Houston/Galveston County Notes

 

Here are some Houston and Galveston County notes.

Above is the pink dolphin spotted in Galveston Bay last year.

Skelly On The Move

Texas political blog Capitol Annex posts that Democratic Texas U.S. House District 7 candidate Michael Skelly is on the radar of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Mr. Skelly is going to defeat incumbent John Culberson in this Houston-area district. Watch for this race to get more attention as Election Day nears.

Please here click for my post on why you should volunteer for Mr. Skelly. I say in the post that the Skelly race is an uphill race. I’m glad to say I will be adjusting my thinking on that matter.   

TexBlog Pac To Hold Houston Fundraiser

TexBlog pac will be holding a fundraiser in Houston on June 26.

The goal is to raise money to help elect a Democratic majority in the Texas House.

The event will be at the Rice Lofts located at 909 Texas Avenue in Downtown Houston.

It starts at 6:30 PM.

Houston blogger Charles Kuffner has more details. 

State Representative Garnet Coleman will be there as will a number of other local office holders and candidates.

Vo Fixes Apartments

Democratic State Representative Hubert Vo has brought apartments he owns up to building codes.

Well….That’s good. But why does a urban Democratic officeholder run a slum operation to start? People deserve forgiveness. I make mistakes all the time. Still, I find this frustrating on many levels. 

Voters in Mr. Vo’s district can decide this November how they feel about the issue.   

Galveston County Reconstruction-Era Black Settlement Marked

The black run town of Our Settlement, the only all black town in Galveston County in the years right after the Civil War, now has a Texas historical marker.  

First Woman Elected In Galveston Dies

From the Galveston County Daily News ( Here is the full obit)—

Ruth Levy Kempner, the trailblazing, outspoken lover of Galveston politics who was the city’s first female elected official, died Monday in her home at the age of 90. A self-described “civic busybody,” Kempner influenced Galveston politics for decades and kept up with city council antics until her death.              

Kempner and her best friend of 80 years, Frances Kay Harris, lobbied for a change in the form of city government to “anyone who would listen” in the late 1950s, Harris said.

When the city adopted the council-manager form of government, Kempner ran for council and became the first woman elected to city office. As a councilwoman, she was a sharp-witted, well-spoken fighter for her cause, said Bob Albright, who served on the council with Kempner from 1961 to 1963.

Coolidge And Obama With Native Americans

Above is Calvin Coolidge with the Sioux in 1927.

Below is Barack Obama with the Crow in 2008. 

Hopefully we’ve moved ahead in 81 years.

What Is Wrong With People?

A few days ago I had a some time to myself to eat lunch.

I went outside to what I thought would be a peaceful enough spot.

Not long after I got outside, an SUV drove by and inside it were people shouting the F word out the window. 

A few minutes later a woman honked at a pedestrian . The pedestrian spent the next three minutes screaming obscenities.  

All I wanted was just some relative peace.

Not total peace. I knew I was out in public and I was not the only person around.

Why does stuff have to be like this? What is wrong with people?

Above is a picture from a photo essay submitted to the BBC.

The photographer, one Annie McClimont, took some pictures of an abandoned fishing village in Newfoundland.   

I wish I could have that kind of quiet for just one day a month. Just enough to keep me going for the rest of the time.