Ben Fenwick

The Oklahoma County Jail is where illegal immigrants will be put after November when the new anti-illegal immigration bill, signed this year into law by Gov. Brad Henry, will take effect, if it is enforced. It’s where the mentally ill often end up, now that we have no more long-term mental health institutions. But it’s […]

Rocketplane’s XP, a suborbital tourism vehicle meant to take off from the Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat, is in a funding free fall, according to the project’s former chief engineer.   David Urie, who joined in 2004 as chief engineer, said funding for the craft was diverted to Rocketplane’s acquisition of Kistler Aerospace and the development […]

A new online system will allow any citizen to log on and check the release status or location of anyone arrested or convicted of a crime, county and state law enforcement officials announced Tuesday.   Called “VINE,” the system allows anyone ” including crime victims ” to anonymously check the release status of someone accused […]

In the Seventies, Bob Berry’s construction company landed the first contract for refurbishing the opulent Marland mansion, once the Ponca City home of oilman E.W. Marland and wife (formerly his niece and then adopted daughter), Lydie. Then the workers discovered a mystery. They were worried about the unsecured structure, with its $2.5 million gold-leaf ceilings, […]

Trade magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology is reporting in its July 2 issue that Rocketplane Kistler has laid off a key manager in the development of the company’s suborbital spacecraft, David Urie (pictured).   Urie, who worked as the Lockheed program manager on the SR-71 spy plane as well as other cutting-edge projects for Lockheed-Martin, came […]

Congressman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he’s opposed to the possibility of Fort Sill being considered for Guantanamo Bay’s terror war detainees.  Recent reports that the White House is considering shutting down the Cuban detention facility leaves up in the air the question of what to do with the detainees, including many believed to be al-Qaida […]

At this month’s meeting of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority, Patrick Bahn, the chief executive officer of TGV Rockets, with headquarters in Norman, announced the successful June 9 test of an engine that would form the core of a new rocket system. TGV’s unmanned rocket is intended to be used in place of billion-dollar […]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is asking Oklahoma’s Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood to sit on FEMA’s new advisory board.   Gov. Brad Henry announced the appointment of the disaster veteran Wednesday. Emergency Department spokeswoman Michealann Ooten said Ashwood’s new advisory role won’t take him from his current state position.   EXPERIENCEAshwood brings 19 years […]

An intentionally buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was unearthed at noon today in Tulsa, following the blast of an airhorn.   A blue crane pulled the car from the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse. The vehicle was covered in a reddish-brown fabric and whisked away on a flatbed Chevy pickup for an official unveiling at 6:30 […]