Brad Burt

With major changes in Lubbock Police Department leadership, the latest annual report showed a decrease in major crimes last year, and LPD is hoping to continue that by addressing officer shortages and improving response times.

Around 100 demonstrators gathered on the Texas Tech campus Friday afternoon to make their voices heard on personal value and freedom of speech with outcries over violence in Palestine, calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Conversations around the proposed ordinance to decriminalize marijuana possession in Lubbock have voters asking questions about what's true, but one Lubbock addiction researcher says the politics are diverting attention from current substance use issues in the city, especially among Lubbock youth.

The Smokehouse Creek fire began on Feb. 26 due to a downed electricity pole. The blaze consumed over a million acres, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history. On Thursday, a representative from Xcel Energy's Southwestern Public Service Company testified before a Texas House committee charged with investigating the Panhandle wildfires.

A fastmoving wildfire in the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, leading to evacuations and power outages as firefighters struggle to control the burn.

An industrial zoning proposal in southwest Lubbock brought complaints from a crowd of citizens over impacts on their health, property values and quality of life, but controversial zoning in Lubbock is almost as old as the city itself. Some are still trying to turn the conversation to environmental justice.

Texas Public Radio’s Gaige Davila reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public to weigh in on expanding two national wildlife refuges in Texas. KERA’s Bill Zeeble has more as North Texas school boards voted to let chaplains volunteer in district schools, but not serve as counselors.

After hearing from the public, Lubbock’s city council praised the civic engagement this effort motivated but voted to reject the ordinance because they felt obligated by their oaths to the Texas Constitution and state laws. Now, the proposal will be on the ballot in the upcoming May election for a decision from Lubbock voters, a strategy tried in the city before hoping to bring people to the polls.

Lubbock Power and Light completed its integration into the state-operated power grid system. Our reporter Bishop Van Buren has more on the largest single transfer of customers in ERCOT’s history.

Our reporter Samantha Larned has more on the city’s purchase of six new paratransit buses as the next phase of its “fleet replacement” plans. KERA's Bekah Morr reports on a growing number of abortion challenges in Texas as the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a case about whether to restrict access to a common abortion drug.