A 2 percent raise was approved for Couch and most other city workers during the Dec. 31 council meeting. All new salaries took effect Jan. 1. Couch, Municipal Counselor Ken Jordan and City Auditor Jim Williamson were considered for raises separate from other city employees because they are hired directly by the council. As the […]
farley
Posted inNews
Special meeting set Wednesday
The meeting will be in the executive conference room on the third of City Hall, 200 N. Walker Ave. Ward 4 Councilman Pete White suggested the ward idea because of the large number of people each councilman represents. All eight councilmen have more than 70,000 residents in each ward. White believes that increasing the wards […]
Posted inNews
Back to the future
Fallin offends everyone,straight and gayOklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin put the state in the national spotlight in 2013, but not in a positive way. Fallin, in her infinite wisdom, decided unilaterally that a federal mandate directing spousal benefits to same-sex couples in the military would not take place in Oklahoma. As a result, Fallin pulled spousal […]
Posted inNews
Drug deal
Law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma continue to fight the War on Drugs, but it’s not solely for noble purposes. For certain, illegal drugs are seized and bad guys are put in prison. Still, agencies like the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug […]
Posted inNews
Time out
Bob Dani, moderator of the High Noon Club in OKC, filed the petition with City Clerk Frances Kersey on Dec. 4. Term limit supporters must obtain 6,000 signatures in the next three months to put the measure before OKC’s voters sometime next year. “We need 6,000, but we’re going after 10,000. We want to show […]
Posted inNews
Shelter vote stalled
Legal wrangling between the group Take Shelter Oklahoma and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has focused on the wording of a ballot title that explains what the issue is about to voters. Take Shelter Oklahoma had until Dec. 16 to collect 160,000 signatures so the measure could be decided by voters. However, that plan has […]
Posted inNews
Lockdown
Locking up nonviolent drug users and perpetuating the 42-year-old War on Drugs has become a profitable and political tool used by Oklahoma’s elected officials and the for-profit prison industry. Many of those offenders have a recognized need for treatment or a halfway house setting instead of incarceration, said state Rep. Gus Blackwell (R-Laverne), an advocate […]
Posted inNews
Urban education renewal
Maybe that’s because she’s a product of an urban district, or perhaps it’s because she sends all four of her children to OKC schools. Still, one part of her story is certain: After graduation later this month, she’ll be ready for that first teaching job at U.S. Grant High School thanks to the Urban Teacher […]
Posted inNews
Face value
The issue has created a stir among several neighborhood associations that claim property values are declining because of the 12,000-plus vacant homes and buildings located throughout the city. As a result, the council on Dec. 3 approved the creation of a registry that will require owners of all vacant homes and commercial buildings to register […]
Posted inNews
Moving on
Now, it’s a key element of the annual city budget debate, competing with other high-level interests such as public safety, trails and parks and better streets, and it has been included in the popular MAPS initiatives. “It’s strange because people didn’t even know we had a transit system 12 to 15 years ago. Now, we’re […]