Texas South Plains

Texas is home to approximately 1,200 species of bee and about 25% of them are specialized bees, meaning they only pollinate specific plants. The bristly nama may not be a familiar name for those on the South Plains, but the plant and its purple flowers are all over Lubbock and its bees are hard at work to keep the ecosystem alive.

Nonprofits across the country have been grappling with changes in federal spending and the cuts to departments and grants. As coordinator with other local organizations, Lubbock Area United Way has been updating partners on developments at the state and national level, and advocating for policies suited to West Texas.

Severe weather has gripped Texas this year — from tornadoes tearing through the South Plains to wildfires in the Panhandle and, most recently, deadly floods in the Hill Country. In Lubbock, where the city's outdoor siren system was activated for the first time earlier this summer, emergency officials emphasize that layered alerts and personal preparedness remain essential to staying safe.

South Plains Community Action Association, Inc., or SPCAA, serves approximately 114 counties in Texas, with a focus on assisting in rural communities. It is one of many organizations whose programs are under threat in upcoming federal budget proposals.

Ninety- four people have been hospitalized with measles since it first broke out in Gaines County in January.

Health care professionals said the only way to prevent measles is to receive two doses of the MMR vaccine. Measles complications can include pneumonia, hearing loss, meningitis, and death.

The Texas outbreak is nearing 600 cases since January.

Fifty-eight patients have been hospitalized since the outbreak began in late January.

The measles outbreak in West Texas didn't happen just by chance. Health officials say the easily preventable disease has ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of the funding needed to run vaccine programs.

With cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas and other states will have to spend more on public health. The biggest expense of a measles outbreak is the public health response in shutting down the outbreak.