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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.
Crude oil prices have plummeted to the lowest level in three years, and economists and state finance officials are concerned due to the Oklahoma economy’s heavy dependence on oil drilling. The average price of gasoline is down by nearly 15 cents per gallon across Oklahoma since last week. An automobile parts manufacturer said it will close its Oklahoma City plant next year, eliminating 165 jobs. The factory had received almost $900,000 in Quality Jobs Payments from the state since 2007 to create new jobs at the plant, but the program doesn’t include provisions that require companies to repay the incentives if workers later lose their jobs. An OK Policy report has examined the rapidly growing cost and gaps in oversight of the Quality Jobs Programs.
The Oklahoma State Election Board will meet behind closed doors today to discuss whether a special election should be called in the 2nd Congressional District. Suzan Harjo, an Oklahoma native who has spent decades advocating for Indian rights and dignity, is among those who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, later this month. Former Oklahoma House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate T.W. Shannon has taken a job with a financial services firm in Tulsa. The New York Times examined the revival of downtown Tulsa.
On the OK Policy Blog, we describe how the U.S. Postal Service could return to profitability while meeting a huge need for banking services in many Oklahoma communities. By Tuesday morning, all 14 of an Oklahoma City homeless shelter’s makeshift cold-weather beds are full, but there were many more homeless people with no refuge from the wintry weather. OK Policy shared the slides from a presentation by Dr. Lawrence Jacobs about the future of the Affordable Care Act in the aftermath of recent elections.
Oklahoma is in compliance with a national standard for ozone in 2014, after exceeding the standard in 2011 and 2012. The Salvation Army is expanding its ACT Prep Program for students in the Tulsa metro area. In a narrow victory that required a manual recount, a Republican has being elected to the Carter County Board of Commissioners for the first time since 1922. Amid a fourth consecutive year of drought, the cotton harvest has begun in southwest Oklahoma. A new Oklahoma law effective this month says that no governmental entity can have the final say on a parent’s right to make what he or she feels is the best decision for their child’s physical and mental health and educational upbringing.
The Number of the Day is how many children found to be victims of abuse and/or neglect in Oklahoma in 2013. In today’s Policy Note, NPR looked at how a program that doubles food stamp benefits when purchasing local fruits and vegetables has proved remarkably popular and spread across the country.
In The News
As Oklahoma Economists Eye Slumping Oil Prices, Energy Executives Urge Calm
Crude oil prices have plummeted to the lowest level in three years, a slump analysts say is fueled by reduced demand due to stalling growth in Europe and China, and booming supply from domestic production in the U.S. In Oklahoma — a state where, historically, finances have risen and fallen with the fortunes of the energy industry — the tumbling oil price has been met with different reactions from oil and gas company executives, economists and state finance officials.
Gas prices fall nearly 15 cents in Oklahoma
The average price of gasoline is down by nearly 15 cents per gallon across Oklahoma since last week. AAA Oklahoma said Tuesday that the statewide average for a gallon of self-serve regular is $2.83. AAA spokesman Chuck Mai said lower crude oil prices may result in the lowest gas prices for the Thanksgiving Day holiday since 2009.
Oklahoma City plant to close, 165 jobs eliminated
An automobile parts manufacturer said it will close its Oklahoma City plant next year, eliminating 165 jobs. The Michigan-based Federal-Mogul Corp. sent a layoff notice to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce last Monday. The Oklahoma City plant operation includes about a 123,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and an 86,400-square-foot warehouse. The owner until May, Affina Group, Inc., has received almost $900,000 in Quality Jobs Payments from the state since 2007, to create new jobs at the plant. The program doesn’t include provisions that require companies to repay the incentives if workers later lose their jobs.
See also: Report examines growing cost of the Quality Jobs Program from Oklahoma Policy Institute
State Election Board to meet behind closed doors to discuss 2nd District
The Oklahoma State Election Board is expected to meet behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss whether a special election should be called in the 2nd Congressional District. Board members are also expected to certify the results of the Nov. 4 general election. Whether that certification includes the results of the 2nd Congressional District depends on the legal advice the board receives in an executive session, board Secretary Paul Ziriax said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Native Oklahoma Suzan Harjo to receive Presidential Medial of Freedom
Suzan Harjo, an Oklahoma native who has spent decades advocating for Indian rights and dignity, is among those who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, later this month. Harjo, 69, was born in El Reno and is part Cheyenne and part Muscogee. She is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. Harjo was former President Jimmy Carter’s liaison to Congress for Indian issues. She broke ground as a broadcast journalist on American Indian issues and was executive director for the National Congress of American Indians from 1984 through 1989.
Former House Speaker Shannon taking job with Tulsa firm
Former Oklahoma House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate T.W. Shannon has taken a job in Tulsa and plans to move his family to the area in the near future. Shannon said the move has “no political motivation” and that a re-entry into politics “is not on my horizon at all.” Shannon began Monday as a managing director of Premier Consulting Partners, a financial services firm recently spun off from SpiritBank. The company said Shannon is heading a new national community bank division.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
With Faith of Investors, Downtown Tulsa Reawakens
For decades, the Mayo Hotel had been the societal symbol of Tulsa’s reign as the Oil Capital of the World, catering to oil barons with names like Getty, Skelly, Phillips and Sinclair. But its closing in 1981 underscored the city’s faded status as Houston became the focal point of the energy industry. Left behind were a large concentration of Art Deco buildings built by the oilmen in Tulsa’s declining 100-square-block downtown district, which fell victim to suburban growth and a lack of investment.
Read more from The New York Times.
What a profitable Postal Service looks like (Part Two)
We already know from Part One in this series that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has a long history and excellent record of administering financial services, which up until now has been limited to savings products. But a new report from the Office of the Inspector General at USPS makes a convincing argument that your local post office is actually well-suited to offer a suite of financial products and services, not just savings bonds and accounts.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
See also: How a profitable Postal Service could pad your pockets (Part One) from the OK Policy Blog.
Homeless shelters fill as arctic air hits Oklahoma
Officials at the Jesus House homeless shelter opened a seasonal cold-weather shelter Monday amid forecasts that a massive blast of arctic air would push temperatures below freezing overnight and give Oklahomans an early taste of wintry weather.By Tuesday morning, all 14 of the Oklahoma City shelter’s makeshift cold-weather beds were full, executive director Mike Bateman said. But there were many more homeless people who had no refuge from the wintry weather, Bateman said.
‘Parent’s Bill of Rights’ Preserves Family According To A New Oklahoma Law
A new law, effective this month, establishes and details the “inalienable” rights of parents in Oklahoma. HB1384, commonly referred to as the “Parent’s Bill of Rights,” establishes that no governmental entity can have the final say on a parent’s right to make what he or she feels is the best decision for their child’s physical and mental health and educational upbringing. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, was one of the lawmakers responsible for authoring the bill. She said her motive for the bill was to limit what she feels is the government’s steady encroachment on the rights of parents.
Health Care Reform and the 2014 Elections (Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs)
On November 10, Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs spoke about the future of the Affordable Care Act in the aftermath of Republican gains in the 2014 mid-term elections to a lunchtime audience at the Jim Thorpe Association and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Jacobs is Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance in the Hubert H. Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota. The talk was presented by Oklahoma Scholars Strategy Network and Oklahoma Policy Institute.
See Dr. Jacobs’ presentation here.
See also: Expert visits Oklahoma to discuss future of health care reform from NewsOK.
Oklahoma In Compliance With Current Ozone Standard
Oklahoma is in compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone as the 2014 ozone season draws to a close. Compliance is determined by an average at each ozone monitoring site in the state. Drought and high temperatures in 2011 and 2012 resulted in the state exceeding the standard at monitors across the state. The 2013 and 2014 ozone seasons have been dramatically better.
Salvation Army’s ACT Prep Program expanding to more sites
High school senior Darian Walters has improved his ACT college-entrance test scores by 3 points since participating in the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club free preparation program. But, that’s not enough for the Booker T. Washington High School student. He wants to increase it by at least 3 more points. “I want to get scholarships, not just from the colleges but also from the foundations and other private groups,” Walters said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
First Republican is elected to Carter County commission since 1922
A Republican candidate has made history after being elected to the Carter County Board of Commissioners with a narrow victory confirmed late Monday after a manual recount. Local businessman Jerry Alvord won his seat by eight votes, officials said. His opponent, incumbent county Commissioner Dale Ott, has held the District 3 seat since 1991 and currently serves as vice chairman of the board.
Cotton Harvest Under Way In Southwest Oklahoma
Cotton fields in southwest Oklahoma are in full bloom and farmers like Matt Muller are beginning to pick their crop near the Quartz Mountains.”Where we have irrigation water yields are good,” Muller said. “They are average to above average actually because we had a nice July weather pattern that really helped us along with what limited irrigation water we had. Unfortunately due to the ongoing drought the dryland crop is going to be way below average.”
Quote of the Day
“No one was buying anything in downtown Tulsa, and we bought the building not knowing if downtown was going to come back. Everyone thought we were crazy.”
-Macy Snyder Amatucci, whose family’s $42 million investment in the Mayo Hotel and Lofts have become a central element of of downtown Tulsa’s revival (Source: nyti.ms/1tFhIE9)
Number of the Day
11,418
Number of children found to be victims of abuse and/or neglect in Oklahoma in 2013.
Source: OKDHS State of Change 2013.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
How ‘Double Bucks’ For Food Stamps Conquered Capitol Hill
The federal government is about to put $100 million behind a simple idea: doubling the value of SNAP benefits — what used to be called food stamps — when people use them to buy local fruits and vegetables. This idea did not start on Capitol Hill. It began as a local innovation at a few farmers’ markets. But it proved remarkably popular and spread across the country. “It’s so simple, but it has such profound effects both for SNAP recipients and for local farmers,” says Mike Appell, a vegetable farmer who sells his produce at a market in Tulsa, Okla.
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