This is a very short recap of the CCISD Candidate forum hosted by the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce.
If I had to pick a clear winner in the forum it would be Trustee Arturo Sanchez. Unfortunately he was supporting the Artemis II launch and could not attend. (He still won). Community Impact has a recap available here. The 1 hour forum can be viewed at I45Now.
Jamieson Mackay is facing special education teacher Ernest Hallman. As I have said before if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Both of these candidates seem to have in depth knowledge of the education system and CCISD. Both focused on dropping attendance which affects funding of the district. A helpful follow up question would have been “Why is attendance dropping?”. I think that would have been a great question. Maybe those who are educated in education would have a preference between the two.
Gabriel Gonzales is challenging Trustee Sanchez. As I have said in the past I wonder why he is running. His performance at the forum was awkward and did not help his run for the Board. His main issue is transparency yet he has refused to answer questions by educators in the area and has blocked those who question his qualifications. He deflects when asked if he is a certified teacher or why he has had so many short teaching positions. His answers to many questions during the forum were on the 30,000 foot level with few indications of in depth knowledge of the subject matter. He says he is a teacher and the Board would benefit from his experience.
Voters in District 2 should watch the next forum between Mackay and Hallman and vote for the best. That forum is scheduled for Monday April 6. See below for details. For District 3 the clear winner is Trustee Sanchez.
NOTE: I am a supporter of Arturo Sanchez and have volunteered for his campaign in the past.
I wrote about the cost of contact lenses in 2022 and 2024.
Back in 2022 the cost of contact lenses seemed to be reasonable but the companies added processing charges, insurance, and other fees. Sometimes the fees were more than the cost of the lenses themselves. The following chart shows the changes from 2022-2026. This year the clear winner is OptiContact. The prices were for 8 boxes, 24 lenses, Acuvue w Astigmatism long term wear (2 weeks).
An EV is not for everyone but for those considering here are a few things…. to consider.
I bought a 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV 2 years ago. For what I use the vehicle for it has been absolutely fantastic. I have a fast charger in the garage and I charge at night with my free nights plan. The only time I need to go to a gas station is for snacks or to fill up my other gas car. For me the Bolt is perfect for my dog and I but an EV may not be for you. Here are some things to consider when buying an EV.
Cost The cost of an EV has been reduced considerably over the years. The EV tax credit is available for some based upon your income. For me I didn’t qualify but the price was still very reasonable. The Bolt has everything I need. Great music, a sunroof, leather climate controlled seats, a cold AC. There are a wide variety of EVs available some are high end such as Tesla, Rivian, and BMW. Others are reasonably priced such as Chevy, KIA, and Ford.
Performance EVs are generally fast. I like to cruise at 80MPH. It is smooth. The Bolt has a Speed mode which I have used only a few times. The Bolt is fast in normal mode. The acceleration can push you into the seat. One of my important issues was performance and space. I wanted a small SUV hatchback so my dog can be comfortable and I wanted to have speed if I ever needed it. The Bolt did the job!
Battery Life By law the battery is guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles. The cost of replacing the battery, if ever needed, has been reduced considerably costing much less than a car engine. Cars last well over 10 years with many having over 200,000 miles. Batteries will degrade after a consider amount of time but personally I will be buying a new car before this happens. We usually keep our cars for about 10-15 years with 150,000 miles.
Insurance Some people claim car insurance is higher from EVs. I did not see anything unusual when I swapped out my Subaru Impreza.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
Charging My car came with a 110 and 220 charger. The 110 can plug into any plug you have in the garage but that plug needs to be DEDICATED to charging your car, ie it cannot be shared with other appliances or you will trip the fuse. The plug in my garage worked fine….until my wife used the hair dryer! Charging from 9PM-7:00 I would get about 50 miles. Although this is relatively slow it was enough for me for the first two years. I eventually installed 220 into my garage and now it takes about 5 hour to get a full charge from 0-250 miles, about 50 miles per hour. Although my driving habits do not require the 220 charger it is very convenient. It took me a while to adjust to the charging schedule. Most nights I just plug in and it will automatically start charging at 9:00 PM. By 1 or 2 o’clock the charge is complete.
Charging Stations There was no standard when I bought my car but now it seems they are moving to the Tesla charging port. My car requires an adapter to use the Tesla chargers but Mercedes have charging stations that I use that require the regular port. It is something to consider when buying an EV.
Miles/Kwh The capacity of my Bolt is 65 kWh. On the highway I can easily get 180 miles without a charge. Local driving I can get over 200. Driving long distance such as to San Antonio requires a stop halfway with about a 30 minute wait. If I need to drive further, I take my ICE car (internal combustion engine). Overall I am saving about $1820 on gas from my previous car.
Gas Tax, Registration Fees Since we do not use gas EV owners do not pay the gas tax on every gallon. Texas solved this by tacking on an EV fee on the registration. That is $200. Texas also removed the requirement for inspections and EVs do not emit pollutants so they are not required to be tested.
Maintenance As with most EVs there is little if any maintenance needed besides changing the AC air filter and adding windshield wiper fluid. There are tires especially designed for EVs to provide better mileage but I used standard Yokohama tires which provide a smoother ride as a small cost in miles/kwh.
Yep. The local republican club, the Clear Creek Republican Women, are having their monthly meeting at Las Brisas in League City with their guest speaker Luisa Deason, an immigrant, and former DHS/ICE employee. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to bring an ICE sympathizer to a Mexican restaurant to defend the cruelty of ICE especially one that wasn’t even born here. Luisa consults with MAGAts running for office on immigration policy which probably means how to frame their cruelty so idiots would believe it is fine.
Maybe the women who are attending will grow a pair and ask a couple of hard questions like “Why are they the only law enforcement agency allowed to wear masks?” or “Why are they allowed to kill Americans without consequences?” or “How did your family breeze through the immigration process?”.
Back in 2007 Deason provided commentary as the PR person for a lunch ICE raid at a Houston business. Enjoy your gdamn lunch.
It’s a good question and one that he has not been willing to answer. I have attempted to have a discussion with him but he has refused.
Gabriel is a buddy of former Trustee Scott Bowen and was recruited by Scott to run against Arturo Sanchez, one of the best Trustees the district has ever had. Even after a sound defeat in his reelection Bowen continues to meddle in CCISD elections as he did while on the board. As you might recall Bowen recruited 4 candidates to run against his fellow Trustees, everyone one of them were rejected by CCISD voters and they rejected Bowen himself. The board has been without chaos ever since.
So who is Gabriel and why is he running? It’s hard to understand since he is quick to block anyone who asks. Gabriel is/was a republican precinct chair until recently when he was wiped off by a 75/25 vote in the Republican primary. He is a firm supporter of Scott Bowen. He has filed paperwork claiming he will not raise or spend more than $1001 which should make you wonder who is going to finance his campaign. He claims to be a teacher although there is no evidence of him being certified. He has had a number of jobs lasting anywhere from a few months to a couple of years. He is currently associated with a Charter school in Houston and also has a job with a new media outlet KGTX in Galveston County. He has a Facebook page but will block you if you ask hard questions. His campaign ads are all AI generated and he does not have a website.
It is sad that the Republican Party and Scott Bowen hasn’t gotten the hint yet. CCISD does not want chaos. We want Trustees who are focused on parents, teachers, students, and taxpayers, not a political party. We want Trustees who focus on the district no matter what party they associated with.
Gabriel is not that candidate.
NOTE: I am a supporter of Arturo Sanchez and have volunteered for his campaign in the past.
Gabriel is in the second row third from the right.
Texas Congressman Brian Babin returned to the district from Congress last week and has not been seen since.
Brian Babin is in hiding. Instead of taking advantage of this Easter holiday and meeting with his constituents and business leaders Babin is probably hiding in someone’s basement afraid of having to defend Trump’s war with Iran. Since being elected over 10 years ago Babin has never met with his constituents instead focusing on the business community. Now with the stock market tanking, price of gasoline on the rise, and the Middle East in turmoil even meeting with the business community is risky. As one business owner said “That stupid ass kissing son of a bitch better not step foot in my restaurant!”.
Ok. No one said that but if he would step in a restaurant he probably wouldn’t get a warm welcome. If by chance you know where Brian Babin is going to be contact me at johncoby@sbcglobal.net so I can relay the information for those who wish talk with him.
BOLO: Bay Area Congressman Brian Babin. Approach with caution as he is armed with lies and misinformation.
The Chamber will host a forum for all the candidates running for CCISD Trustee. There are two positions opened for the election on May 2, 2026 district 2 and district 3. Election information can be found at the CCISD Elections page. District 2 is in Harris County and District 3 is in Galveston County. The Election page has good information about where to vote for each election.
Current Trustees Arturo Sanchez and Jamie Mackay are being challenged by Gabriel Gonzales and Edward Hallman respectively.
Wednesday, April 1 | 5 p.m.
Hosted by: Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Location: Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, 1150 Gemini St., Houston Tx, 77058
Local politics. It’s important to your life. And wallet.
You might be wondering about the political signs with someone running for House District 129. It’s an important position and can affect your wallet. Texas is divided into 150 State House districts. House District 129 or HD129 is fully within Harris County and includes the Bay Area. You can see the map below. HD129 runs from Friendswood to Seabrook, from the Harris/Galveston County border to Beltway 8. There are 50 voting precincts within HD129.
HD129 has been represented by a Republican for over 30 years. The district has been gerrymandered to maintain that representation no matter who is running in the Republican primary. Because of this the winner of the Republican primary usually will win the general election but this year may be different for a number of reasons. The district was redrawn in 2020 with about a 10 point advantage for the republican candidate. With the recent unrest in the district and the country this 10 point difference might not be enough for a win by a Republican especially by a horrible candidate.
Over that 30 years the district has been represented by John Davis for 16 years, and Dennis Paul for 12 years. Both elected officials never met with their constituents. Both neglected what was impacting homeowners in the district. Because of this neglect HD129 has some of the highest home insurance premiums in the State. Our schools continue to be underfunded. Both supported school vouchers. John Davis actually sponsored a voucher bill when he was in office. Paul literally sat on the Insurance Committee as he watched our premiums go out the roof and insurance companies fled the district. Besides insurance, the cost of electricity is shocking, the cost of health insurance is out of reach for many, the general cost of living is also just simply out of control.
In November of 2026 the voters in HD129 will have a choice between former CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen and Albert Wittliff. You might want to check your wallet and vote. Here are the election results since 1998.
Shuttle Discovery belongs to the Smithsonian. They received full legal title and ownership from NASA in 2012. Congress appropriated $85 million in the Big Bumbling Bill to move it or at least start thinking about moving it. Unfortunately it’s not theirs to move. Besides the fact that moving this vehicle would require significant logistics and an incredible amount of money, Johnson Space Center doesn’t have a facility to store it and we already have a Shuttle that is much better. From a previous post titled You Might Not Want the Shuttle to be Sent to Houston:
The Woody is a replica of the Shuttle and was housed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was moved here after Kennedy’s winning bid to secure a Shuttle. Woody sits on top of a 747 at Space Center Houston and is actually a very interesting exhibit. You can walk through the bay, look into the cockpit, and actually touch it unlike the other ones.
Unlike the Woody, all of the shuttles are for display only. You can’t walk in it. You touch it. You can’t walk in the bay. What we have is actually better. Kids who come to see the Shuttle don’t know it’s not a real shuttle and they don’t care. This idea of moving the Shuttle to Houston is nothing more than a $85 Million political ad by Senator Cornyn trying to save his seat from being taken by Ken Paxton.
It’s not coming to Houston. It’s a sick, costly gimmick by Cornyn. Instead of funding TSA they are wasting money on a stupid, unnecessary project.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 