Local Government

Two Lubbock businessmen were found guilty by a jury in federal court yesterday in a more than $60 million investment scheme that affected over 500 investors. Ferrum Capital's Joshua Allen and Michael Cox face up to 70 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for December 10. The discussion on data centers from Lubbock’s city council will take a step further now that a citizen petition submitted earlier this month has been confirmed. Our Samantha Larned reports the city council’s meeting next Tuesday will not include a decision on the moratorium itself, but the council is expected to schedule a public hearing before voting on the moratorium.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was in Lubbock yesterday, calling on the state legislature to instate stricter punishments for educators who have inappropriate relationships with students. Our Samantha Larned reports he used a Lubbock County cases as an example for the mandatory minimum sentence he would like to see for such cases. And over at Citizens Tower yesterday, Lubbock's city council approved a maximum property tax rate ahead of budget proposals.

Yesterday, Lubbock County commissioners approved a broad resolution requiring large-scale industrial developers to answer questions from the county about things like water, electricity, noise and light pollution. Under Texas law, counties do not have the authority to approve or deny industrial developments in unincorporated areas. This brought pushback from some commissioners, who argued the resolution is “unenforceable.”

Lubbock’s District 4 has a new city council representative in Tim Green after this weekend’s runoff election. Green’s term will last until 2028.

This weekend, Tim Green was elected as the new representative for Lubbock City Council District 4 in the special runoff race to replace outgoing representative Brayden Rose. Doctors and public health officials are urging parents to check that their children's vaccinations are up to date ahead of the new school year. KERA's Abigail Ruhman reports measles cases nationwide have reached their highest point in 30 years.

In a city council meeting this week, recent fears of data center development met with generational frustrations over industrial zoning in north and east Lubbock, leading to threats of recalls for city leaders in a meeting where many who spoke out felt ignored.

After 23 years of serving the people of Lubbock County, Roxzine Stinson is retiring at the end of July. She sat down with the KTTZ news team to reflect on her time as elections administrator, the challenges and rewards of the position, and some of her most memorable moments in office.

The citizen’s group Save Lubbock says it has enough signatures to put the call for a data center moratorium before the city council. The petition will now go to the city secretary’s office to verify signatures. Meanwhile, at the state capitol this week, The Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey reports Texas lawmakers began looking at a long-standing tax break for data centers. The Texas Comptroller's Office projects the tax break could total $3.3 billion in 2028 & 2029.

On July 7, the City of Lubbock hosted a public meeting to hear residents’ thoughts and concerns about large-scale data centers. As city officials try to balance the potential benefits with the risks, a majority of the approximately 70 members of the public who spoke at the meeting were against allowing data centers in the city.

Last night, the City of Lubbock hosted a nearly-4-hour meeting to discuss the potential development of large-scale data centers, with comment from about 70 members of the public. Our Samantha Larned reports that while city staff have recommended policies to support further control over developments, some citizens say that concerns over enforcement remain unchanged.