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Negative campaigning targeted House conservatives

Tulsa Beacon

Out-of-state political action committees have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in “dark money” to defeat conservative candidates in Oklahoma. And it’s having an effect. The dark money PACs succeeded in creating enough negativity to ensure the defeat of some of the most conservative lawmakers in the primary and runoff elections. State Rep. Chuck Strohm,…

September tax revenues set a new record for Oklahoma

Tulsa Beacon

As expected, state tax revenues soared in September in the first full month’s impact of the largest tax increase in Oklahoma history. Revenues jumped by 14 percent compared to September of 2017. The $1,200,000,000.00 collected was the highest total ever in the history of the state for that month. The $12,500,000,000.00 for the past 12…

Oklahoma gets another year to comply with the Real ID Act

Tulsa Beacon

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted Oklahoma’s REAL ID extension through October 10, 2019, according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. This means the federal government will continue to recognize Oklahoma driver’s licenses and ID cards until that time. There will be no restrictions for Oklahomans using state licenses to fly commercial…

NY company buys The Oklahoman

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, is part of a sale to New York-based Gatehouse Media. The sale closed October 1. Gatehouse Media publishes 145 daily publications in 37 states. Some of their papers are in Shawnee, Oklahoma; Bartlesville, Oklahoma; North Little Rock, Arkansas; Stockton, California; Daytona Beach, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; Gainesville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia;…

Westheimer Aviation Festival Oct. 13

Tulsa Beacon

The University of Oklahoma Max Westheimer Airport will hold its 12th Annual Aviation Festival from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 13. This year marks the 77th year of flight training at Max Westheimer Airport. Admission and parking are free. A S.W.A.T. Team, the Norman Police Department and the NOAA Mobile Doppler Radar are scheduled…

Substance abuse and state prisons

Tulsa Beacon

State Rep. Lewis Moore held an interim study before the House Public Health Committee on mental health and substance abuse issues among the state’s prison population. “A lot of people in our prison system are there for drug- or alcohol-related crimes or because they suffer from some sort of mental health issue that got them…

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…