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The Latest Breaking News from Eli Hartman

Odessa elected its first gay City Council member

Donald Trump won Ector County, which includes Odessa, with more than 70 percent of the vote.

The Texas Tribune

Why a West Texas county is building a new courthouse even after voters rejected the proposal

Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.

The Texas Tribune

At this West Texas church, “the Lord’s work” is helping the poor, not rewriting state law

Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community.

The Texas Tribune

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Odessa’s mayor ran to help the West Texas city “repent.” Now he wants a second term.

Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure.

The Texas Tribune

The oil industry is booming. This West Texas small business worries it’s been left behind.

Before the pandemic, Ben Bilbrey worked with some of the largest oil companies. Now he’s waiting for the phone to ring.

The Texas Tribune

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.

The Texas Tribune

In purple Williamson County, presidential politics casts pall over voters

After an assassination attempt against Trump and growing divisions among national Democrats, Williamson County voters mull the November election.

The Texas Tribune

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Truckers hope protest over unpaid hours and lack of restrooms will spark a Permian Basin labor movement

Truckers say they can wait up to 18 hours without pay to load or unload fracking sand. The drilling sites often lack restrooms.

The Texas Tribune

Unchecked growth around Big Bend sparks debate over water — a prelude for Texas

No one knows how much water sits beneath the desert of Terlingua. Residents worry their wells will run dry, as developers and local officials cheer the tourism boom.

The Texas Tribune

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations at UT-Austin open rift among Jewish students

Some Jewish students see the protests as inherently antisemitic. Others say Jewish history and values make them empathize with Palestinians.

The Texas Tribune

Texas GOP calls for spiritual warfare

“This is not religious liberty — it’s Christian dominance," conservative Christian critic warns

Salon

At Texas GOP convention, Republicans call for spiritual warfare

At the three-day convention, delegates moved the needle further to the right, preaching Christian nationalism and approving rules that would give them unprecedented control of elections.

The Texas Tribune

Texas wind energy firms need more technicians. Can they drum up student interest without state support?

The wind industry promises attractive salaries. But a lack of training programs and waning political support make it difficult to find new recruits.

The Texas Tribune

This West Texas town has a lot of money in the bank. Why can't it pick up its trash?

Like local leaders in many other towns in West Texas, the Kermit City Council spent years saving its tax revenue fearing the energy economy would crash. Now it is struggling to keep up with essential services like trash and road repair.

The Texas Tribune

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The Texas Tribune

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.

The Texas Tribune

An effort to prepare West Texas students to work in the oil and gas industry is expanding

The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.

The Texas Tribune

Texas schools asked voters for $18 billion in new debt to fix its campuses. They largely said yes.

The voter approval rate for school maintenance and construction costs dipped in 2021 after lawmakers required school boards to call them “tax increases.”

The Texas Tribune

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.

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The Texas Tribune

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.

The Texas Tribune

Llano River communities fight former oil executive’s plan for a private dam

Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.

The Texas Tribune

COVID-19 funding halted rural hospital closures across Texas, until now

La Grange residents worked for months to try to save the 65-bed hospital and asked the city to step in with a loan, but it wasn’t enough.

The Texas Tribune

The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos

Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers.

The Texas Tribune

Family legacies and the state’s Jim Crow past underlie a fight over mineral rights on a stretch of South Texas scrubland

Descendants of a prominent white family and a formerly enslaved couple are fighting over ownership — and the oil and gas royalties that would come with it — of an 147.5-acre tract that has bound and divided generations of their families.

The Texas Tribune

In rural counties, Texas law puts low-income defendants at a disadvantage

A two-tiered system gives less populated counties more time to provide court-appointed lawyers, requiring creative responses to a long-standing problem.

The Texas Tribune

Texas 2022: Year in Photos

Texas Tribune photographers captured a historic year of challenges and resilience.

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