Mayor G. T. Bynum has ordered the City of Tulsa to accept proposals to develop a comprehensive housing market demand study and recommend a strategy to spend more money downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. It will update the 2010 Downtown Housing Study. Bynum, city councilors and the chamber are actively promoting housing in Downtown. In the…
Dr. Joe Ligon was approved to serve as Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) senior associate executive director, with a unanimous vote by the BGCO board at the Baptist Building in Oklahoma City on Feb. 5. Ligon, who has served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Marlow, Oklahoma, since 1999, will begin his tenure…
Tulsa school board District 2 incumbent Jania Wester won re-election February 12 and Nicole Nixon and Stacey Woolley will advance to a runoff election April 2 for the open seat in District 1. Wester got 280 votes (75 percent) over Gary Cooper. Wester was appointed to the District 2 seat in October following the resignation…
Using historical educational and population data, market trends and demand-supply projections, the 2018 Oklahoma Educator Supply and Demand Report shows the percentage of educators leaving the profession has increased over the past six years, representing more than 5,000 per year or a total of approximately 30,000. This is average of 10 percent of Oklahoma’s teacher…
Oklahomans who are not felons or have mental illness may soon be able to carry a firearm with without a state permit. House Bill 2597, by Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, was approved by a 9-2 vote in the House Public Safety Committee. Roberts said the bill promotes constitutional carry for citizens who are not felons,…
Senate Democrat Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, and House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, introduced a plan they have labeled a “Brand New State.” It promotes expansion in state government in public education, healthcare and other areas. “The agenda we introduced today is a collaboration between House and Senate Democrats,” Floyd said. Democrats have filed…
The Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) has assessed nearly $40 million on out-of-state delinquent tax debtors since November 2017, state Rep. Kyle Hilbert said. Rep. Hilbert and state Sen. James Leewright authored House Bill 1427 in 2017, which created the OTC’s Out-of-State Compliance Division for the purpose of collecting unpaid taxes owed to Oklahoma by remote…
The House and Senate Veterans’ Caucus held its first meeting for the 2019 legislative session February 7. Rep. Jay Steagall from the House of Representatives, and Sen. Paul Rosino from the State Senate are chairs of the caucus for the 57th Legislature. “I’m proud to stand with the men and women in our state Legislature…
State Senator Adam Pugh led the first meeting of the newly formed Aerospace Caucus at the state Capitol last week. The bipartisan, bicameral group was attended by over 40 legislators, as well as officials from the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, the Department of Commerce, Tinker Air Force Base and private sector aerospace companies. Pugh, R-Edmond, said…
From January 30 to February 5, Oklahoma health officials reported 118 confirmed cases of the flu in the state. One death was recorded in that time period. There have been 24 deaths attributed to the flu statewide since September 1. The number of hospitalizations from September 1 to February 5 is 556. In Tulsa County,…