Crime
More →
Hub City Small Business Success Story: Local Meth Ring Finalizes Long-Term Residency at Federal Resort
Lubbock is world-renowned for its dust storms, its potholes, and its relentless commitment to keeping the federal prison system fully occupied. This week, we reached the emotional series finale of our local methamphetamine “entrepreneur” saga. Shawna Nichole Zatloukal, 55, took the final walk across the metaphorical stage, scoring a 14-year vacation on the taxpayer’s dime. [...]Read More... from Hub City Small Business Success Story: Local Meth Ring Finalizes Long-Term Residency at Federal Resort
Bulk Savings, Bulk Threats: Sam’s Club Now Offering a 24-Pack of Aggravated Assault
Nothing says “Lubbock weekend” quite like a trip to the Marsha Sharp Sam’s Club to stock up on 48 rolls of toilet paper and a side of existential dread. But for one lucky couple back in February 2025, the shopping experience included a little something extra. Zeylium Rodriguez, 25, decided that “threatening glances” weren’t enough [...]Read More... from Bulk Savings, Bulk Threats: Sam’s Club Now Offering a 24-Pack of Aggravated Assault
Spur 327: Where the Speed Limit is a Suggestion and Beer Bottles are Co-Pilots
Welcome to another episode of “Why We Can’t Have Nice Things in the Hub City.” This week, 32-year-old Anthony Washington finally pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter for a 2024 crash that ended the lives of 20-year-old Blake Garza and 18-year-old Naomi Harry. Washington walked away with a 40-year sentence, which sounds impressive until [...]Read More... from Spur 327: Where the Speed Limit is a Suggestion and Beer Bottles are Co-Pilots
Politics
More →
Texas Comptroller Discovers That ‘Acting’ Doesn’t Mean ‘King of the Universe’
In a shocking twist for anyone who thinks the Texas Constitution is just a suggestion, an Austin judge has officially told acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock to sit down and behave. On Monday, Judge Amy Meachum issued a temporary injunction blocking the state’s bold (and by “bold,” I mean “legally questionable”) move to kick women and [...]Read More... from Texas Comptroller Discovers That ‘Acting’ Doesn’t Mean ‘King of the Universe’
Governor Abbott Graces Levelland With His Presence to Watch People Actually Work
Fresh off securing his fourth GOP nomination—because why change a thing when the status quo is this exciting—Governor Greg Abbott is making a daring trek to the sprawling metropolis of Levelland this Tuesday. Apparently, nothing screams “future of the Texas economy” quite like a Tuesday afternoon in Hockley County. He’s heading to South Plains College [...]Read More... from Governor Abbott Graces Levelland With His Presence to Watch People Actually Work
Texas Tech Achieves Peak Innovation by Deleting Decades of Social Progress with a Bot
Chancellor Brandon Creighton (our favorite former state lawmaker turned academic overlord) has finally solved the biggest crisis facing West Texas: the existence of Women’s and Gender Studies. In a memo that screams “I didn’t actually enjoy my elective credits,” Creighton ordered the Texas Tech System to phase out any program “centered on” sexual orientation or [...]Read More... from Texas Tech Achieves Peak Innovation by Deleting Decades of Social Progress with a Bot
Guns
More →
Bulk Savings, Bulk Threats: Sam’s Club Now Offering a 24-Pack of Aggravated Assault
Nothing says “Lubbock weekend” quite like a trip to the Marsha Sharp Sam’s Club to stock up on 48 rolls of toilet paper and a side of existential dread. But for one lucky couple back in February 2025, the shopping experience included a little something extra. Zeylium Rodriguez, 25, decided that “threatening glances” weren’t enough [...]Read More... from Bulk Savings, Bulk Threats: Sam’s Club Now Offering a 24-Pack of Aggravated Assault
Family Values: Justin Aleman Gets the ‘Lubbock Discount’ on a Double Homicide
Ah, Mackenzie Park. The crown jewel of Lubbock where you can enjoy a picnic, watch the prairie dogs develop plague, or, apparently, get executed by your own nephew. In a move that surprised absolutely no one who has ever sat through a Lubbock County court proceeding, Justin Aleman officially traded his trial date for a [...]Read More... from Family Values: Justin Aleman Gets the ‘Lubbock Discount’ on a Double Homicide
Ave Q: Where a Flat Tire is the Least of Your Problems
Only in the Hub City can you pull into a tire shop to fix a flat and leave with no car, no wallet, and a fresh case of PTSD. Our victim was at Crest Tires on Avenue Q—because where else would you be for a crime story?—when a stranger decided that pointing a gun was [...]Read More... from Ave Q: Where a Flat Tire is the Least of Your Problems
Public Health
More →
Shallowater: Come for the Small-Town Charm, Stay for the Radioactive Kidney Failure
Our neighbors in Shallowater just got some glowing news from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It turns out the local tap water has officially surpassed the EPA’s “try not to grow a third arm” limit for combined uranium. While the feds suggest 30 micrograms per liter is the maximum acceptable amount for human survival, [...]Read More... from Shallowater: Come for the Small-Town Charm, Stay for the Radioactive Kidney Failure
East Lubbock Hospitality: Now Featuring Free Dental Exams (From Stray Dogs)
Nothing says “Good morning, Hub City” quite like an 8:00 AM cardio session involving a pack of aggressive dogs. On Thursday morning, an elderly woman in the 2400 block of East 8th Street found out the hard way that in Lubbock, the sidewalks aren’t just for walking—they’re a buffet line for neighborhood hounds whose owners [...]Read More... from East Lubbock Hospitality: Now Featuring Free Dental Exams (From Stray Dogs)
Lubbock’s “Cicada” Strategy: If We Don’t Test the Poop, the Virus Doesn’t Exist
The CDC is sounding the alarm on yet another variant, BA.3.2, nicknamed “Cicada.” While the CDC is just trying to make sure we’re aware this thing is making the rounds, Lubbock is handling the news with its trademark “if I can’t see it, it’s not there” energy. Local health officials claim there’s “no record” of [...]Read More... from Lubbock’s “Cicada” Strategy: If We Don’t Test the Poop, the Virus Doesn’t Exist
Education
More →
Texas Tech Chancellor Promises “Efficiency” is the Only Reason He’s Deleting Your Identity
Our very own Chancellor Brandon Creighton—a man who apparently loved the censorship bill he wrote as a Senator so much that he moved into the Texas Tech System just to make sure the “Delete” key stayed warm—is back in the news. He’s currently doing a victory lap for his new course guidelines, which have successfully [...]Read More... from Texas Tech Chancellor Promises “Efficiency” is the Only Reason He’s Deleting Your Identity
New Home ISD Discovers “Life Skills” Includes Navigating a 60-Mile Daily Commute; Feds Unimpressed
Nothing says “Small Town Texas Pride” quite like the federal government showing up at your door with a clipboard and a list of Civil Rights violations. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has officially opened an investigation into New Home ISD because, apparently, “Special Education” isn’t supposed to mean “shipping four-year-olds 30 [...]Read More... from New Home ISD Discovers “Life Skills” Includes Navigating a 60-Mile Daily Commute; Feds Unimpressed
Texas Tech Law: Where “Vibes” Are Illegal and Racial Slurs Are Just “Irrelevant” Background Noise
Welcome to the Texas Tech School of Law, where we’re training the next generation of legal minds to be as delicate as a West Texas tumbleweed in a hailstorm. Meet Ellen “Ellie” Fisher, a third-year student who is currently suing the university because she dared to have an unauthorized emotion in public. Apparently, being “loud, [...]Read More... from Texas Tech Law: Where “Vibes” Are Illegal and Racial Slurs Are Just “Irrelevant” Background Noise
Local Government
More →
Pick Your Poison: The 2026 Race to Sink the Hub City
Welcome back to another episode of “Who Wants to Rule This Dust Bowl?” as the mayoral candidates for the 2026 election crawl out of the woodwork to promise us the world while the potholes on 34th Street continue to swallow subcompact cars. Leading the pack is incumbent Mark McBrayer, who’s spent two years bragging about [...]Read More... from Pick Your Poison: The 2026 Race to Sink the Hub City
Gary Boren Learns That Calendars Are Not Just For Decorative Purposes
Gary Boren, a man who has run for more local offices than there are potholes on Indiana Avenue, just hit a slight snag in his latest quest for power. It turns out that when the City of Lubbock asks how long you’ve lived in a district, they actually expect you to tell the truth—and then, [...]Read More... from Gary Boren Learns That Calendars Are Not Just For Decorative Purposes
Oops, We’re Rich: Lubbock County Accidental Surplus Ignites War of Words
In a stunning display of “only in Lubbock” incompetence, our local government is currently embroiled in a bitter civil war because—get this—they actually have too much money. Last week’s audit revealed that the county ended the 2024-25 budget year with a $10 million swing in their favor. While County Auditor Kathy Williams previously warned that [...]Read More... from Oops, We’re Rich: Lubbock County Accidental Surplus Ignites War of Words
Economics
More →
Expansionist Delusions: Lubbock Lawmakers Want to Manifest Destiny into New Mexico’s Dust
Because apparently, 268,000 square miles of tumbleweeds and orange traffic cones isn’t enough to satisfy the Texas ego, our very own Lubbock-based State Representatives, Dustin Burrows and Carl Tepper, have decided to play a high-stakes game of Risk. They’ve launched a formal “study” to see if Texas can annex Lea, Roosevelt, and Eddy counties from [...]Read More... from Expansionist Delusions: Lubbock Lawmakers Want to Manifest Destiny into New Mexico’s Dust
Texas Comptroller Discovers That ‘Acting’ Doesn’t Mean ‘King of the Universe’
In a shocking twist for anyone who thinks the Texas Constitution is just a suggestion, an Austin judge has officially told acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock to sit down and behave. On Monday, Judge Amy Meachum issued a temporary injunction blocking the state’s bold (and by “bold,” I mean “legally questionable”) move to kick women and [...]Read More... from Texas Comptroller Discovers That ‘Acting’ Doesn’t Mean ‘King of the Universe’
Governor Abbott Graces Levelland With His Presence to Watch People Actually Work
Fresh off securing his fourth GOP nomination—because why change a thing when the status quo is this exciting—Governor Greg Abbott is making a daring trek to the sprawling metropolis of Levelland this Tuesday. Apparently, nothing screams “future of the Texas economy” quite like a Tuesday afternoon in Hockley County. He’s heading to South Plains College [...]Read More... from Governor Abbott Graces Levelland With His Presence to Watch People Actually Work
Police
More →
Texas Tech Police Master the Art of the Shrug After F-150 Claims Another Victim
In a city where the “state flower” is a crumpled Ford F-150 bumper, Lubbock has once again proven that the only thing more dangerous than our intersections is the bureaucracy tasked with patrolling them. Jordyn Dabelstein, a 22-year-old student with the audacity to actually stop at a red light on Texas Tech Parkway, was rear-ended [...]Read More... from Texas Tech Police Master the Art of the Shrug After F-150 Claims Another Victim
LPD Cuts Out the Middleman: Suicidal Subject Assisted Directly to Grave Site
Only in the Hub City would a cry for help turn into a permanent change of address before the 10 o’clock news. Around 8:30 Monday night, Lubbock’s finest responded to a call about a “suicidal subject” at the City of Lubbock Cemetery. You have to hand it to the individual—they really nailed the location scouting [...]Read More... from LPD Cuts Out the Middleman: Suicidal Subject Assisted Directly to Grave Site
The Hub City Information Blackout: Texas Tech Police Master the Art of Saying Absolutely Nothing
Welcome to Lubbock, where the only thing moving slower than the traffic on Indiana Avenue is the paperwork for a fatal accident. Jordyn Dabelstein, a 22-year-old nursing student, was sitting at a red light at the Texas Tech Parkway—minding her own business and probably thinking about clinicals—when a truck decided that brakes were merely a [...]Read More... from The Hub City Information Blackout: Texas Tech Police Master the Art of Saying Absolutely Nothing