Posted inNews

What’s to hide?

Joey Senat, author of Mass Communication in Oklahoma and associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University, said divorce filings are as much a public record as lawsuits and criminal charges.“Divorce records are not private and are included in the public court system,” he said. Senat’s comments come on the heels of a legal battle […]

Posted inNews

Crushed plans

The council approved a rezoning request Nov. 5 that will allow USA Metal Recycling to set up shop at 100 N. Morgan Road near Interstate 40. The approval changes the area’s rezoning from moderate industrial to a 23.5- acre planned unit development (PUD). The unanimous decision was reached despite written and verbal protests from area […]

Posted inNews

It still hurts

Although homes and businesses have been rebuilt since the May 20 twisters ripped through Moore, people’s lives are a different story. One of countless victims from the devastating tornadoes, Waldroop still suffers from physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Her daughter, Shannon Quick, died at her side as the EF5 twister mangled sections […]

Posted inNews

Fair trade

White, as the Ward 4 representative, believes extra wards will help the city’s elected officials work more efficiently with their constituents, create smaller geographical areas and bring about a higher level of ethnic and racial diversity. According to White, there are about 72,000 people in each of OKC’s wards. “I tried to make a run […]

Posted inNews

Banned?

White asked Municipal Counselor Ken Jordan at a city council meeting to prepare a report about the possibility of outlawing the devices, which reportedly help people quit using tobacco products. White doesn’t believe the hype that e-cigarettes will eliminate the desire to smoke. “It’s a tobacco product and another path to addiction,” he said. “The […]

Posted inNews

Not in my backyard

The nonprofit agency is building a $15 million, 50,000-square-foot, multipurpose facility that includes an overnight shelter, a feeding site, administrative offices, a chapel and social services offices. The new building replaces the abandoned flea market that was housed there for decades. Marilyn Blackburn, who lives north of the facility at 1101 N. Barnes Ave., complained […]

Posted inNews

Failing forethought

Researchers contend that crushing poverty is more significant than failing public schools or bad teachers. Two years ago, a Stanford University study documented the new “income achievement gap.” The report showed family income is the “biggest determining factor in a student’s academic achievement.” The same year, writer Joanna Barkan published a report in Dissent Magazine […]

Posted inNews

Shelter battle

A lawsuit filed at the Oklahoma Supreme Court alleges Pruitt accepted donations from political action committees and influential businessmen connected to the State Chamber of Commerce, which formally opposes the state’s franchise tax and wants it abolished. The franchise tax would be used to repay $500 million in state bonds if the petition drive is […]

Posted inNews

No raises?

Oklahoma City Council voted 7-0 last Tuesday to defer potential pay hikes for the trio until Dec. 17, but no reason was given for the delay. City councilmen discussed the issue in executive session, which is not open to the public. Couch, Municipal Counselor Kenneth Jordan and City Auditor Jim Williamson were scheduled to receive […]

Posted inNews

Take a hike?

Mitchell, a regular rider on Metro Link, recently told the Oklahoma City Council that a plan to raise transit fares will hurt her and others who depend solely on daily bus service. Mitchell lives in northeast OKC and does not own a car, so she takes public transportation across town to her job at a […]

Gift this article