State Sen. Regina Goodwin, a Tulsa Democrat, drew attention last month after a traffic stop in which she accused the officer of “making things up.” A Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy said Goodwin had failed to completely stop at two stop signs. Goodwin initially refused to provide her driver’s license and was handcuffed. When the deputy […]
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Under investigation
While Oklahoma tends to drift toward the very bottom ranking in national education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is currently at the top of news headlines regarding two recent investigations launched against him by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The commission is often regarded as an organization lacking in resources, but the State Ethics […]
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GOP draft
While the new year brings new changes and new challenges, it would seem that there is nothing new under the sun in Oklahoma. As the 2024 election cycle showed, Oklahoma remains deeply entrenched as quite possibly the reddest state in the union. Yet throughout January, straight out of the gate, Oklahoma made multiple national headlines […]
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Top 10?
Part slogan, part campaign promise and part road map for his work as governor, the promise to push Oklahoma into the upper rankings of health care, education, economic growth and nearly every other metric was made by Kevin Stitt when he was elected in 2018. “It’s time for Oklahoma to take its rightful place as […]
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New Year’s resolutions for Oklahoma
Heading toward the 2025 Oklahoma legislative session, lawmakers can reflect on last year’s session, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” After seeing over 3,000 potential bills filed for consideration, the session boiled down to a handful of meaningful issues and scored few real points for Oklahoma. The good: progress on grocery taxes for seniors […]
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Key coordination
An Oklahoma City police officer leaned against his car, watching as a two-man crew tossed a shopping cart, empty suitcase and other items into the back of a trailer. A homeless encampment in a north Oklahoma City park was being dismantled on a windy fall afternoon, a visible show of the city’s effort to decrease […]
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Toll hikes
Sweeping down the plains along the Turner Turnpike (and other toll roads across the state) just got more expensive as Oklahoma Turnpike Authority recently imposed a rate increase. The trip from OKC to Tulsa was raised by 90 cents starting Jan. 1. State officials quickly pointed out that Oklahoma’s toll rates are lower than most […]
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Educational precedent
In 2023, an Oklahoma board approved the nation’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. As a charter school, St. Isidore would have been entitled to public funding, but the state Supreme Court later called it unconstitutional. You know, the whole separation of church and state thing. Now, this church/school is […]
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Government waste
The Oklahoma House has created a new website where residents are asked to submit complaints about government waste. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said the website is modeled after efforts by President Donald Trump to create a more efficient government. That makes sense because the president’s first term was simply a model of efficiency and competence. […]
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Council elections
Oklahoma City’s northeast and southwest wards will hold city council elections in February, while two other wards will automatically retain their current council member after no challengers emerged. Elections will be held Feb. 11 in wards 3 and 7. A candidate is elected if they receive more than 50 percent of the vote. The top […]