News

Kristy Reynosa hired me to be her family’s nanny when I was a sophomore in high school.

I watched her daughter Molly, who was 11 at the time, and her granddaughter Tylee, who was 8.

Molly was this little girl who could do anything she put her mind to. You put a ball in front of her, and she knew how to make a point with it in whatever game it was. You told her to run a certain distance at a time and she did it five minutes under.

This could be year that Congress legalizes industrial hemp.

According to The Cannabist, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are again calling for industrial hemp to be legally separated from marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act.

If you’re planning to view the solar eclipse this Monday, you’ll want to be safe.

Dr. David Craig, Professor of Astronomy at West Texas A&M University, says protecting your eyes is of the utmost importance when watching an eclipse.

Texas lawmakers are preparing to adjourn from their special legislative session on Tuesday night.

But, as The Texas Tribune reports, Greg Abbott is extremely displeased with the progress made on his agenda, and the Governor is even threatening to call another special session until he feels his priorities are being addressed. Of the 20 items on Abbott’s agenda, not a single one has yet received a simple up or down vote.

President Donald Trump may soon announce an Oklahoman to lead NASA.

On Monday, HPPR reported that white nationalist groups were planning to hold a rally on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station on Sept. 11.

Now, as CNN reports, the university has canceled that rally. In a statement, the university cited “concerns about the safety of […] students, faculty, staff, and the public.”

From The Texas Tribune:

The state's endangered species chief says a plan to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard is facing a "significant threat" from companies that mine the fine-grain sand that oil producers use for hydraulic fracturing.

The path of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse will cross the U.S. from the southeast to northwest, cutting across the upper northeast corner of Kansas and across Nebraska – making it possible for anyone on the High Plains to see all of it, if they’re willing to take a day trip, but at the very least, they will be able to see a partial eclipse.

A new Farm Futures survey, as Politico reports, has found that 55 percent of farmers would give President Donald Trump an “A” or “B” if they were assigning a grade to him on domestic issues. 

The survey of 1,200 growers found that farmers are mostly good with the Trump administration’s domestic policies so far.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture is reporting the state’s first confirmed case of equine West Nile Virus this year.

As The Prowers Journal reports, a horse in Larimer County was diagnosed with the virus earlier this month.

The special session of the Texas Legislature is drawing to a close, and child advocates are concerned about a major issue that lawmakers have yet to resolve.

Two years ago, Texas legislators cut more than $300 million to therapy services for disabled children.

And now, as KXAN reports, educators and therapists worry that Texas may one day have a sizable number of disabled adults if lawmakers don’t take action.

Oklahoma’s efforts to plug its massive budget gap were dealt a serious blow this week by the state Supreme Court.

As Oklahoma Watch reports, earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a $1.50 per-pack cigarette fee that was supposed to bolster the state’s finances.

But last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that the fee was unconstitutional.

As the dog days of summer continue, the chances of encountering a rattlesnake on the High Plains remain elevated.

But, as The Sacramento Bee explains, rattlesnakes aren’t as dangerous as you may think. Attacks aren’t as common as some may believe, because rattlers aren’t aggressive. They generally only bite when they feel threatened.

However, humans sometimes mistakenly think a snake is being aggressive when it’s simply trying to find a cooler place to lie.

16-year-old Jack Bergeson may already have a leg-up in the Kansas gubernatorial race.

As The Topeka Capital-Journal reports, the Wichita high school student appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from his bedroom via video on Wednesday night, explaining his reason for running – that he is hoping to engage younger voters, even though he himself, cannot vote.

Among economically developed countries, the United States has the seventh highest rate of child poverty. Twenty-nine percent of the children in America live below the poverty line.

The personal-finance website Wallethub recently set out to find which states have the most child poverty. The site studied 21 key indicators to compile the rankings.

The national media was consumed this weekend by news of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent. The news hit close to home in Texas, which holds more hate groups than any other state.

An abortion bill sponsored by an Amarillo Republican is close to becoming law, reports The Texas Tribune.

State Rep. John Smithee of Amarillo authored a bill that would require women to buy a separate health insurance plan to cover abortion.

Opponents say the measure hurts low-income Texas women, especially those who are experiencing fetal abnormalities or who have been the victims of rape and incest.

Rural school enrollment is on the decline in Oklahoma—and funding to rural communities is going down with it.

As The Tulsa World reports, small towns like the ones in Western Oklahoma receive a set amount of state funding per pupil. That means, when fewer students enroll, the schools and communities suffer.

Many Texas Panhandle students will return to school this week.

As The Amarillo Globe-News reports, most school districts in the Panhandle have chosen to return from summer earlier this year, preceding by a week and a half the state-mandated start date of Aug. 28. Canyon ISD and four of the five Amarillo school districts will begin on Wednesday.

Don't miss Adler & Hearne, live in Amarillo, as they make their return to the HPPR Living Room Concert Series! 

Friday, September 1, 2017

Chalice Abbey (2717 Stanley, Amarillo)

Doors @ 7p | Show @ 7:30p

Suggested donation: $15

RSVP here, or call us at 806.367.9088 and we'll put you on the list. We can't wait to see you there!

This week on Amarillo Symphony Presents, we bring you music by "The Mighty Masters."

First, we'll feature Johannes Brahms with his "Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn," conducted by Jacomo Bairos. Next, Stilian Kirov takes the podium for Beethoven"s monumental "5th Symphony." 

SO SORRY, but we have to push this event into September. We will alert you as soon as we have a reschedule date. The rain was strong, so the trails are closed -- and the nature walk is what REALLY makes this event special. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, and we will do this in a few weeks!

Kansas ranchers impacted by wildfires could receive more than $18 million in federal funds for fencing lost in the Starbuck wildfire, which began in Oklahoma and spread into southwest Kansas on March 6.

As The Hutch News reports, the fire burned over 660,000 acres in Kansas and Oklahoma and 500,000 acres in Clark, Comanche and Meade Counties making it the largest in Kansas history.

Shona Banda of Garden City, Kansas, a well-known advocate of medicinal marijuana, has accepted a plea deal.

As KSN reports, Banda accepted a plea deal from Finney County on the child endangerment and marijuana-related charges against her in exchange for probation.