Local News

Lubbock City Council accepted a citizens’ petition for an 18-month pause on data center development in the city and will be hearing from residents regarding the proposal on Sept. 8. If the council rejects the petition at the hearing, organizers can choose to put it on the ballot in a general election.

A debate over books in Texas' public school libraries picked up new attention last week, when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick threatened legislative action unless Texas school districts pull books from the shelves that he and certain activists believe are "harmful" to students and families and violate Texas' Senate Bill 13. In a meeting of Lubbock ISD's board of trustees, the district stood by the parent-led library council and book review system established under state law.

The Texas Tech University Veterinary School of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class on August 18, 2021. Now, five years later, the school’s first wave of veterinarians are already working to fill a shortage in Texas’ rural animal care.

Lubbock Animal Services is hosting its annual Clear the Shelter Day on Saturday, August 22. Along with free adoptions and vaccinations, the event will have family-friendly activities and food vendors. And with limited space and new intakes every day, LAS is hoping the adoption push will help create space for more animals.

The Lubbock County Elections Office is currently working through a backlog of more than 7,500 voter registrations after a technical error at the Texas Department of Public Safety led to a flood of updates to process for county elections offices across the state. On Friday, the E.L. Reed Herbarium is celebrating its 100th birthday; the herbarium opened in 1925 and now has more than 31,000 plant specimens available online. The Panhandle South Plains Fair also starts today with attractions including pig racing, a hypnotist, a chainsaw juggler, rides and more.

More than 80% of families report the price of food is increasing faster than their income, according to a new poll from No Kid Hungry Texas. Meanwhile, diesel prices are reaching record highs in Texas, squeezing trucking companies and raising costs throughout the supply chain. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports this hits small trucking companies the hardest. The average price for a gallon of diesel in Lubbock was $6.03 yesterday, up more than a dollar from a month ago.

Yesterday, Lubbock City Council passed a 90-day moratorium on the acceptance or approval of large-scale data center developments in the city. Citizens had petitioned for an 18-month moratorium, which failed without a second. Petition organizer Stephen Sanders says he does not plan on moving to put the extended moratorium on the ballot before voters. The council also approved an agreement that will bring a new public health staffer to Lubbock, funded by the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, Dr. Katherine Wells and her department were recognized by the Texas Immunization Partnership for the coordination and vaccine access they provided during the 2025 measles outbreak.