OKPOLICY.ORG
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.
With about six weeks left before the general election, state Rep. Joe Dorman and Gov. Mary Fallin have launched new TV ads for their campaigns. KGOU shared audio from a panel at OK Policy’s Summer Policy Institute, which discussed the state’s fiscal policy challenges and how massive education cuts may cost the state jobs. The state will ask the Oklahoma Supreme Court to validate the legality of a $120 million Capitol repair bond measure after an attorney challenged its constitutionality.
In an interview with Huffington Post Live, state Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) said he stands behind his comments that be believes Islam is a cancer, and he argued that Islam is not a religion. Meanwhile, the director of an Oklahoma Muslim group said he received a threat calling for his death and the death of all Muslims in America. Heavily armored military vehicles purchased this summer by Tulsa police and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are each expected to be operational within the next 30 to 60 days. The Oklahoman previously reported on how Oklahoma law enforcement agencies are stocking up on military-grade equipment through a Defense Department program that offers the equipment at a small fraction of its original price.
Prosecutors filed charges Monday against a Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office deputy who is accused of committing sexual misconduct while on duty. The OK Policy Blog discussed how a push by lawmakers to expand the taking of DNA samples from anyone who has been arrested could end up sending innocent Oklahomans to prison. A Pittsburg County district judge will hear arguments today from attorneys seeking to force the state to release a report that allegedly recommended closure of the Narconon drug rehabilitation facility after three patients died. The lawsuit claims that the state concealed the report because they did not want to get involved with litigation involving the Church of Scientology, which runs Narconon.
On the A View From The Edge blog, Jenks principal Rob Miller showed what it might look like if we discussed doctors the same way we discussed teachers in Oklahoma. This Land Press examined how Tulsa and other U.S. cities have struggled with the legacy of race riots and massacres of African-Americans. Oklahoma City Public Schools officials are considering pre-employment and post-employment drug testing for teachers, administrators and support staff. Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage and Laws Enforcement Commission said they may become “more aggressive” over funds diverted from the agency by the federal government if the money is not reimbursed. A potential water emergency faces the City of Cleveland in Pawnee County, after a drought has caused a lake that is the town’s only water source to drop 11 feet below normal.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma nursing homes with “severe deficiencies,” defined as violations of state or federal law that resulted in resident injury, abuse, neglect or death. In today’s Policy Note, the Economic Policy Institute discusses what we can do about the stagnating wages for most Americans.
In The News
Dorman, Fallin launch TV ads in governor’s race
With about six weeks left before the general election, state Rep. Joe Dorman has started running political commercials critical of his opponent, Gov. Mary Fallin, on the issues of guns and education. Meanwhile, Fallin’s latest ad touts her fight against the Affordable Care Act and the Environmental Protection Agency, making no mention of her Democratic challenger. She and most legislators initially supported Common Core academic standards for math and English in public schools, before she and lawmakers supported the repeal of the standards over concerns they represented federal overreach into states’ educational policies. Dorman, of Rush Springs, said he opposed the standards from the beginning.
Fiscal Panelists: Anemic Education Funding May Cost Jobs
Education is a core service of Oklahoma’s state government, is woefully underfunded, and will cost the state future jobs if not addressed soon. That’s the message of some panelists convened by the Oklahoma Policy Institute last month, which discussed Oklahoma’s burgeoning fiscal challenges. The panel included Oklahoma State Senate President Brian Bingman, State Treasurer Ken Miller, House Minority Leader Scott Inman, Chief Financial Officer for City of Norman Anthony Francisco, Oklahoma Education Association Associate Executive Director Amanda Ewing, and Oklahoma State University economist Dan Rickman .
Panel approves query to Oklahoma Supreme Court on legality of Capitol repair bond measure
The state will ask the Oklahoma Supreme Court to validate the legality of a $120 million Capitol repair bond measure after an attorney challenged its constitutionality. The Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority, chaired by Gov. Mary Fallin, approved a legal action Monday to have the court weigh in on the issue. Last week, attorney Jerry Fent, who has a long history of challenging state laws he feels are unconstitutional, sent a letter to Fallin, Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the improvement authority objecting to the law to issue bonds to repair and refurbish the crumbling, nearly 100-year-old state Capitol.
State Representative John Bennett And CAIR Director Adam Soltani Interviewed By Huffington Post Live
Oklahoma State Rep. John Bennett (R) and Adam Soltani, director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations were interviewed by Huffington Post Live Monday afternoon about Bennett’s comments about the Islam faith. “I stand behind them wholeheartedly,” Bennett told host Alyona Minkovski. “First off, I never said Muslims were a cancer, I said Islam … I would even submit to you that Islam is not even a religion. It’s a social political system that uses a deity to advance its agenda of global conquest.” Soltani said, “I received a phone call from an individual who asked if I was the director of CAIR and I said yes. He said he thinks I should be beheaded and so should every other Muslim in America.”
Sheriff’s office, police armored vehicles should be fully operational in 30-60 days
Armored vehicles purchased this summer by Tulsa police and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are each expected to be operational within the next 30 to 60 days. The vehicles are sturdy Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) transports purchased by the agencies as part of a government program that cheaply sells decommissioned military vehicles to law enforcement agencies. Maj. Shannon Clark said the sheriff’s office vehicle — purchased in June for $2,500 — is technically operational now, though some outfitting remains to be done.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Armed forces: Oklahoma law enforcement agencies stock up on military-grade equipment from NewsOK.
Sex crime charges filed against former Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy
Prosecutors filed charges Monday against a former Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office deputy who is accused of committing sexual misconduct while on duty last week. Gerald Nuckolls, 26, faces two counts of sexual battery and one count each of indecent exposure and outraging public decency, stemming from claims that he assaulted two women while following up on a 911 hangup call early Sept. 16 at a home in the 5600 block of North Utica Place. Court records indicate the sexual battery charges involve conduct reportedly committed against both women.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Indiscriminate DNA testing could put innocent Oklahomans in prison
For several years, Rep. Lee Denney (R-Cushing) has proposed legislation to require taking DNA samples from everyone who has been arrested in Oklahoma (more recent attempts scaled it back to those arrested and held over for trial). These samples would be checked against a large database to see if the DNA shows up in crime scenes nationwide. The bill has never garnered enough votes to pass, though Rep. Denney is continuing to push — this year she’s holding an interim study to build support for the idea.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Records detail concerns at Narconon facility
A Pittsburg County district judge will hear arguments Tuesday from attorneys seeking to force the state to release a report that allegedly recommended closure of the Narconon drug rehabilitation facility after three patients died. Attorney Gary Richardson, who represents plaintiffs in several lawsuits against Narconon’s Arrowhead center, said the hearing in Pittsburg County District Court will focus on investigative records he has requested through a subpoena to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Why Are Oklahoma Doctors So Bad?
Earlier this year, Peter Greene, the author of the blog Curmudgucation, posted an absolutely hilarious directory of what he terms, “anti-teacher trolls,” along with detailed descriptions. Peter’s slathering use of satire and sardonic wit makes most of my posts seem tame by comparison. If you want to laugh, read this POST. Keep reading through the comments. They are almost as good as the article itself.
Read more from A View From The Edge.
See also: School struggles obvious in A-F, and many other evaluations from The Oklahoman.
Signs of Forgotten Times
In a small meeting room in a Unitarian Universalist church a few miles north of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, people of different races and age groups gathered in late 2001 to pore over the large and comprehensive “Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot.” Between bites of doughnuts and sips of coffee, they strategized a way to commemorate the riot and reach some sort of reconciliation, either through reparations, a scholarship fund, or a memorial. The report recommended that the state make reparations to the then 130 survivors of what some call the worst race riot in U.S. history.
Read more from This Land Press.
Oklahoma City School District considering drug-testing policy for teachers, others
Oklahoma City Public Schools officials are considering pre-employment and post-employment drug testing for teachers, administrators and support staff, The Oklahoman has learned. The district does not currently have an employee drug-testing policy in place, but employees and board members have expressed a desire to implement one. “The administration has been discussing the possibility of both,” Brandon Casey, the district’s attorney, said Monday. “We have to decide if we want to bring one combined policy or do it separately.”
ABLE Commission Considers Legal Action Over Diverted Funds
Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage and Laws Enforcement Commission may become “more aggressive” over funds diverted from the agency by the federal government if the money is not reimbursed, according to a report from eCapitol. Executive Director Keith Burt told members of the commission at its meeting September 19 that ABLE had not been reimbursed according to its agreement with the federal government.
City of Cleveland fights off water emergency after drought causes lake levels to drop 11 feet
A potential water emergency faces the City of Cleveland in Pawnee County. City leaders are asking people there to conserve water after lake levels at the town’s only water source dropped significantly due to drought. City Manager Elzie Smith says the lake is currently about 11 feet below normal. The lake dipped to that same level last summer, but luckily a downpour helped fill it up again. Smith says this time the rains have done little to improve the situation.
Quote of the Day
“I pulled up the hood and it still had its invoice on it. ‘For $2,500,’ I joked with the (seller), ‘Can we get two?’ It’s just too good of a deal.”
– Tulsa Deputy Police Chief Dennis Larsen, speaking about two heavily armored military vehicles recently purchased by the Tulsa Police Department and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office through a Defense Department program. The vehicles originally cost $733,000 (Source: http://bit.ly/1sVzNxS).
Number of the Day
28.06%
Percentage of Oklahoma nursing homes with “severe deficiencies,” defined as violations of state or federal law that resulted in resident injury, abuse, neglect or death.
Source: Families for Better Care
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Why America’s Workers Need Faster Wage Growth—And What We Can Do About It
The last year has been a poor one for American workers’ wages. Comparing the first half of 2014 with the first half of 2013, real (inflation-adjusted) hourly wages fell for workers in nearly every decile—even for those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Of course, this is not a new story. Comparing the first half of 2014 with the first half of 2007 (the last period of reasonable labor market health before the Great Recession), hourly wages for the vast majority of American workers have been flat or falling.
Read more from the Economic Policy Institute.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
