Rain is in the forecast across much of the state. But it won’t be enough to reverse the drought that has gripped Texas since last fall.
Jayme Lozano Carver
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.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
A West Texas coffee shop owner is giving away Plan B for free as fight over contraception access takes hold
Last May, Lubbock became the biggest city in Texas to ban abortion within city limits. Now, with abortion outlawed throughout the Lone Star State, the fight over reproductive rights is taking a new turn.
Posted in
Energy
Why the Texas grid causes the High Plains to turn off its wind turbines
While wind farms in the region could help power and lower energy costs for at least 9 million homes, significant infrastructure upgrades would be needed to supply electricity from the region to other parts of the state.
Posted in
Economy
For Lubbock residents, conserving energy to prevent mass outages is a new thing to navigate
Until last year, Lubbock residents didn’t get electricity from the main power grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Now, many residents are getting used to requests to limit electricity consumption.
Posted in
Energy
Still wary of the electric grid’s reliability, some Texans complied with ERCOT’s requests to conserve power this week
As extreme weather becomes increasingly frequent, Texans said the power grid operator’s calls to conserve energy were a reminder the state still struggles to keep up with the growing power demand.
Posted in
Environment
The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile
Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.
Posted in
Climate Change in Texas
West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought, heat near 2011 records
2011 was the driest year on record for Texas, causing an estimated cost of $7.62 billion in crop and livestock losses. A dry and hot June has many sounding alarm bells about 2022.
Posted in
Environment
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.
Posted in
Environment
More than 165,000 people in Odessa still without water after aging line breaks
Officials haven’t specified what caused the break, but say the broken line is about 60 years old.
