Local news

Several Democratic candidates for local, state, and federal offices kicked off their West Texas campaign trail in Lubbock on Saturday with a roundtable, a rally, and a protest. A recurring topic of these separate events – data centers.

After 20 years as AT&T Stadium and nearly 80 years bearing the name of former university president Clifford Jones, Texas Tech Athletics has announced that the Red Raiders will now play from “Galaxy Stadium.” The 15-year naming rights deal between Texas Tech and data center developer Galaxy is just the latest in a push from university leadership to join in on high-tech research, large-scale data, and AI.

Lake Meredith, near Amarillo, was recently designated as “fully infested” with invasive zebra mussels. The mussels have been spreading across Texas for more than 15 years and Lake Meredith is the north-most body of water in the state to be infected. TPWD says the mussels have the potential to damage treatment equipment in what is a municipal water source for the region, but water officials with the lake say they're prepared.

Cody Campbell, a major Texas Tech booster and GOP megadonor, has vocally defended Brendan Sorsby’s right to play amid a legal battle stemming from his betting scandal.

Lubbock ISD’s school library advisory council first met in November to review books flagged as potentially inappropriate to be on the shelves, in compliance with state law. Lubbock-area state senator Charles Perry helped author the bill which established these councils, but at a recent board of trustees meeting, he joined a group of community members saying the district's process is flawed.

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.

Faculty groups say the Texas Tech University System's new curriculum policies are unconstitutional and unlawfully restrict classroom instruction on race, gender identity and sexual orientation. But university leaders have called the changes "common sense."

Lubbock city leaders are asking for citizens’ opinions ahead of a public meeting to discuss the subject of large-scale data centers. Over the next week, the City is taking an online survey to gauge public opinion on large-scale data centers before the meeting. You can find a link to fill out the survey here.

The election to determine a new representative for Lubbock City Council District 4 is heading into a runoff between candidates Gary Boren and Tim Green. Early voting runs July 20-28 and Election Day is August 1. You can find polling locations and times here.

In April, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center hosted a tour of a clinic built in a retrofitted shipping container in Burton, Texas. It’s the latest collaboration in an ongoing effort to bring community-run clinics to rural areas, where access is harder to achieve.