Early this month the City of Odessa informed ECUD that their November 2020 contract for water delivery from the City is void as it was signed by convicted felon Tommy Ervin who is ineligible under Texas law to hold public office. ECUD, which services areas in west Ector County, relies on the City to provide […]
Posted inODC
Cost Of Living Index Shows Odessa Below National Averages
While many Odessans feel the continued pinch of inflation sparked by Bidenomics, a recent study by The Council For Community And Economic Research shows that Odessa is fairing better than many areas of the country in terms of living affordability. Each quarter The Council gathers information from 274 urban areas. Locally, the Odessa Development Corporation […]
Posted inKen Paxton
Ector County Republican Party Delivers Strong Rebuke to State Senator Kevin Sparks Over Impeachment Votes
Last week the Ector County Republican Party voted to approve a strongly worded “RESOLUTION OF CONDEMNATION OF TEXAS STATE SENATOR KEVIN SPARKS” over his early votes to allow the impeachment proceedings of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to proceed. According to the resolution, Sparks voted twelve times to allow the Paxton trial to proceed despite […]
Posted inEducation
ECISD Trustees Punt On School Safety and Security
Texas House Bill 3 makes several significant changes to school safety laws, including requiring districts to assign armed personnel at every campus. While each school board can determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each district campus, the law mandates that at least one armed security officer – specifically a commissioned peace officer […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Local Democrat Operatives Continue to Spread Misinformation
Confusion and misinformation continues to be spread about the Ector County Republican Party and the role and duties of local precinct chairs. In an effort to set the record straight I would like to respond to the many false narratives filling social media. Basically, the role of local precinct chairs is to inform, mobilize, and […]
Posted inFeatured
After Months of Stalling, Oil and Gas Workers Association Releases Financial Records Raising More Questions
Controversy continues to surround Oil and Gas Workers Association (OGWA) Founder and President Matt Coday, with the embattled activist finally releasing a spreadsheet summary of his non-profit’s financial records after illegally refusing to disclose them for seven months, but only after final notice that criminal charges would be filed regarding his willful refusal to follow […]
Posted inEvents
Mayor Joven Announces May 5th Prayer Event
On Friday, May 5th, 2023 Mayor Javier Joven will host the second annual “Five Prayers For Our City” event at the MCM Elegante Hotel. “Last year’s prayer event which coincided with the National Day of Prayer was a very successful and well attended event” stated Joven. “We wanted to keep the momentum going and bring […]
Posted inEducation
Ethical Leadership Missing From OEL Candidate Forum
Thursday night, Odessans For Ethical Leadership (OEL) hosted a forum at the Odessa College Saulsbury room for Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) candidates for the upcoming May 6th, 2023 election. The forum was hosted by OEL and was led by Angie Hurt King and was moderated by KOSA reporter Mary Kate Hamilton. Hamilton worked […]
Posted inEducation
Landgraf Remains Silent On School Choice
The school choice debate has heated up in the Texas House and Senate. A variety of bills have recently been introduced in both houses but it appears that SB8 and its companion House Bill HB5261 are the frontrunners and are receiving the most backing from Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Patrick. The key proposal in […]
Posted inOdessa City Council
Steady Progress Being Made At City Hall
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 inOpinion
Headline’s Opinion: Landgraf’s Impeachment of Vindicated Attorney General Paxton Demonstrates Flagrant Hypocrisy
Texas House leadership has previously turned a blind eye to criminal and unethical conduct among their own ranks but was quick to make false accusations against their political foe.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Ronnie Lewis’s Cowardly Political Attack on a U.S. Marine Veteran Is Disgusting
Publisher’s note: This commentary was submitted to Odessa Headlines for publication and does not necessarily represent the views or the opinion of the publisher.
Posted inEducation
Letter To The Editor – Dallas Kennedy
Dear Editor, I attended that ECISD Board of Trustees special meeting to discuss the potential bond and wanted to give my perspective. In full disclosure, I was on the bond committee and I am a teacher with ECISD. I have been skeptical of past bonds, but we are at a point where we have to […]
Posted inEducation
HEADLINES OPINION: It’s Time For ECISD To Get Honest With Taxpayers
Since the days my boys attended ECISD schools I have followed ECISD’s activities and I have tried to be involved in the education of our students. Over the years I have served on three bond committees (including the current one), done multiple stints on the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), been a part of a […]
Posted inFeatured
Court Hearing Held in Bank Fraud Allegations Against Dewey Bryant, Southwest Bank
Three years ago, The Bank of San Antonio (TBOSA) announced they had been the victim of “ponzi style” bank fraud scheme involving factoring — a financial service where a bank buys invoices from a company for less than their face value, and attempts to collect more than they paid to generate a profit. The factoring […]