Some West Odessa residents are complaining of headaches and nausea, but no environmental agencies are looking into the oilfield waste landfill that many say is contributing to the symptoms. Joe Mendoza, 28, lives in the neighborhood just west of South Westcliff Road, and said the Tervita landfill looming over the residents sends strong fumes over all the houses. “I work ...
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Texas: Oil downturn bad for economy, good for housing
SNYDER – House-hunters in Scurry County might finally have a chance now. A downturn in the oil market has not exactly opened up a flood of options in Snyder’s otherwise-tight housing market, but has arguably made the house- or apartment-search slightly less frustrating. The town’s La Posada apartment complex, for instance, finally has a unit available for rent. One vacancy ...
Read More »North Dakota researchers studying ‘man camps’ in oil patch
BISMARCK, N.D. — A multi-university research team is studying temporary trailer parks occupied by thousands of people across North Dakota’s oil patch. The team has been visiting “man camps” throughout the past three years in an effort to preserve their history. The researchers have been photographing and speaking with residents at about 50 to 60 camps in the region, the ...
Read More »Bakken boom-town aims to become more family friendly
Watford City is planning for another major construction season which city and county leaders hope will entice more families to make the city their permanent home, reports The Forum News Service (FNS). The projects the city has planned are aimed to accommodate the growing population of youth. As reported by FNS, McKenzie County Healthcare Systems CEO Dan Kelly said, “For ...
Read More »Residents fear North Carolina pipeline will destroy property values
Economic development and plummeting property values were passionately discussed Monday night during a public meeting with representatives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which could oversee the proposed 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline that would cut through portions of North Carolina. Supporters — including county commissioners and local government officials — said the pipeline could bring job opportunities to the state’s ...
Read More »Oil price plunge pulling Calgary’s housing market down with it
CALGARY, Alberta – A year ago, one of the hottest parts of Canada’s red-hot housing market was Alberta’s oil capital of Calgary, where cash-rich consumers fought for the fanciest home on the block. Now, a plunge in crude prices is pulling the housing market with it. While realtors in Calgary are loathe to admit the tide has turned, sellers are ...
Read More »Texas Realtors find a decrease in first-time home buyers
Although incomes for Texans looking to purchase a house are growing, according to an annual report from the Texas Association of Realtors, real estate agencies in the state are noticing that first-time buyers are subdued by increasing home prices. The Texas Homebuyers and Sellers Report found that from July 2013 to June 2014, the median household income of Texas homebuyers ...
Read More »Are you in danger of an oil train derailment or fire?
If a crude oil train in Pennsylvania were to derail, catch fire or both, about 1.5 million people are potentially in danger, reported a PublicSource analysis. To break it down, this is equal to one in every nine Pennsylvanians, or 11.5 percent of the state’s population. Out of the entire state, 327 K-12 schools, 37 hospitals and 61 nursing homes could ...
Read More »Reality hits North Dakota’s pricey apartment market; rents drop
It is getting cheaper to rent an apartment in North Dakota’s oil patch. Prices, which only last year rivaled levels in New York City and Geneva, have slipped about 15 to 20 percent in the past two months as dozens of new apartment buildings opened in Williston, Watford City and other oil hub cities. Growth in demand has slipped because ...
Read More »Oil dropped, what about rent?
Jesse Godfrey is one of many Odessans who saw the drop-off in oil and gas activity and wonders when the downturn will begin to show up in his living expenses. Godfrey pays $1,200 a month for his apartment, where similar units have risen to a rate of $1,500. The oil patch equipment inspector has lived in Odessa long enough to ...
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