McClendon announces retirement from Chesapeake
The announcement came in a news release issued by the company today. McClendon, 53, has serve as the company’s CEO since the company was founded in 1989, and served as chairman of the company’s board until last year, when he stepped down amid controversy involving personal loans and company management. McClendon has faced criticism from…
School struggles
Instead, a credit check exposed the high number of underperforming students. OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer and board president Angela Monson noted on Nov. 29, 2012, that the last audit of Douglass had been in 2009. The remarks came as they declined to blame the crisis on Brian Staples, the former Douglass principal who had resigned…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact…
Game change
Sen. Constance Johnson Credit: Mark Hancock Senate Bill. 902 would direct the state Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to “develop and adopt rules permitting the prescription of medical cannabis by physicians” to patients with debilitating medical conditions. The legislation would also enable that board to set fees for the production, distribution and consumption of…
Music explosion
Most bands never get the chance to meet their musical heroes. The dudes of Diarrhea Planet get to hang out with theirs on a near-daily basis. “Right when I started school in Nashville, I went out to a club and watched Jeff the Brotherhood play. It blew my mind,” guitarist Emmett Miller said. “I wanted…
Marathon, man!
Comedy! Missed the first-season set of Episodes? Skip it. Instead, grab the new two-disc set collecting the first two years. Although very much a Hollywood in-joke, the Showtime series tells that in-joke with excellence, anchored by Friends vet Matt LeBlanc starring as an A-holier version of himself, reduced to starring on a hockey sitcom overseen…
Ripple Green — A Lungful
Like closing your eyes and pretending Lake Texoma is Venice Beach, A Lungful brings the ocean to Oklahoma with pseudo-surf bass grooves mashed together with wild, prairie-bred guitar hooks. Opener “The Weak” is the cleanest weld; at its strongest points, the punchy anthem would have felt right at home on Incubus’ Morning View. The guitar…
Village green
The $132 million park is one of eight major MAPS 3 projects. The first phase will be along the future downtown boulevard and a linkage to the SkyDance Bridge spanning Interstate 40. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2014, said Mary Margaret Jones, an architect with park consultant Hargreaves Associates. The park is divided into…
…Went the trolley
Metro Transit gradually unveiled the 30-foot buses, with a total of 12 now on the streets. They are replacing the historic Downtown Spirit Trolleys due to manufacturing complications, according to Metro Transit spokesman Michael Scroggins. The buses, which are white with a green illustration of the downtown skyline adorning both sides, are free to downtown…
Coffeehouse culture
Gray Owl Credit: Shannon Cornman And, sometimes, that’s enough. When you’re running late for work and simply need liquid speed to get you ready for the day ahead, there’s really no need for further consideration. But when the temperatures are dropping and the fingers start freezing, nothing is more comforting than enjoying a hot cup…
Cass act
Back in the ’70s, the grooviest night of the week was Friday. An entire generation was glued to ABC’s iconic lineup of The Brady Bunch; Love, American Style; and, yes, The Partridge Family. David Cassidy, who played eldest son Keith Partridge, was the Justin Bieber of his day. Forty-plus years after he and his TV…
‘Circus’ folk
Singer-songwriter Rebecca Loebe rarely feels right at home on the road as she does when she plays The Blue Door, as she will Thursday. The Atlanta native cut her teeth in Georgia’s famed Eddie’s Attic, the club that helped foster the careers of Indigo Girls, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and The Civil Wars, among others. John…
Warm your spirits
Warm Espresso at Stella Credit: Mark Hancock Joshua Strother, bartender at Ludivine, 805 N. Hudson, mixes a few warm cocktails, including his Chartreuse and Grey. Made with Plymouth gin, crème de cacao, Green Chartreuse (flamed), lemon juice and Earl Grey tea, the concoction tastes like a hot cup of tea on a cold evening, only…
Friendly as pie
Nancy Fulton, owner Credit: Shannon Cornman Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for desserts, or maybe it’s because I’ll eat nearly anything that’s fried, but the signs for “Fried Pies” along the Arbuckle Mountains are among the most interesting to me. Recently, I was driving through Oklahoma City and noticed signs for Arbuckle Mountain Fried…
Watching the feds
Speaker T.W. Shannon State legislators in 2011 attended a WallBuilders conference in Texas for “pro-family” lawmakers. According to Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, the idea for a States’ Rights Committee emerged from that gathering. Moore, who will chair the panel, said he approached House Speaker T. W. Shannon, R-Lawton, following the conference. “I asked the [then]…
A secretive government
That’s because, she contends, they won’t give candid opinions if what they say — or at least what they put in writing — can become public through an open records request. “We want it as open and transparent as humanly possible without being disruptive to people being able to candidly and openly express their opinion…
Bricktown Holiday
On Jan. 22, ADG architect Scott Dedmon presented the plan to the Bricktown Urban Design Committee for approval, on behalf of Daxesh Patel, a hotel developer based in Irving, Texas. The design includes a five-story building with a brick façade, a glassed, two-story lobby and restaurant area on the southwest corner and aluminum composite panels…
Bills of goods, the sequel
Credit: Brad Gregg Well, wouldn’t yah know, we couldn’t get to ’em all. So here are more. Several bills seek to prohibit the use of “foreign” (read: Sharia) law in court. Speaking of foreigners, a proposal by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma, House Bill 1866, would require that a charter school’s board members and top administrators…
Lens crafters
Don Jacot’s ‘Flash Gordon’ (2007)Photo: International Arts Prepare to be tricked. With the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, what visitors see is not necessarily what is. Now on display through April 21, Photorealism Revisited contains 64 works by 38 artists, from Oklahoma to the other side of the world. While the subjects depicted…
Splash zone
Oklahoma may be landlocked, but the Sooner Theatre in Norman will transport audiences “Under the Sea” with this weekend’s production of The Little Mermaid Jr. Jennifer Baker, executive director of Sooner Theatre, will coach a group of about 60 third- through seventh-graders, some of whom are making their stage premiere. “We have a mix of…
Forbidden fruit
Ever since Eve chatted with a snake in the Garden of Eden, apples have symbolized temptation. Buxom redhead Apple Nicole Angel is no exception. The writer, model and performer is founder of the TnT Burlesque & Variety Troupe, made up of servers, hairstylists, photographers and stay-at-home moms. Once the sun sets, however, these ladies like…
The big game
Party Galaxy Credit: Shannon Cornman Admittedly, I’ve had to ask others who will be competing for the title of ultimate football team. I assume that’s what they’re competing for in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVII. Anyway, it’s a big deal for many, and that’s OK. Besides, Super Bowl parties are fun for many reasons. Usually, they’re…
OKG7 spicy stops for curry
Ajanta Cuisine of India12215 N. Pennsylvaniaajantaokc.com752-5283 It’s always a good idea to get the buffet. That way, you can sample some of everything. If you decide to forgo all-you-can-eat gluttony, order from the tandoori section of the menu: marinated shrimp or lamb marinated in yogurt and spices. Heritage India3409 S. Broadway, Edmond286-9972 This newer buffet…
Blue moon
Credit: Brad Gregg Moon has had several allegedly drunken run-ins with the law. In 2008, he was arrested by Warr Acres police and, in a tirade captured on video, demanded to be taken to county lockup. Four years later, he was accused of assaulting and threatening another lawyer at an OKC bar. Those threats, according…
So long, Mary Ann
Credit: Brad Gregg After KWTV Channel 9’s recent grab of ex-KFORsters Jim Gardner, David Payne and Bobbie Miller, CFN is just amazed that occasionally people leave 4 without being seduced by the bewitching eyes of Channel 9 anchor Kelly Ogle.
Facebook fumble
Credit: Brad Gregg Her post urged fans to check out the Wikipedia page chronicling the tumultuous past of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. “Proud of my husband and the Pats,” she wrote. “By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis’ Wikipedia page. 6 kids 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family…
Waiting for a super Bowl
Are you ready for some …. Flaming Lips? Hank Williams Jr. ain’t got nothin’ on Oklahoma City’s favorite psychedelic rockers, at least not when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday. A new Lips song, “Sun Blows Up Today,” will be featured in a Hyundai commercial slated to run during the game. The band will be…
Schools and after-school exercise
However, schools across Oklahoma — fearful of costly lawsuits and damage to property and the potential drain this could have to already strained budgets — have begun to lock their doors and turn out their lights after school ends each day. It’s our schoolchildren and our future that suffer because of this. Nearly 50 percent…
Game on
The Little Shoppe of Games Credit: Mark Hancock There’s nothing on TV. You can only refresh TMZ.com so many times. Even your significant other has ceased being interesting. That might be a great time to pull out those board games from the back of the closet. Bored? Grab a board!Everyone has a go-to game: Monopoly,…
CFn Quote of the Week
Credit: Brad Gregg “Anyway, my point is, is about 2 percent of the conference is dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues, 98 percent is doing indoctrination of pushing the homosexual agenda. This is what our president is doing. He has a federal agency doing it.” —State Rep. Sally Kern in a question to…
Appoint of order
Credit: Brad Gregg Paddack, who lost that 2010 election to Janet Barresi, has filed a joint resolution to make the job appointive instead of elective. The legislator has said the proposal — which would also make the offices of insurance and labor commissioners appointed positions — has nothing whatsoever to do with that previous race.…
Boeing bucks
Credit: Mark Hancock On Jan. 22, the trust passed a measure to increase the amount originally put forth and another to let the city negotiate an amount for a second round of job relocations. Both require approval from Oklahoma City Council. In the summer of 2011, Boeing announced it was closing its C-130 modernization plant…
The Thieves
So don’t complain that you have to read subtitles; literacy is good for you. Depicting the theft of a national treasure from a seemingly impenetrable art vault, a 10-minute prologue puts viewers right in the mood for its jaunty, addicting vibe — one that marries the globetrotting derring-do of the Mission: Impossible franchise with the…
Nature Calls
Heading it is comedian Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), here doing a variation of his ever-reliable, ever-lovable teddy-bear character as Randy. A second-generation Scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts of America, he has inherited his father’s once-vibrant Troop 5516. Today, however, in an Xbox age, enjoying the great outdoors holds no appeal to most kids. As one…
Citadel
Infected by the syringe the hoodlums plunge into her, she ends up in hospice, but doctors are able to save the baby, a girl who’s happy and healthy — basically, everything Tommy is not. In fact, the trauma has turned him into a barely functioning agoraphobe. Not only is he afraid to leave the house,…
Cars and guns
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, told a Tulsa radio station that he is working with some Senate Democrats on legislation that would require background checks for people buying a gun — the idea being to keep weapons out of the hands of convicted criminals and the mentally ill. That news, of course, has excited the easily…
All Superheroes Must Die
The low-budget effort’s premise takes a page from Saw: Tired of “asshole goody-two-shoes getting in the way,” the career criminal who calls himself Rickshaw (James Remar, TV’s Dexter) wants his archenemies — this story’s superheroes — to play a game. He has kidnapped 100 innocent civilians, rigged them to explosive devices and scattered them across…
A$AP Rocky — Long.Live.A$AP.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the freshman disc, especially since it leaked over a month ago. After just one listen, it becomes clear that Rocky has put together something special. Like Rocky’s popular mixtape, the similarly titled Live.Love.A$AP, this album features a collection of songs about everything from poverty and violence…
End of Watch / Officer Down
David Ayer has spent much of his career chronicling the life of Los Angeles law enforcement in his screenplays for Training Day, S.W.A.T. and Dark Blue, and directing Street Kings. With End of Watch, he pulls double duty. The result is an invigorating, pulse-pounding crime drama. Through a found-footage gimmick that really isn’t necessary to…
Waiting for a Super Bowl
Hank Williams Jr. ain’t got nothin’ on Oklahoma City’s favorite psychedelic rockers, at least not when it comes to the upcoming Super Bowl Sunday. A brand-spanking-new Lips song, “Sun Blows Up Today,” will be front and center in a Hyundai commercial slated to run during the big game. The band will be spotted performing the…
Going downtown
The Downtown Tax Increment Financing Review Committee approved OPUBCO’s request for $1.5 million in economic development funds from the TIF 8 economic development fund, informally known as the Devon TIF. The proposal next will go before the Oklahoma City Council for final approval. It would be the first project to be partially financed by the…
Why Stop Now
In the kind of one-note part that threatened to kill his career before the one-two punch of Zombieland and The Social Network saved it, Jesse Eisenberg stars as Eli, a young man with a bright future as a pianist ahead of him, if not for having to act as a surrogate father for his own…
Cherry Tree Lane
Likely, that film opens with an unspeakable act that calls for retribution, and ends with said retribution being achieved. And in the middle are cat-and-mouse games and close calls and rounds of table-turning to keep conflict chugging. Cherry Tree Lane, however, removes that midsection, condensing the story to assumedly real time. In between its bookends,…
