Infrastructure

Tonight, the City of Lubbock will be hearing from citizens on the subject of large-scale data centers in a public meeting. The meeting will take place in the banquet hall of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 5:30 p.m. The subject of large-scale data centers has raised concerns and even some pushback from Lubbockites. Our reporter Brad Burt has more on another meeting this week, organized by residents petitioning to get Lubbock’s city government to enact a moratorium on data centers in the city. The discussion is scheduled for July 8 at 6 p.m. at the YWCA Event Room at 6501 University Ave. You can find information on the city's meeting and moratorium efforts here.

Over the last month, Governor Greg Abbott has announced more than $400 million in grants to energy providers outside the state’s ERCOT system as part of a new funding program to upgrade electrical infrastructure across the state. Our Brad Burt reports this includes $113 million for Xcel customers in the South Plains and Panhandle, where downed power lines have been linked to devastating wildfires. Meanwhile, Abbott's opposition to data centers continues to grow, a reversal of his invitation to data centers moving to Texas last year.

President Donald Trump, who negotiated the USMCA during his first presidential term as a replacement for NAFTA, praised it at the time. Negotiations on whether to extend the agreement are likely to stretch past a key July 1 deadline.

Starting today, crews from the City of Lubbock are beginning work on pavement repairs on University Avenue, between 50th Street and Loop 289. Meanwhile, contractors will also begin doing erosion repairs and adding infrastructure to the Lake 6 Dam on the south side of Lake Dunbar, shutting down traffic on the southern end of Canyon Lakes Drive near the dam. KERA’s Avery Escamilla-Wendell reports on a new analysis showing the uninsured rate for young Texas kids is the highest in the country – and it’s rising.

The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Angelo State University as the first school in Texas to join a national initiative to recruit more air traffic controllers. Texas Public Radio’s Kory Cook reports the agreement comes as the FAA works to address staffing shortages across the country. Excavators have a long history of damaging natural gas pipelines in Texas. KERA analysis has found that more than 4,800 pipeline strikes have been reported so far this year.

State law requires excavators to notify Texas811 so underground pipes can be marked — but many do not. An explosion that leveled an Oak Cliff apartment complex has been linked to gas pipe damage.

That new amount is more than double the amount predicted four years ago. The new forecast comes as supply is already drying up.

A multi-million dollar project to tear down and rebuild the national park's lodge and restaurant was abruptly canceled Wednesday just a month before it was set to begin.

The AI boom has dominated conversations at CERAWeek, the annual energy conference in Houston.

The Trump administration recently announced it would release 172 million barrels of oil from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is located along the Gulf Coast, including two sites in Texas.