About Nicole Crites

Entertainment Director - Senior journalism major from Fort Worth, TX

Is Lubbock the Friendliest City in America?

Entering the Lubbock city limits on U.S. Route 84, a driver is greeted by countless billboards for hotels, wineries, restaurants and more. The newest addition to this visual cacophony is a billboard proclaimed Lubbock to be “the friendliest city in America.” The sign is part of a new marketing campaign by Reagor-Dykes Auto Group and McDougal Companies to […]

Eating Around the World: In Your Own Backyard

Sometimes you just need a vacation. Bracing against freezing 40-mph winds, dirt hits you from every side as you look around at the scene of brown, flat land and barren trees. Spring in Lubbock, what else would you expect? But suddenly, your mind is in another place: sitting on the sandy beaches of Cancun, collecting colorful beads on Bourbon Street, tasting authentic […]

Festival Brings Awareness to West Texas Wine Production

Texas is the seventh largest wine grape producer in the country, and the South Plains is home to more than 80 percent of those grapes. “It is a good place to grow grapes,” said Jason Centanni, Llano Estacado Winery’s winemaker. “We have minimal instances of rot or mildew, we also have low pests. The dryness keeps away […]

Millennials Turn Out on Super Tuesday

Millennials, or Americans born between 1982 and 2000, have become the largest and most diverse generation in United States history with over 83 million people, making up more than one quarter of the country’s population. The numbers of young voters could make or break the 2016 presidential election. Young adults have the power to influence this election more than […]

Broadway and Beyond: Lubbock’s Best Happy Hours

Most bars and restaurants in Lubbock, especially near campus, offer drinks specials and happy hours. But where is the happiest of hours? Check out “Broadway and Beyond,” an interactive map of local bars, for which The Hub@TTU verified all specials and prices were through phone calls to each establishment: Broadway Chimy’s Cerveceria now has locations around Texas and in […]

‘Like A Rolling Stone’: Facing the Future of Music

More than 16 years ago, two teenagers launched an online music platform that enabled users to swap songs. It was called Napster. To some, its creators were heroes, opening up a world of free music for anyone to share and explore. To others, they were thieves, villains even. A lawsuit forced the free service to shut down, […]

3 Reasons to Vote

College students, are you going to vote today? You really should, experts say, for these reasons: Young adult votes are woefully underrepresented. Politicians take your grandparents’ votes more seriously because turnout in their age group is way higher. You’ll get a cool sticker. Even though Lubbock is a college town, young people’s votes make up […]

Haunted Lubbock

By Nicole Crites, RaShayla Daniels, Alyssa Herzog and Maddy McCarty In Lubbock, when there’s something strange is your neighborhood… call Anita and Billy Fisher, a couple dedicated to investigating paranormal activity. Anita Fisher, president of the Lubbock Ghost Investigation Society, calls herself a “discerner of spirits” (or medium), and said she was born with the […]

Beloved Coffee House Reopens

Lubbock’s beloved coffee house, Sugar Brown’s, closed its doors four years ago. But thanks to the overwhelming support of Lubbock locals, new owner Justin Stice is serving quality coffee to the public once again. A Kickstarter campaign to reopen the coffee shop raised $20,420 from 155 backers this spring. “Our goal was $20,000, which we […]

Cinema Lovers Flock to Alamo Drafthouse

Looking for arthouse movies? Look no further than Lubbock’s West Loop 289. Alamo Drafthouse, which opened in April 2014, is hosting this weekend’s Flatland Film Festival along with the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. The festival is featuring features and shorts from local flimmakers. Robert Peaslee, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Journalism […]