The Odessa
ALPINE, Texas (KOSA) - The City of Alpine has lifted its boil water notice after water samples returned negative results for bacterial contamination, Mayor Catherine Eaves announced Wednesday. Eaves thanked residents and water customers for their patience and said the notice has ...
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI The Associated Press WASHINGTON Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party’s path forward: They want change. In marquee Sena...
NEW YORK (AP) — Across the U.S., calls to “tax the rich” have become potent political slogans. But even in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s New York, getting the wealthy to pay more isn’t playing out as smoothly as supporters hoped. What seemed at first like an easy idea — slapping a new t...
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON U.S. inflation declined slightly last month as the cost of gas and groceries slipped, though prices are still rising more quickly than before the Iran war, posing challenges for the White House as the midterm elections near. C...
Cal Hendrick The Odessa City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday that if they raise the property tax rate for next year the maximum amount they will consider raising it to is 0.471578 for every $100 of assessed valuation. If the city council approves that tax rate in September, it...
Ector County Independent School District trustees met Tuesday with Superintendent Dr. Keeley Boyer saying the opening of Vasquez Middle School was special, and she said VMS had 358 6th graders show up, which is the largest number at any middle school. Trustees discussed TASB Boar...
At a time when civic participation feels more important than ever, we each have a role to play in strengthening our democracy. Voting is one of the most direct and powerful ways individuals can make their voices heard, yet many eligible voters remain disengaged or unsure how to p...
The Odessa City Council established a maximum proposed property tax rate of $0.471578 per $100 of taxable value for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which is scheduled to undergo two rounds of voting in September....
Odessa City Council progress on providing a free week of water to residents following a July water supply issue remains delayed due to ongoing work on the 2026-2027 municipal budget....
Children work on letter puzzles at Kid’s Castle Family Daycare and Preschool in Pflugerville on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune By Jess Huff, The Texas Tribune The Texas Workforce Commission Tuesday voted to cut 9.5% of the state’s child care scholar...
The Ector County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday set public hearings on both the tax rate and the proposed budget but also got an earful from a couple of citizens who oppose data centers. JoAnna Keese sparred with County Judge Dustin Fawcett and some commissioners during the publ...
ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - Adela and Gilbert Vasquez Middle School has opened in west Odessa, marking the first Ector County ISD middle school outside of Odessa city limits in 40 years. The school board president said the campus has been a long time coming. “We’ve needed this facilit...
Voters make their way to stand in line at the Brook Hollow Branch Library polling location on primary election day in San Antonio on March 3, 2026. Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune Robert Howden, the new Texas secretary of stat...
Question: After President Trump’s speech on election integrity, I downloaded the first batch of the declassified documents on US elections which President Trump made available on the White House website. When I tried to open one, I received the error message “The destination path...
TOKYO (AP) — Nagasaki marked on Sunday the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern city, as the mayor called nuclear weapons "absolute evil,” denounced growing support for nuclear deterrence and called on the Japanese government to adhere to its three post...
PECOS, Texas (KOSA) - The City of Pecos has appointed Nicole Alderete-Ferrini as interim city manager, following a special city council meeting Thursday, Aug. 6. Alderete-Ferrini currently serves as assistant city manager for the City of Pecos and has held that role for approxima...
The Ector County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday will discuss the property tax rate as well as set a public hearing for the public to weigh in on the rate. Commissioners will also decide if county residents will pay an additional fee when registering their cars under a child safe...
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller speaks at a rally against data center development on the Capitol grounds in Austin on July 27, 2026. Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune LUBBOCK Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller...
The Odessa City Council will talk Tuesday night about signing a contract with a company that will evaluate the condition of 51 city facilities to identify what they need immediately or within the next three years. According to materials provided to the council, staff believes the...
A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amen...
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - The Texas Workforce Commission released employment data through May 2026, showing that upstream oil and natural gas employment increased by 4,100 jobs. Todd Staples, President of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, told Big 2 News what has contributed ...
Japhia Venerable, kindergarten teacher at Harmony Science Academy, has been named one of 10 nationwide winners in Simple Modern’s third-annual Stock Your School campaign after more than 175,000 votes were cast by parents, students, families and community members across all 50 sta...
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters on Tuesday picked establishment Democrats — a prosecutor and a former congresswoman — as their nominees to take on Republican incumbents in two congressional districts the party hopes to flip in November as part of a broader fight for control ...
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - Ector County ISD board members and district leaders gathered earlier today to sign the final steel beam for the new ATLAS Career & Technical Education Center before it was lifted into place. The state-of-the-art facility is on track to open for the 202...
ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - State and local leaders gathered at Odessa College today to present a multi-million-dollar initiative aimed at strengthening the region’s healthcare workforce across West Texas and other rural communities. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has awarded a ...
U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a town hall meeting at Kingdom Builders Center in Houston on July 19, 2026. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune By Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune Fewer than one in 10 Black voters in Texas say they are less likely ...
The City of Odessa is accepting applications for its Citizens UniverCity program from August 4 through August 28, 2026, offering residents a behind-the-scenes look at municipal operations....
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) this week directed state authorities to block data centers from hooking up to the grid if they do not provide the state with adequate information. Abbott told the state’s public utility commission (PUC) and its grid operator, which is known as ERCOT, to...
Permian High School teacher Dawnna Talley has been named to Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas Classroom Commission. The Classroom Commission brings together accomplished educators who will help shape the future of public education, strengthen student achievement, and ensure Texas becomes ...
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) - On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit all data center projects that are connecting to the state's grid. The PUCT and ERCOT have been tasked ...
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A citizens advocacy group called “Save Lubbock” has submitted a petition to the city council seeking a pause on data center development in Lubbock. The group spent two months collecting the signatures required to bring the matter before the council as a re...
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - The City of Midland has annoucned that nearly 20,000 SeeClickFix tickets have been closed since its beginning in July 2024. During the month of July, approximately 1,081 tickets that were submitted through SeeClickFix were closed in CIty Council Distr...
Latoya Mayberry has launched her campaign for the Midland ISD Board of Trustees, focusing on parent representation, teacher retention, and early childhood literacy....
MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Midland business owner and pastor Latoya Mayberry announced Tuesday that she has filed as a candidate for the Midland ISD Board of Trustees District 5 seat, saying she wants to strengthen communication with parents, improve student outcomes and retain expe...
AUSTIN Governor Greg Abbott on Monday directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process. The PUCT and...
By Ellie Ashby, The Texas Tribune Matt Long stood before the Granbury City Council at an April zoning meeting to oppose the influx of proposed data centers in Hood County, likening them to a spiritual abomination. “I’d consider us a Christian city inside a Christian county,” said...
The Pecos City Council placed City Manager Charles Lino on immediate administrative leave following a July 30 meeting and is scheduled to consider appointing an interim successor on August 6....
Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham at an event with President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg on Nov. 19, 2023. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune By Alejandro Santos Cid, The Texas Tribune Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buc...
PECOS, Texas (KOSA) - The Pecos City Council voted during its July 30 meeting to place City Manager Charles Lino on administrative leave, effective immediately, following an executive session. According to a social media post by the city, the council exercised the “Unilateral Sev...
AUSTIN More than $154 million in transit funding will help provide access to safe, reliable transportation options for Texans across the state. The Texas Transportation Commission approved the funding in its June and July meetings. These awards will support transit programs that ...
James Kim Fogle Jr. of Odessa recently graduated summa cum laude from the prestigious United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, NY. Fogle earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission in the U. S. armed forces. He also earned a Merchant Marine officer l...
The Odessa City Council learned Tuesday night the committee behind next year’s Centennial Celebration don’t want to commemorate Odessa on its 100th birthday, April 17, 2027. They want to observe it throughout the entire year with the help of DC Design Consultants, the company tha...
By Ronnie Lewis I want to thank the readers of the Odessa American for once again voting me Best Politician. But all roads come to an end, and I’m officially announcing I’m done. To be voted Best Politician two years in a row … that’s one heck of a way to go out. Thank you for tr...
MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Sam Houston Collegiate Preparatory Elementary and South Elementary will open for classes Tuesday, Aug. 4 . According to a social media update from Midland ISD District 4 Trustee Dr. Matt Friez, the Midland ISD Board of Trustees had been informed that both ...
Odessa City Council is hoping to deliver its residents a week of free water after complaints of an odor in the water supply. Although the water supply remains safe, residents first noticed an odor, which some described as fishy, sulfur- or sewage-like, on July 23, prompting the C...
If passed, a new ballot measure could mean higher taxes on hotel rooms raising more funds for city amenities.
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and JOEY CAPPELLETTI The Associated Press WASHINGTON A planned vote to move forward with Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general appeared in doubt Wednesday as a key Republican senator demanded more assurances from the Justice Department about the s...
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday despite persistently high inflation and a spike in energy prices caused by the Iran war. The Fed’s rate-setting committee reached the 9-3 decision after two days of d...
BIG SPRING, Texas (KOSA) - Big Spring City Council is set to meet Tuesday evening with several major items on the agenda, including a final vote on a resolution related to the planned closure of the Federal Correctional Institution and a discussion on the future of Moss Creek Lak...
ALPINE, Texas (KOSA) - The City of Alpine has implemented mandatory Stage-4 Critical Water Shortage conditions following equipment failures within its municipal well system that have impacted the city’s water supply and distribution capabilities. City officials say the restrictio...
WASHINGTON (The Texas Tribune) - The latest survey of the U.S. Senate race from Texas Public Opinion Research shows Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton , 45% to 40%, marking the Austin state representative’s largest lead in any public poll taken during the gener...
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Conservative leader Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru’s president Tuesday after winning the June presidential election by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes. Fujimori, the daughter of a former president jailed for human rights abuses, has become Peru’s ninth ...
Newly released audio tapes, disclosed by a conservative activist group, appear to show Joe Biden sharing classified information with a biographer and sometimes claiming memory lapses during interviews that occurred before his election to the presidency in 2020. About three hours ...
ALPINE, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - The City of Alpine has implemented Stage 4 critical water conditions due to a critical failure in the municipal well system. Both the city's water supply and distribution capability have been affected by this. The City of Alpine says that it is working...
ALPINE, Texas (KOSA) - The City of Alpine has declared Stage 4 – Critical Water Shortage Conditions after a critical failure in the municipal well system disrupted the city’s water supply and distribution capabilities. City officials said crews are working with utility personnel,...
NEW YORK (AP) — A new platform from a progressive group that’s notched several recent primary victories is becoming fodder for Republican attacks, as the GOP looks to frame Democrats as extremists and communists ahead of November’s midterm elections. Although the Democratic Socia...
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that halted President Donald Trump’s executive order to create a federal list of eligible voters and limit delivery of mail ballots only to people on that list. The ruling over the weekend rejected the Trump administration’s effort to m...
MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - Midland ISD trustee Brandon Hodges said he has hired an attorney and placed himself in the middle of a dispute involving Midland County Judge Terry Johnson. Hodges said he plans to file a formal complaint with the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct...
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Member state representatives of the International Criminal Court voted to remove the global tribunal’s chief prosecutor on Friday, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged, two diplomats told The Associated Press. Britis...
