The 2023 legislation establishing the grant program also includes new equipment for rural sheriffs.
Carlos Nogueras Ramos
Carlos Nogueras Ramos is a regional reporter based in Odessa. Carlos joined The Texas Tribune in 2023 as a corps member with Report for America. Carlos tells the stories of Texas from the vast energy-rich Permian Basin region. Before the Tribune, Carlos spent time in Philadelphia writing about local politics, including the city’s 100th mayoral election. A Spanish speaker, Carlos was one of the few Latino reporters on the campaign trail, covering the most expensive primary election to date in Philly. He is a proud Puerto Rico native, born and raised in Cayey. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and the University of Puerto Rico.
Posted in
Energy
Driving in West Texas is deadly dangerous. A new report measures how much.
A nonprofit commissioned the report that found severe and fatal vehicle crashes in the Permian Basin far outpaced the state.
Posted in
Economy
Texas’ oil and gas production surges even as federal government clamps down on environmental regulations
Crude oil and natural gas extraction in Texas reached record levels in 2023, according to the industry’s annual report.
Posted in
Economy
Texas regulators limit oil and gas disposal wells in bid to reduce earthquakes in West Texas
Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said.
Posted in
Environment
Midland settles with company to drill wastewater wells near the city’s drinking water supply
The city initially protested Pilot’s applications to drill the wells close to its water supply.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Economy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Politics
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.”
Posted in
Economy
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.
