It’s about 2 p.m. on a Friday and Ben Engebretson and his two-man crew of Hamid Daraby and Babak Goli are working on a lawn on the far northwest side of Oklahoma City. As Daraby and Goli trim the grass, Engebretson quickly tidies up the front yard’s border with an edger. The trio stays focused, […]
Deborah Benjamin
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Former Oklahoma soldier is no doubt a deserter, yet his case is unique
Daniel Sandate and his attorney James Branum sit among papers and boxes in what could best be described as an office disguised as a storage room. NO EXCUSES BACK TO THE STATES JAIL TIME EIGHT-MONTH SENTENCE It’s a small, cramped space in the Joy Mennonite Church, which is hardly known for its architectural style, but […]
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Tornado Alley Rollergirls auction off plaster casts to help fight cancer
The cold, wet plaster crept down the torso of the young woman standing near the window. Her mummified chest looked a little like a tube top, only this top was a little slimy feeling. BREAST CANCER BOUTPROCEEDS “It feels like snot, especially as it flows down your belly,” said Judi Grove, co-founder of the nonprofit […]
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The Polyphonic Spree offers colorful aural experience.
With a lineup that resembles a sports team more than a band, the choral pop act The Polyphonic Spree could be charged with producing music that leans toward indulgence. But, if anything, the Spree never comes across as affected, with deep song arrangements and layers of sonic effluvia that mingle together much like old friends. […]
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Local homes going green by kissing brick goodbye
Norman resident Myrna Fletcher lives in a straw bale house. “We get the three little pigs jokes all the time,” Fletcher said with a chuckle. Her house is just one example of home construction in the state that’s challenging conventional building practices by using “green” techniques. Nestled on the corner of 24th Avenue N.E. and […]
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Norman initiative asks residents to turn off lights for one hour
If ever there were a public service announcement to get you to turn off the lights, this is it: “You can be unplugged for an hour and it won’t kill you.” That’s the message Kyla McMoran, communications director for the Norman Chamber of Commerce, is trying to get across to Norman residents. With the chamber, […]
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Birds of Avalon to nest in Norman for post-SXSW gig
Being bedridden with the flu didn’t stop Paul Siler from speaking about the Birds of Avalon’s forthcoming EP, “Outer Upper Inner.” “I can’t stand being sick. It’s really, really annoying,” Siler said. “There’s this freaking flu going around. I thought I had beaten it, and then last night, I got it.” As a guitarist for […]
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Homeless rely on shelters when struck with the flu
The coughs can be heard across the metro, as many Oklahomans battle complications from influenza or related illnesses. But in Oklahoma City homeless shelters, a flu epidemic can have dire consequences for both members of the high-risk population they serve and the service providers who work within them. Antoinette Sanders, executive director of social services […]
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Audubon Society set to make Lake Hefner more bird-friendly
As the president of the Audubon Society of Central Oklahoma, Jane Cunningham and other Central Oklahoma Audubon chapter members, as well as members of Friends of Lake Hefner and the Sierra Club, are about to break ground on Phase I of the Lake Hefner Habitat Restoration Project. The groundbreaking is scheduled for the morning of […]
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Woman discharged from military for being gay says experience devastating
Military dismissals on the basis of homosexuality “basically devastates people’s lives,” according to Peggy Johnson, a lesbian and former petty officer second class on the USS Puget Sound. “Individuals and individual personalities handle things differently,” Johnson said. “I kind of struggled. I wound up in Oklahoma and kind of struggled.” With the current war in […]