Politics at Houston.BloggersPub

Houston City Hall campaigns for KPRC 2’s Mary Benton

Closed Published by mikemcguff December 8th, 2011 on mikemcguff.com blog

Tweets started going out from Houston City Hall staffers Wednesday morning promoting a new campaign. This was not a campaign about getting out the vote for Saturday’s runoff elections or a new city council proposal, it was to get some TV coverage:

jessicamichan Jessica Michan
Starting a #Twitter campaign for @KPRCLocal2 to send @MaryBenton to cover City Hall. We need her here! She gets it!! #Mary2CityHall

That’s right, there is even a Twitter hashtag for the campaign - #Mary2CityHall.

Michan later explained over Twitter that KPRC 2 sends out photographers to cover city hall, but the staff would also like a reporter there more often to explain the sometimes complex issues in a full report. While Benton covers politics, she also covers lots of other stories in the Houston-area, and is not always assigned city hall happenings. (I am in no way insinuating that KPRC does not cover city hall by the way because it does).

Now for journalist types in other markets reading this I know what you are thinking…but Mary Benton is no press release/regurgitate the mayor’s message type of reporter. She’s been covering politics through most of her career according to her bio and I have seen her do it fairly.

To be fair, the other Houston stations also cover Mayor Annise Parker. Some even have what could be considered city hall beat reporters.

Personally, I think it’s interesting how the mayor’s staff is reaching out to the media for more coverage. One more example of how social media is changing everything.

Galveston County Social Security plan made famous by Republican presidential candidates

Closed Published by mikemcguff December 7th, 2011 on mikemcguff.com blog

Normally I just cover the Houston media, but here is a story suggestion. I think it’s time for Houston-area journalists to do a story on something Newt Gingrich (and Herman Cain before) keeps talking about that concerns SE Texas. It’s a plan to create a Galveston County employee style personal Social Security savings account for the rest of the country.

Cain first talked about this in the CNN debate:

But fellow candidate Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, raised another point about Social Security: He touted the performance of a plan that allowed employees of Galveston County, Texas, to opt out of Social Security and participate in a separate retirement plan.

The topic came up when moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Cain, “Are you with Gov. Perry that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme?”

Cain responded, “I don’t care what you call it, it’s broken. And here’s my solution. Start with optional personal retirement accounts. In 1981, the Galveston County employees, they opted out because that was a very short window of opportunity. They took it. Today, when people retire in Galveston County, Texas, they retire making at least 50 percent more than they would ever get out of Social Security.”

Gingrich then brought it up in the CNBC debate:

“You deal with Social Security as a free-standing issue. And the fact is, if you allow younger Americans to have the choice to go to a Galveston- or Chilean-style personal Social Security savings account, the long-term effect on Social Security is scored by the Social Security actuary as absolutely stabilizing the system and taking care of it.”

I want to hear from Galveston County employees about this plan. Do they like it? Does it work? What do they think about being a model for Republican presidential candidates?

Maybe someone in town has done the story. PolitiFact has already laid the groundwork here. Even so, it might be time to look at the issue again.

Now excuse me, I must get back to monitoring such important issues as which reporter is leaving town this week or funny anchor YouTube clips.

Former KPRC 2 reporter for Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector?

Closed Published by mikemcguff November 30th, 2011 on mikemcguff.com blog

The Tribune is reporting that Mike Sullivan, Houston City Council Member-District E, could be a likely candidate for Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.

Here is why I’m blogging about that on a media blog…here is more of The Tribune story:

If Sullivan runs and wins, he will follow in the path of legendary Jack Cato, who worked for 20 years as the police reporter and television photographer for KPRC-TV Channel 2 before being elected Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector in 1999.

“I started as the night police beat reporter for Channel 2 after school,” Sullivan said. “For two years, I reported to Phil Archer and Jack Cato. Then Cato left and became the tax assessor.” READ THE REST

What your email says about your politics

Closed Published by mikemcguff November 16th, 2011 on mikemcguff.com blog

Poll Position sent me a release on how it found Google tops Yahoo by a 23% - 20% margin as best e-mail provider according to one of its latest surveys. It also found there is a partisan divide when it comes to choosing the best e-mail service provider.

New poll results found that there is a partisan divide when it comes to the choosing the best e-mail service provider. Poll Position asked Americans which company they choose as the best e-mail service provider and Google topped Yahoo by a 23%-20% margin.

Even though AOL trailed the pack with 12% picking it as the best e-mail service provider, AOL’s e-mail was number one among Republicans with 20% picking it best. Google trailed closed behind among Republicans at 19%, with Yahoo at 16%.

Democrats frown on AOL’s e-mail service, with only 5% picking it best. Democrats picked Google over Yahoo by a 27%-25% margin.

Among independents, Google was tops at 23%, Yahoo at 20%, and AOL at 10%.

AOL’s e-mail service was rated best among 18-29 year olds, with 32% picking it versus 10% for Google and 18% for Yahoo. Google did best among 20-44 year olds (37%), while Yahoo was best among 45-64 year olds (27%).

See a breakdown of survey participants by age, race, gender, and political affiliation in crosstabs for this poll at http://media.pollposition.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Poll-Position-crosstabs-best-email-provider.pdf.

Poll Position’s scientific telephone survey of 1,184 registered voters nationwide was conducted November 10, 2011 and has a margin of error of ±3%. Poll results are weighted to be a representative sampling of all American adults.

What do you think? Which e-mail provider do you consider to be the best? Vote in our online companion poll and comment at http://pollposition.com/2011/11/13/best-e-mail-service-provider/.

Interesting. Now tell me if there is an email provider that says if you are a member of the 99% or the 1%. I guess an address that ends in occupy.org might be a clue. Fun aside, there is a real occupy.org, but it is just a standard WordPress install site.

Texan views on legalization of marijuana, gambling, the White House and more

Closed Published by mikemcguff June 16th, 2011 on mikemcguff.com blog

Want to know what a sample of your fellow Texans are thinking? Approximatley 700 of them were surveyed in the 5th Anniversary Texas Lyceum poll from May 24th through May31st (margin of error = +/-3.69%) on a variety of issues. Here is a summary of what they found on just some of the topics:

More support for full blown gambling
Last October when Texans were asked for their opinion on gambling, 29% of adult Texans said they would support full blown gambling while 21% would support expanding gambling and gaming. Seven months later it appears that opinion is shifting more in that direction, with 34% supporting full blown gambling and 25% favoring an expansion for a total of 59% of Texans in support of more growth in this industry.

Legalization of marijuana
On the topic of the legalization of marijuana, two-thirds of those surveyed oppose making marijuana legal. When a follow-up question pointed out the possible tax revenue benefits from legalization of marijuana, Texans were not swayed, and in fact, simply solidified their existing view.

Handguns on Campus
The ability to carry concealed handguns on campus is another hot-button issue for many Texans. A strong majority (74% of adult Texans; 67% of likely voters) opposes legislation that would allow individuals to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.

Politics
A recent Texas Lyceum poll finds that Governor Rick Perry gets a thumbs up from 54% of likely voters on his job performance in 2011 while President Barack Obama receives 51% approval overall. The state legislature registers just below Perry and Obama with 49% approval. Looking ahead to the 2012 Republican presidential primary, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin are at the forefront of a large pack of contenders. With most voters undecided at this point, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst leads the list of possible candidates for the Republican Senate primary while no Democratic Senate primary candidate garners more than 9%. Approximately 17% of likely voters call themselves members of the Tea Party.

Green energy good, but drill on in the Gulf
A large majority of Texans (83% of adult Texans; 81% of likely voters) support investing in green energy such as solar and wind. Their second most popular choice to meet our energy needs is drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (62% of adult Texans; 74% of likely voters). Interestingly, Texans seem to be split on drilling in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (46% of adult Texans in favor of drilling; 58% of likely voters in favor of drilling).

See all of the results here on the The Texas Lyceum’s fifth anniversary Poll page.

Foursquare offers “I Voted” badge on Election Day

Closed Published by mikemcguff November 1st, 2010 on mikemcguff.com blog

Foursquare has worked with NASA, now it is tackling the elections. Forget wearing a sticker to show off your voting prowess, now you can check in to the site and get the official “I Voted” badge. Including the text #ivoted in their polling station check-in will unlock the badge.

The bigger idea is to collect data about the volume, time of day and gender that each polling location is experiencing. An interactive map of check-ins will also be available for embed on any website.

You’ll see a lot more on a special website that goes live on November 2 at elections.foursquare.com.

(Thanks Simon)

Buffalo Grille’s new location down Bissonnet

Closed Published by mikemcguff October 29th, 2010 on mikemcguff.com blog

I spied the new location for Buffalo Grille last weekend. It’s not far from the old one since it is just west down Bissonnet. The Houston Chronicle recently wrote:

Buffalo Grille, a popular West University Place eating spot looking for a new home, has leased space in the Weslayan Plaza Shopping Center at Bissonnet and Weslayan.
The restaurant’s new address will be 4080 Bissonnet, at Academy Street, the far west end of the center anchored by a Randall’s store. READ THE REST

As you can see, there is just pretty much the buffalo logo up right now. Sounds like the new location will open up at the beginning of 2011. thebuffalogrille.com/

Sure I like the breakfasts at the Buffalo Grille, but I will remember it for the time in 2007 I covered then Republican presidential candidate and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani there (Remember when it was supposed to be Giuliani and Hillary Clinton battling it out in 2008? That was the thought in 2007 at least). Lots of media there as you can tell in the photos.

In other Houston restaurant news, Meyerland Plaza’s new Firehouse Subs location I blogged about in August is still not open. On a drive past there Sunday, I noticed construction on the inside had started though. There was a frame of a counter and more city permits on the window.

The Rick Perry vs Bill White debate is here…sort of

Closed Published by mikemcguff October 27th, 2010 on mikemcguff.com blog

I don’t usually get political around here, but considering how close the election is, it’s time to throw in some informative posts.

Fox 26 KRIV’s Greg Groogan had a very creative approach to election coverage. It’s the debate you thought you’d never see: Texas Governor Rick Perry versus former Houston mayor Bill White. Yeah, he took candidate interviews and spliced them together to create a mock debate. It is better than nothing (video above).

And KTRK 13’s Ted Oberg did some great (and I would bet exhausting) reporting on White and Perry. He actually followed both candidates for a full day (White last Thursday, Perry last Friday) around Texas. Adios Mofo.

- A day on the campaign trail with Bill White
- A day on the campaign trail with Rick Perry

VIDEO: Katie Couric uncut laughing at the Palins

Closed Published by mikemcguff August 5th, 2010 on mikemcguff.com blog

No I don’t watch Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News and based on the ratings that keeps me in the majority. However, I always tune to the Internet when someone leaks Couric from a satellite broadcast before the newscast. The above video is of Couric during the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Ms. Couric is cutting audio for her first story on then VP candidate Sarah Palin. From the video we learn that she is not a fan of the Palin kid’s names.

While we are at it, here is why Couric is not taking over for Larry King (almost a)Live at CNN.

(Thanks Rorschach)