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, […]
Mary Fallin
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Labor pains
Twenty-six-year-old Kayla Jo Jeffries remembers the night she gave birth to her now 2-year-old daughter, Emersyn, the way most women do — as if it were yesterday. Her experience might have been memorable, she said, but it wasn’t enjoyable. Her partner wasn’t holding her hand, and the waiting room outside wasn’t filled with adoring family […]
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Taking time
She has been called the face of a movement. Twenty-six-year-old Kayla Jo Jeffries stepped out of prison on Dec. 5 a free woman, thanks to a commutation declaration that was signed by Gov. Mary Fallin the same day. Smiling from ear from ear, release papers in hand and holding back tears of joy, Jeffries told […]
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Chicken-Fried News: Mary fallen
After three decades in politics and two terms as leader of the state, Gov. Mary Fallin told Tulsa World last week that she is done with politics following the inauguration of governor-elect Kevin Stitt Jan. 14. “I think it is time to spend some quality time, more time, I should say, with my family,” Fallin, […]
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In session
Long before an estimated 30,000 teachers marched at the state capitol for 10 days in April, educators met with their state representatives and urged them to enact legislation that would increase school funding. Oklahoma was ranked one of the lowest in the nation for per-pupil spending and teacher pay, and the damning statistics could be […]
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Essential testing
Sexual assault advocates say the revelation that thousands of rape kits have been left untested in Oklahoma is serving as a catalyst for reform within a state that is finally joining a national movement towards justice for victims. Imagine being violently raped, left to pick yourself up off the ground and call the police. […]
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Top job
The veteran Drew Edmondson is a happy man. He has the kind of genuine happiness, it seems, that comes from being comfortable in one’s own skin and basking in the blissful state where age meets peace of mind. His years of making thought-out and difficult but morally sound decisions have resulted in what appears to […]
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Runoff victories
Governor Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt won the runoff election against fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett by almost 10 percent last Tuesday. Stitt received 54.6 percent of the vote while Cornett received 45.4 percent, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board. “As your next governor, my promise to you is […]
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Chicken-Fried News: Top rank
Gov. Mary Fallin’s unpopularity in Oklahoma calcified into empirical fact long ago but was further solidified by Fallin’s handling of state budget woes and her “let them eat chalk” attitude during the teacher walkout in April. By the time she declined to call a special session of the state Legislature after passage of State Question […]
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Finding reform
Lost in June’s eyebrow-raising voter turnout numbers for the approval of medical marijuana and the controversial amendments to the law added by the Oklahoma State Medical Board days later is much talk of the provisions for decriminalization of marijuana possession outlined in State Question 788. Chris Moe — a vocal SQ788 advocate who works closely […]