Oklahoma’s education debate spends a lot of time on a few familiar subjects: education funding vs. tax cuts, vouchers and charters vs. traditional public schools and high-stakes testing vs. letting teachers teach. What’s too often missing from these debates is any consideration of the needs of real students. We’ve lost sight of the reasons kids […]
urban
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Urban education renewal
Maybe that’s because she’s a product of an urban district, or perhaps it’s because she sends all four of her children to OKC schools. Still, one part of her story is certain: After graduation later this month, she’ll be ready for that first teaching job at U.S. Grant High School thanks to the Urban Teacher […]
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Face value
The issue has created a stir among several neighborhood associations that claim property values are declining because of the 12,000-plus vacant homes and buildings located throughout the city. As a result, the council on Dec. 3 approved the creation of a registry that will require owners of all vacant homes and commercial buildings to register […]
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Moving on
Now, it’s a key element of the annual city budget debate, competing with other high-level interests such as public safety, trails and parks and better streets, and it has been included in the popular MAPS initiatives. “It’s strange because people didn’t even know we had a transit system 12 to 15 years ago. Now, we’re […]
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Permanent culture
A gentle buzz of activity starts this crisp morning at CommonWealth Urban Farms, beginning with a list of priorities for the volunteers. There’s a compost pile to work on, followed by planting garlic and shallots and then digging up sweet potatoes. One young volunteer finds a garter snake, and after the workers finish their digging, […]
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Hunger pains
Yet, even with all those credentials and a productive work history, she has a hard time making ends meet. At 75, Graham works part-time at Gold’s Gym Express, but that income plus her Social Security check still isn’t enough to pay rent and put food on the table. It’s her reality, but she doesn’t complain. […]
Posted inMusic
’Live and well
It’s a common occurrence within urban sprawl: Historically thriving neighborhoods succumb to Father Time as new developments arise, businesses relocate and the activity of city-dwellers inevitably shifts from one area to another. Until recently, Oklahoma City’s Plaza District — the mile-long strip along 16th Street between Classen Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue — was merely another […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Face time
Clara Luper A wayfaring painter shares eight years of her experiences on three continents through portraiture in her first solo art exhibition, Legacy … Oklahoma & Beyond, currently on display at Urban Roots cafe in the Deep Deuce district. Ebony Iman Dallas’ exhibition highlights 11 influential figures in her life, from a local mother, a […]
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Tennis, anyone?
Credit: Shannon Cornman Add to the mix a new program for underserved youth and it becomes apparent the public tennis scene in OKC is moving forward. The Oklahoma City Tennis Center, 3400 N. Portland Ave., has long been considered a top-notch facility, but it’s on the cusp of reaching new heights thanks to a $2.88 […]
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The Wicked
As soon as its wonderful animated opening credits finish, however, The Wicked reveals its true nature as your below-average, everyday, unimaginative horror movie. It’s wicked, all right — just not in the word’s positive connotation. Although not to be confused with the Broadway smash Wicked, this flick also is about a witch (Cassie Keller, Hostel: Part […]