The right stuff to know for Lubbock
I didn’t really understand Buddy Holly’s impact on rock ‘n’ roll before moving to Lubbock in 2006. I learned how he and the Crickets influenced the Beatles and many others. The Beatles then influenced almost everyone who followed. All from West Texas … where you have space to breathe, think and dream, Then a trip … Continued
This article was first published on realclearpolitics.com on Sept. 7. Contrary to the assertions made by the Biden administration and some congressional leaders, our federal fiscal outlook is becoming substantially worse, as this administration is proposing to engage in an unprecedented and unconstitutional action in connection with student loans. To restore fiscal responsibility and stave … Continued
If you’ve been watching Fearless Champion sprint down the field at a Texas Tech football game these past seasons, it was obvious the Masked Rider’s new mount – Centennial Champion – ran slower Saturday (seen above). Then, the new horse seemed nervous when the Masked Rider brought it out after one of Tech’s many scores … Continued
Woke up a recent morning on the way to Jamaica and ended up hiking at Possum Kingdom Lake. This story has little to do with Jamaica and even less with Possum Kingdom Lake. It has to do with living at a time there’s so much information available but it’s more difficult to connect with a … Continued
Their season ended on a bitterly cold night against Childress in 1971. For 50 years, though, it was the greatest football season in Roosevelt High School history until this year’s Eagles came within one game of playing for a state title. For the 1971 Eagles, the 2021 season brought back wonderful memories of a group … Continued
February 1 is on a lot of Texas Tech sports fans’ calendars. It’s the day fans can scream at Chris Beard for leaving Lubbock last spring to lead the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball program. The game’s sold out. People will boo, yell insults and hold up signs to protest Beard bailing on Texas Tech, Lubbock, … Continued
For Lubbockites who want to see the historic neighborhoods of our city revitalize, the rejection of the recent bond election has led to a challenging reality. It’s unfortunate absolutely essential road repair won’t happen. Along plans for downtown, the roads targeted were throughout the city in a fair distribution. Lubbock will now go the longest … Continued
A bunch of random thoughts the day after: The magic returned to Jones AT&T Stadium. Those bad calls. Why it must really suck to be a Longhorn. Why you’ll die if you keep holding your breath waiting for the resurrection of the Pirate on the South Plains. What does elite mean? ‘We’ve got to throw … Continued
Editor’s Note: This is the inaugural “FurEver,” a column about our furry friends, their owners and issues. The small calico cat visited the acre where I live just south of Lubbock. She often stalked the birds at my feeder but ran when she saw me. She was a streak of white, orange and smoke. She … Continued
Picture above: Brad Ralston stands on what will be the 10th tee box at Red Feather. Judge Smails and Brad Ralston would not be golfing pals. Smails – from the movie “Caddyshack” – represented the stuffy, formal, rules-laden country club chief who’d melt on the spot if he saw Ralston’s vision for a chunk of … Continued
Weeks have passed since that school in Austin and the one whose football coach is from Muleshoe told the Big 12 Conference they were going to play ball southeast of these parts. Fans of Texas Tech fans and the other Big 12 schools were upset Texas and Oklahoma did this in secrecy. There were also … Continued
For a few weeks now, the biggest question in Lubbock and West Texas is where Texas Tech’s sports teams will land – a question that could be answered soon or in a few years. The bigger question is where should Lubbock and West Texas look for its future? The answer is West, not East. Let … Continued
In early 2007, then-new Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance visited the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal editorial board. I’d been editor a little more than six months. But I’d heard about the Permanent University Fund – the PUF – and asked Hance why it only benefitted the University of Texas and Texas A&M. Could that be changed? “Terry, … Continued
Lubbock’s City Council is about to decide how to use a $56 million-plus windfall from the American Rescue Plan Act. The dollars will be used to stimulate Lubbock’s economy and can fund a broad range of initiatives. During the next Council meeting on the 13th, they will determine how much citizen input they’ll allow as … Continued
Heard about Southwest Airlines’ massive computer outage grounding flights across the country a few weeks ago? Here’s what it was like in the eye of that storm. I was home packing for a flight to Burbank, California, when a text popped on my phone from Southwest Airlines: “SWA Flight 2294 from LAS is cancelled,” telling … Continued
Recently we looked at the top ten intersections in the city of Lubbock for accidents. But what about outside city limits? Here are the top half-dozen – followed by the deadly reason they somewhat differ from what the Lubbock Police Department sees in the city. FM 41 and U.S. Highway 87 (photo above is looking … Continued
Fox News Pratt on Texas Texas TribuneFiddling while Rome burns … I can understand Democrats wanting accountability assurances with the coronavirus stimulus bill our nation is trying to pass right now … but Nancy Pelosi burying $35 million for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts? And $300 million for the National Endowment of the Arts and $300 million more for … Continued