Sixteen projects are in the MAPS 4 package that was unanimously approved by Oklahoma City Council last week. Allocations are based on an estimated $978 million revenue from a one-cent sales tax set to last eight years. During the Aug. 27 meeting in which the package was voted on, many councilmembers said they did not […]
Miguel Rios
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Jail operations
Oklahoma County jail will no longer be operated by the sheriff. While still in the initial stages, Oklahoma Criminal Justice Authority (jail trust) is moving forward with the process to hire an outside jail administrator to take over the operations of the jail. There is no concrete timeline yet for the application or interview processes […]
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Building’s fate
The old city jail was saved from demolition for now, but there are no concrete plans to move forward with redevelopment. The resolution to apply for demolition was deferred four times before a decision was made. It was first discussed June 4 and then every two weeks until Aug. 13, with councilmembers disagreeing on the […]
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MAPS package
Oklahoma City council and mayor vote on a MAPS 4 slate tomorrow that includes all 16 proposals with formal presentations at the special meetings. Allocations are based on an estimate that the temporary 1-cent sales tax will generate $978 million in revenue. If passed by council, the package goes to a Dec. 10 vote for […]
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East End
Northeast Oklahoma City Renaissance served as a catalyst for newly formed East End Merchant Association, which continues the efforts to establish a commercial district. The goal is to transform northeast Oklahoma City into an “attractive destination that preserves the rich African American history and rekindles its vibrant cultural and economic activity.” East End was recently […]
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Giant leap
Science Museum Oklahoma (SMO) officials are hoping to raise $3.5 million to relocate Kirkpatrick Planetarium and outfit it with improved infrastructure. SMO recently launched One Giant Leap, a fundraising campaign to help convert the dormant OmniDome Theater into a world-class planetarium. “Our history as a museum began on the fairgrounds as the Kirkpatrick Plan-etarium, and […]
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Cover: Loan crisis
When Evie Simons signed the dotted lines for student loans at age 18, she did not fully grasp how much of a burden she would have to shoulder. Simons, 24, has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Oklahoma City University and a master’s degree in public administration from University of Oklahoma, and she is […]
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Addressing homelessness
Community members gathered last week for an Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) meeting to discuss homelessness. The community meeting included presentations from Homeless Alliance and the department’s Homeless Outreach Team. Homeless Alliance executive director Dan Straughan kicked off the meeting with a presentation on the various functions of his organization as well as statistics about […]
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Summer of change
When classes begin Aug. 12, thousands of students and employees will attend new schools with new faculty under a new district brand. Pathway to Greatness, an ambitious consolidation and reorganization of Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), led to 15 school closures and the reorganization of feeder patterns, grade bands and faculty. The district’s employees gathered […]
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Charting education
Charter schools were envisioned as institutions of innovation where teachers could have freedom to test new ways of educating students. However, many contend that the vision was lost when charter school proponents started promoting them as competitors for traditional public schools. As of May 2019, more than 7,000 charter schools existed across 44 states and […]