The Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
The lead · Sep 2
College ride-along led Wendel Troy McKee to 38-year law enforcement career
Lubbock Lights' latest First Responder profile, published Monday, September 1, features Texas DPS Senior Trooper Wendel Troy McKee, a 24-year DPS veteran with 38 years in law enforcement. A college ride-along with TABC's Amarillo office pulled him from business administration into a life behind the badge.
Sources Lubbock Lights
More Local
One dead, one seriously hurt in early morning shooting at 19th and Elkhart
One person was killed and another seriously wounded in a shooting at an apartment complex near 19th Street and Elkhart Avenue about 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 1. Lubbock police say everyone involved is accounted for and there is no ongoing threat; no names have been released.
Sources EverythingLubbock · KCBD
Judge blocks NCAA from sidelining Texas Tech guard Donovan Atwell
A Lubbock district judge on Tuesday, September 1 granted Texas Tech guard Donovan Atwell a temporary restraining order blocking the NCAA from enforcing its 5-for-5 eligibility rule against him or punishing the school. Judge John Grace set a September 11 hearing on a longer-term injunction.
Sources FOX 34 · EverythingLubbock
County sticks with no-new-revenue tax rate as budget talks grow tense
Lubbock County commissioners are holding to a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.322782 as budget talks turned tense Monday, August 31. Auditor Kathy Williams warns of a $4-5 million shortfall and Sheriff Kelly Rowe says county safety will suffer; a public hearing is set for September 14.
Sources Lubbock Lights · KCBD
Duffy Law Firm, PCNo. 12 Texas Tech opens sold-out season Saturday against Abilene Christian
No. 12 Texas Tech opens its 102nd football season Saturday, September 5 at 6 p.m. in Lubbock against Abilene Christian on FS1; the home opener sold out August 21. ACU's staff is stocked with former Red Raiders, including head coach Keith Patterson and coordinator Graham Harrell.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics · Staking The Plains · KCBD
Two years into deregulation, Lubbock customers urged to review power plans
Two years after Lubbock's switch to retail electric competition, customers are being urged to review their plans as renewal season arrives, KCBD reported Monday, August 31. Reliant's Anna Delano warns summer rates run higher and against sliding onto month-to-month plans; compare options at powertochoose.org.
Sources KCBD
Citibus redraws routes September 28 in first phase of five-year plan
Citibus launches Phase One of its five-year service plan Monday, September 28, redrawing routes — including a new Route 205 from North Indiana through Texas Tech to 122nd Street — to reduce reliance on the Downtown Transfer Plaza. Riders should check updated maps and the GoPass app.
Sources KFYO · City of Lubbock
Lubbock's SIMFLO to supply pumps for El Salvador municipal water project
Lubbock pump maker SIMFLO has been selected to supply vertical turbine pump assemblies for a municipal water project spanning four regions of El Salvador, announced Monday, August 31. Latin America sales manager Leo Villanueva credited dependable equipment and quick turnarounds for the win.
Sources EverythingLubbock · Plumbing & Mechanical
Longtime nightclub Crystals listed for sale at $1.3 million
Crystals, the longtime nightclub and event venue at 2407 Cornell Street, is for sale at $1.3 million, KFYO reported Monday, August 31. The 18,750-square-foot 1958 building sits on nearly 1.5 acres in Arnett-Benson and includes a transferable grandfathered liquor license.
Sources KFYO
State
PUC approves first Permian Basin Reliability Plan transmission lines; Paxton joins opposition
The Public Utility Commission on Friday, August 28 unanimously approved Oncor's first two 765-kilovolt lines under the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, part of 400-plus miles linking Glen Rose to far West Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton argues the plan exceeds legislative intent; American Stewards of Liberty plans a rehearing.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Advanced GraphixEx-Houston officer Gerald Goines pleads guilty over deadly 2019 raid affidavit
Former Houston narcotics officer Gerald Goines pleaded guilty Friday, August 28 to a federal color-of-law charge for falsifying the affidavit behind the deadly 2019 Harding Street raid that killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. Sentencing is set for November 9; he is already serving 60 years.
Sources The Texan · Click2Houston
SBOE votes this week on high school social studies, financial literacy standards
The State Board of Education meets through Friday, September 4 to vote on revised high school social studies standards and a new half-credit personal financial literacy course required by House Bill 27. Debate pits an 'American exceptionalism' framing against teacher-input and historical-accuracy concerns.
Sources The Texan
U.S. & World
House votes 370-48 to fund government into December, averting shutdown
The House voted 370-48 on Tuesday, September 1 to extend government funding into December, averting a shutdown weeks before the midterms. The stopgap delays a hemp ban and temporarily blocks a rule expanding political appointees' control over federal grants; the Senate passed it in August.
U.S. strikes Iran again after new attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping
CENTCOM struck IRGC targets near Bandar Abbas and Chabahar on Tuesday, September 1 after new attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, days after Iran fired missiles toward U.S. bases in Jordan. Crude traded near $90 a barrel, up more than 45 percent this year.
Sources Fox News · The Spokesman-Review · PBS NewsHour
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after clashes with Hegseth
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation Monday, August 31 after repeated clashes with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over officer dismissals, blocked promotions and drone priorities. The White House had not immediately accepted it; the departure deepens a months-long Pentagon shakeup.
John Ternus takes over as Apple CEO after Tim Cook's 15-year run
John Ternus took over as Apple CEO on Tuesday, September 1, ending Tim Cook's 15-year run; Cook becomes executive chairman. The longtime hardware chief inherits an AI lag, memory-chip shortages and data-center supply competition after Cook grew Apple's value to roughly $4.75 trillion.
Sources Fox Business · PBS NewsHour
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPUSPS whistleblower warns new mail-ballot system could disrupt midterms
A USPS whistleblower warned Tuesday, September 1 that the new Federal Ballot Mail Portal is untested and could reject entire 10,000-ballot batches over one unread barcode, delaying mail ballots before the midterms. Senator Richard Blumenthal received the disclosure; USPS pressed toward a September 1 launch.
Sources CBS News · NPR · PBS NewsHour