Kurt Hochenauer

Some Oklahoma Republicans and pundits are predicting gains for the GOP in the 2010 statewide elections because of President Barack Obama’s unpopularity here. This should raise concerns about the state’s cultural environment. Will the so-called “Obama effect” lead to a Republican governor and wider GOP majorities in the Oklahoma House and Senate after the 2010 […]

Why in the world does Oklahoma lead the nation in the number of women incarcerated on a per capita basis? Do state leaders really want that distinction? The numbers tell a truly sad story: There are approximately 2,600 women imprisoned in Oklahoma, which reflects a rate of 131 per 100,000 residents. The national average is […]

Why in the world does Oklahoma lead the nation in the number of women incarcerated on a per capita basis? Do state leaders really want that distinction? The numbers tell a truly sad story: There are approximately 2,600 women imprisoned in Oklahoma, which reflects a rate of 131 per 100,000 residents. The national average is […]

Bricktown continues to thrive, especially with the arrival of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, and new housing development in downtown around the Deep Deuce area foreshadows a bright future for the inner city. But there’s more to be accomplished. The Northeast 23rd Street Corridor Plan, if fully implemented, would improve a historic section of the […]

Bricktown continues to thrive, especially with the arrival of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, and new housing development in downtown around the Deep Deuce area foreshadows a bright future for the inner city. But there’s more to be accomplished. The Northeast 23rd Street Corridor Plan, if fully implemented, would improve a historic section of the […]

Any discussion over what to do about Oklahoma’s high incarceration rates must begin with the general acknowledgment the so-called “war on drugs” has been a failure here and across the country. Nationally, taxpayers pay about $69 billion on an annual basis to fund this war, first declared by former President Richard Nixon in 1971, according […]

Any discussion over what to do about Oklahoma’s high incarceration rates must begin with the general acknowledgment the so-called “war on drugs” has been a failure here and across the country. Nationally, taxpayers pay about $69 billion on an annual basis to fund this war, first declared by former President Richard Nixon in 1971, according […]

There are a couple of lines in W.H. Auden’s famous poem “September 1, 1939” that point out the all-consuming nature of hunger: “Hunger allows no choice / To the citizen or the police.” What choice does any hungry person have but to find food to relieve the pangs of an empty stomach? What else can […]

There are a couple of lines in W.H. Auden’s famous poem “September 1, 1939” that point out the all-consuming nature of hunger: “Hunger allows no choice / To the citizen or the police.” What choice does any hungry person have but to find food to relieve the pangs of an empty stomach? What else can […]

Gov. Brad Henry’s responsible, bipartisan leadership has checked a sometimes misguided, Republican-controlled Legislature, which has consistently presented him with bills that would do nothing to move the state forward. Henry, one of the most popular governors in the state’s history, has done so with judicious vetoes and bill signings. He helped bring about political compromise […]