Texas’ overcrowded and understaffed jails send people awaiting trial to other counties and states
Limits on who can be released without paying bail and difficulties hiring guards worsen the situation.
Rising costs and stagnant state funds pushed this West Texas school district to the financial brink
The Ector County school district boosted student learning but now faces financial uncertainty. It closed schools and cut costs to stay afloat, but it won’t slash teacher jobs.
More than 100 Texas counties lack plans to curb damage from natural disasters
The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.
Amid fears of arsenic in private water wells, Texas A&M is offering low-cost tests in Ector and Midland counties
Officials are worried that there’s arsenic in some of the estimated 13,500 private water wells in Ector and Midland counties.
A Texas politician wants to provide emergency services to constituents who don’t have them. Will they let him?
In unincorporated West Odessa, residents relish their freedom. And they also go without basic services. Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, a young Republican with Ronald Reagan good looks and politics, wants to change that.
In a hot oil and gas economy, a West Texas welder charts his own course one cup of coffee at a time
Fabian Maldonado has supported his Odessa family for years on his welding salary. Wanting more, he’s gambling that a mobile coffee trailer can withstand the booms and busts of the industry.
In West Texas, schools hope skeptical voters will OK debt to upgrade crumbling, overcrowded buildings
The West Texas ethos of low taxes and small government has been hard for school leaders to overcome. Voters have rejected bond issues in Midland and Odessa during the last decade.
As West Texas’ population grows, the need for more mental health care does too
Like many regions in Texas, the county jails and hospitals have been at capacity with people needing mental health help. Local leaders hope a new 200-bed facility will alleviate pressure.
The national debate over books has come to West Texas. And librarians are stuck in the middle.
West Texas residents are organizing over their love — or concern — for books. Meanwhile, from Lubbock to Midland and Odessa, librarians are trying to reaffirm libraries’ role as community hubs.
Residents improvise as Texas city rushes to turn water on
Residents of the West Texas city of Odessa have been improvising emergency water supplies after a water system outage left them high and dry for days amid scorching heat, even as utility crews scrambled to restore normal service.
Tens of thousands of people in Odessa have endured nearly 48 hours without water to drink, wash or flush toilets
The outage left about 165,000 people without water in Odessa and some surrounding areas. It has been attributed to a main line break in the city’s aging water system and comes amid a dayslong heat wave.
Texas power grid, energy sectors facing elevated Russian cyber threats during war in Ukraine
Utility companies and key oil and gas transportation hubs are on high alert as Russian hackers have been probing energy infrastructure’s digital networks for weak points.
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Ector County GOP censures Abbott over executive power amid coronavirus, state Sen. Charles Perry calls for special session
Greg Abbott, accusing him of overstepping his authority in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, while state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, called for a special session so lawmakers could have a say in how Texas proceeds amid soaring caseloads. The party executive committee in Ector County, home to Odessa, passed the censure resolution 10-1, with one abstention and three voting members who were not present, according to the chairperson, Tisha Crow. "This is why I urge Governor Abbott to convene a special session to allow the legislature to pass legislation and hold hearings regarding the COVID-19 response," Perry said. In the upper chamber, state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has also called for a special session, as have several House Republicans. Abbott has not explicitly ruled out a special session before the Legislature meets again in January.