Category: Media Coverage

As Criminal Justice Laws Take Effect, Uncertainty Surrounds Bigger Changes (Oklahoma Watch)

By Jeff Raymond Criminal justice measures approved by Oklahoma voters in November took effect July 1, testing predictions that fewer people will go to prison and taxpayers will ultimately save millions of dollars. But even before those laws kicked in,… Read more [More...]

Why States Are Struggling To Tax Services (Huffpost)

By Elaine S. Povich As states struggle to align their tax codes with the modern service economy, expanding sales taxes to include activities like personal care, home repair, funeral services, computer maintenance and similar enterprises would seem to be a… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Tax Increases Have Ground To A Halt Since Voters Passed This One Petition (KOSU Radio)

By M. Scott Carter Twenty-five years ago, a majority of Oklahoma’s voters thought it was a good idea. Today, not so much. Back in 1992, following the passage of a controversial education funding and reform measure, House Bill 1017, Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma knows how to build champions, let’s do it in our schools (Tulsa World)

By Adam Kupetsky I’m originally from New York and have always been a fan of the New York Mets. In 1986, I was ice skating at college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when Mookie Wilson’s ground ball went through Bill Buckner’s legs,… Read more [More...]

Adult daycare facilities in Oklahoma face cuts amid state budget shortfall (News OK)

By Melissa Howell A brightly colored parachute billows up and down as attendees at a Daily Living Center adult day facility in Oklahoma City bat a balloon back and forth over the parachute. Peppy ‘60s-era music plays over speakers while… Read more [More...]

Millions on food stamps at risk under Trump’s cost-cutting plan (Tahlequah Daily Press)

By Kery Murakami WASHINGTON – Anti-hunger advocates fear the $193 billion reduction President Donald Trump proposes to the federal food stamp program over the next 10 years will hurt millions of needy Americans who rely on it for their daily… Read more [More...]

#FoodForThought: Encouraging kids to fill up this summer (Red Dirt Report)

By Jason Doyle Oden OKLAHOMA CITY — Around three out of every five Oklahoma students qualify for free and reduced-priced lunches at school. Now that summer is here, officials are trying to get the word out kids 18 and under… Read more [More...]

Trump Budget Would See Oklahoma Spend $1.5B on SNAP (Public Radio Tulsa)

By Matt Trotter President Trump’s budget would put a substantial burden on Oklahoma to make sure poor families are fed. The president proposes cutting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding 25 percent, or $193 billion, over 10 years. Earlier this year,… Read more [More...]

Kansas repudiates supply-side tax cuts, and Oklahoma should too (Tulsa World)

By World’s Editorial Writers The Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of an income tax hike Tuesday, repudiating his failed supply-side economic belief that a state could find prosperity by eliminating its ability to fund core public services. Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Fallin signs budget to avert state government shutdown (The Ada News)

By Janelle Stecklein OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite repeatedly threatening to veto it and noting that it’s not “ideal,” Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed off on the Legislature’s $6.8 billion budget plan. “This plan keeps our government from shutting down… Read more [More...]