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Voter registration scam warning

Tulsa Beacon

State official are warning about a scam involving a request for people to register to vote over the phone. Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said the Oklahoma State Election Board has been notified by the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors of a potential scam…

Feeding Oklahoma Drive underway

Tulsa Beacon

The ninth annual Feeding Oklahoma Drive is underway with the goal of raising enough food and funds to provide 2 million meals to families, children and seniors living with hunger in Oklahoma. The month-long drive benefits the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and their partner agencies across…

Councilor vote

Tulsa Beacon

13 candidates vie for 4 council seats Thirteen candidates will compete for seats in four City Council districts on November 6. No sitting councilors will be on the ballot. Districts 3, 4 and 5 have two candidates following the August 28 election but District 7 has seven candidates in a winner-take-all vote due to the…

Teacher shortage despite the raises

Tulsa Beacon

Despite an average salary raise of around $6,000 a year, Oklahoma’s public schools are having trouble hiring certified teachers. The reported figure for Tulsa Public Schools is about 340 noncertified instructors. Here is how the number of emergency teaching certifications issued by the Oklahoma Department of Education has risen since 2011: 32 – 2011-12 98…

ICE raid nets 8 in Tulsa arrests

Tulsa Beacon

Federal officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations caught 98 illegal aliens in North Texas and Oklahoma – including eight in Tulsa and three in Oklahoma City. Almost all of the suspects arrested in the raids last week are accused of having a criminal record besides being in the country illegally….

$100,000,000.00 for Downtown?

Tulsa Beacon

City officials are drawing up plans to spend more taxpayer money – perhaps another $100,000,000.00 on Downtown projects. They are crafting a plan to submit to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission that potentially spend tens of millions of dollars around the BOK Arena – an area that stretches from Boulder Avenue, 11th Street and…

It’s easier to buy wine and beer

Tulsa Beacon

Cold beer and wine just got easier to buy in Tulsa on October 1. Based on a statewide vote, Oklahoma has liberalized its liquor laws and that has had a dramatic effect on the availability of beer and wine. Liquor stores were legalized in 1959 and for years, Oklahoma had liquor-by-the drink restrictions. Only room…

Teacher of the Year Donna Gradel proclaims the ‘Year of the Teacher’

Tulsa Beacon

Donna Gradel, 2018 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, has officially launched her yearlong tour of Oklahoma, vowing to visit schools in all 77 counties by June 30. Gradel has been speaking across the state since assuming her full-time Teacher of the Year duties July 1, but with the new school year now in full swing,…

Retaining Judges?

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma voters could make history on November 6 if they reject any of the statewide judges who will be on the ballot for retention votes. No judge has ever not been retained on these votes. The governor appoints Oklahoma Supreme Court justices. Three of the sitting justices were picked by Republican governors Frank Keating (one)…

BA passes municipal laws about medicinal marijuana

Tulsa Beacon

Some proponents for the further legalization of marijuana don’t like two new ordinances passed by the Broken Arrow City Council last week. The new city statutes create a $2,500 annual permit to operate a state-issued license to grow and distribute “medical marijuana” in Broken Arrow. The laws put marijuana dispensaries in the same legal category…