Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.

Residents were worried about the impact on their drinking water while business leaders were excited for the new jobs.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is honoring Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Alexis Ramirez Vasquez, who died on Sept. 28 after being struck by a vehicle while investigating a crash in Ector County.

Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.

Limits on who can be released without paying bail and difficulties hiring guards worsen the situation.

The Ector County school district boosted student learning but now faces financial uncertainty. It closed schools and cut costs to stay afloat, but it won’t slash teacher jobs.

The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.

Officials are worried that there’s arsenic in some of the estimated 13,500 private water wells in Ector and Midland counties.

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.

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.

The West Texas ethos of low taxes and small government has been hard for school leaders to overcome. Voters have rejected bond issues in Midland and Odessa during the last decade.

Like many regions in Texas, the county jails and hospitals have been at capacity with people needing mental health help. Local leaders hope a new 200-bed facility will alleviate pressure.

West Texas residents are organizing over their love — or concern — for books. Meanwhile, from Lubbock to Midland and Odessa, librarians are trying to reaffirm libraries’ role as community hubs.

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.

Utility companies and key oil and gas transportation hubs are on high alert as Russian hackers have been probing energy infrastructure’s digital networks for weak points.

Greg Abbott, accusing him of overstepping his authority in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, while state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, called for a special session so lawmakers could have a say in how Texas proceeds amid soaring caseloads. The party executive committee in Ector County, home to Odessa, passed the censure resolution 10-1, with one abstention and three voting members who were not present, according to the chairperson, Tisha Crow. "This is why I urge Governor Abbott to convene a special session to allow the legislature to pass legislation and hold hearings regarding the COVID-19 response," Perry said. In the upper chamber, state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has also called for a special session, as have several House Republicans. Abbott has not explicitly ruled out a special session before the Legislature meets again in January.