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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 restaurant owner warns SQ 832 will kill jobs, businesses

Tulsa Beacon

A ballot measure going before Oklahoma voters calls for imposing a dramatic increase in the state’s mandatory minimum wage with continued, rapid escalation based on the cost of living in urban centers in states like California and New York. State Sen. Kristen Thompson, whose family operates two restaurants, warns the real-world impact of that proposal…

New OK law closes loophole allowing abusive school employees to hop districts

Tulsa Beacon

Newly elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2024, state Rep. Derrick Hildebrant was quickly approached by a prosecutor friend to file legislation addressing a longstanding problem: Under Oklahoma law, teachers accused of abusing students could resign and then obtain a job at another school without the new school knowing about the allegations. While…

A Second OU instructor accused of discrimination

Tulsa Beacon

The University of Oklahoma has been embroiled in national controversy after graduate student instructor Mel Curth gave a student a zero for arguing that there are only two genders in a personal essay. Now, a second University of Oklahoma instructor is facing allegations of similar discrimination after she reportedly granted excused absences to students who…

OU probes claim of religious discrimination after student given zero

Tulsa Beacon

A University of Oklahoma instructor, who reportedly identifies as transgender, has been placed on leave amid an investigation into whether he discriminated against a student who cited Christian beliefs to reject the claim that there are more than two genders. OU officials issued a statement over the weekend as the incident gained national attention. “The…

Experts: OK can restore reading gains without massive new spending

Tulsa Beacon

Among the major issues facing the 2026 session of the Oklahoma Legislature, the effort to improve reading outcomes in state schools is expected to be one of the most high-profile, with growing momentum for adopting the Mississippi model. Mississippi law requires early assessment of grade-school reading skills, aggressive intervention for those falling behind, and retention…

Ruling reaffirms state’s power to prosecute crimes within tribal bounds

Tulsa Beacon

A U.S. District Court judge has rejected the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent Oklahoma state and local governments from prosecuting American Indian defendants who are not members of the Muscogee tribe but allegedly commit their crimes on land within the boundaries of the tribe’s pre-statehood reservation. The opinion and…

OK Democrats lament government shutdown caused by Congressional Democrats in D.C.

Tulsa Beacon

For three weeks now, parts of the federal government have been shut down after Democrats successfully prevented the passage of legislation that would keep the government open, operating at existing funding levels. By the start of November, the shutdown is expected to result in the loss of funding for the federal food-stamp program, now referred…

OSU controversy doesn’t shock former students

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State University has received national attention following an incident in which OSU’s coordinator of student government affairs programs reprimanded a student for discussing the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk. Former students are not shocked that the controversy has occurred, saying it fits with a longstanding pattern in the OSU student government since Melisa Echols…

Brecheen: ‘open primary’ to help left-wing politicians

Tulsa Beacon

If Oklahoma were to adopt a California-style “open primary” system, as is being promoted via an initiative petition, it would serve to boost the chances of left-wing politicians regardless of voter wishes, U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen warns. “California’s ‘top two’ election system has steadily elevated increasingly liberal policies in that state, and there’s no reason…

New Test results expose deep reading crisis

Tulsa Beacon

The results of 2025 state tests, administered in public schools last spring and publicly released this week, show that nearly three in four Oklahoma students are not proficient in reading. Those results bolster the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, which found similarly low levels of reading proficiency in Oklahoma public…