With the closing of the filing period for Odessa City Council candidates on Monday, candidates for two different districts are guaranteed to replace their outgoing city council incumbents, having entered their races unopposed, leaving only one contested race on the ballot in November. Outgoing District 4 Councilman Tom Sprawls will be succeeded by Greg Connell, […]
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Newest ECUD Board Members Push for Increased Transparency
Since its formation in 1976 the Ector County Utility District (ECUD) has worked to supply drinking water to West Odessa residents. Originally founded by well-known West Odessa residents in Ocotillo Park like M.O. Boring, ECUD has grown into a system servicing thousands of residents and in 1997 ECUD applied for and became a Municipal Utility […]
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Ector County Commissioner’s Vote to Allocate $20 Million in ARPA Funds Lacked Transparency
On Wednesday, Ector County Commissioners entered their last day of a three-day meeting working to craft the annual budget for all elected offices and departments, and it was during this process the commissioners suddenly distributed roughly $20 million in federal aid funds – a move that is being questioned for a lack of transparency and […]
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Councilman Thompson: “I Was Trying to Shame Them”
Emails and text messages between Odessa City Council-members published on social media appear to reveal a series of instances in which three elected officials where chastised and criticized by District 2 Councilman Steve Thompson for asking questions. The communications, published by the Odessa Accountability Project (OAP) which is a watchdog organization headed by businesswoman Jamie […]
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15 Local Texas Pensions Are Less Than 50% Funded, Total $2.9 Billion in Unfunded Liabilities
Over a dozen local public pension funds in Texas have accounted for less than half of what they’ve promised pensioners, according to data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The 15 pensions have nearly $3 billion in unfunded liabilities — money promised but not currently accounted for in their current budget forecasts. The largest share of […]
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Grassroots Group Holds First Meeting to Discuss ECISD Reforms 
Residents from across Ector County came together Tuesday evening for a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss how best to go about assessing the needs of the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) with a hopeful goal of presenting their eventual findings to the school board. Two Odessa business owners, Jeff Russell and Jamie Tisdale were inspired […]
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Tribune panel discusses higher education enrollment in Odessa
Citing a significant drop statewide in student enrollment in higher education institutions, Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith led off a paneled discussion Thursday at Odessa College sharing how three West Texas education leaders were selected not because their respective institutions reflect the statewide decline, but rather because their institutions are seeing increases in student populations […]
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Headline’s Opinion: ECISD Has a Golden Opportunity to Rebuild Trust
The ECISD Board of Trustees recently announced the process of filling the District 7 seat vacated by Nelson Minyard with his resignation in January. The process began on a positive note as the Trustees outlined the process to fill the empty seat by publicly announcing the selection process via local news and social media outlets […]
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Odessa College Board of Trustee Vacancies Will be Filled by Appointment
Two positions on the Odessa College Board of Trustees have become vacant, and applications are now being accepted by the college from qualified residents of each district to be appointed into the offices for the remainder of the unexpired terms. The districts include Places 4 and 5 on the Board of Trustees, which is the […]
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Citizen-led Group Announces Intent to Address ECISD Infrastructure Needs
Citing frustration with the direction taken by past ECISD bond committees, a citizen-led group headed by local business owners Jamie Tisdale and Jeff Russell has announced the formation of “A Better Way Forward.” According to a press release issued today “A Better Way Forward” seeks to address ECISD facility needs in a manner that is […]