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 Joins With Democrats In Attempt To Kill School Choice Legislation.
After refusing to respond to media requests for comment, Ector County Representative Brooks Landgraf signaled his clear opposition to the many school choice initiatives currently pending before the Texas Legislator. Last Thursday, Landgraf joined Democratic legislators to pass Rep. Abel Herrero’s (D-Robstown) amendment to prohibit state dollars from going to school choice programs by a […]
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 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 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 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 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 […]