Midland ISD board ask to make a third high school. The decision of the request has not yet been confirmed. Each trustee will host at least one town hall meeting in their district before June 22, to hear what the public has to say about this idea. And also the option of having two big schools and the new school being a magnet school or being a 4A school. After all the meetings are held officials would like to have a visual workshop to see how, where , and when this project will develop. So far there are no objections to the ideas of a third high school. Having the new school gives kids a better chance of participating in sports and extra curricular activities.  Officials are hoping to come to a decision towards the end of July. 

Developers have got the go from planning and zoning for a new outdoor shopping center and an apartment complex in Midland. Midland is in desperate need of housing to accommodate all of the relocating to Midland. 

The apartment couple will hopefully develop west of Tradewinds boulevard just off Business 20. It will consist of 300 units spaced over 16 acres of on average 24 units per acre. The estimated time for this complex once approved is 8 months. 

The new outdoor shopping center is also being taken into consideration. The shopping cent would be located off of Loop 250 near the Blue Ridge Apartments in Midland. The shopping center will be 50,000 square feet with glass front open-air area. 48 trees are required to be planted but the developers have chosen to only plant 26 trees and donate $300.00 to the Parks Endowment Fund for every tree not planted under the required 48. Midland officials are very excited for the development and cannot wait to start the project. 

Homes selling like hot cakes in Midland Texas! Faster than anywhere else in the COUNTRY! Last year homes in Midland Texas where on the market on average 129 days and now, it is at a fast 71 days. Midland realtors have commented on the boom; saying you must be on your toes...things can change in a matter of hors, and advised potential buyers looking for a home in Midland Texas to have there pre-qualification letter ready in hand when going to look at homes. With the high demand, there have been offers for homes in Midland Texas well over the market price to insure the home will be theirs. Todays market is the perfect time to sell and buy real estate. 

Food Inspections are conducted every year at restaurants. April 2nd through the 6th was the turn of many local restaurants in Odessa. The score begins from 100 and points are deducted for food temperature, time requirements, personnel violations, handling food, food and water source, violations of the facility, and equipment. The restaurants have 10 days to fix the deductions to get a better score. If a restaurant gets a score of 70 or less; the restaurant mist shutdown until all of the violations are fixed and a new inspection is done. So far no restaurants are shut down, so I believe that is good news for those of us that love to go out to eat. Everything from Breakfast places to late night munchies are still up and running! 

Midland Firefighters are taking donations from today till Friday at 6:00pm! The donations go to the campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association! This years goal is $100,000! So lets help these brave men reach their goal! The MDA is an non profit agency that helps cure muscular dystrophy.  Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weakens the musculoskeletal system. You can make your donation by driving by the following intersections: Midland Drive and Loop 250; Midland Drive and Andrews Hwy. Midkiff Road and Wadley Avenue; and Garfield Street and Golf Course Road.

Midland, TX water restrictions have changed again, to only watering 2 hours per week. If you go over your watering time you will get charged five times the price. So try not to go over 10,000 gallons per month. A good idea to help conserve water would be to get buckets, when you are washing dishes or letting you sink water get hot or even your bath water.. save the water in a bucket to use for watering. I know many of you don't think about how many buckets a day with could save and help go towards your plants and grass. You should definitely give this a shot and see for yourself how much water will go into a bucket daily. 

GO GREEN!!

             SAVE YOUR WATER!! 

MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS BASEBALL

Rockhounds baseball is BACK!!! We have been waiting for the games to begin. This weather has me on the edge of my seat, I cannot wait to sit outside and watch the Rockhounds. The First home game is April 12, 2012. The Rockhounds will be playing Arkansas. This will be a good game to see. Hopefully the weather will be good and the crowd will be on their feet and off the seats to cheer on the ROCKHOUNDS! For a full schedule of when they play and times check out the schedule http://www.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t237

Here is a gorgeous listings in Midland, TX. This is a stunning home. Below is the URL to be able to play the movie of the home and give you an idea of that it looks like.

The link below is for 5000 Opal Court. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVJy15Of2c&feature=youtu.be 

For a personal tour please contact Bill Underwood with RE/MAX 1st Choice- 432.413.8855

The 5 Browns will play in Midland tomorrow night at the Midland College Campus.  The event is tomorrow night 7:30p.m.  This even is open to the public and it would be a great event to take your family and friends to see. The Browns are one family that play for the audience with 5 pianos. WOW!  This wonderful event is hosted by The Phyllis & bob Cowan Performing Arts Series and Friends of the series.

Plants in West Texas should be chosen very carefully. With the dry climate and the windy weather you should really do some researching on the landscape you would like and also to see if the plants can handle the harsh climate. Its a good idea to buy plants that are native to the West Texas climate and that are well adapted.  With the current drought in West Texas, you want to make sure you get plants that are drought-tolerant. 

Midland Water restrictions have once again changed. The water in  the West Texas area is very scarce and is putting a big hold on home much water use is available to the residents. Our water shed is very low and we need rain tremendously.  

Midland City Council has approved to restrict outdoor watering to two hours per week. According to the newspaper on Tuesday, " A multiplier will be added to the top two tiers of users: Those who use between 10,000 gallons and 25,000 gallons of water per month would be charged to $19.55 per thousand gallons rather than the current rate of $3.91. Individuals who utilize more than 25, 000 gallons per month would pay $22.50 per thousand gallons instead of the $4.50 they pay now." This is 5 times over the normal amount!! 

With the limited availability of water  the Midland City Council approved only two hours per week, hand held hose watering only. It will depend on where you live in the city to what days of the week you are allowed to water.

Oil production in the Permian Basin continues to be on the rise. Also, with gas prices soaring over $3.50 a gallon it will be interesting to see how how high the price of oil per barrel gets and also how high the gas prices will continue to rise. Drilling is West Texas is being seen in the area more than ever before. In the local newspaper it stated that, " leading oilmen in the Permian Basin expect to double oil production in Texas within five to seven years." Is this surprising to you?  It will be interesting to see how long this boom really continues and how it changes our economy here in the Permian Basin and in the United States.

Word art is very popular and can be found at Wal-Mart, hobby lobby, etc.

​As many of you know water not only in Midland but in the surrounding areas is very scarce. Last summer if you did not have a water well, you could only water your yard on scheduled days. As of now Midland officials are talking about changing the rules to only hand watering two hours a week. 

In yesterdays newspaper it states that Mayor Wes Perry signed an agreement allowing construction of pipelines to Midland's T Bar Ranch property.  It stated that " The City Council awarded a contract to the water supply district to construct pipelines to, and deliver water from, the T Bar Ranch property in Loving and Winkler counties. The contract calls for the district t vein supplying water by May 2013." This is great news!!!

Here are some simple steps to organizing your closets.

1. If you only have one clothes hanging bar in your closet, it would be a good idea to buy two. The top bar could be all of your tops and the bottom bar can be all of your jeans. This not only makes your closet look more organized, but it will be a lot easier to find clothing.

2.  When you get your clothing separated, you can then separate your clothing into colors. This again makes your closet look very organized and you'll be able to find what you are looking for a lot faster. 

3. If you have high shelves in your closet you can get boxes, containers, etc to put your fall, winter, summer clothing in that you aren't wearing at that time of the year, this will give you more room in your closet. 

Orange Leaf is now open in Midland, TX. If you are familiar with the area it is across from the mall, in the shopping center with Subway. The location is 4400 N. Midkiff Road.

Orange Leaf Yogurt has over 60 flavors to choose from and then after you figure out which flavor you then get to pick out which toppings you would like on your yogurt from sweet to salty. After you have your yogurt just the way you would like it, you then weigh your yogurt on the scale for the price to pay.

This yogurt shop is one of a kind and sets a very fun atmosphere for you and your family.

Midland, TX continues to expand its businesses and restaurants throughout the area. synergy cinemas, a multi-screen theater, arcade and much more is one step closer to starting its construction and so is Panda Express. Panda Express is an Asian restaurant and it will be located off of Midland Drive in the Walmart parking lot. 

Jeff Benson is the president and CEO of Cinergy Cinemas, he states, " We're building you  a state-of-the-art facility with 11 movie theater screens and the largest screen between Dallas and Phoenix." This will add lots of business to the Midland area and will be a great theater to take your family. 

​Big impact improvements that you can make now to boost curb appeal and perk up the approach to your new digs!

ADD LIGHTING: ​Lighting is a simple fix that can make a big change. At night, a hanging fixture can make a huge difference on the appearance of your home. When trying to decide on your light, pick a style that complements your home's architecture. 

​UPGRADE THE DOOR:​ Always think of the front door as an "introduction" to your home. Divided light windows in this paneled wood door offer outside views and fill the foyer with sunlight.  You can even choose to use an install-ready pre-hung door. If you decide to go this route you can make this upgrade in a day. Using all different colors and designs is a great idea for your front porch. It gives your front porch lots of character. 

​CALL-OUT WITH COLOR: ​You can keep the same color of paint on your front door. However, it is a good idea to apply a fresh coat of paint to make your entry stand out. This is a very simple step, but the color makes a huge change in the overall appearance on your entry.

RE-FACE THE STEPS: ​Are you tired of the way your entry flooring looks? You can easily turn a dull concrete entry into a showpiece by covering it with stone. For example, staining the concrete, clay saltillo tiles, split brick, and limestone pavers. 

​PLANT A COUPLE OF CONTAINERS: ​Large potted plants around your entry way provide color and uniqueness. Just make sure the containers you put them in are water proof. An entry way with nothing but a foot mat, to an entry way with pretty flower pots with colorful flowers make your entry way really stand out. 

The way you decorate your entry way is your choice, but remember by adding a few simple steps can make a huge difference on your homes overall appearance.

A finalized contract with the Midland County Freshwater Supply District #1 is still in the works. The pipeline from Midland's T Bar Ranch in Winkler and Loving counties to Midland will be constructed by May 2013. It will be funded through the water district's revenue bonds. Midland does own the water that will be pumped, but we will pay a fee for it coming through the pipelines.

The city will still be purchasing water from the CRMWD through its contract into 2029. The second resource from T Bar will lessen the reliance on CRMWD and allow other cities to use resources.  Even though T Bar should take care of the next 40 years for Midland, the city will continue looking into options for its 100-year water supply plan. We are still to be aware of the drought and conservation should remain a key!