Quotes of the Day

“There’s never anything good about a disaster. Never. But if there is a silver lining, we’ve finally gained the attention of a presidential administration and these other federal agencies.”

-Tulsa Chamber President Mike Neal, on getting a federal study of the 70-year-old levee system that protects Tulsa from floods [Tulsa World]

“People in this city are not just open-minded about a different set of priorities this time for MAPS, but actually started demanding a different set of priorities.”

-Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, speaking about the possibility of using part of a MAPS 4 sales tax to address homelessness [OKC Free Press]

“Basically, they belittled him and suggested he was malingering or faking it. In one case they gave him Pepto-Bismol. It was a whole assortment of grossly inadequate care.”

-Paul DeMuro, an attorney for the mother of Joshua England, a 21-year-old who died in an Oklahoma prison after being denied treatment for a ruptured appendix for 7 days [The Frontier]

“The Army Corps has confirmed the heavy water load is off the levees. It is when a community is tested that you see what it is really made of. In this historic test, our community stood tall …”

-Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum, in an announcement that the Arkansas River has officially moved out of flood stage [Tulsa World]

“Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 8 requires that judges address people’s inability to pay when they assess and enforce court-imposed fines. Unfortunately, many Oklahoma courts incarcerate people without ever inquiring about their ability to pay. When judges fail to meaningfully inquire into a person’s ability to pay, poor Oklahomans suffer devastating consequences.”

-Tianna Mays and Phylicia Hill, attorneys with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law [The Oklahoman]

“I didn’t think at this age I would still have to be working to make ends meet. I thought I’d be more comfortable, be able to travel a little, help my kids and grandkids — I’m not able to do that.”

-Mary Brancich, who is still working at age 73 even though she retired from a nearly 30 year teaching career in Oklahoma [PBS News Hour]

“Mothers had early initiation of prenatal care. There was also better care for women of childbearing age in these states before they became pregnant — better screenings, better prenatal vitamins.”

-Georgetown University Center for Children and Families’ Adam Searing, on a study that found Medicaid expansion states saw infant mortality rates fall 50 percent more than states that did not expand Medicaid [KWGS]

“Oklahoma is statistically at the epicenter of our national addiction crisis, but we can also be its point of departure. With medical leadership, training and investment, this crisis can be part of our history rather than a debilitating and devastating impact on our future.”

-Interim OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., speaking about plans to create the National Research Center for Addiction Care [The Oklahoman]

“Low-income working Oklahomans were once again forgotten this session. In a year where there was plenty of money to expand business incentive programs like the Quick Action Closing Fund and to allocate enormous increases for the governor’s office and the Legislature, there was no excuse for turning a deaf ear to those struggling to get by and get ahead.”

-OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt, on lawmakers’ failure to expand Medicaid, restore the Earned Income Tax Credit, or approve a cost-of-living allowance for retired teachers and state workers this year [Associated Press]

“Oklahoma’s current bail policies cost counties millions and detain citizens who have been convicted of nothing for weeks before trial just because they can’t afford bail. Bail should not be a punishment tool. We can do better than jailing our citizens just for being poor.”

-Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform executive director Kris Steele [Journal Record]