Wetter weather is coming this weekend. But it won’t be enough to end Texas’ drought.
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. 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.
Latest Contributions
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![A San Antonio Water System crew works to fix a water main break near Hunt Ln. and Adams Hill in San Antonio on Aug. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Destiny Adams unpacks newly received Plan B test kits in her Tumbleweed + Sage Coffee Shop in Wolfforth, TX. Adams keeps a stock of the test kits so her customers can easily find the tests.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![The Hale Wind Farm located outside of Petersburg and south of Plainview.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Downtown Lubbock.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Paddleboarders walk to Barton Springs on July 13, 2022.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Lightning from a passing storm strikes in the vicinity as City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work through the night to repair a broken water main Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, repairs were completed around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Cotton fields 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 -
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. Full Story
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![Ector County resident Jose Hernandez fills up jugs of water from a fire hydrant that was opened to reduce pressure on the system as City of Odessa Water Distribution crews work to resolve a water crisis Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Hernandez stated that he was using the water to operate the toilets in his home. The majority of Ector County was placed on a boil water notice after a water main ruptured sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, leaving residents with little to no running water across the city. City officials state they hope to resolve the issue within 48-72 hours.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Motorists drive along Interstate 20 as rising gas prices begin to affect the Permian Basin on March 12, 2022 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune