Shadid claims city and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce officials were not honest with voters before the 2009 MAPS 3 election, particularly with the convention center project and a related convention center hotel. The convention center could cost taxpayers an estimated $250 million, but the hotel would not receive MAPS 3 funding. Voters approved […]
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Taxing debate
House Bill 1875 likely will be heard in the early part of the 2014 legislative session, which begins Feb. 2. The bill is one of four legislative priorities the Oklahoma City Council will push forward next year. The council’s state and federal legislative agendas were approved at the Nov. 5 council meeting. The priorities were […]
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The problem is cost, not coverage
According to Obamacare, the federal government would cover 90 percent of the cost of such an expansion long-term. States would be required to pay the difference. When passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama, the Obamacare Medicaid expansion was mandatory, but in a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court made the Medicaid […]
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Railing cry
Photo by Mark Hancock A debate on the project’s route was filled with emotionally charged and often contentious remarks by citizens, community volunteers and elected officials. Almost two dozen citizens spoke against and in favor of the proposal during a 2-plus-hour discussion of the most controversial MAPS 3 project. After the public comments ended, Mayor […]
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Health kick
Grant funds will create the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources program, which develops partnerships between the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), Native American tribes and physicians across the state. “This gives us access to people and data immediately,” said Courtney Montgomery, Ph.D, an associate member of the […]
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BREAKING: Petition drive seeks storm shelter funding
Take Shelter Oklahoma is a movement that comes four months after a series of tornadoes ripped through southwest Oklahoma City and Moore, killing 47 people, including seven children at Plaza Towers Elementary. Twisters also struck Canadian Valley Vocational Technology Center on May 31 and leveled parts of Pottawatomie County on May 19, killing two people […]
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Stepping up
Several large corporations and shopping malls sprang up on the fringes, while most upscale residential developments headed for the suburbs. Downtown was not a welcoming place after 5 p.m. on weekdays, as the exodus of workers left behind an area predominantly populated by vagrants. Mass transit, for the most part, was allowed to wither, its […]
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LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number […]
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LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number […]
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Mileage may vary
During the MAPS 3 Trails and Sidewalks subcommittee meeting yesterday morning, MAPS staff told subcommittee members that out of 131 alignments for city sidewalks, the program would be able to build an estimated 31 of those, spread out over two phases and at a cost of $6.8 million in MAPS 3 funds. The entire project […]