Author: Tyler Parette

Oklahoma isn’t alone with challenging budgeting issues (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board IN recent years, critics have noted Oklahoma’s state government budget has increasingly relied on one-time funds as an ever-smaller share of money is run through the formal state appropriation process. A recent article in Governing… Read more [More...]

Rural poverty: ‘A way of life’ for numerous Oklahomans (Tulsa World)

By Michael Overall  STILWELL — With no air conditioning on a brutally hot summer afternoon, 19-year-old Breeze Bunch is sitting on the front porch with a half-empty Pepsi and a bottle of sunscreen. “Why don’t you go splash in the… Read more [More...]

Right to Farm (OETA)

Proponents are calling state question 777 the “right to farm” amendment but opponents say it is really “a right to harm” . The question asks voters to limit what laws the state legislature can pass regarding farming and ranching. Proponents… Read more [More...]

What the Legislature really needs (The Journal Record)

By Arnold Hamilton  It’s not unusual for legislative-exes to extend their taxpayer-financed careers once leaving office. Consider: ex-Rep. Dan Sullivan is Grand River Dam Authority CEO, ex-Rep. Tad Jones is Will Rogers Memorial Museum director, and ex-Sen. Sean Burrage is… Read more [More...]

Tulsa Talks police-violence forum seeks ways to turn ‘moment’ into a ‘movement’ (Tulsa World)

By Paighten Harkins  Panelists and community members worked together Monday evening to address police violence issues and come up with feasible strategies to overcome them. More than 200 people packed into the Greenwood Cultural Center on Monday to talk about… Read more [More...]

Nick Kristof and the Failure of Welfare and Education Reform (Huffington Post)

By John Thompson  Back before school reform killed so many of the opportunities to teach meaningful subject matter in a holistic manner, my inner city high school students frequently read Nick Kristof’s New York Times columns and his in-depth reports… Read more [More...]

Panel Targets Business Incentives Totaling $110 Million (Oklahoma Watch)

By Warren Veith   Members of the Oklahoma Incentive Evaluation Commission prepare to choose the tax breaks they will review this year. Left to right: Lyle Roggow, Carlos Johnson, Cynthia Rogers and Jim Denton. A new state oversight panel has decided… Read more [More...]

‘I feel like it’s been a win already’: Education advocates tout progress ahead of primaries (KFOR)

By Lorne Fultonberg OKLAHOMA CITY – The polls were still hours from closing, but Angela Little couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. “I feel like it’s been a win already,” she said, standing behind one of 63 candidates… Read more [More...]

Fallin Allies Say ‘Softer Touch’ Would Complement Trump Bid (NBC)

By Vaughn Hillyard Mary Fallin, the two-term governor of Oklahoma, returned this weekend from an informal meeting in Washington, D.C., with members of the RNC platform committee, which she will co-chair at the GOP convention in Cleveland next month. But… Read more [More...]

The $100 million question (Sequoyah County Times)

By Meghan Partain School administrators are once again scrambling to make last-minute adjustments to school-year budgets in light of recent news that the state of Oklahoma will end Fiscal Year 2016 with a surplus of over $100 million. The news… Read more [More...]