We’re giddy for Jackson and OKCPS for immortalizing such a prodigious musical figure. But really, you’re just now inducting Wanda freaking Jackson, the Queen of Rockabilly? What took so long? Jackson graduated from Capitol Hill High School in 1955 (sorry, Wanda; we have to give the date) and signed to Capitol Records a year later. […]
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Posted inArts & Culture
Preach it
Photo by Mark Hancock Meyers is a well-known pastor and best-selling writer, as well as a commentator for National Public Radio and Oklahoma Gazette. Meyers also is a distinguished professor of social justice at Oklahoma City University. The Lyman Beecher Lectures series has been an annual tradition since 1871 and is held in conjunction with […]
Posted inNews
‘No tolerance’ doesn’t teach
In 1999, the committee was shocked to learn that the OKCPS only had 485 alternative school slots for students with behavioral or attendance problems, health conditions, pregnancy or parenting challenges or who were institutionalized. According to the state’s Needs Assessment, the OKCPS needed another 1,205 slots. We also knew that punitive policies, such as “zero […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
Kickin’ it
It was an eye-opening experience. “After you saw all these athletic facilities and the shape that a lot of these fields were in, it was just very bothersome, knowing that it was happening in our city.” McLaughlin spoke with Keith Sinor, the athletic director for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, who was on that trip. […]
Posted inNews
Million-dollar members
This year, each of the city’s eight council members will receive a $1 million allocation to spend on projects that were not previously funded. The discretionary spending program comes from the city’s reserve fund, typically 8-15 percent of the total municipal budget. In six of the last 11 years, excess money from the reserve fund […]
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NEWS OF THE WEIRD
First amendment blues In the public libraries of Seattle (as in most public libraries), patrons are not allowed to eat or sleep (or even appear to be sleeping) or be shirtless or barefoot or have bad body odor or talk too loudly — because other patrons might be disturbed. However, in Seattle, as the Post-Intelligencer […]
Posted inNews
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
First amendment blues In the public libraries of Seattle (as in most public libraries), patrons are not allowed to eat or sleep (or even appear to be sleeping) or be shirtless or barefoot or have bad body odor or talk too loudly — because other patrons might be disturbed. However, in Seattle, as the Post-Intelligencer […]
Posted inNews
Moving along
Mayor Mick Cornett The council meets Tuesday to discuss the route, already approved by two MAPS 3 citizen panels. It includes Bricktown, the downtown business district, Automobile Alley and Midtown. It will come within a block of the proposed 70-acre downtown public park with a possible extension to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. […]
Posted inNews
Informed and engaged
Lori Dickinson and Constance Lori Dickinson is entering her fifth year as the foundation’s president. Her passion and enthusiasm is apparent as she talks animatedly about the district and its kids. “So many of our children do not know what the statistics say about their future,” Dickinson said. “They dream, they play, they learn. I […]