In Presidio, a beautification project led by a new nonprofit has prompted heated debate over the city’s approach to downtown development. Tensions recently came to a head over a publicly funded mural, with locals and their new neighbors offering differing visions for the city’s priorities. | Lea esta nota en español
Some advocates say the issue could be headed to legal fights and a state-versus-federal dispute.
Midland’s only hospital is opening a mass vaccination clinic that officials hope will spur more residents to get vaccinated — and encourage third shots, and eventually boosters, to those who need them.
Angel Castro, 16, received his first shot of the Pfizer vaccine at William D. Slider Middle School in El Paso on July 22, 2021. After being battered by COVID-19 surges last year, El Paso has been a bright spot during the delta surge. (Briana Sanchez/El Paso Times via REUTERS)
High vaccination rates, geography and a sense of community in the wake of 2019’s Walmart shootings help keep El Paso’s delta numbers low, experts and locals say.
Today, Fort Stockton is pocked with dusty craters and empty canals, but this West Texas town was once known as the “Spring City of Texas.” The nickname came from Comanche Springs, which flowed prolifically until the 1950s when groundwater pumping picked up and dried the springs.
Dancers at El Cosmico's Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love in 2018. (Sarah Vasquez)
The festival at El Cosmico is returning in September after being cancelled last year because of the pandemic, but organizers have announced updated COVID-19 safety protocols that mirror those enacted by other high-profile events around the country.
Unassuming as it is, the Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes holds a key piece of West Texas history. It’s the final resting place of nearly 50 people –– at least some of whom were members of the Lipan Apache tribe. (Sarah Vasquez for Marfa Public Radio)
In Presidio, a small cemetery just off Market Street appears forgotten, full of overgrown, unmarked graves. But descendants of the Lipan Apache people buried there have been working to protect the site for years.
Now, historians and tribal members have joined them to help preserve it — and tell its story. | Lea esta nota en español
En Presidio, un proyecto de revitalización provocó un acalorado debate cuando sus organizadores decidieron no contratar a un artista local para un mural. Las tensiones llegaron a un punto crítico en una reunión reciente, con los lugareños y sus nuevos vecinos ofreciendo visiones diferentes de las prioridades de la ciudad. | Read this story in English
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A rainy summer has brought a special beauty to all of West Texas. But Linda Lakes – the salt playas beneath the Guadalupe Mountains – have been the season’s stars. The lakes are shallow and short-lived, but they shine like … Continue reading
Revised numbers show the industry has recovered less than 9,000 jobs since last September.
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This year’s summer rains have transformed our region, to stunning effect. Many ephemeral lakes – including the life-giving playas of the West Texas plains – have filled for the first time in more than a decade. Linda Lake – beneath … Continue reading
The Texas legislature has moved to block a company’s plan to ship highly radioactive nuclear waste to West Texas, but federal regulators could still allow the plan to move forward as early as this month.
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