Credit: Brad Gregg The mystery of where Secretary of State Glenn Coffee will go once his resignation takes effect Jan. 31 has finally been solved. The former state senator revealed last week that he will buy the OKC law firm of attorney Lee Slater. Slater, a former head of the state Election Board, was appointed […]
politics
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Lethal distraction
Cherrish Abinah Credit: Shannon Cornman Edmond Memorial High School’s Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is leading an effort to get stricter laws on the books. In Tulsa, a youth-run group called Generation tXt has also been a large part of a grassroots push for an Oklahoma law. Both organizations work on outreach […]
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Medicaid expansion is unaffordable
In like manner, I don’t recall Gov. Mary Fallin receiving open records requests from curious journalists when taxes were hiked in 2011 to prop up LBJ’s Medicaid program in Oklahoma. It was only when she decided in 2012 not to expand Medicaid that the watchdogs started barking. In any case, Gov. Fallin should be applauded […]
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Fallin fails
In 2007, Fallin voted against raising the minimum wage above $5.15 per hour, where it had been for 10 years. Then she opposed House Resolution 4, which gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prescription drug prices. In other words, she voted to turn pricing of our prescription drugs over to pharmaceutical […]
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Robin is right
We need more informed and intelligent dialogue on this issue. There is a solution that lies between the extremes on the issue. —Bob Hanlin, Oklahoma City
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Hurri-can’t
Credit: Brad Gregg Or not. Oklahoma freshmen congressmen Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, and Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, voted last week against a bill to provide $10 billion in emergency relief for flood victims of Hurricane Sandy, which caused an estimated $70 billion in damage in New York and New Jersey. Fortunately for the victims of Sandy, the […]
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Ethics exec
Slater served as state Election Board secretary from 1971 to 1988. Since that time, he has served as legal adviser to the state Senate. He is also co-owner of Campaign Technology Professionals LLC, a campaign finance reporting firm. The 69-year-old Slater has represented a number of clients who have appeared before the Ethics Commission, as […]
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Road test
Most council members praised the so-called Alternative A as a good compromise between opposing sides. The proposal calls for a 300-foot section of the future street to be elevated to avoid the complicated traffic area of Western and Reno avenues and Classen Boulevard. The measure passed 7-2, with Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid and Ward […]
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Decisions of politics and compassion
We know what is causing the pain. Jane has a bad gallbladder that is full of stones — easy to fix. In the hospital Friday morning for surgery, home Friday afternoon, back at work Monday morning. Like hundreds of thousands of hardworking Oklahomans, Jane has no insurance and no way to pay for the surgery. […]
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‘21’ ain’t just blackjack, folks
But lest ye think conspiracy-mongering is isolated to the House side of the Oklahoma Legislature, state Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, is here to disabuse you of that notion. While “Agenda 21” might sound like some villainous plot to rain down chaos on the order of cats and dogs living together, it’s actually a nonbinding set […]