Government & Politics
Plans to fix Oklahoma state parks scaled back
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation received 10% of what it asked from the legislature to fix state parks. HB 3972 was introduced during the 2024 legislative session, proposing an eight-year plan where $350 million would be put into state parks to fix and beautify their assets. Instead, the plan was […]
‘Frustrating’ partisan stalemate: the new normal for farm bills?
The stalemate over the current farm bill may be solidifying a new era in farm politics as it joins the last three farm bills in a trend of delays and partisan division — a contrast from the legislation’s history of bipartisanship. Every five years, Congress is tasked with drafting a new federal farm bill. The […]
Oklahoma food donation law making small impact
OKLAHOMA CITY– Watching students throw leftover cafeteria food away each day, a Clinton woman’s heart broke. Sally James, 70, who used to work in a public school cafeteria, said the amount of food she saw tossed every day was hard to watch. It was especially difficult as a senior citizen who has to pick between […]
Mishandled bodies, mixed-up remains prompt tougher funeral home regulations
The headlines were the stuff of nightmares. One Colorado funeral home owner let the body of a woman decompose for two years in a hearse parked outside a house he rented, while hoarding the cremated remains of dozens of others inside. Last year, authorities discovered nearly 200 improperly stored bodies at another Colorado funeral home […]
Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail financed, awaiting action from governor
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma’s 13 original Black towns will soon be connected on the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail. The trail will link towns that are significant to civil rights history through a grant program with the Oklahoma Historical Society. Because the towns cover a vast geography, the trail will allow visitors to pick and choose […]
Oklahomans to have access to financing for hail-resistant roofs
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans will soon have access to financing to upgrade their homes with severe weather-averse roofs. In May, the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Act was signed into law. It allows Oklahomans to apply to a grant program that would provide severe hail-resistant roofs, impact-resistant shingles and rain-resistant attic vents. The law will go into […]
Oklahoma Veterans Commission appoints new executive director
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs has a new executive director. Retired Rear Admiral James Bynum was announced Monday as the agency’s new executive director. He begins Aug. 1. Brett Martin, Veterans Commission chairman, said Bynum is a qualified candidate. “He’s dealt with Capitol Hill in D.C., … working with our legislation […]
Oklahoma County killer set to die Sept. 26
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday set a Sept. 26 execution date for Oklahoma County killer Emmanuel Littlejohn. In 1992, Littlejohn and Glenn Bethany robbed an Oklahoma City convenience store. During the robbery, convenience store owner Kenneth Meers was shot in the face and killed. Bethany is serving a life […]
Oklahoma judge creates new large poultry farm requirements for Agriculture Department
OKLAHOMA CITY – A district judge in Delaware County ruled that the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry must give greater public notice, consider public input and pollution issues prior to authorizing the construction of large poultry farms. Judge David Crutchfield issued the order in a case against the Agriculture Department. Owners of the […]
Libertarian party vice presidential candidate wants to be ‘disruptor’ in November election
OKLAHOMA CITY – Although the Libertarian vice presidential candidate is not banking on a win, he is looking to be a “disruptor” to November’s election. Mike ter Maat was picked to serve on the Libertarian presidential ticket in May, alongside Chase Oliver. They will face presumptive candidates former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and […]
Louisiana mandates insurance coverage for menopause, perimenopause treatment
Louisiana will require Medicaid and private health insurance plans to cover menopause and perimenopause treatment. The new law should ease access to hormone replacement therapy for those patients. House Bill 392, sponsored by Rep. Aimee Freeman, D-New Orleans, goes into effect Aug. 1. She brought the legislation after local doctors complained they couldn’t get hormone […]
When ‘universal’ pre-K really isn’t: Barriers to participating abound
When Tanya Gillespie-Lambert goes to an event in a local park in Camden, New Jersey, she takes a handful of brochures about free preschool with her. She has no hesitation about approaching strangers — moms with kids especially — to plug the service in the local public school district, where she’s director of community and […]