Good morning, Houston. When it comes to politics, we suppose there's a lot to be said for the shock factor — which is why Brian Klock, a candidate for Congressional District 22, is getting some attention. Klock, one of 10 people vying for the Republican nomination for CD 22, has put up a billboard showing downtown Houston being destroyed by a huge explosion. "The Threat Is Real," the billboard reads. "Ask Brian Klock." And Klock's campaign does seem to center on being prepared to fight terrorism: According to his website, he wants to track foreign cargo entering Houston, keep a fighter squadron at Ellington Field and demand more federal anti-terrorism funding for the city. We can't wait for Shelley Sekula Gibbs' response billboard — except instead of an explosion, it'll be her glorious yellow hair lighting the skies over downtown. Ah, politics.
Results tagged “circuitcourt”
Good morning, Houston. If you, like Houstonist, are looking forward to the day when Buffalo Bayou will be redeveloped as parkway from the East End through downtown to Shepherd Drive, you might be interested in this: The county is planning to build a massive new jail smack dab in the middle of that park system. The proposed 2,500-bed jail, which would be located next to the county jail on Baker Street, would apparently take...
Good morning, Houston. Or should we say happy National Zucchini Bread Day? Yep, April 25 is the day to celebrate the delicious Southern tradition — so why not hit the kitchen and whip up a batch based on Emeril's recipe? And don't forget to send your friends a National Zucchini Bread Day e-card. No, seriously. >> Appeals court: Bible fight moot: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the legal battle...
Good morning, Houston. Yeah, it's been a while since we had a Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee media moment — but now, thanks to Isiah Carey, we have a classic: a series of photos showing Jackson Lee's skill in getting in front of TV cameras during Sen. Hillary Clinton's visit to Houston last week. The hardest-working woman in Congress? You betcha — don't you know it's tough do to your own blocking? [via HouStoned] >>...
So here we are in the first full day of a World Without Anna Nicole — and though she's gone, the news isn't likely to stop anytime soon. Today, the medical examiner's office in Broward County, Fla., will conduct an autopsy on Smith to see if it can determine how she died, and closer to home, experts say her legal battles will probably stay in the courts for quite some time. First, what we know...
The infamous Bible that formerly stood on Houston's Courthouse Square could now be a moot point because the Bible and the monument that held it are both gone and the courthouse is closed, judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said yesterday. It was the first day of a hearing before the 5th Circuit about the Bible, which was removed from a monument honoring Star of Hope benefactor William Mosher after a federal judge and a panel of the circuit court judges said it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear a controversial case involving a Bible display at the Harris County Courthouse today — and just in time, the stand that used to hold the Bible (and supposedly would again if previous decisions are overturned) has been removed.
Remember former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's unusual stroke of good luck when he learned Monday that he wouldn't be sent to jail as scheduled? Well, scratch that: A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided yesterday that Skilling should report immediately to jail after all. Sucks to be you, Jeff.
Looks like former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling will have at least a bit longer at home before he has to report to a federal prison in Minnesota: Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals postponed Skilling's report date while it considers his request for bail while he appeals his convictions on 19 charges of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading in connection with Enron's collapse. It's a short-term reprieve for Skilling, and it could point to promising developments for him in the long term:
This summer, about two months after former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors in connection with the Enron collapse, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake denied Skilling's request to have his conviction overturned. But never say Skilling is a quitter: Now, he's again asking Lake to overturn his conviction, this time based on a federal appeals court ruling. The ruling in question had to do with some...
Last month, ex-Enron chief Ken Lay's lawyers began making moves toward having Lay's conviction on charges of fraud and conspiracy vacated, and government prosecutors indicated they would put up a fight. Well, turns out the government wasn't just whistling Dixie: In a court filing yesterday, prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Sim Lake to hold off on ruling about the vacation until Congress can consider changing the law.
And the Enron legal saga goes on: A day after we learned that Judge Sim Lake approved a request from Lay's lawyers to substitute Lay's estate for Lay in court proceedings, the first step toward vacating the dead former Enron leader's conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges, Lay's estate attorneys filed a request today to erase the convictions and dismiss the indictment against Lay. But it looks like prosecutors aren't going to take that lying down: The filing included a sentence that said Lay's lawyer, Michael Ramsey, had "conferred with [prosecutor] Kathy Ruemmler, who indicated the government will oppose this motion."
Looks like it may be the end of the line for the Bible in the previously forgotten William Mosher memorial in front of the old Harris County Courthouse: A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Bible must be removed from the monument because a district judge made it a religious monument when he restored it 10 years ago. We talked about the Mosher monument in December; if you haven't seen it, it's a block...
The two men involved in a Texas City apartment explosion yesterday may have been involved in an anarchist group, sources tell KHOU Michael Shelby, a former U.S. attorney who was found dead at his Houston home Tuesday, shot himself, his autopsy report said State Attorney General Greg Abbott will ask the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a ruling that Tom DeLay must remain on the November ballot Two 12-year-old boys were killed overnight...
The Supreme Court gave Anna Nicole Smith the green light to keep fighting for her beloved husband's fortune today, saying an appeals court was wrong when it ruled that a Texas probate court had total jurisdiction over the estate of oilman J. Howard Marshall III.
Tomorrow, former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith goes to the Supreme Court. Smith is fighting for the millions she claims her former husband, the late Houston billionaire J. Howard Marshall II, promised her before his death in 1995. Smith was Marshall's third wife; she met him while she was an exotic dancer in 1991. The couple courted for three years before tying the knot in June 1994. But there's one bump in the road preventing...
Gov. Rick Perry made a surprise trip to visit Texas troops in Iraq, urging Americans to remain patient through the difficult rebuilding process there Police found more than $500,000 worth of stolen construction equipment in the back yard of a northeast Houston home, including bulldozers and other heavy machinery; neighbors said they had no idea it was there Enron's dynamic duo, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, have appealed a judge's decision not to move their...
Police say the early morning shooting of a man on the Gulf Freeway may have been a road-rage incident Elsewhere on the Gulf Freeway, a police chase ended when the suspect got caught in a traffic jam Feds are asking states housing Katrina refugees to help identify 2,000 known sex offenders that fled the affected region after the hurricane The 5th Circuit Court ruled the Star of Hope can't join the lawsuit concerning the removal...
You never know what you're going to hear when a U.S. appeals court tackles the case of a once-obscure monument once located in Courthouse Square: "If everyone in Harris County ... accepted Christ as their savior, we would be better than if they were all Hindus." That gem came from previous testimony of former Star of Hope President Carloss Morris, who supports retaining the monument to local businessman and Star of Hope supporter William S....
At Westbury High, a catfight between evacuees and local students led to 27 arrests and one extremely minor injury With a few hours to go until the Astros' deadline to offer Roger Clemens salary arbitration, there are murmurs that the 'Stros will be setting the Rocket free The freeze line tonight should stay north of Huntsville and College Station, meaning cold rain for Houston but potentially icy conditions in Central and North Texas The 5th...

Missed Connections: Gefilte Fish...and "Chain Connections"