County commissioners unanimously voted last week to create Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority, a trust to oversee the Oklahoma County jail’s operations and finances. They also appointed trustees, including District 3 commissioner Kevin Calvey. While there are still many questions about how the jail trust will work, whether the sheriff’s office will continue operating the […]
Jim Couch
Building honor
Making the community more user-friendly is part of what Urban Land Institute Oklahoma is celebrating with its fifth annual Impact Awards. The Impact Awards honor projects that represent the best practices in land use and development. The awards are the headline event each year for ULI Oklahoma, which supports promoting and maintaining prospering communities through […]
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, […]
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 […]
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, […]
Help wanted
Since city manager Jim Couch announced his retirement on Sept. 17, Oklahoma City Council has addressed the issue of finding a replacement in each of its public meetings. The discussions could be done in private Ward 2 councilman Ed Shadid said. An opinion issued by Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Mike Hunter, however, suggests that all hiring […]
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 […]
Money talks
Ward 2 Oklahoma City Council member Ed Shadid is optimistic about two resolutions he said the council will vote on during its next meeting on Tuesday. Shadid briefly discussed his reasoning behind the resolutions with council members in July after he said he noticed a trend of discreet meetings taking place between city council members […]
Open meetings
After weeks of sharply negative exchanges on the Oklahoma City Council concerning transparency of the body’s processes, there might be a way to lower tensions and empower the public. Oklahoma Gazette has learned that a proposed resolution has been drafted that, if passed by the council, will give the public more than 30 days to […]
City and community leaders believe a better OKC includes livable streets
City and community leaders believe a better OKC includes livable streets.
