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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.
Today you should know that environmental groups released a report that claims Oklahoma’s coal-fired power plants release too many harmful materials into the state’s lakes and rivers. You can see the full report here. Norman’s Lake Thunderbird still hasn’t met Clean Water Act cleanup target dates from 30 years ago. A project to connect Oklahoma wind power generators to electric lines in Tennessee is scheduled to begin construction in 2015.
The Oklahoma Innocence Project out of OCU law said that an Oklahoma man convicted of first-degree murder almost 30 years ago is innocent and should be freed. The OK Policy Blog discussed the history of private prisons in Oklahoma. David Blatt’s Journal Record column looks at how much income it really takes to get by in today’s economy.
KJRH reports that the State of Oklahoma owes Tulsa County almost $2 million in property taxes but has not budgeted funds to pay it. Urban Tulsa Weekly examined a Bus Rapid Transit proposal to improve public transportation in Tulsa. EMSA’s board of trustees approved a $247 million contract with a new ambulance service provider, while its current contractor leveled allegations that the company’s low bid appeared to be “price fixing.”
The Number of the Day is the percentage of students at Stilwell’s Bell Public Schools living in poverty, the highest rate in Oklahoma. In today’s Policy Note, the American Civil Liberties Union has a new report on how American use of solitary confinement in prisons is doing severe damage to inmates’ mental health.
In The News
Report charges harmful water pollution caused by Oklahoma coal plants
A group of environmental organizations on Tuesday released a report that claims Oklahoma’s six coal-fired power plants release too many harmful materials into the state’s lakes and rivers. Oklahoma utility companies disputed the report as inaccurate and misleading. The report “Closing the Floodgates: How the Coal Industry is Poisoning Our Water and How We Can Stop It” reviewed water permits for 386 coal plants throughout the country. It found that 274 nationwide — including all six in Oklahoma — discharge coal ash and scrubber wastewater into waterways.
Lake Thunderbird is 30 years behind cleanup target dates set by Clean Water Act
Moore, Norman and Oklahoma City are the primary polluters of Lake Thunderbird, a sensitive drinking water source classified as “impaired” by the Environmental Protection Agency, new data show. State and municipal water and environmental authorities have been working on a plan to clean up the lake, colloquially referred to as “dirtybird” for its murky appearance and weird smell, which still hasn’t met Clean Water Act target dates from 30 years ago.
Read more from StateImpact Oklahoma.
Clean Line wind power project could start in 2015, exec says
Connecting Oklahoma wind power to Tennessee is moving forward through the regulatory process, with the goal to start construction in 2015 on track, company officials said Wednesday. Michael Skelly, president of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC, said the construction would take an additional two years, which would bring the project online later than the company had hoped.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma man serving life sentence for murder is innocent, OCU Law School project claims
An Oklahoma man convicted of first-degree murder almost 30 years ago is innocent and should be freed, the head of the Oklahoma Innocence Project said Wednesday. Karl A. Fontenot, 48, is serving a life sentence without parole for the 1984 killing of Donna Haraway. Wednesday, the Oklahoma Innocence Project at the Oklahoma City University School of Law filed an application and brief in Pontotoc County in support of post-conviction relief on behalf of Fontenot.
Punishment and Profits: A brief history of private prisons in Oklahoma
This post is the first in a series on private prisons in Oklahoma. This topic is particularly relevant in light of the recently announced resignation of Justin Jones, director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC). Jones’ career with DOC spans almost forty years, with the last eight as director. Certain individuals familiar with the inner workings of the DOC believe Jones’ resignation is due at least in part to his opposition to the expansion of the private prison system in Oklahoma. This post will add some historical context to the debate over private prisons by briefly describing the history of their use at the national and state level.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Prosperity Policy: What does it take?
$2,060 a month? Or $4,239? Two recent attempts to calculate how much income it takes to make ends meet reached starkly different conclusions. But both, in their own ways, called attention to how hard it is for many families to afford the needs of a monthly budget. They also remind us why many hardworking families still need a boost in today’s economy.
Read more from The Journal Record.
State of Oklahoma owes Tulsa County almost $2 million in property taxes
While Robertson and many businesses across Green Country pay their bill on time, thousands are late. In May, the 2NEWS Investigators exposed some companies that owe hundreds of thousands of dollars. This time we went digging for the worst offender; the one that owes the most in unpaid property taxes for Tulsa County. That offender? The state of Oklahoma.
“Subway on the Street” service may be on its way to Tulsa
Sometimes a cool idea catches fire and flies around with fierce intensity. What New York magazine writer Robert Sullivan once called a “Subway on the Street” could shortly play a big role in reanimating Tulsa’s anemic bus system. The idea of radically tweaking bus transit — an action that is in play in over 30 places across the country and across the planet, is needed in Tulsa and is an exciting avenue for improving mobility in T-Town. The new path goes by the name of the Bus Rapid Transit.
Read more from Urban Tulsa Weekly.
American Medical Response wins EMSA contract
EMSA’s board of trustees approved a $247 million contract with a new ambulance service provider Wednesday, while its current contractor leveled allegations that the company’s low bid appeared to be “price fixing.” The board voted unanimously Wednesday to award the five-year contract to American Medical Response, based in Greenwood, Colo. The new contract, which begins Nov. 1, lengthens by two minutes the maximum time ambulances have to respond to Priority 1 emergency calls.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
There are thousands in the Tulsa area who have difficulty getting to and from work places. Crucially, directly affected folks have no other assured access to the workplace.
-Tulsa city planner Dawn Warrick, on a proposed Bus Rapid Transit initiative that voters may consider in November (http://bit.ly/16drseS)
Number of the Day
60.5 percent
Percentage of students at Stilwell’s Bell Public Schools living in poverty, the highest rate in Oklahoma.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau via the Oklahoma Department of Commerce
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
A Death Before Dying: Solitary confinement on death row
For many, a death sentence means a double punishment. People on death row can spend decades locked alone in a tiny, cement room before they are ever strapped to an execution gurney. We know that the death penalty system is broken. Racial bias, junk science, underfunded public defense, and other serious breakdowns in our legal system can mean that people – sometimes innocent people – will languish on death rows for years while pursuing appeals. Spending these years in extreme isolation can erode mental health to the point that some will “volunteer” to die rather than continue to live under such conditions.
Read more from the American Civil Liberties Union.
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