PLEASANTON – Jessica Alvarado-Machado and Charley Gallegos have been named co-managing editors of the Pleasanton Express, succeeding Daniel Elizondo.
The announcement by Publisher Noel Wilkerson Holmes was part of an introduction to the newspaper’s newsroom management team, which includes Lisa Luna, lifestyles editor, and Heaven Marquez, sports editor.
Neice Bell’s more than 45 years in newspapers — which began in a Kerrville closet as a typesetter in 1979 — will wrap at the end of May as she finishes her second tenure as publisher of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
By KAITLYNN HUTCHINS, The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
Fredericksburg lost an important steward of the town’s history when Sherrie Geistweidt, an employee of Fredericksburg Publishing Company for just over 50 years, retired from her storied career.
Geistweidt wrote the column “50 Years Ago in the Standard.” She previously wrote a once-per-month personal column called “Time Pieces” filled with historical and humorous memories and anecdotes from her life growing up on land near the Doss area in northern Gillespie County.
Promotions, new hires and other employment news reported in Texas newspapers and published in the February 2026 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.
UVIE BIKOMO
Beaumont Enterprise
BEAUMONT – Uvie Bikomo, formerly audience development editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has baeen named editor of the Beaumont Enterprise. Bikomo will lead the editorial side of the newspaper and its digital products.
The announcement was made by Hearst Newspapers President Jeff Johnson and Hearst Community Newspapers President Jeff Bergin.
Obituaries published in the February edition of the Texas Press Messenger.
ROGER COWLES
VIDOR — Roger Cowles, 70, longtime editor, reporter and employee of the Port Arthur News, died Dec. 26.
He is remembered as a quiet but influential force in Southeast Texas journalism, a steady presence whose career spanned decades and whose work helped shape how a community saw itself, according to the newspaper’s obituary.
The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) is accepting entries for its annual Golden Quill editorial writing contest. Deadline is Feb. 2, 2026.
All newspapers of less than daily frequency (published fewer than four days per week) are eligible to enter. Online-only newspapers must be considered community news sites. Syndicated columnists are not eligible.
Entries must have been published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025.
It’s time to enter the Texas Better Newspaper Contest. The contest opens for entries on Jan. 19 on the ACES contest platform. Entries submitted should have been published during the 2025 calendar year. Deadline for entries is Feb. 13.
Rules, along with eligibility information, are available online at www.texaspress.com/better-newspaper-contest-0.
Texas newspaper journalists are encouraged to enter their best examples of objective hard-news stories to compete for a $5,000 award from the Center for Integrity in News Reporting.
The Headliners Foundation of Texas is accepting entries through Feb. 9 for its Charles E. Green Awards, Showcase Awards and Burl Osborne Award contests.
A total of $11,000 will be awarded to Texas-based journalists for work produced between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025.
There is no entry fee, and cash prizes are paid directly to the winning journalists.
Entries are accepted from print, broadcast and multimedia journalists. Award criteria, contest rules, and the online entry form may be found at www.headlinersfoundation.org.
Every year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) collects data on recycled newsprint. Texas law requires that newspaper publishers submit their report for 2025 to the TCEQ by Jan. 31.
More information about the reporting requirement is available in the Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 361.430.