Texas will share equipment database with local fire departments to help beat wildfires
The legislation, which won unanimous approval in both chambers, was written following the state’s historic Panhandle wildfires last year. Full Story
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Jayme Lozano Carver
Reporter/South Plains and Panhandle
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Jayme Lozano Carver is the Tribune’s first Lubbock-based reporter, covering the South Plains and Panhandle through a partnership with Report for America. Jayme previously worked for Texas Tech Public Media, Lubbock’s NPR station, where she spearheaded “Rural Healthcare: The Other Texas Drought,” a series for PBS’ “Frontline” on rural hospital closures in Texas. She also covered a broad range of topics for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, including climate change, agriculture, entertainment and health care. Born in Levelland, Jayme is a native of the South Plains area and studied at South Plains College and Texas Tech University. She loves to talk about her cats, horror movies and pro wrestling.
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![A firefighter with Forest Bend Fire Department extinguishes flames at the site of the Borrega wildfire on March 31, 2022. The wildfire burned through a large part of the King Ranch and surrounding areas in Brooks, Jim Wells and Kleberg counties.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas House wants voters to approve billions to save the state’s water supply
The Senate has a similar proposal, but is more prescriptive in how the money should be spent. The two chambers must agree on the final proposal to send to voters. Full Story
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![Jairo Benavides, center, removes soil as the crew works on upgrading pipes and valves at a North Alamo Water Supply Corporation water plant in Donna on Thursday, July 18, 2024. In order to increase the amount of water the plant is able to distribute, pipes were upgraded and replaced, connect to the plant’s existing facility with the newly expanded infrastructure.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Improved response to mass shooting is goal of “Uvalde Strong” bill approved by Texas House
Uvalde’s former mayor, now in the Legislature, wrote the bill so that law-enforcement agencies would have better coordination and leadership as they respond to a mass shooting. Full Story
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![Police block off the road leading to the scene of a school shooting at Robb Elementary on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, TX. A school shooting was reported this afternoon after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School where two teachers and 14 students were killed.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Can Texas lawmakers agree on how to spend billions to save the state's water supply?
The Texas House took its first step toward revising a priority Senate bill last week. The changes were lauded by the state’s water community. Full Story
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![Inside a primary clarifier, resembling petri-dish tanks, heavy solids and grease sink to the bottom and machines skim off particles at the top at the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
A second Texas child has died from measles; RFK Jr. visits
About 500 Texans, mostly young unvaccinated children, have contracted the disease. The U.S. health secretary was in West Texas to visit the family. Full Story
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![People stand outside of a Mennonite church in Seminole after a funeral for an 8-year-old girl who died of measles on Sunday, April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Lubbock’s public health director fights to stop measles and build public trust
Katherine Wells was celebrated early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then public health became a political litmus test. Full Story
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![Director of Public Health Katherine Wells, MPH, looks through one of the vaccine logs that show who and when vaccines were given. Wells and her staff are working to stem the measles outbreak in the Lubbock area as well as throughout Texas. Wells was in the City of Lubbock Health Department Monday afternoon, Mar. 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
From desalination to water treatment: Bill that prioritizes creating new water supplies get Texas Senate OK
Senate Bill 7, which won unanimous approval, is among legislation that seeks to avert a looming water crisis as the state’s population booms. Full Story
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![An irrigation system on a farm field near the High Plains town of Ralls, about 30 miles east of Lubbock, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Like much of Texas, the High Plains and Panhandle are facing drought conditions and extraordinary heat.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year. Full Story
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![The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas. Full Story
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![Genna Deleon, 32, vet technician, holds Roco, an 11-year-old Silky Terrier, during a wellness visit at the Spay Neuter Network Crandall clinic in Crandall on Sept. 27, 2024.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Store, harvest, fix: How Texas can save its water supply
State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money. Full Story
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![Treated water at the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Austin, TX. The treatment plant will undergo a billion dollar expansion starting this summer to meet the increasing demand due to the growth the city has faced. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune