Local news

Following the distribution of new funds from the state, Lubbock ISD’s Board of Trustees approved new items in its budget for this school year. Teachers and paraprofessionals will be receiving a pay increase, though as financial struggles persist, trustees expect further campus consolidations in the future.

Texas is home to approximately 1,200 species of bee and about 25% of them are specialized bees, meaning they only pollinate specific plants. The bristly nama may not be a familiar name for those on the South Plains, but the plant and its purple flowers are all over Lubbock and its bees are hard at work to keep the ecosystem alive.

Lubbock ISD recently announced its campuses will now be offering free breakfast and lunch for all students through the Community Eligibility Provision. Outside of CEP, there are other meal resources for public school students and families.

Just five years after Lubbock’s city council voted to establish roadway impact fees for developers, an all new council has reduced them to nothing. Developers argue the costs passed down to new homes and businesses were inhibiting new growth, but former city leaders say they enacted impact fees to make sure Old Lubbock isn't left behind.

In the last school year, all three of Lubbock’s biggest school districts showed improvement in their academic accountability scores from the Texas Education Agency, and all three with overall B-ratings. KTTZ has a breakdown of the relevant numbers and what those ratings mean.

After eight months and 762 cases in the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced the end of the West Texas measles outbreak. However, work continues for Lubbock Public Health.

Lubbock’s city council moved ahead quickly with a second vote on changes to the city’s roadway impact fee rates. The second reading took places in a special council meeting Monday night at 5:30 p.m. at Citizens Tower. This story has been updated.

Lubbock City Council has set aside 20 acres at Bill McAlister Park for a proposed $50 million indoor sports complex. The nonprofit Lubbock Game Changers plans to build the 140,000-square-foot facility with volleyball and basketball courts, a championship arena, and other amenities — without using city funds.

Quail populations across Texas have been plummeting for decades. But now, a Texas Tech researcher and his team may have turned that trend around with the invention of a medicated wildlife feed that’s been approved by the FDA and is now commercially available.

Nonprofits across the country have been grappling with changes in federal spending and the cuts to departments and grants. As coordinator with other local organizations, Lubbock Area United Way has been updating partners on developments at the state and national level, and advocating for policies suited to West Texas.