Clear and ‘present’ changer
That’s the impression you’d have after Coburn told The Oklahoman it was “stupid” for Senate Republicans to block a vote to confirm federal Magistrate Robert Bacharach to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. But then Coburn and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, both of whom have strongly endorsed Bacharach, stepped aside and left the judicial…
Thank you, birds!
But mysteriously, I’ve not had any bites this year. Mystery solved; I read about the purple martins in Oklahoma Gazette (“Winging it,” Mark Beutler, July 25) descending upon downtown. I live in Heritage Hills and I know now that the mosquitoes that generally feed on me have become snacks for these feathered friends. Hooray! Thanks…
Medicaid expansion vital
According to Mike Fogarty, CEO of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the uncompensated cost of treating the uninsured in Oklahoma exceeds $1 billion annually, most of it paid for by shifting the cost to insured families, while bad debt and charity care costs hospitals $365 million a year. Fogarty estimates that the $1 billion in…
Self-defense
Irven Box, the former attorney for an Oklahoma City pharmacist convicted of murder, said his ex-client is likely feeding his current appeals lawyer inaccurate information prompting that attorney, Doug Friesen, to suggest Box’s representation was incompetent and unethical. The battle between defense attorneys heated up earlier this week, when Friesen said Box never told Jerome…
Paramount release
Even if you don’t attend Friday’s show by New York noise rockers The Psychic Paramount, there’s a good chance you’ll hear it. And if you are within a block radius, you’ll feel it, too. “When those volumes approach a certain level, it does become this corporal thing,” said drummer Jeff Conaway of the band’s notoriously…
Later, Vader
Robert Harrison — who raps as Rob Vader — hasn’t been performing in front of crowds for all that long, but the journey to his latest album, Anti-Clone, started when he was 3 years old. “I wouldn’t get out of bed unless my parents played Kool Moe Dee’s ‘Wild Wild West.’ I’d rap to it…
Sugar sugar
Few things can be more terrifying than an out-of-control mob at a rock concert — especially when that mob hasn’t had a nap. Chris Wiser of kiddie-rock duo the Sugar Free Allstars nearly shudders at the memory of one such show, when he and his fellow Allstar, Rob Martin, faced a crowd of unruly children…
Go for the gold
Throngs of people schedule their vacation around it. Some are even making the trek to Londontown. But can I level with you? I don’t really care about the Olympics. Go ahead and let the gasps out. I can take it. I’m definitely not anti-Olympics; I just don’t feel the same excitement about it as do…
Diamonds in the rough
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US” lang=”EN-US”> Adrian Fisher thought he’d rid himself of the football bug. Several years removed from a successful playing career at Langston University, the 31-year-old Fisher had a job and had long since given up the idea of returning to the gridiron. Then he ran into a couple of friends at a gym…
Off the campaign trail
Credit: Brad Gregg The 28-year-old Smith was arrested by Pontotoc County sheriff’s deputies on two warrants stemming from his owing nearly $3,000 in back child support and $1,850 in driving-related municipal fines. Smith’s campaign manager — who also happens to be his fiancée — and apparent Quentin Tarantino movie character SunShine Fox told The Oklahoman…
Wolf trap
Not all the games in London have to do with boxing and basketball. Some focus on the body — we’re not talking Olympic rings, but curves. On Friday, Adéle Wolf’s Burlesque and Variety Show features a dancer who recently competed in the 2012 World Burlesque Games in London. Honey Cocoa Bordeauxx, also known as the…
State of health
Perhaps not coincidentally, it is among the bottom tier of states for health coverage. Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group, lists Oklahoma as among the top 10 states “dying for health coverage.” According to Gallup, about 22 percent of all Oklahomans are uninsured, making it the 47th worst state in the nation, in…
Movin’ on up
Chesapeake Energy Arena Credit: Mark Hancock Just outside the new entrance, crews are chipping and chopping away to disassemble the old Interstate 40 bridges piece by piece. Inside, crews rush to complete the 86,241-square-foot addition that will include the mezzanine, a rooftop patio and expanded restaurant space — all before the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first…
Sample size
It’s hard to imagine that Gregg Gillis — best known as Girl Talk — spent several years playing for handfuls of people, being that he now regularly plays for 10,000 or more a night. No matter the number, he infused the same manic energy into his mad mash-ups. “I’d yell and jump on them, anything…
Pic up
A rare opportunity to view works by the legendary Pablo Picasso begins Friday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman. The small exhibit centers on the Spanish artist’s painting Woman in the Studio, a 1956 work on loan for a year from the Saint Louis Art Museum. The exhibit includes eight other…
OKG7 just-open restaurants to try
Tacos el Primo 5603 S. Pennsylvania 681-2579 If you’ve got a hankering for tacos or burritos that are muy authentico, make a stop at this new spot. Not in the mood for traditional Mexican fare? Opt for the corn dog. It stays open until 9 p.m., so this taqueria is the perfect option for a…
Chef swap
For 10 years, the Odyssey de Culinaire has worked to keep the spirit of Southern hospitality alive in Oklahoma. Hosted by the Oklahoma Restaurant Association and Oklahoma Hospitality Foundation, the fundraiser dinner benefits high school students pursuing careers in the restaurant, culinary and hospitality fields. The event brings Tulsa and Oklahoma City chefs together to…
Examining child trauma
Amber England The Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition, a statewide initiative of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, is committed to fighting for policies that address the barriers the state faces in making healthy choices. Starting an important conversation about child trauma and how its effects rob our ability to shape a healthier future for Oklahoma…
Bellissimo
Credit: Mark Hancock What do Tori Amos and Gov. Mary Fallin have in common? According to Bellini’s website, both have dined at the upscale Italian bistro. Name-dropping doesn’t end with these ladies: Mick Jagger and Sir Paul McCartney also have visited the restaurant. It’s a ritzy joint in a classy neighborhood. Located in the Waterford…
Around the world in OKC
Mexico Iguana Mexican Grill 9 N.W. Ninth You’re probably pretty familiar with this cuisine, so go ahead and indulge with tacos, fajitas, burritos and frozen margaritas. Zarate’s Latin Mexican Grill706 S. Broadway, Edmond Peru draws on influence from several other counties, and it culminates in spicy foods made with chili peppers, and lots of potato…
A pilot’s revenge
Credit: Brad Gregg The saga of what future generations of grateful aviators might well refer to as Inhofecare began two years ago. That’s when the good senator, a pilot himself, had a run-in with the FAA when he landed his plane on a closed runway in Texas, scaring the bejesus out of some workers he…
Pimpin’
Juicy J — one-half of Three 6 Mafia — helped pen the crunk anthem “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” for the film Hustle & Flow, netting the duo a Best Original Song Academy Award in 2005. Now he heads to Oklahoma City as a part of The Smokers Club tour, which also features…
That’s a lot of people zooing it
The new record, despite those triple-digit temps, is 989,622. (For those not into math, that’s a full 6,901 more.) According to the city institution, it helped that its first baby elephant, Malee, celebrated her first birthday this past spring, not to mention the arrival of the male Asian elephant named Rex. Perhaps we can rally…
Satisfaction guaranteed
Eight out of 10 OKC residents who responded to a recent survey think the city is not only moving in the right direction, but is also a good place to live, raise children and work. What’s more is that OKC residents rate their city higher than residents of other cities with a population of more…
When conservatives attack
Credit: Brad Gregg So whether the latest dust-up between two of the state’s most arch-conservative groups is the culmination of a “divide and conquer” strategy by the chamber crowd, a genuine disagreement or just petty ego-tripping is hard to say. Whatever is behind it, the latest spat between Sooner Tea Party head Al Gerhart and…
Have patients
Lisa Morrow credit: Jordan Ensminger It’s not because she isn’t happy. The 45-year-old woman has severe dental problems, but being unemployed and without medical or dental insurance, her best option is not to show her teeth. In the meantime, she endures agonizing pain and depression. “My grandkids, they’ll be like, ‘Grandma, what happened to your…
LETTERS
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman”,”serif”;mso-fareast-Times New Roman”; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:ES”> 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…
LETTERS
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman”,”serif”;mso-fareast-Times New Roman”; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:ES”> 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…
Term of art
Robbie Kienzle, the Planning Department’s former head of urban development, started in the new role last month. The post oversees public-art spending, which is required by a 2009 City Council-approved plan that sets aside 1 percent of construction expenses for public art. In addition, she will oversee the city Arts Commission, coordinate activities with local…
Tattoo you
For the sake of this unidentified Thunder fan and tattoo enthusiast, let’s hope James Harden doesn’t shave his beard anytime soon.
Kern-fil-A
We’re talking about breasts of chicken, of course. From the because-the-Chick-fil-A-controversy-wasn’t-stupid-enough-already file, Kern issued a statement July 27 asking Oklahomans (even the gay ones, we guess?) to eat at the restaurant chain during Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on Wednesday. Just a week prior, Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy responded that his company was “guilty as charged” in…
The Last Challenge / The Hanging Tree
First, 1967’s The Last Challenge features the late Chad Everett (TV’s Medical Center) as Lot McGuire, a cocky quick draw who rolls into town, and Marshal Blaine (Glenn Ford, hangdog as ever) not only takes offense to that, but tries to run the jerk right back out. Coming between them is a saloon girl —…
School days
In December 2010, the school board approved the new academic calendar. While it has the same number of school days as other districts, it trades a shorter summer break for longer breaks throughout the year. The last school year was OCPS’s first under the new calendar. While other schools begin during the second or third…
No Mercy
Tired of living with corpses, police academy professor and top medical examiner Kang leaves to go start a new life with his daughter. That’s postponed a bit when a woman’s body is discovered washed up seaside, fully nude. All four of her limbs have been cut off, but remain there except for one arm missing…
Michael / Silver Tongues
Michael is no comedy, however, and refers to a balding, chubby, nerdy outcast who keeps a 10-year-old captive in his basement. Michael is more than a mere kidnapper: He’s a pedophile. The subject matter alone will keep many from giving the German-language film a try, but his most devilish acts of evil thankfully go unseen.…
Girls Gone Dead
In a case of having cake and eating it, too, one thoroughly repellent character refers to women as, among other things, “fish buckets,” “dumb twits” and “meat holes.” When he’s not referring to them as a whole, he zeroes in on certain parts of their anatomy, which he pegs as “piss flaps.” And yes, the…
A Three Stooges Celebration
That means they more or less hold the same contents — namely, four or five shorts (i.e. “Disorder in the Court” and “Sing a Song of Six Pants”) and many more of the seven-minute New Three Stooges cartoons from the mid-’60s, with live-action wraparound intros and outros that show how Moe and Larry had aged…
