KELI From Inkwell, this is the Amarillo News Drop. I'm Keli, with Hast.
HAST Amarillo city staff walked out of a budget conversation Tuesday. The council wanted to talk tax rate. Staff said no — not without a full presentation ready. Councilmember David Prescott didn't show. No vote happened. The frustration is real on both sides, and the city's still short on how it closes the gap between what it spends and what it takes in.
KELI So here's what's underneath that moment. The council's pushing for a number — what the tax rate will be — before staff has finished the structural work on where cuts land and what services stay. That's not unusual, but it's a sign the timeline is tight and the trust between the dais and administration isn't there yet. Watch whether they reconvene on that same question in the next two weeks. If staff comes back with a full deck and the council still presses for a rate number before they're ready, you'll know the political pressure is overriding the process.
HAST Different front now. Quanah's dealing with discolored water across Hardeman, Donley, and Childress counties — that's the Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial Water Authority's system. City officials said Wednesday they're aware of the concerns. No explanation yet on what's causing it or when it'll clear. Residents in three counties are looking at tap water that isn't what it should be, and the clock's ticking on answers.
KELI Sticking with the Panhandle. Ted Cruz said on a podcast this week he wants to be president — no secret there. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also speculated that Greg Abbott's got White House ambitions too. Both are longstanding signals, but the public statements from Cruz carry weight in a primary season that's starting to shape up.
KELI Before we close, a history note. Fifty years ago tomorrow — August 28, 1974 — President Nixon resigned, ending the Watergate crisis and ending his second term.
HAST That's the Amarillo News Drop. Full script and sources at inkwell.wiki/news/amarillo.
KELI Before we close, a word from Inkwell. Gil's Intelligent Version has a new companion piece on how the Latter-day Saints read the Trinity — three distinct beings, one in purpose, rather than three persons of one substance.
HAST It's an evenhanded look at the same question, decided the other way. At inkwell dot wiki, slash godhead.
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