The Local 2 Investigative team spent some time recently burning the midnight oil seeing why Houston and Harris County buildings have the lights on all night long.
From last night’s Local 2 Investigates:
It’s a problem no one knew about until Local 2 Investigates burned the midnight oil. For weeks, we checked out city and county [...]
Five San Antonio bicycle patrol officers have been reassigned after suggestive photos of them in uniform surfaced on MySpace and were then aired by WOAI.
The Star-Telegram’s Aman Batheja is reporting how we’ve posted the financial disclosure forms for state office holders on our website:
In the movie All the President’s Men, a shadow-cloaked informant famously advises a young reporter to “Follow the money.”
In Texas, doing just that has gotten a little bit easier.
A Houston-based public information advocacy group recently posted the financial disclosure [...]
If you can figure out how the Speaker’s race is going to play out, you’re a lot smarter than we are. Last week, Burnt Orange Report said (and painstakingly documented) that Tom Craddick simply doesn’t have the votes to stay on as speaker, while Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka countered that if Craddick doesn’t have the votes, [...]
The Burnt Orange report today has a lengthy, if authoritative, analysis on why House Speaker “Tom Craddick is John McCain at this point.”
A former Dallas schools official has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for taking nearly $1 million in cash and rewards in exchange for handing out lucrative computer contracts.
Fascinating discussion over on David Frum’s blog on how Democrats won Harris County–or as the conservative posters prefers to put it, how the Republicans lost Harris County.
In any case, Frum’s post is worthwhile read in no small part because his Republican readers aren’t afraid to dump on their own party’s tactics, strategy and message. They’re [...]
Facing a trial on felony charges of identity and credit card theft–and just two months removed from serving 40 days in an Iowa jail for a separate case–, former Dallas politico Adrain Noe turned up last week as a volunteer election worker in Linn County, Iowa.
Once local officials realized who they were dealing with, they [...]
You just can’t make this stuff up. And if you tried, you’d probably ruin it in the telling. The Dallas Morning News City Hall blog reports today that two city council members are encouraging the rest of council to support a “trade mission” that would, and I quote Councilwoman Vonciel Hill Jones,
“establish as one of [...]
Texas Watchdog’s investigation into ballots cast in the names of dead Houston voters was in the spotlight on Thursday’s 10 p.m. newscast by KPRC Local 2 Investigates.
Our own Trent Seibert was among those quoted in the Channel 2 report, along with Houstonians Henderson Hill Jr. and Alexis Guidry, both of whom had family members whose [...]
Come back to TexasWatchdog.org and tune in to KPRC-TV Channel 2 at 10 p.m. tonight to see our latest investigation — into how the names of dead people have been used to cast ballots in Houston and in Harris County, and how dead voters remain registered to vote in the November election.
Stop the clocks. Cut off the telephone. Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone. … and pack up your 500 guppies. What I am about to share with you breaks my heart: thanks to some government killjoys, you can no longer get a fish pedicure in the state of Texas.
The Dallas Morning News reports [...]
The Dallas Morning News, which has thrown its support to local Democrats in most close races, has backed Republican Lowell Cannaday for sheriff over embattled incumbent Lupe Valdez. It was a predictable endorsement — the paper has dutifully chronicled her doddering missteps for nearly four years now — and the op-ed neatly summed up what’s [...]
Texas Watchdog examines today a lawsuit threat against the Texas Youth Commission — and a potential conflict of interest — involving State Rep. Jim Dunnam, one of the Commission’s toughest critics.
Former Dallas Observer political scribe Matt Pulle uncovered that Dunnam is representing a woman who is considering suing the agency. The influential Waco politician claims [...]
As candidates heave their way to the finish line that is Nov. 4, here’s a little more fodder in the election to replace retiring state Sen. Kyle Janeck. Campaign finance forms were due on Monday, and here’s what each of the five contenders have reported:
Democrat Chris Bell reports raising $658,428.24 and spending $201,467.70. Bell reports [...]
(Correction appended)
OK, this is unreal: Fresh off yet another courtroom defeat in their quest to disqualify challenger Wendy Davis, state Sen. Kim Brimer’s campaign is threatening additional litigation. H/T Quorum Report:
With the court ruling today, we will focus on winning this election and defeating our ineligible opponent at the ballot box leaving the question of [...]
The last toll-chargin’ leg of the Sam Houston Tollway is on the agenda, and the drawing board, as the Harris County Commissioners Court meets today. Commissioners are slated to vote on an estimated $4 million to finish the last toll lanes around the northeastern section of Beltway 8.
That’ll be three toll lanes in each direction [...]
A Republican challenger has outraised and outspent Democratic incumbent state Rep. Hubert Vo in the third quarter of this year — but Vo has more money left to spend in the final weeks of the election.
GOP candidate Greg Meyers took in $105,756.57 in contributions between July 1 and Sept. 25, according to campaign finance reports [...]
This drama had a rather predictable ending. The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas has dismissed Tarrant County state Sen. Kim Brimer’s complaint against his challenger, Wendy Davis, foiling his campaign’s long-running bid to disqualify her candidacy.
In a statement Davis said, “I am very pleased with the Court’s decision today, and I look forward to [...]
The speaker of the Texas state House is among four lawmakers called out by the Associated Press’ Jay Root in Austin (via Chron.com) for not fully disclosing that they’re in business with lobbyists or with companies that do business with the state.
A taste:
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick is in business with a lobbyist but can’t [...]
Just for kicks, let’s play the “what if” game.
What if you took a 26-question test and only answered one correctly? What sort of grade would that be? Beyond an “F,” I’m pretty sure.
But you and I are individuals, not the government. It plays by a different set of rules and almost always wins. Which is [...]
Here’s an addendum to our story from last week concerning the Houston City Council’s personal financial disclosure forms.
Councilman M.J. Khan’s 2007 trip on behalf of the U.S. State Department wasn’t to Washington, D.C., as we had said. The councilman left us a voicemail to say that the trip instead was one he had taken for [...]
Video: Texas Watchdog’s inaugural investigative piece detailed top Bush money-man Stephen Payne’s close relationship with the White House — a relationship the White House took pains to distance itself from. Here is the video of The Times of London sting, featuring Stephen Payne.
