Legislation that would put Oklahoma’s personal income tax on a gradual path to full repeal is now headed to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House Bill 1539, by state Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, would cut the state’s personal income-tax rate by a quarter point each time that net state revenue increases by…
“OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure designed to support firefighters in Oklahoma by addressing the risks they face related to occupational cancer has passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Authored by Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, House Bill 2011, also known as the “Fighting Chance for Firefighters Act,” would allow the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to provide…
OKLAHOMA CITY – The House passed legislation off the floor today that would allow for additional state investments in infrastructure tied to Oklahoma’s five military bases. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert authored House Bill 2516 and House Bill 2518, which create revolving funds at the state Treasury for use by the Oklahoma Military Department. The Base…
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, on Monday in the House passed a bill that would require child sex offenders to undergo chemical castration before they would be eligible for parole. House Bill 2422 is fashioned after Knight’s Law, which Fetgatter passed in the House last year. That bill was named after young victims…
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives approved legislation that would provide public school districts with the opportunity to be heard by the State Board of Education (SBE) before any changes are made to their accreditation status. House Bill 1466, authored by Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City, would allow for due process procedures for…
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senator Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, received the Senate’s approval for Senate Bill 523 Monday. The measure provides that any Oklahoma sheriff, deputy sheriff, or reserve deputy sheriff shall have the same powers and duties as though employed by the sheriff’s office for which he or she is performing duties outside of his or…
Legislation that would require schools to devote at least half their budget to classroom learning is headed to a vote of the full Oklahoma House of Representatives, but the bill continues to receive opposition from education entities that argue even less money should be spent on direct student learning. As originally filed, House Bill 1280,…
Oklahoma SB1027, authored by state Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant), aims at reforming the state’s initiative petition process. The bill makes a variety of reforms to the process, one of which is a requirement to reveal if a proposed measure will have a fiscal impact (and if so, where that funding would come from). This additional…
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 5, 2025) – Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ today emphasized that the America First Investment Policy, issued by President Trump, aligns with Oklahoma’s longstanding efforts to prioritize American and state-based investments. For years, Treasurer Russ and Governor Stitt have worked to strengthen the financial future of Oklahoma by reducing exposure to adversarial…
A classic Mustang car show will be held at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum on Saturday, March 18, 2023. This is the 5th Annual STANG THANG, with a planned appearance by a P-51 Mustang warbird (weather permitting). This event is a collaboration with the Green Country Classic Mustang club. http://gccmustangs.com/ A nonprofit regional group…
[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Variations of this quote are attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson about 1841 and had migrated to the listed iteration by 1900 in a sermon by John Barnett Donaldson. My grandmothers…
As I look around most of my high school classmates are already or soon to be retired. Some are well prepared, most are not. Many of my friends are at the stage when retirement is heavy on their minds. Retirement readiness programs are a strategic investment for companies and a lifeline for older employees nearing…
Why would a sharp turn to socialism be bad for the United States? There are multiple reasons. Karl Marx, the founding father of Marxism, was wrong about everything he predicted. Marx was convinced that the idea of separate countries would eventually fade into a one-world government. He believed that capitalism would fail as a result…
[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] Three letter agencies. What are they? Various monikers are used including permanent bureaucracy, deep state, shadow government, and other more pejorative terms. How did they come about? President Woodrow Wilson began the idea of a permanent government outside of the political apparatus. There…
As an executive coach, my role is to help the leader develop the habit of working “on” the business more than “in” the business. Part of our first conversation each time we meet is to ask how they are working on the business. It keeps them focused and far more productive. Most agree that this…
It’s said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results.” This describes the failures in reading proficiency by Oklahoma students, despite billions of dollars of increased spending on public education in Oklahoma. Edunomics Lab revealed that from 2013 to 2024 Oklahoma’s per-pupil spending increased 47 percent during that decade, but National…
I’ve written about Oklahoma’s appalling reading outcomes, which have fallen dramatically and are now among the worst in the nation Fortunately, lawmakers have banned the use of “three cuing” instruction that mostly involves teaching a child to guess rather than sound out words. But more can be done. Here are seven policy steps to improve…
Spending money you don’t have quickly leads to financial instability. That’s obvious to anyone who has balanced a family budget. Yet Oklahoma politicians appear intent on ignoring that reality. The problem of deficit spending is well-known at the federal level but is also a problem at the state level when it comes to the management…
In the 2024 general election, Oklahomans chose to move on from an extremely liberal judicial activist, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger, when a majority of voters opposed her retention. The process of replacing Kauger, one of the court’s most liberal members, is now underway. Oklahomans should watch that process closely—at least what little they…
In the beginning of the basketball season, I wrote about how I thought the best college basketball team in the city was not the men’s team at Oral Roberts University, nor the University of Tulsa men, but rather their women’s teams, and most especially the ORU women’s team. I wasn’t wrong. The Tulsa men’s basketball…
ORU SWEEPS 3 GAMES AGAINST S. INDIANA Oral Roberts baseball team swept a three-game series against Southern Indiana over the weekend, at Chapman Park. Southern Indiana opened the series on Friday night with a scoring barrage, plating four runs in the first inning and three in the second inning. The Screaming Eagles led 7-0 before…
OU LOSES CLOSE ONE AT OLE MISS Oklahoma’s Dayton Forsythe scored 23 of his career-high 25 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough as Mississippi beat the Sooners, 87-84, in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday. Forsythe made four 3-pointers and all seven of his free throw attempts for the Sooners who have lost seven…
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition by Pete Rose’s family to have him posthumously removed from baseball’s ineligible list. I say, “No, don’t do it.” Rose bet on baseball while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, and in fact, bet on the Reds. Not only did he do it,…
BRANSON, Missouri – It would be difficult for a stage play to have more impact than the production of Jesus here at Sight & Sound Theatre. The public ministry of Jesus Christ, His miracles, His relationships, His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection are dramatically portrayed as only Sight & Sound can. Even though…
Vacation plans are on hold and Tulsans’ best options for entertainment due to the coronavirus outbreak are in their own living rooms. Movie theaters closed All the movie theaters in Tulsa – even the Admiral Twin Drive-in – are closed due to the pandemic. Entertainment venues, which tend to draw big crowds, are deemed “non-essential”…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nineties country-music hitmaker Joe Diffie died March 29th due to complications related to COVID-19. In all, Diffie charted 18 Top 10 singles, with the majority reaching the top five, including 1993 radio essentials Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die) and iconic song, John Deere Green. Diffie’s popular hits also…
