Court gives mixed ruling in storm shelter fight
Take Shelter Oklahoma, a group that had been collecting signatures to force a ballot question to use $500 million in state bonds to build shelters, filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Scott Pruitt last year after he changed the language on their petition and ballot. The lawsuit made its way to the state Supreme Court,…
Council offers tax incentives for two facilities
The Oklahoma City Council voted Tuesday to offer tax incentives to General Electric and Baker Hughes for new facilities expected to create hundreds of high-paying jobs. Baker Hughes will receive $850,000 and General Electric will receive $1 million, assuming each company meets job creation expectations. The council voted unanimously to approve the incentives, but Ward…
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
This time around, now the early 1980s, blowhard network anchor Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell, The Lego Movie) loses his job and his wife (Christina Applegate, Hall Pass). Things look up when he is recruited to a bold TV experiment: the 24-hour news channel. To help with the graveyard-shift time slot, Ron calls upon his trusty…
The Swimmer
At once allegorical and existential, Frank Perry’s film follows tan-and-tone Ned Merrill (Lancaster, Field of Dreams) as he embarks on a countywide trip home via the swimming pools of his upturned-nosed neighbors. As he dips from lavish house to lavish house, visiting friends and lovers past and present, we learn more and more about Ned’s…
The Wolf of Wall Street
As he did with the mob in 1990’s Goodfellas and with the gambling world in 1995’s Casino, Scorsese again grants us an epic peek at another world’s process; in this case, Wall Street’s repeated fleecing of Main Street. It’s yet another Scorsese masterpiece. Leonardo DiCaprio never has been better — and that’s really saying something…
Cover story: Take me back to the ballgame
(Cover: Christopher Street) “Heavens no,” she said. “I never even thought about it.” An interesting series of events, however, led her to working for the Oklahoma City 89ers baseball team in the mid-1970s and eventually to positions in management and then as owner of the team, twice. People have played baseball — from loosely organized…
Metro briefs
Sales tax collections dip Oklahoma City’s combined sales tax collections were 5 percent below target for the year in March. “The thing that has had the biggest impact [in declining sales tax] is income levels are down a bit in the metro area,” said Doug Dowler, the city’s budget director. A response with major spending…
Retirement quandary
If signed into law, new employees hired from Nov. 1, 2015 within the Oklahoma Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) will use the contribution plan, basically a 401(k). Employees working before this date will continue on the existing definedbenefit pension. Teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and judges aren’t included in House Bill 2630, authored by Rep.…
For the record
Jennifer Day Photo: Mark Hancock “This is really fascinating stuff,” Day said. “But I also might be a little bit of a nerd.” As the city’s archivist, Day is tasked with organizing the documents and artifacts that date back to the city’s founding 125 years ago. Hired in 2012 as OKC’s first archivist, Day has…
They’re moving! Not.
But not. Local superstar couple nearly broke the Internet with the announcement that he and wife Trisha Yearwood were packing up and moving to the big city. According to a report from CMT, the couple will officially have an empty nest in Owasso, Okla. when their youngest leaves for college in the fall, and they…
They’re taking a trip — to jail
Our guess is it was probably pretty easy to track down two young adults who were busted recently for growing a crapload of magic mushrooms in their apartment. Said one respondent on the Shroomery.org message board, “Why didn’t they lie and say they were medicinal mushroom jars?” Thanks for the legal advice, but various strains…
All in to win
“The only chance that [Ed] Shadid had was to have a very small turnout election,” said Pat McFerron, referring to Cornett’s challenger on the March 4 ballot. McFerron, who is a partner with CMA Strategies and worked on the mayor’s campaign, said the fact that turnout for last month’s mayoral race nearly doubled from the…
Aubrey’s angels
Less than a year after his departure, the energy titan has started another company. It has been raising money like gangbusters and is investing heavily in the Utica Shale formation in Ohio. But investment site The Motley Fool wants to know who keeps giving McClendon money. Fool contributor Tyler Crowe said McClendon’s American Energy Partners,…
OGK7 eat: Dollars to doughnuts
Polar Donuts 1111 N. Meridian Ave. polardonuts.com 946-7448 The folks at Polar Donuts are so sure of their product that they are willing to let you sample one for free. They will even let you come trade in your sad, storebought dozen for a dozen of theirs. What do they do with the discarded dozen?…
Silk road
Pan-seared ahi tuna Photo by Shannon Cornman America loves dinner and a show. Be it the flash and sizzle of a Benihana chef flinging shrimp into the mouth of a waiting patron or a sweaty knight handing a well-earned pennant to a greasy-palmed diner at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. Combine that showmanship with the…
LIFE FOOD & DRINK
LIFE FOOD & DRINK Allied Art’s young professionals group, Catalyst, will host ARTini, an Art Decothemed fundraiser to benefit Allied Arts and the nonprofit arts organizations it supports. Twelve participating central Oklahoma restaurants will serve approximately 800 guests original martinis and appetizers. Live entertainment will be provided by the band Grand Marquis, along with raffle…
OMG!
Owner Bang Bui and his fiancée Quyen Le, both originally from Vietnam, opened the restaurant just over a month ago, and the secret word is out — this is a great fusion find. The previous owners of Foodies Asian-American Diner in Midtown, they closed that restaurant and moved to a more affordable space in south…
The Swimmer
(1968) What’s an old-school Hollywood legend like Burt Lancaster doing on a label like Grindhouse Releasing? After viewing The Swimmer, I still don’t know. As odd as the 1968 obscurity is, it’s still too classy to be caught dead in a grindhouse theater. What matters ultimately is that it’s on Bluray at all.At once allegorical…
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
(2013) By the hymen of Olivia Newton-John, I just don’t understand those who knock Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues as “a retread.” That’s like saying you don’t like sex because it “feels the same as the last time.” This time around, now the early 1980s, blowhard network anchor Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell, The Lego Movie)…
Colourmusic — May You Marry Rich
The Stillwater-based psychedelic act closed the curtain on last month’s Buffalo Lounge events at South by Southwest with a dazzlingly deafening set of material new and old, raising the already-high bar for one of Oklahoma’s most established and prodigious acts. Thankfully, May You Marry Rich — the band’s third studio album — by and large…
The Wolf of Wall Street
(2013) Leaving the recent Academy Awards empty-handed, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street nonetheless is one of the few 2013 Best Picture nominees we’ll still be watching decades later. As he did with 1990’s Goodfellas and with 1995’s Casino, Scorsese again grants us an epic peek at another world’s process; in this case, Wall…
Against all odds
On Monday and Tuesday, the bus, full of the film’s stars, arrives in Oklahoma City in support of the film’s nationwide release. Based on the true story of unlikely Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, 50 to 1 is a family-friendly comedy from director and producer Jim Wilson (Dances with Wolves, The Bodyguard). Mine that…
X marks the spot
Releasing three albums in four years, Austin four-piece Pure X has shown a lot of promise and even more artistic flexibility. The band’s fuzzed-out, buzzed-about 2011 debut, Pleasure, was a sweet and simple collection of reverb-heavy ballads of the Jesus and Mary Chain persuasion. Last year’s follow-up, Crawling Up the Stairs, let those songs bake…
Reverential rock
Jim Heath — the “Reverend” behind Reverend Horton Heat — has never felt all that drawn to trends. Heath spent his formative years in the ’70s, and even as his peers gravitated toward the flashier flavors of the time, he dug into the no-frills blues and roots classics of B.B. King and John Lee Hooker.…
Augusta girl
That’s a claim their little sister can make after this week. MaKaylee is one of only 88 junior golfers who will compete in the inaugural Drive, Chip & Putt Championship finals on Sunday in Augusta, Ga. So the eight-year-old from Yukon has that going for her, which is nice. Her brother Colton, who plays golf…
Sleighing the dragon
Sleigh Bells’ most recent album, Bitter Rivals, was released in September of last year. And after five months of promoting and touring for the record, guitarist Derek Miller sounds bored with it. “I’m kind of over it,” he said. “I mean, I finished recording it last June, so it’s kind of older for me now.”…
Funk and McLaughlin combine their Energy
McLaughlin is a supporter of local schools and founded the Fields & Futures Program in 2012. McLaughlin’s passion for OKC dovetailed this week with Prodigal owner Bob Funk Jr.’s own vision of good Oklahoma sportsmanship. McLaughlin was the primary backer for a plan to bring a North American Soccer League (NASL) league, which would have…
Live and in Technicolor
Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo — the stars of the current touring production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — are no strangers to collaboration. They met in the revival of Hair in New York City and realized they had some things in common. “It felt like we had the same…
Death becomes him
Carpenter Square Theatre continues its 30th anniversary season with a production of Is He Dead?, a fast-paced comedy penned by American humorist Mark Twain and adapted for modern audiences by David Ives. Set in 1846 France, Is He Dead? tells the story of gifted but still-starving artist Jean-Francois Millet, who is in debt to nefarious art…
Handle with care
Robbie Kienzie Photo: Shannon Cornman Art pieces and sculptures often require specialized service when being repaired, installed or moved, and the Oklahoma City Council agreed last week to accept bids for an on-call art handler. “There is a care that needs to be used with fine objects,” said Robbie Kienzle, the city’s liaison for art…
LIFE
The Deli in Norman will host Jammin’ For Jack 2, a fundraising concert for The Children’s Center, Sunset Therapeutic Riding Center and the local Reaves family. Last year, the Reaves held a fundraiser to help pay medical bills for their son Jack. This year, they are giving back to organizations that have helped their son…
OKG7 Shop: Spring fling
TLC Garden Centers 105 W. Memorial Road tlcgarden.com 751-0630 With one of the largest selections of plants and trees in the metro, TLC is sure to have whatever your heart desires in the way of pots, beds or a couple of shade trees in the backyard. TLC prides itself on having its dedicated staff help…
Pure nachismo
Jillian Worley and Edgar Ignacio Torres Photo by Mark Hancock But you hear something different when Edgar Ignacio Torres, owner and operator of Nachitos, 209 E. Main St. in Tuttle, says it. Maybe it’s because to him, family is more than just words; it’s something that he goes out of his way to put into…
Letters to the Editor: April 1, 2014
According to Oklahoma Policy Institute, Fallin has refused to expand Medicaid coverage to 131,000 lowincome Oklahomans. She said no to federal government funding for 100 percent of Oklahomans’ expanded coverage for the first three years, which would have been followed by a gradual reduction of cost coverage to 90 percent by 2020 and thereafter. Since…
Commentary: Student testing has lost its focus
By the first of April, the quest for knowledge often came to a complete halt.
Fujiyama Mama
With that in mind, Salon.com composed a badass mixtape of nuclear anhilation-themed tunes to boogie down to as it all goes up in flames. Is it any wonder that Oklahoma rocker Wanda Jackson made the cut? With her 1957 hit “Fujiyama Mama,” she does her finest impression of a nuclear bomb — not a stretch…
Written on the wall(s)
The OKC Police Department’s Graffiti Unit was quick to point out that these criminals aren’t like other criminals, gang members who “tag” public property to mark territory. These criminals are much more serious — they do it for the thrills. A NewsOK report stated, “[They] are drawn to the excitement of almost being caught.” These…
Miley, The Lips and … The Beatles?
All we know is that it is happening and we are as puzzled by it as you are. Lips frontman Wayne Coyne posted a photo to his infamous Instagram account (@waynewontpostpicsofnakedwomen, in case you forgot) of what appears to be Miley Cyrus rolling a joint with her trademark Bangerz-brand rolling papers. The caption? It’s about…
Mayhem sets OKC date with Korn, Ice T and more
Headliners include Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Body Count Featuring Ice T, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Suicide Silence, Emmure, Miss May I, Mushroomhead and more. Tickets go on sale April 7, organizers said in a media statement to Oklahoma Gazette. This year’s event, one of the largest heavy metal touring festivals in the world, will include…
Teacher rally at state capitol draws 25,000
Respect is what they demanded. Respect in the form of better pay, fewer standardized tests and increased funding. “Things need to change,” said Janie Petersen, a councilor from Claremore Public Schools outside Tulsa. “Our [state leaders] don’t respect teachers, they don’t even respect the kids. It’s hurtful.” Initial estimates put the crowd at over 25,000…
Flaming trips
The release is a companion album to The Dark Side of the Moon, and it’s designed to be played simultaneously, preferably with the original 1973 vinyl. It also syncs with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, too, so it stands to reason you can listen to the Lips while listening to Pink Floyd while…
Oklahoma civil rights leader’s recordings now available
Each reel-to-reel cassette and 8-track recording was preserved, rehoused, digitized and edited. The 28 shows include the Okfuskee County-born educator and civil rights leader’s shows from the 1960s through 2006. More shows will be released soon, organizers said. Luper also was the first black student to enroll in OU’s history department. She earned her masters…
Crowd of 20,000 hits Open Streets OKC
“We are super pleased with the turnout and couldn’t be happier,” said Kristin Culver, a supervisor with Wellness Now, which helped put on the Open Streets OKC event on March 30. Event organizers said initial estimates were that the crowd could top 20,000. Along the nearly one mile stretch of 23rd St. that was closed…
Dorman says he’s an underdog who’s gaining ground
“Just like the NCAA bracket where I see the underdogs are doing very well this year, I think we are going to see the same thing happen on Nov. 4,” said Dorman, referring to the annual NCAA basketball tournament currently in action and the date Oklahomans will vote for governor. “As the election moves toward…
Russell Westbrook of the Thunder hosts Why Not? Bowl
It runs 6-9 p.m. at AMF Boulevard Lanes, 3501 South Blvd., Edmond, and promises open bowling, contests, music and more. Proceeds benefit the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation, founded in 2012 and dedicated to supporting community based education and family service programs. The 2014 Why Not? Bowl is presented by Edmond Hyundai and sponsored by…
Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria faces uncertain future
In the letter of response from the owner, it stated the lease extension request had been denied and it would expire on June 30, 2014. The letter was signed by Nichole Lipps, vice president of W.R. Johnston & Co. It was in response to a previous letter, dated Feb. 21, to the building’s owner, Grand…
Nurse 3D
That’s the kind of crazy thinking that fuels Nurse 3D, a bizarro, purposely trashy piece of horror pulp that deserves to find the demented audience for which it was made. If it doesn’t through Lionsgate’s Blu-ray release (containing the flick in both two and three dimensions) … well, blame Obamacare. At All Saints Memorial Hospital,…
Flu
The flu of Flu is suspected to be avian, yet advances far too rapidly, causing death within 36 hours of exposure … and that window grows ever shorter. It’s up to a rescuer (Jang Hyuk) and a disease specialist / potential love interest (Su Ae) he recently saved to find a vaccine — and stat,…
Women in Oklahoma lawsuit to allow gay marriage will be in OKC on Saturday
Mary Bishop, Sharon Baldwin, Sue Barton and Gay Phillips, all of Tulsa, sued the state and federal governments for the right to marry and for recognition of the marriages of same-gender couples nearly a decade ago. “It is expected that matters surrounding the state’s same-sex constitutional marriage ban will begin to move very quickly in…
The Biggest Loser plans OKC casting call
The crew is looking for families, individuals and athletes. This specifically includes families of four or more that are age 18 and over (moms, dads, siblings, spouses, cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, etc.). It also includes former high school, college or pro athletes, organizers said in a media statement. The casting call is 10…
Fields & Futures partners with Energy soccer
Tim McLaughlin is a supporter of local schools and founded the Fields & Futures Program in 2012. McLaughlin’s passion for OKC dovetailed this week with Prodigal owner Bob Funk Jr.’s own vision of good Oklahoma sportsmanship. McLaughlin was the primary backer for a plan to bring a North American Soccer League (NASL) league to OKC,…
City sales tax falls short of expectations
<span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;color:black”>In a report issued to the city council this week, Oklahoma City’s combined sales and use taxes for the general fund were 2.3 percent below target for the year. By itself, sales tax collections were down 5 percent in March from initial forecasts. <span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New…
Cornett talks transportation with U.S. Senate committee
As federal lawmakers work on the reauthorization of a major transportation spending bill, city and state officials from across the nation addressed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on March 27. Cornett told the committee that progress has been made concerning transportation funding and resources from the federal government, but more can…
Family wants investigation into conduct of officer
Oklahoma City police officers shot and killed Gail Dean Fairless, 73, on March 23 after he picked up a gun and aimed it at the officers, according to the police department. The four officers involved are on administrative leave, including Sgt. Jeff Coffey, who was also involved in an incident in 2012 in which Robin…
Contracted
Samantha (Najarra Townsend, Me and You and Everyone We Know) learns this the — ahem — hard way, after drowning her inhibitions in vodka and letting them run free at a party where she’s roofied by a stranger (Simon Barrett, You’re Next). What happens in the few days that unfold thereafter are akin to scientist Seth Brundle in Cronenberg’s…
Friday’s party before the party
Stash is a new kid on the block, 1108 N. Classen Blvd., and will offer door prizes from McNellie’s Pub. McNellie’s will be providing the food and drinks as well. Stash is a gift and novelty shop that features locally, ethically produced goods with a previous location in Norman. Waffle Champion and Dry/Shop are sharing…
