University of Oklahoma is going through a tumultuous period with the departure of more than 80 employees, donations down by at least a third from last year and multiple racist incidents on campus resulting in no disciplinary actions. Professor emeritus Alan Velie is the university’s longest-serving faculty member with more than 50 years under his […]
Miguel Rios
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Standardized testing
Senate minority leader Kay Floyd authored three bills that work together to reform the way the Oklahoma agencies handle sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits. All three bills cleared the Senate and have moved to committees in the House of Representatives. If passed, they would implement a statewide system to track the kits, […]
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Cover: Prepping schools
The Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) board of education voted March 4 to adopt a plan that will shut down 15 schools and reconfigure 17 others. Education officials say the plan will provide equity, increase efficiency and better serve all students across the district. Now, all hands are on deck working to make important changes […]
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Building history
City council members brought forth resolutions to acknowledge the historic and cultural significance of two properties. One resolution was approved, bringing two organizations together in compromise, while the other was deferred for a month. Merging support After being deferred three times, Ward 7 councilwoman Nikki Nice’s resolution on Brockway Center and Child Abuse Response and […]
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Reform justice
Criminal justice reform is a major agenda topic in this year’s legislative session. A myriad of bills that would implement deep changes to the system have been introduced, and though many were left for dead, several still in the process seem likely to pass. Former Republican state Speaker of the House Kris Steele is now […]
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Split vote
United Methodist Church (UMC) could split following a recent vote to double down on its stance against homosexuality. Since 1972, UMC’s Book of Discipline, a set of global laws and doctrines, has stated that practicing homosexuality is immoral; however, it is not widely enforced. “The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” the book […]
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ALCOHOLMANAC Bottles rocked
State Question 792 passed in 2016 and changed laws regarding alcohol sales and distribution in the state. When it went into effect last October, the law allowed grocery stores and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer and wine. Now, liquor stores are struggling to compete against grocery and convenience stores. Bryan Kerr, president of Retail […]
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Hotel potential
The self-proclaimed “largest gay resort in the Southwest” is under new ownership and ready for a complete makeover. Hotel Habana, 2200 NW 40th St., was known as Habana Inn until Los Angeles-based Alternative Resorts acquired the 170-room hotel in January. Thomas Lagatta, director of the renovation project, said if all goes according to plan, the […]
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CARE for history
Two nonprofit, pro-social organizations are working to find compromise when it comes to the demolition of a historic home. The Oklahoma chapters of National Association of Colored Women’s Club (NACWC) and the Child Abuse Response and Evaluation (CARE) Center are in conversations to find a happy medium to respect a historic building. CARE Center purchased […]
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Grade schools
Oklahoma’s schools will have a new way to analyze their work and see how they stack up. After going without school report cards for two years, the state board of education unanimously approved a revamped system that launched Feb. 28. Previous school report cards came on a single sheet of paper, with a large, bold […]