Houston's Ten Million Dollar Kubosh

A number of cities around the country have what are called red light cameras.  These are cameras mounted at intersections and when people run the red light, they take a picture of the car’s license plate and send the owner a ticket.  We had red light cameras here in Houston for a couple of years until this last election. Then a proposition got put on the ballot and people voted to turn the cameras off.  I am still trying to figure out why.

The proposition was the brain child of a sleazebag ambulance chaser by the name of Paul Kubosh..  If you are wondering about the sleazebag reference, just google ole Paul and read some of the comments of people who have paid for his services.  Back to the red light cameras, I can’t quite get a grip on why he and his brothers were so all gung ho about getting them turned off. 

The only thing he ever said at every press conference was that it was just a scam for the city to take in money. It’s illegal to run a red light.  If you do, you get a ticket.  Where is the scam? Is it a scam for the cops to use a radar gun to give you a ticket for speeding? 

Here is what I can’t get my head around.  We expect the city to provide certain services to us, fire and police departments, emergency service, streets, garbage pick-up and libraries. You know, stuff that we need.  In order for the city to provide these things it takes money and supposedly the red light cameras were bringing in about 10 million a year.  Ten Million Dollars.  That is a pretty big chunk of change if you ask me and if you didn’t run a red light, you didn’t have to contribute one dime to that 10 million.  Only the jerks running red lights paid.

So now the only way the dipshits who run red lights will pay anything is if they happen to get caught red handed (couldn’t pass that up) or have a wreck and kill somebody.  By the way, the cameras are still on but they are not giving out tickets and a report out last week says that the number of people running red lights is up 27% since they turned them off. 

Now because of the Kubosh brothers we have to raise that money somewhere else.  Probably like raising property taxes or cutting out things we need. The city is in the middle of a multi-million dollar shortfall right now. The mayor is asking city employees take a voluntary furlough. The ten million wouldn’t bail us out but it would nice to have it.

Did these assholes owe a bunch of red light tickets?  I’m not sure what their angle is, but I believe there is one, and I have the feeling it involves them putting money into their pockets and taking it out of ours. 

Today's good read is Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti. Good plot and well written about today's piracy on the high seas.



Stay tuned for future adventures and look for more Sleeps Til Noon at www.hotslop.com