Republicans won Oklahoma County races for sheriff, most competitive state legislative seats and even the presidential race, although by a shrinking margin, which provided a sliver of hope for Democrats in the state’s most populous county. Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson, a Republican, won reelection with 58 percent of the vote. He beat Democratic challenger […]
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The aftermath (glow)
Nov. 5 has come and gone, and now an extremely polarized citizenry has the difficult task of re-unifying the country around not a president, but the founding ideals that have bolstered the American democracy for more than 230 years. This election year was unprecedented: two assassination attempts on a party nominee and former president, the running of […]
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Seeing the light?
Earlier this month, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he was demanding the federal government send a $474.9 million check to Oklahoma to reimburse the state for educating the children of undocumented immigrants. While many viewed it as another attention-seeking tantrum, the silver lining is that Walters is finally admitting money matters in public schools. Last […]
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Out-of-this-world name
Oklahoma City’s minor league baseball time has cut ties with the Dodgers name. Who wants to be associated with a World Series champion, anyway?! Moving forward, the team will be known as the Comets, an ode to Oklahoma native Mickey Mantle and his nickname, “The Commerce Comet.” But Michael Byrnes, president of the baseball club, […]
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Phone ban
Will cell phones soon be banned in Oklahoma schools? State lawmakers appear poised to take up the issue during the next legislative session. Senate Education Committee Chairman Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, held an interim session last month to study the issue. “The data is quite overwhelming that these cell phones, while having tremendous benefit to how […]
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Soul growth
A home-based church group experiencing astounding growth over the last 22 years is creating a traffic nightmare for one Edmond neighborhood. What was once a peaceful gathering of members worshipping together has now bloomed into chaos in the streets. Cars line the block, causing backups and impeding travel within lanes. Neighbors have taken their frustrations […]
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OCPA: A stink tank
It was born in a corporate board room in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in 1992 and became organized and active in 1993. Since that time, it has endorsed every effort to shrink Oklahoma’s ability to educate her children, provide health care, protect the environment or preserve the civil rights of its citizens. It has promoted every effort […]
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House seat
Fresh off a morning of knocking on voter doors, Madison Horn took a sip of water as she looked out the window of her campaign’s “war room.” Located 24 floors above downtown Oklahoma City, the room included a large wall-mounted calendar with upcoming events, and precinct maps were strewn across a desk. But the view […]
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Monumental seats
In 2011, Erin Brewer’s son returned home from his Edmond school with a request for each family to donate two reams of paper. Budget cuts had left the affluent school district without enough funds to keep the printers full and issue student worksheets. It was a moment of frustration that launched Brewer into a more […]
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Fall and folly of Ryan Walters
Ryan Walters was appointed Secretary of Education for the State of Oklahoma by Governor Kevin Stitt in September 2020, less than 1,500 days ago. However, the four-year saga of Ryan Walters seems to have generated headlines and controversy that outweighs all his predecessors in that position and the position he now holds as Oklahoma State […]