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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Oklahoma cities have been cleared to dispose of municipal wastewater in oil and gas injection wells [KWGS]. A new report from the US Geological Survey debunks myths around fracking and makes the case that wastewater injection triggered a rise in earthquakes in Oklahoma [The Frontier]. StateImpact has compiled a list of studies on the state’s earthquake boom [StateImpact]. In his Journal Record column, Executive Director David Blatt explains why the debate about whether the state budget grew or shrank slightly ignores that we’re still not close to fully supporting core public services [Journal Record]. OK Policy’s FY 2016 Budget Highlights reviews the budget in depth, including appropriations for every state agency going back to 2009 [OK Policy].
Oklahoma ranks third in the US for the rate of preventable injury deaths, such as drug overdoses, homicides, suicides, and car accidents [NewsOK]. The full report is available here. Recent analysis of US Census data shows that Oklahoma has one of the lowest rates of children living in two-parent households [NewsOK]. The full New York Times is available here. We the People Oklahoma has filed a motion to keep signatures on a petition to impanel a grand jury investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office private, citing threats to organizers and signers [Tulsa World]. Should the jury be impaneled, jurors will be able to expand the probe beyond the 20 areas of inquiry listed in the petition [Tulsa World].
Recent heavy rains are a mixed blessing for the state’s ranchers [KGOU]. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved disaster assistance for an additional 18 counties [NewsOn6]. Oklahoma City residents used the hashtag #WhatIfOKC to discuss changes they’d like to see in the city [NewsOK]. The Number of the Day is $34,884 – average salary for classified employees of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 21 percent below the average salary for similar jobs in other states and the private sector. In today’s Policy Note, the Pew Charitable Trusts explain the growing problem of elder abuse is so inconsistently tracked and recorded [Pew Charitable Trusts].
In The News
Oklahoma Cities May Dispose of Wastewater in Injection Wells
Oklahoma’s oil and gas injection wells are cleared to start accepting cities’ wastewater. Tim Ward with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality said there shouldn’t be any concerns about the new fluids. “These waste streams are of much better quality in general than the waste stream that most of these injection wells are normally used to seeing,” Ward said.
New earthquake report puts state’s risk in plain language
A new report from the United States Geological Survey spells out in the clearest way yet what Oklahoma officials have denied and danced around for so long: A huge increase in wastewater injection from oil and gas exploration is triggering a sharp rise in earthquakes in the state.
See also: StateImpact’s Earthquake Research Reading List from StateImpact.
Not adding up
Under lawmakers’ latest state budget plan, Oklahoma is set to spend about 1 percent less next year than this year. Some critics have challenged this decrease and argued that by counting the money another way, we could call it a slight increase.
Read more from the Journal Record.
See also: FY 2016 Budget Highlights from OK Policy.
Oklahoma ranks high for preventable injury deaths, report shows
Oklahoma has the third-highest rate in the U.S. of residents dying from largely preventable injuries, such as drug overdoses, homicides, motor vehicle crashes and suicides. Trust for America’s Health, a public health policy nonprofit organization, released research Wednesday showing Oklahoma has 88 injury-related deaths per 100,000 people, a rate higher than all other states except New Mexico and West Virginia.
Oklahoma has one of the lowest rates of children in two-parent households
Only 39 percent of Oklahoma children live with both of their married, biological parents, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census data. Oklahoma’s government and groups have spent more than $70 million in an attempt to reduce the state’s divorce rate, but there’s little evidence those efforts have worked.
Read the full article from The New York Times here.
We the People Oklahoma cites threats in asking to keep signatures on Sheriff’s Office petition private
We the People Oklahoma cited threats in filing a motion Wednesday to shield from public eye the signatures on a petition being circulated to impanel a grand jury investigation of the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. Organizer Marq Lewis said petition volunteers and signers have been threatened, and he recalled a specific incident where police were summoned to escort a man away from a site where he had been harassing each signer.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Grand jurors can expand probe if petition to investigate Sheriff’s Office is accepted
Should a petition seeking to oust Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz be accepted as valid, grand jurors will be able to probe not only the 20 areas of inquiry listed in the petition but any other issues they might turn up. The petition — expected to be submitted by Friday — has gathered more than 6,000 signatures, according to Marq Lewis, founder of We the People Oklahoma and the petition’s organizer.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Oklahoma Rain A Mixed Blessing For Drought-Stricken Ranchers
The National Weather Service says another 4 to 5 inches of rain could fall today on areas still recovering from Memorial Day weekend floods that left 14 dead and two missing along the Blanco River in Texas. Forecasters have issued a flash flood warning for seven counties in southeastern Texas as a Tropical Depression Bill makes its way inland.
Feds Approve Disaster Help For 18 More Oklahoma Counties
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved disaster assistance for 18 additional counties as a result of storms and flooding that battered the state last month. Gov. Mary Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz says FEMA notified state officials Wednesday that the additional counties had been added.
#WhatIfOKC: Residents tweet about how to make OKC better place for all
The Oklahoma City Twitterverse is optimistic today. Residents are using the hashtag #WhatIfOKC to talk about the change they’d like to see in the city. It’s a movement started by Made Possible By Us.
Quote of the Day
“
#WhatIfOKC championed education as passionately as we do Thunder basketball?”– Shelley B.Leveridge (@shelleybokc), one of many Oklahoma City residents participating in a #WhatIfOKC on Twitter on Wednesday. Participants used the hashtag to talk about what changes they would like to see in Oklahoma City (Source)
Number of the Day
$34,884
Average salary for classified employees of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 21 percent below the average salary for similar jobs in other states and the private sector.
Source: Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Elder Abuse a ‘Huge, Expensive and Lethal’ Problem for States
We know that victims of elder abuse tend to be socially isolated, physically weakened and struggling to maintain their independence. They are reliant on family, friends or caregivers who violate their trust. What we don’t know, because elder abuse is underreported, is how big the problem really is. There are no official national statistics on how many older people are mistreated physically, emotionally or financially. Definitions and methods of addressing the issue differ state to state, and even county to county.
Read more from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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