Scott Cooper

The filing period has ended for the 2008 elections, setting up some intriguing races. The highest profile race will be the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Jim Inhofe. The 73-year-old Senate veteran faces an unusually high number — six “? of opponents: two Democrats (including state Sen. Andrew Rice), one Independent and three […]

The impact of tribal gaming can be seen from the highways and from the balance sheets. Casinos dot the Oklahoma landscape by the dozens and impact the state’s treasury by the millions. Revenues have doubled to roughly $2 billion in the past two years, according to Indian Gaming magazine. Yes, that’s billion with a B. […]

Gov. Brad Henry denied published reports of Oklahoma City businessman Steve Phipps testifying Wednesday that he gave illegal campaign contributions totaling $70,000 to Henry around the time the governor took office in January 2003. Henry, who told Oklahoma Gazette he has not seen or read Phipps’ testimony, responded when provided a summary account of a […]

The Oklahoma County Juvenile Detention Center said today it has been given a clean bill of health from a national auditing firm. Three members from the American Correctional Association (ACA) have spent most of this week touring the facility, checking records and interviewing juveniles about the center and its operations. The auditors said they found […]

Two Republicans announced today they will not seek re-election to the state Legislature. Rep. Ron Peterson of Tulsa and Rep. Susan Winchester of Chickasha are saying goodbye to their House of Representative seats. Both lawmakers still had a few remaining years to serve before term limits kicked in. PETERSONPeterson was first elected to the Oklahoma […]

Two days before Oklahoma City officially learned it was getting a professional basketball team, a full-court press was taking place at the state Capitol. The owners of the Seattle SuperSonics were demanding millions of dollars in tax rebates to help move the team here. An all-star group of lobbyists was quickly hired and dispatched throughout […]

Despite’s the Legislature’s recently passed amendment to the Peeping Tom law, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed the verdict and sentence of an Oklahoma City man convicted for taking photographs underneath a woman’s skirt.  Kevin Wayne Durant was convicted in 2007 by a district judge of “taking clandestine photographs” of the woman and sentenced to […]

With overwhelming approval, the Oklahoma Legislature today sent to the governor a measure which would create a separate facility for sex offenders in need of long-term care. House Bill 2704, by Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, and Sen. Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa, directs the Department of Health to request bids for the operation of a stand-alone, long-term […]

A jury decided to award six Oklahomans $66 million based on a decades-old lawsuit brought against Shell Oil Co. WINK AND A NOD INFORMANTCOURT BRIEFS A plot of 20 acres in Stephens County, about 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, is connected to global Shell Oil Co. A jury has ordered the company to pay […]

Officials at the state and county levels are well aware of the overcrowding problem with the juvenile justice system. But when the state Office of Juvenile Affairs sent a letter to the Oklahoma County commissioners placing the Juvenile Justice Center on a provisional license, the problem intensified. On April 29, OJA told the county it […]