Legal wrangling will settle challenges to Denton's newly passed fracking ban, and give Texans a free course on the widely mischaracterized oilfield technique that has put Texas at the forefront a national energy boom.

Advances in hydraulic fracturing have helped drillers unlock oil and gas once thought to be unreachable. That has reawakened Big Lake, a town that in the 1920s helped cement Texas’ reputation as an oil-rich state. What does the town's growth really look like? Soar a few hundred feet above it to see. This slideshow is part of our Shale Life project.

The Southwest Area Regional Transit District, a 33-year-old organization financed largely through state grants, helps shuttle people who cannot otherwise get to their medical appointments. But a rush to the Eagle Ford Shale — the oil-rich fields that have brought prosperity to many — is clogging that lifeline. This story is part of our Shale Life project.

Some Texas towns are welcoming the bars, strip clubs and “man camps” that come along with an oil boom. Not Karnes City, which is pumping its sudden wealth into schools, parks and a convention center, hoping to attract folks who will stick around when the oil is gone. This story and its audio slideshow are part of our Shale Life project.  

The newly cracked, chipped and crowded roads linking Texas boomtowns have meant more than just traffic jams for local commuters. They've also proved deadly. Each day, as thousands of 18-wheelers travel roads ill-prepared to handle them, drilling regions are seeing an increase in deadly accidents. This slideshow is part of our Shale Life project.

Just hours after Denton voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, the state’s General Land Office and biggest petroleum group filed off legal challenges to the new rule. The Texas Oil and Gas Association called the ban unconstitutional, saying it supercedes state law and deprives mineral owners of their property rights.

At our 10/31 symposium at the University of Texas at San Antonio on the impact of the shale boom on Texas, I talked economic transformation with Midland Mayor Jerry Morales, San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor, UTSA's Thomas Tunstall and Don Tymrak, the city manager of Karnes City.

At our 10/31 symposium on the impact of the shale boom on Texas, Jim Malewitz talked with state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, and Texas Railroad Commissoner Barry Smitherman about what it will take to keep the boom booming.

Visit Custom Touch Village, a workforce lodging facility, or “man camp,” that has popped up to accommodate West Texas' transient oilfield workers. These temporary neighborhoods are common in the regions touched by Texas’ shale boom, where housing is in short supply and hotels are stuffed to the gills. This audio slideshow is part of our Shale Life project. 

State Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, DeWitt County judge Daryl Fowler, environmental advocate Sister Elizabeth Riebschlsaeger and La Salle County judge Joel Rodriguez discuss air, water and road infrastucture.

State Sen. Carlos Uresti, Permian Basin Petroleum Association President Ben Shepperd, South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable President Omar Garcia and Middle Rio Grande Development Council Executive Director Leo Martinez discuss the changing state of energy.

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor, Midland Mayor Jerry Morales, Karnes City City Manager Don Tymrak and Thomas Tunstall from the Institute for Economic Development at UTSA will discuss the transformation of the Texas economy.

The oil and gas industry almost singlehandedly lifted Texas from the country’s last recession. But such booms come with unsettling questions: How long will the bonanza last? And will an eventual drop in oil prices decimate local economies — as has happened throughout Texas’ history? This story is part of our Shale Life project. 

Hey, Texplainer: I heard that oil prices are plunging – down more than 20 percent since June. Texas boomtowns may not be panicking, but what does the drop mean for the state budget?

The legendary oilman reflects on plunging oil prices and the likelihood of another bust for Texas. Also, cranky folks in Denton and silly congressmen who don't understand how the energy industry works. 

The state's drilling and fracking frenzy is raising questions about safety, earthquakes and water use. That's raising the stakes for this year's race for an open seat on the three-member Railroad Commission.

A steep drop in crude oil prices threatens to slow drilling in some U.S. oilfields, but officials in Texas' hottest shale plays say they're not sweating things yet. The boom is still a boom, they say, and it's way too early to walk away.

After calling for an end to subsidies for wind energy production, the Texas comptroller will soon release a report that could rekindle debate surrounding Texas’ largest incentive for natural gas producers. The tax exemption for "high cost" gas has shaved more than $7 billion off operators' tax bills since 2008.