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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Ray Carter

Center for Independent Journalism

Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism.

Oklahoma among top states in job creation

Tulsa Beacon

A recent analysis by an official with the Committee to Unleash Prosperity finds Oklahoma has been among the nation’s top states for job creation since February 2020, the last pre-COVID month. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Committee to Unleash Prosperity Senior Fellow E.J. Antoni found that Oklahoma generated more jobs than…

Database shows 65 Oklahoma children subjected to sex change

Tulsa Beacon

A new database compiled by the organization Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals, shows that 65 children were subjected to some form of sex-change procedure in Oklahoma from 2019 to 2023. According to the Stop the Harm database, of the 65 child patients identified in Oklahoma 18 underwent some form of sex-change surgery…

Oklahoma School-Choice Programs save the State millions of dollars

Tulsa Beacon

Two Oklahoma school-choice programs have generated up to $181 million in cumulative savings since their inception, freeing up financial resources to benefit students in traditional public schools, according to a new report. “Fiscal Effects of School Choice,” a new study authored by Martin F. Lueken, director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center at EdChoice,…

Experts warn Oklahoma pension changes could harm the state finances

Tulsa Beacon

After having some of the nation’s worst-funded state pension systems, Oklahoma lawmakers adopted several reforms starting in 2011 that dramatically improved the state’s financial standing. Those reforms included putting all new state government hires into a 401(k)-style “defined-contribution” plan rather than the “defined-benefit” plans that generated so much financial strain. But in recent years, several…

OSU in PR nightmare over Pro-Hamas Event University of Oklahoma also faces criticism

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State University has come under national scrutiny after a message from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was distributed touting a “week of rage” to oppose Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Eyal Yakoby, an incoming Massachusetts Institute of Technology student who self-describes as being “dedicated to combating Jew-Hate…

Pattern notable in Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Decisions

Tulsa Beacon

In recent years, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled on legal challenges to the “gist” of initiative-petition efforts, deciding whether the brief description contained in the gist provides Oklahoma voters a true picture of the proposal before they sign their names to a petition. The court’s decisions have swung wildly from case to case, in…

Oklahoma schools get $58.9 Million for Literacy Efforts

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma schools will receive $58.9 million in federal funding over the next five years to provide reading and literacy programs across Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced today. “This grant will be a powerful supplement to the work we are already doing and offers us incredible resources to build upon the foundation we’ve built that…

In Arkansas, Conservative Supreme Court makes a significant difference

Tulsa Beacon

In July 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cody Hiland to serve as a justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court, replacing a justice who died in office. Because members of the Arkansas Supreme Court are typically selected through direct elections, the appointment was unusual for that reason alone. But Sanders noted at the time…

Oklahoma business owners say Income-Tax cuts needed

Tulsa Beacon

During the 2024 legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt and House lawmakers supported cutting the state’s personal income tax and putting it on a gradual path to full repeal, but Senate leaders refused to grant that proposal a vote. Now a new poll shows Oklahoma business leaders view the Senate’s inaction as a missed opportunity for…

No one is losing their jobs at OU after DEI executive order

Tulsa Beacon

In December 2023, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order seeking to downsize or eliminate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) offices and bureaucracy at Oklahoma colleges and prevent colleges from engaging in illegal discrimination. “In Oklahoma, we’re going to encourage equal opportunity, rather than promising equal outcomes,” Stitt said at the time. “Encouraging our workforce,…