Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Amarillo News Drop. I'm Keli, with Hast.

HAST Amarillo city government is moving forward on a forensic audit and a pet microchipping ordinance after Tuesday's council meeting. Mayor Cole Stanley confirmed the audit is incoming — that's a full financial review of city operations. The council also heard from the interim director of Animal Management on a proposed mandatory microchipping law for pets in the city limits. No vote was taken yet, but the board signaled support for moving it forward. The microchipping push is framed as animal safety; the audit comes as the city operates under council scrutiny on spending and fund management.

KELI Counter to what you'll hear from some quarters: this audit wasn't forced on the city by an external scandal or criminal referral. It's a standard governance tool — Texas municipalities use them when leadership decides transparency on departmental spending or contract practices needs a closer look. What matters now is scope and timeline. The council didn't announce either. Watch for those details in coming weeks. If the audit is narrow or the timeline extends past the election cycle, you'll know the council is managing its pace. If it's broad and fast, they're signaling accountability.

HAST Different footing now. Amarillo aerospace just added capacity. International Aerospace Coatings cut the ribbon on Hangar 610 — a 79,000-square-foot wide-body aircraft facility. That's new infrastructure that lets the largest commercial and military aircraft get painted here. The project brings 70 full-time jobs and projects $28 million in economic impact to the region over time. The hangar positions Amarillo as a wider-body maintenance and coating hub, not just regional work.

KELI On the investment side, Intersect and Google committed $50 million in long-term community grants centered on Deaf Smith, Gray, and Roberts counties. The Amarillo Area Foundation oversees the fund with a local advisory council directing where the money flows. That's energy-center adjacent investment — tied to their operations and infrastructure in the Panhandle.

HAST State level now. In the Texas Senate race, both Ken Paxton and Julie Talarico are centering energy-cost relief as a campaign promise. The gap between them is structural: Paxton leans on deregulation and market competition to drive rates down. Talarico is pointing to renewable energy investments and tighter regulation on rate hikes. Texans on the High Plains are watching power bills rise; whoever wins will inherit that pressure immediately.

KELI One date marker. On this day in 1929, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overruled Canada's Supreme Court and declared that women are considered persons under Canadian law — a ruling that opened the door to women's political participation across the dominion.

HAST That's the Amarillo News Drop. Full script and sources at inkwell.wiki/news/amarillo.

KELI Before we close, a word from Inkwell. The same workshop behind this drop just published the Magnificat — the song Mary sings in Luke, where the powerful are pulled down from their thrones and the hungry are filled.

HAST It reads less like a carol than a manifesto. Find it at inkwell dot wiki, slash giv.