Bill Bleakley

The seeds of the future successes of the MAPS initiatives were planted 24 years ago in the summer of 1985. While Oklahoma City languished from an oil bust, two initiatives sought to change things for the better. First was a citizens group for in-depth public opinion polling on what voters thought were the city’s problems, […]

Editor’s note: As part of Oklahoma Gazette’s 30th anniversary year celebration during 2009, we reflect on our newspaper and publishing company. This commentary discusses our focus on local content. As an Oklahoma Gazette reader, hopefully you’ve noticed our dedication to the quality of life in Central Oklahoma. We passionately strive to have a local perspective […]

At its last meeting, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board received a recommendation from its superintendent, Karl Springer, to not sell $196 million in school bonds authorized by a record margin of victory in the district’s 2007 bond election. Following the superintendent’s recommendation, board chair Kirk Humphreys recessed the meeting and held a press conference […]

On Dec. 16, the Oklahoma City Council will vote on a tax increment finance district comprised solely of the Devon Energy world headquarters complex. Since the building site, less than two city blocks, is already part of the existing Downtown/Bricktown TIF district, why create a new TIF?      There appear to be two main reasons. The […]

This year’s Gazette’s Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade certainly exceeded everyone’s expectations. An estimated crowd of 34,000 people, absolutely perfect weather, 75 entries and more flaming skeletons than last year made it a perfect evening to celebrate our city’s creativity, artistry and diversity. Midtown’s invitation to start the parade near St. Anthony Hospital and Plaza […]

Two candidates for public office who live in Oklahoma City are involved in races in the Tuesday election that deserve special attention for differing reasons. The first is Meg Salyer, who is a candidate for Oklahoma City’s Ward 6 City Council seat. When the filing closed for the Ward 6 seat, three candidates had filed. […]

The conviction of Jeff McMahan and his resignation as state auditor and inspector provides the governor and Legislature with the perfect opportunity to do away with the office. The Legislature partially did the job by stripping McMahan of his powers and duties under the Oklahoma Abstractors Law in its 2007 session. Signed into law by […]

For almost 40 years, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the state Legislature closely from a variety of perspectives. Never have I been as disappointed as I am now over the marginal ethics observed by many in our most important branch of state government. In recent years, the common good often appears to be sacrificed […]

Improving public education requires focus, dedication and perseverance, and the results are generally incremental at best. Anyone who says they can immediately turn a challenged school district around is being less than truthful. There are no magic bullets in public education, particularly in an urban setting. A school district must have the full and collaborative […]