The governor’s executive orders after shootings in El Paso and West Texas are meant to address gun violence without gun control. But a Department of Public Safety network he tapped says it needs more resources — and is remaining mum on how it operates.
West Texas
West Texas is home to the nation’s largest oil field, the Permian Basin. The region is defined by its energy production and wide-open spaces. It also includes Big Bend country and cities such as El Paso, Midland and Odessa.
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Politics
“I’m coming home”: U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway of Midland to retire at the end of his term
Conaway has represented a heavily Republican West Texas district since 2005.
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Demographics
Property tax proposal piles one more worry on Texas’ rural hospital districts
Hospital leaders say restrictions on their property tax revenue growth could force them to scale back services.
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Environment
Anti-nuclear waste tour kicks off in Houston
Organizers of the “Protect Texas from Radioactive Waste Tour” plan to travel to five Texas cities over the next week in protest of a proposed plan to store used nuclear materials in West Texas.
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Environment
Large portions of West Texas sinking at alarming rate, new report finds
A report released Thursday by geophysicists at Southern Methodist University says a 4,000-square-mile area near the “Wink Sinks” is showing signs of alarming instability.
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Energy
West Texas churches pray to Legislature for electricity rate relief
Facing sky-high electricity rates, several West Texas churches hope lawmakers will answer their calls for relief in the final days of the Legislative session, but the odds look slim.
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Energy
West Texas nuclear waste project on hold — for now
Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to temporarily suspend a review of its application to store tens of thousands of metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at its West Texas dump.
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Energy
Feds: More recoverable oil in West Texas than previously thought
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that producers could tap some 20 billion more barrels of oil from under the Midland area. It’s the agency’s largest discovery of recoverable crude ever.
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Energy
Sinkhole Warnings Don’t Faze West Texas
A recent study has thrust the Wink Sinks — two breathtaking sinkholes in Winkler County which have long been objects of fear and fascination — into the national spotlight.
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Economy
Former Mayor’s “Clean Coal” Effort Struggles
Since leaving office in 2007, former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller has been championing “clean coal” technology, but these days plans for a West Texas gasification plant appear to be on life support.
