donor won and another lost.
Oh well, give more money to me next time and we'll see if we can't have a make-good session later on. There are always more projects in the kitty.
Which, ironically, is why these offices are so coveted. They control a lot of money and provide Commissioners with a LOT of unchecked power.
It's GOOD to be in the ruling class.
That's the crux of Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia's argument when approached on the subject of "pay to play" in the Harris County Court....
Harris County Relies on Contractors, Commissioners Rely on their Cash. HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
“If you look at my voting history over the years, I’ve made decisions and taken votes that worked against some of the interests of people that contributed to me,” said Garcia, who previously served as a Houston city councilman and Harris County sheriff.
Uh huh.
This is an issue that seems to pop its head out of the mud occasionally and it's certainly not just limited to Garcia, or Democrats. The prevalence of pay to play deals is part and parcel of a governmental authority with non-existent ethics rules and little to no oversight. We're asking the wolves to guard the chicken coop, with nothing more than a vague promise from the wolves that they've actually sworn-off chicken, just ignore the feathers around their mouth.
Despite her office having no direct say on spending of the type mentioned in this story, it was hoped that Lina Hidalgo's commendable step of refusing campaign money from firms with county contracts would prod the other commissioners to up their game and end what is clearly a bad-governance practice.
So much for hopes and dreams.
Of course, an easy fix to all of this would be to change the rules and force all of these awarded contracts to go through a bid process, but that might prove detrimental to the people currently rigging the game, and they're the ones that would have to enact those changes, so it's doubtful it would ever happen.
Yes, the Texas Legislature could act, but the County spends tens of thousands (if not more) every session for lobbyists to descend on Austin and lobby against the taxpayers, and there's never much, if any, push for real reform from a State Lege that NEEDS County support to handle their unfunded mandates.
They say the closer you get in government to where you live the greater the corruption really is. Cities are by nature more corrupt than counties and counties more corrupt than State government and the States are more corrupt than the Federal Government. Judging by what we're seeing at the Federal level it's a miracle green slime isn't spewing out of some of our electeds mouths on a day to day basis.
But hey, trust them. Because at one time in the distant past they may have cast a vote on an issue that goes against the wishes of their campaign donors. Given the make-up of the donor's list that's highly possible.
It's also likely that the votes Garcia would use as an example go against every day citizens who donated or was a case where one donor won and another lost.
Oh well, give more money to me next time and we'll see if we can't have a make-good session later on. There are always more projects in the kitty.
Which, ironically, is why these offices are so coveted. They control a lot of money and provide Commissioners with a LOT of unchecked power.
It's GOOD to be in the ruling class.
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