The Ledger is Lubbock Lights’ daily digest of the news that matters to Lubbock and the South Plains — our reporting first, then short summaries of stories reported by other newsrooms, each linked to its source. How we build it →
Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Saturday, October 17, 2026
The lead · Oct 17
Susan Rowley's allegations against County Judge Curtis Parrish have reached FOX stations in Dallas, Houston and Austin
Justice of the Peace Susan Rowley's allegation that Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish made unwanted sexual advances toward her in August 2024 has drawn statewide attention, Lubbock Lights reported Saturday, Oct. 17. FOX television outlets in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Austin carried a FOX Local report, published Oct. 14, that included Parrish's written response calling the allegation "preposterous." He denies it.
Rowley first made the claims in an interview posted on the Lubbock Lampoon Facebook page and told KCBD she did not report the incidents to county human resources. KCBD reported she had not filed a police report or taken legal action, and the Avalanche-Journal reported neither the sheriff's office nor DPS had received a complaint. The allegations remain unproven.
Sources Lubbock Lights
More Local
Lubbock County cleared its 8,000-record voter backlog, but a new statewide error sent it 200 more as early voting nears
Lubbock County Elections Administrator Troy Havard told Lubbock Lights his office finished clearing more than 8,000 voter records stuck by the Department of Public Safety software failure earlier this week, ahead of early voting Monday, Oct. 19. But a second statewide error, in online address updates made on Texas.gov since Sept. 1, has sent the county a little over 200 more records he has not yet reviewed.
Havard expects to finish by Monday and now estimates the cleanup will cost more than $12,000, which he plans to recover from the state. He urged voters to bring a paper sample ballot and request a provisional ballot if their registration cannot be verified. Early voting runs Oct. 19-30.
Sources Lubbock Lights
A freeze warning covers Lubbock and 14 other counties until 10 a.m. Saturday, with lows near 28
The National Weather Service in Lubbock upgraded Friday's freeze watch to a freeze warning at 10:39 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, in effect until 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, for Lubbock, Bailey, Cochran, Crosby, Floyd, Hale, Hockley, Lamb, Lynn, Terry, Yoakum, Briscoe, Castro, Parmer and Swisher counties. Forecasters expected lows as cold as 28 degrees over the southwestern Texas Panhandle and 30 elsewhere.
The Weather Service warned the freeze could kill crops and sensitive plants and damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. KCBD reported Friday's high was expected only in the mid to upper 50s, the first daytime high below 60 in Lubbock since March 16, with temperatures expected to warm back near normal next week.
Sources National Weather Service Lubbock · KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Lubbock-Cooper ISD asks voters to approve Prop A, a tax rate increase worth about $3.8 million a year
Lubbock-Cooper ISD is asking voters to approve Proposition A, a tax rate increase that would bring in about $3.8 million a year in local revenue and added state funding for the district's operating budget, EverythingLubbock reported Friday, Oct. 16. Krystal Pierce, the district Education Foundation's president, said the district has run a deficit for four years and already made cuts.
Pierce said rejecting it could mean staffing cuts, larger classes, fewer student activities and reduced school security. For the average homeowner, the increase would be a little more than $5 a month; homeowners 65 and older with frozen school tax rates would not be affected. Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 19.
Sources EverythingLubbock
D. Williams & Co., Inc.Mario Murillo, 68, died of injuries from a Sept. 25 crash at 130th Street and Upland Avenue
Mario Murillo, 68, died Oct. 10 from injuries he suffered in a Sept. 25 collision at 130th Street and Upland Avenue in South Lubbock, Lubbock police said Friday, Oct. 16, KCBD reported. The department's Major Crash Unit learned of the death from the Medical Examiner's office on Oct. 13 and is investigating.
Police said officers called to the intersection around 3:20 p.m. Sept. 25 found Murillo and Jonathan Cartmell, 28, both with moderate injuries; Murillo was taken to Covenant Medical Center and Cartmell to UMC. Investigators said it appears the pickup Cartmell was driving ran a stop sign and struck Murillo's pickup. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
A semi driver was seriously injured when his truck broke through the I-27 guardrail at Keuka Street
Russell Mabry, 61, was seriously injured early Friday, Oct. 16, when the semi he was driving broke through a guardrail on I-27 near Keuka Street in north Lubbock County and rolled down an embankment, KCBD reported. Lubbock police were called to the crash just after midnight.
Officers found Mabry trapped inside the truck, and Lubbock Fire Rescue pulled him out before he was taken to UMC with serious injuries. Crash investigators said the semi appeared to be southbound when Mabry tried to avoid debris left from an earlier wreck, lost control and went through the guardrail.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Police arrested a 30-year-old man on three warrants from a Lubbock crimes-against-children investigation
A 30-year-old man wanted in a Lubbock Police Department crimes-against-children investigation was taken into custody without incident Friday, Oct. 16, in the 500 block of 42nd Street, police said, KCBD reported. The U.S. Marshals Service helped locate and arrest him.
Police said the investigation by the department's Crimes Against Children Unit produced three arrest warrants, with a combined bond of $500,000. Police did not release details of the allegations. The Ledger does not name people who have been arrested or charged but not convicted.
Sources KCBD
A Kentucky judge cleared Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos to play against Arizona State
Texas Tech backup quarterback Thomas Castellanos is eligible to play again after Judge Brian Edwards of the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville, Ky., granted him a temporary injunction Friday, Oct. 16, KCBD reported, citing On3. The order bars the NCAA from keeping athletes who have used four years of eligibility off the field for the 2026-27 season, and from enforcing its restitution and ghost transfer rules.
Castellanos had been ruled ineligible two weeks ago after a Kentucky Court of Appeals ruling. He has thrown for two touchdowns and run for two more in three games since his Tech debut Sept. 12 at Oregon State. No. 10 Tech hosts Arizona State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for homecoming.
Sources KCBD · EverythingLubbock
Four Texas Tech graduates will fly National Guard helicopters over Galaxy Stadium before Saturday's homecoming game
Four Texas Tech graduates will fly the pregame flyover before No. 10 Texas Tech hosts Arizona State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, Texas Tech Athletics announced Friday. The crew from the Texas Army National Guard's 36th Combat Aviation Brigade includes Maj. Chad Dieter, class of 2010, Maj. Jessie Guajardo, 2011, Maj. James Stetzer, 2012, and 1st Lt. Jeremy Wilkey, 2023, flying two Chinooks, a medevac Black Hawk and an assault Black Hawk.
The crew practiced over the stadium Friday afternoon and then flew over UMC Children's Hospital for its pediatric patients. KFYO reported the pilots planned to return to the hospital Saturday morning to hand out rally towels and let patients try on their helmets before the game.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics · KFYO · EverythingLubbock
Lubbock IT company Blue Layer donated more than 4,000 pounds of food to the Feed Seniors Now drive for Meals on Wheels
Lubbock IT company Blue Layer donated more than 4,000 pounds of food on Friday, Oct. 16, to Comfort Keepers of Lubbock's 16th annual Feed Seniors Now initiative, KCBD reported. The drive supports Lubbock Meals on Wheels, which says the need keeps growing and now provides weekend meals to 675 seniors each week.
Blue Layer co-owner Michael Strong said the company is happy to offer support. During the week, Lubbock Meals on Wheels assists more than 1,100 homebound people each day, and its breakfast program now helps more than 900 people three days a week.
Sources KCBD
Action PrintingJessica Sheppard is turning cotton from her family's farm into a traceable American denim line
Jessica Sheppard, founder and CEO of Sheppard Denim Co., is building a 100% cotton denim line traced from her family's farm to the finished jeans, KCBD reported Friday, Oct. 16. She said the idea came in a college fashion merchandising class, when she learned how a cotton bale moves through the supply chain.
The process starts with seed from Phytogen, which Sheppard said is produced in America and sold only to American farmers. Her family farm grows the cotton, which is ginned in Pampa before a denim manufacturer turns it into fabric, and the jeans are cut, sewn and finished in Los Angeles. Sheppard said she wants to keep hand-sewing manufacturing jobs viable.
Sources KCBD
State
A second state error left 15,000 more Texas voter records backlogged days before early voting, as registration hits a record 19 million
County election officials learned Thursday, Oct. 15, of another state error that backlogged voter registration records, this time address updates made on Texas.gov between Sept. 1 and last week, the Texas Tribune and Votebeat reported Friday. Secretary of State spokesperson Alicia Pierce said 15,000 records went to counties; Bexar received 3,000, Travis 1,100, Williamson 700 and Hays 400. State elections director Christina Adkins blamed an extra address check.
Chris McGinn of the Texas Association of County Election Officials called it continued mismanagement that requires action from the Legislature. Separately, the state said Friday registrations hit a record of more than 19 million, up 7.7% from the 2022 midterm. Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19.
Sources The Texas Tribune · The Texas Tribune
Gina Hinojosa has gone from long-shot to Greg Abbott's most serious challenger yet, with five polls showing him trailing
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, the Democratic nominee for governor, has turned an underdog campaign into perhaps the strongest challenge Gov. Greg Abbott has faced, the Texas Tribune reported Friday, Oct. 16. Though Abbott has outspent her on advertising more than six to one, five public polls have shown him trailing, a first across his three campaigns for governor.
Hinojosa, a five-term lawmaker and former school board president, first considered running for comptroller and entered the race angry over Abbott's push for a $1 billion school voucher program, the Tribune reported. If elected Nov. 3, she would be Texas' first Latina governor. Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19.
Sources The Texas Tribune
A pro-Cruz super PAC launched a seven-figure Spanish-language ad buy against Talarico
Truth and Courage PAC, a super PAC that backs U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, began a seven-figure statewide Spanish-language ad buy on streaming platforms Friday, Oct. 16, attacking Democrat James Talarico in Texas' U.S. Senate race against Ken Paxton, the Texas Tribune reported. The spot, aimed at Hispanic Christians, uses clips of Talarico saying God is nonbinary and calls him a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Talarico has called some of his past comments on social issues cringey, and at his CNN town hall Wednesday said he was making the point that God defies human categories. The Tribune noted Hispanic voters will likely be decisive; in 2024 Cruz carried eight of 13 heavily Hispanic border counties.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Bo French's remarks have given Democrat Jon Rosenthal a rare opening in the Railroad Commission race
Republican Bo French's racially charged remarks have put the race for the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, in the national spotlight, the Texas Tribune reported Saturday, Oct. 17, from Odessa. Democrat Jon Rosenthal, an oil field engineer and Houston state lawmaker, would be the first Democrat elected to the three-member commission since the 1990s.
Rosenthal has promised to pursue chronic polluters, tighten oversight of natural gas facilities for emergencies and charge a fee on underground wastewater storage to plug abandoned wells, though his fundraising lags past Democrats. French has promised lower electricity and gas prices, fewer regulations and a crackdown on foreign ownership of wells. The Nov. 3 winner joins the commission.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Brandon Herrera and Katy Padilla Stout are fighting over the open West Texas seat in Congressional District 23
Republican Brandon Herrera, known online as "The AK Guy," faces Democrat Katy Padilla Stout and independent Ben Mendoza for the open seat in Texas' 23rd Congressional District, which covers 843 miles of the border and part of the Permian Basin, The Texan reported Friday, Oct. 16. Former Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned in April; he beat Herrera by just over 400 votes in the 2024 runoff.
Fox News reported Friday that Herrera's campaign is attacking about $4,300 in Stout campaign spending on cookies, beer and wine and a Mexican restaurant, shown in federal records. Stout said the purchases were for campaign and fundraising events. The Texan rates the district R-57%. The election is Nov. 3.
Duffy Law Firm, PCU.S. & World
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is out after five days and one briefing
Katie Zacharia is "transitioning out" as White House press secretary, a White House official said Friday, Oct. 16, three days after her first briefing, Gray DC reported. That briefing lasted 14 minutes and took questions from three outlets, and she drew criticism for calling herself a lawyer despite failing the bar exam.
President Donald Trump said Friday the media, including Sean Hannity and Fox & Friends, had been rough on her, and that he told her she did not have to continue. She is expected to stay in the administration, and no successor has been named. Fox News reported White House correspondents were stunned by the five-day tenure following Karoline Leavitt's August departure.
Sources Fox News · KCBD (Gray DC)
The man who stopped the Oregon school shooter is Kaylub Giamanco, father of two girls at the school
Kaylub Giamanco, a lifelong Bend resident with two daughters at Silver Rail Elementary School, is the man who followed the gunman into the Oregon school Thursday and shot him, his mother, Kenda Freeman, said Friday, Oct. 16, the Associated Press reported. Freeman said he is not seeking recognition and is grateful to first responders and the community.
Three students and a teacher were killed, and a fourth student and another teacher were critically injured. Police have not named the 16-year-old suspect, a Bend resident found dead inside the school minutes after the first report.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
The Justice Department warned California officials they risk prosecution if they count ballots from suspected noncitizens
A Justice Department letter Friday, Oct. 16, warned that local officials who process and tabulate ballots from people federal agencies have identified as noncitizens risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime, the Associated Press reported. It came a day after the Trump administration sued California to block counting of mail ballots from people it identified as likely noncitizens.
The letter, from acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, went to the Los Angeles County Counsel's office and was copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan. Neither office immediately commented. It is unclear how many people the department might investigate before the Nov. 3 election.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
China plans to restrict or ban exports of 40 technologies, including advanced AI models and chip designs
China said Friday, Oct. 16, it plans to restrict or ban exports of 40 technologies spanning artificial intelligence, chips and solar power, citing national security, the Associated Press reported. The commerce and science ministries published a draft that adds 23 AI technologies, from advanced large models to AI agents, to China's export-control catalog.
Exports of AI models trained on sensitive national data, and agents built for defense and critical infrastructure, would be banned; models with 2 trillion or more parameters could be restricted. Several AI and memory chip design technologies are included. The move comes as U.S.-led restrictions keep the world's most advanced AI chips and chipmaking machines from China.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
Pope Leo returned to the Vatican Saturday, days after lung surgery and a hospital call urging Putin to agree to a ceasefire
Pope Leo XIV left the hospital and returned to the Vatican on Saturday, Oct. 17, four days after surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Associated Press reported. His surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said there are "no clinical reasons" to stop the 71-year-old's planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Peru and Argentina.
Leo is scheduled to deliver the Angelus blessing in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, his first official duty since the operation. While still hospitalized, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-held city in Ukraine's Kherson region that has had no humanitarian food deliveries since May, so food and medicine can reach civilians.
Sources Fox News · PBS NewsHour (AP)
Democrats say Trump's drug-stock holdings grew to as much as $56.2 million after a law exempted some drugs from Medicare talks
A report released Friday, Oct. 16, by congressional Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee found President Donald Trump's pharmaceutical stock holdings grew from a maximum reported value of $1.7 million in 2024 to as much as $56.2 million at the end of 2025, the Associated Press reported. Up to $39.1 million was in companies that benefited from exemptions to Medicare drug price negotiation in Republicans' 2025 tax and spending law.
The Democrats' analysis said his portfolio bought as much as $2.55 million in shares of those companies on three dates before he signed the law in July 2025. The White House has denied any ethics issues and accused Democrats of trying to fabricate conflicts of interest.
Sources PBS NewsHour (AP)
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