Potter County | featured news

Amarillo City Council today unanimously approved a $15 million economic development incentive for a planned Texas Tech University veterinary school in Amarillo.
“You just witnessed history, folks,” Mayor Paul Harpole said.
Earlier in the day, Amarillo Economic Development Corp. approved the agreement and recommended its passage to city council.
“This is historic for the state of Texas, a vet school designed to address specific problems in rural America," Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan said at the council meeting.

Texas is helping lead a lawsuit against President Barack Obama's administration over a new rule that makes millions of more workers eligible for overtime pay. 
Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he is joining his counterpart in Nevada, Adam Laxalt, to file the lawsuit on behalf of 21 states. Paxton said the rule, announced earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Labor, is another example of Obama "trying unilaterally rewrite the law."

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller won't face criminal charges for allegedly using taxpayer funds to obtain a "Jesus shot" in Oklahoma.
The Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the Republican for possible abuse of power. In a memo released Tuesday, prosecutors said they had determined "criminal intent would be difficult to prove."
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An Amarillo man was arrested Tuesday morning in connection with a string of robberies that began Monday night and continued into the early morning hours of Tuesday, police said.
According to a news release, Deng Peter Bol was arrested about 2:11 a.m. in the area of a Toot’n Totum at 3365 Bell St. An officer saw Bol, 19, enter the store, brandish a knife and demand money from a store employee.
When confronted by the officer, police said, the suspect dropped the knife and ran before he was apprehended a short distance away at 34th Avenue and Atkinsen Street.

In classrooms around the nation bouncy balance balls have taken the place of chairs, standing desks have replaced sitting ones.
The idea behind the non-traditional classroom setups is that allowing movement while learning, as opposed to forcing students to sit still, improves performance. And one local school district is embracing the concept in a unique way.
Highland Park Elementary School recently opened what it calls a Read and Ride room. Outfitted with two dozen stationary bikes, students can read a book and pedal along during regularly scheduled library times.

Construction on the new downtown Xcel Energy office building is entering its final phase.
Earlier this month, the company filed its city permit to finish 114,000 square feet of interior space, valued at $5.8 million.
While much of the exterior of the Buchanan Street project has been completed, company spokesman Wes Reeves said phase two of the project will entail interior construction.
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Entertainment
Shotgun Rider: 7 p.m. Buffalo’s Cafe, 2811 Fourth Ave., Canyon. No cover. 806-655-4400.
Andy Chase Cundiff: 7 p.m. 575 Pizzeria, 2308 Civic Circle. No cover. 806-322-5575.
Open mic night with The Van Notes: 9 p.m. 6th Street Saloon, 609 Independence St. No cover. 806-356-0873.
Dan Lesperance: 8 p.m. Rounders, 2801 Virginia Circle. No cover. 806-352-3317.
Community

Texas is an economic powerhouse, but needs to be proactive in developing its workforce in order to avoid the fate of once-great companies like Kodak, Woolworth and Sears, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. 
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is back in federal court yet again defending one of the nation's strictest voter ID laws — this time against charges that the state is violating its own recent agreement to soften the rules ahead of the November election.
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The West Texas A&M University Police Department has suspended its investigation into an alleged on-campus sexual assault, Sgt. Jack Hildebrand confirmed Monday.
The police became aware of the case Wednesday after a third-party reported that a male student in his dorm room the day prior had sexually assaulted a woman who was also enrolled at the university.
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