For the first time in decades, OKC Pride Inc. will not host the annual Pride festivities. Instead, 39th Street District Association will take lead on the parade and festival that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Former OKC Pride president Lori Honeycutt was charged with embezzling about $5,000 from the organization last September, which left the group […]
David Holt
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Suite perks
Oklahoma City adopted a complimentary ticket policy in 2002 that allows the mayor and members of Oklahoma City Council two free tickets per event at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Civic Center Music Hall and other venues. The ticket policy states the official must use one ticket and a guest could use the other; tickets cannot be […]
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Commentary: Blocked intersections
On Dec. 19, U.S. district judge Joe Heaton ruled that Oklahoma City’s anti-panhandling ordinance is constitutional. The ordinance, as it was originally written, was designed to clear medians of individuals asking for money at OKC’s busy intersections, but after receiving pushback from organizations that work with the city’s homeless as well as a lawsuit from […]
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Chicken-Fried News: 2018 takeout
Fallin away The queen is dead; long live the king. Mary Fallin’s eight-year reign of terror over the state is over, and her successor Kevin Stitt is a political outsider who campaigned on his version of “drain the swamp” but has surrounded himself with insiders during his transition to the Governor’s Mansion. Oh, Gov. Fallin, […]
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Free speech?
Oklahoma City mayor David Holt is preparing for his State of the City address early. Most of the speeches he gives are ad-libbed, he said, but the State of the City speech is a big deal. “I’m hoping everyone will hear it,” Holt said. But if you’re looking for a free show where you can […]
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Drawing MAPS
For the hefty price that it takes to fund a Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) plan and for the awe effect that such projects can have on Oklahoma City’s residents, mayor David Holt admits that the process behind choosing a project is fairly simple by comparison. “Since the inception of MAPS in 1993, the responsibility to […]
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City man
Oklahoma City’s new city manager is receiving a welcome that is remarkably similar to the farewell given to his predecessor. Newly selected city manager Craig Freeman has received roughly the same level of approval and praise that city employees and Oklahoma City Council gave to Jim Couch in September, when Couch announced his plans to […]
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Balancing act
Oklahoma City’s 36th mayor, David Holt, said 1993 is the year everything changed for Oklahoma’s capital city. That year, almost half a million people called Oklahoma City home, and some undoubtedly were reluctant. State historians agree that downtown was virtually vacant and the economy was suffering. Oklahoma City was on its way to becoming Detroit, […]
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Long runner
Open Conversations with Chase Cook 7-9 p.m. Friday Gaylord College of Journalism University of Oklahoma 395 W. Lindsey St., Norman foioklahoma.org 405-361-2027 $35-$50 Oklahoma City manager Jim Couch announced his retirement on Sept. 17 and said he’s hoping to go out like Oklahoma State University/Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders. “I’d like to think I’m […]
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Risk management
Leadership at Paycom, a national human resource technology provider based in Oklahoma City and ranked a top employer by Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, has suspicions over how Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) handled the arrest of one of its officers’ family members earlier this year. Blake Wright, 22, was a Paycom employee in 2017 […]