Following the appointment of interim City Manager Agape Bernal and City Attorney Dan Jones, the first quarter of 2023 has seen many changes in the governance of the City Of Odessa. “While change is never easy, City staff is responding well to the new administrative leadership and we’re seeing many positive signs telling us that […]
Posted inOdessa City Council
Casey Hallmark’s Accusations Against Odessa Council Crumble After Investigation
During two previous Odessa City Council meetings, former Downtown Odessa, Inc. (DOI) Director Casey Hallmark alleged numerous instances of bullying and intimidation by Odessa Mayor Joven and Odessa City Councilmen Mark Matta and Chris Haney. As a result of Hallmark’s allegations, the city hired Tommy Sheen, a Lubbock based attorney, to conduct a thorough independent […]
Posted inLocal
A Second Look at the DNOW/Toby Eoff Lawsuit
Publisher’s note: Last week, Odessa Headlines published a story about the verdict in a lawsuit brought by Distribution Now (DNOW) against Odessan Toby Eoff and others. When news of the verdict broke we were, quite frankly, surprised as there had been no local information regarding the case. In our initial investigation, we obtained the bulk […]
Posted inLocal
Nearly $9M Jury Verdict awarded against Odessan Toby Eoff
A unanimous Fort Bend County jury late Wednesday, February 22, 2023, found that prominent Odessa businessman Toby Eoff willfully and maliciously conspired with other former employees of DistributionNOW (DNOW) to steal the energy sector giant’s trade secrets. The verdict included a finding that Mr. Eoff breached his fiduciary duty to Houston-based DNOW when he conspired […]
Posted inOdessa City Council
Swanner Working To Improve City Permitting and Inspection
Councilmember Denise Swanner is carrying through on her campaign promise to improve the permitting and inspection process for city residents and is focused on customer service within the department.
Posted inOdessa City Council
Joven, Swanner & Matta Advocate For Odessa With State Legislature
Odessa and Midland joined together today at the Texas State Capital to advocate for the needs of West Texas at the annual Midland And Odessa Legislative Days. Beginning early this morning elected officials and local advocates met with various state officials and held round table discussions to push for additional state support for the West […]
Posted inOdessa City Council
F-Bombs, Coconuts & Other Bad Behavior
It seems like some type of bad behavior fever has infected some Odessa citizens’ public comments and behavior during recent City Council meetings. It all began with local family law and self proclaimed civil rights attorney Gavin Norris’ attempts to disrupt the December 13, 2022 City Council meeting. On the agenda that night was the […]
Posted inOdessa City Council
Texas Bar Ethics Complaint Filed Against Former Odessa City Attorney Brooks
Odessa Headlines learned today that Odessa City Councilwoman Denise Swanner has lodged a formal ethics complaint with the State Bar of Texas against former Odessa City Attorney Natasha Brooks over her role in the illegal backdating of Councilman Steve Thompson’s conflict of interest forms in 2020. The State Bar of Texas is an agency of […]
Posted inLocal
Documents Show City of Odessa Officials Backdated Conflict of Interest Affidavits
“I did not feel comfortable about backdating the affidavit,” Councilman Thompson wrote.
Posted inEducation
ECISD Priorities At Odds With Local Voters
With the opening of Texas’ 2023 legislative session earlier this month, the legislative priorities unanimously passed by the Ector County ISD Board of Trustees last year are receiving renewed scrutiny. As recently reported in statewide and nationwide media the controversy centers on the District’s positions on school choice and bringing back Chapter 313 tax breaks. […]
Posted inFeatured
What Happened And Why?
Social media and local media outlets have been buzzing over the termination of appointed positions within the City of Odessa. During the December 13, 2022, Odessa City Council Meeting the Council brought forth an agenda item regarding the employment of then City Manager Michael Marrero, and City Attorney Natasha Brooks. Theories regarding the terminations and […]
Posted inUncategorized
H-E-B kicks off holiday season in Odessa with 20th Annual H-E-B Feast of Sharing celebration
On Friday, December 9th, thousands of Odessa residents will give thanks together and share a festive holiday meal during the 20th Annual H-E-B Feast of Sharing dinner. This year will once again feature in-person dinners. Hundreds of H-E-B and community volunteers will serve a free meal to more than 5,000 people at the Odessa dinner. […]
Posted inLocal
Texas Lawsuits Set New Precedent on Public Information Law Requests
By Matt Stringer of The Texan The Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) governs how records held by the state government must be provided to the public, including how fast they must be released, which records are excepted from disclosure, and how to force the government to produce them. Two separate but similar lawsuits against city […]
Posted inState
Oil and Gas Workers Association Membership Claims Questioned
An Odessa-based non-profit “Oil and Gas Workers Association (OGWA)” suddenly gained national attention last year, with a claim the organization boasts 46,000 members. This large membership claim helped propel it into national prominence as a major authority on energy policy and focused a media spotlight on the man behind the organization, Matt Coday. But partial […]
Posted inFeatured
Gov. Abbott To Speak at School Choice Event in Odessa
First Christian Academy in Odessa is hosting Gov. Greg Abbott Thursday, March 23 for a Parent Empowerment Tour, discussing school choice related issues. According to a press release, “parent empowerment is built on the foundational principles of transparency, quality, respect, and choice,” and the effort is “bringing together the community to focus on this vital […]
Posted inEconomic Development
ODC To Host Joint City Council/County Commissioner Meeting
Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, Odessa Mayor Javier Joven, and Odessa Economic Development Corporation Board Chairman Kris Crow announced today their respective entities will be hosting a joint work session of County Commissioners’ Court, City Council, and the Economic Development Corporation. “This is the first meeting of its kind between our three entities with the […]
Posted inOpinion
Russell: The OA’s Antics Are Just Too Much
After reading a lengthy “editorial” by the Odessa American (OA) containing several attacks by the former daily newspaper against our publication, I felt a response on behalf of Odessa Headlines would unfortunately be in order. Two words came to mind after reading the OA’s editorial: Gish Gallop. According to one source, the generally accepted definition […]