Archive for the Week of April 19, 2009 - April 25, 2009
Former President Clinton to visit OKC Memorial
4/24/09, 4:06 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum on May 2 to make a special presentation and announcement. Museum Executive Director Kari Watkins confirmed Clinton's visit on Friday.
She said without elaboration that Clinton's announcement before donors and trustees will result in new national exposure for the museum. Clinton was president when the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building occurred. He dedicated the memorial in 2000 and attended the 10th anniversary observance in 2005. Later on May 2, Clinton is scheduled to appear at an event in Tulsa with former President George H.W. Bush.
Group decries wrong-site surgeries
4/24/09, 3:58 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A patient advocacy group says doctors in Oklahoma operated on the wrong body part at least 41 times between 1988 and 2003. OKWatchdog's executive director, Jeff Raymond, said Friday that if that many Oklahomans are injured by wrong-site surgeries, many more are likely being injured in other ways. Raymond says wrong-site surgery is among 28 medical errors experts say should never happen.
The group released the figures as lawmakers consider new restrictions on how Oklahomans file and litigate lawsuits. Julie Kennedy of Cushing says a surgeon operated on the wrong foot in 1999. Kennedy says she has experienced pain in what had been her good foot ever since. She says she took the surgeon to court and eventually reached an out-of-court settlement.
Nichols loses 1st round in suit over prison food
4/24/09, 11:56 a.m.
DENVER (AP) - Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols has lost a round in his lawsuit seeking more whole grains and fresh food in his diet at the federal Supermax prison in Colorado. A federal judge in Denver on Thursday denied Nichols' request for a preliminary injunction, saying he didn't show that he faces immediate and irreparable injury. The court hasn't ruled on Nichols' underlying lawsuit.
Nichols is serving a life sentence for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 bombing, which killed 168. Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed. Nichols' lawsuit claims his diet is "unhealthy dead and refined foods" and is causing him physical problems. He says the food violates his religion and causes him to "sin against God."
State DHS says employee's laptop computer stolen
4/24/09, 9:24 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Human Services says an employee's laptop computer, which possibly contained personal information on hundreds of thousands of people, has been stolen. DHS officials say letters are being sent to almost 500,000 households informing them of the potential security breach. But DHS Director Howard Hendrick says the risk of data on the computer being accessed is low because of the computer uses the agency's password-protected system. The computer was taken from a car on April 3. The information on the computer included names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for people who use DHS services.
House rejects official state rock song
4/23/09, 4:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House has rejected a resolution naming "Do You Realize??" by the Flaming Lips as Oklahoma's official state rock song. House members voted 48-39 Thursday on the Senate-passed resolution. It takes at least 51 votes to pass a measure in the 101-member House.
The measure died after lawmakers said they were offended by the alternative rock band from Oklahoma City. Rep. Corey Holland of Marlow says one band member wore a T-shirt bearing a hammer and sickle, a symbol of communism, when the band was introduced in the House.
Rep. Mike Reynolds of Oklahoma City says he was offended by band members' foul language. The resolution's author, Rep. Joe Dorman of Rush Springs, says band members can express themselves how they wish.
Bill to require citizenship proof fails
4/23/09, 11:55 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A House-passed bill to require proof of citizenship to file for public office has been defeated in the Oklahoma Senate. The vote was 23-20 on Thursday for the measure. It takes 25 votes to pass a measure in the 48-member Senate.
The bill required prospective candidates to provide a birth certificate showing U.S. citizenship, a non-birth U.S. citizenship certificate or a passport. It was introduced by Rep. Mike Ritze, a Broken Arrow Republican, and sponsored in the House by Rep. Anthony Sykes, a Moore Republican. Opponents says the bill was unnecessary because candidates' residency and qualifications are subject to challenge by opponents.
Henry's veto of stem cell law sustained
4/23/09, 11:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An attempt to override Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry's veto of a law banning embryonic stem cell research has failed in the Oklahoma Senate. The Oklahoma House voted to override the veto, but supporters of the bill could not muster the two-thirds majority they needed in the Senate to nullify the veto.
The vote in the Senate was 26-19 to override the veto. A total of 32 votes were needed to reverse the veto. Henry said he vetoed the measure because it would prohibit potentially life-saving research and was mischaracterized as something that was needed to protect human life. Supporters say such research is not ethical because it destroys the life represented by an embryonic stem cell.
Henry vetoes bill on political deductions
4/23/09, 9:54 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed a bill prohibiting the practice of deducting political donations from legal judgments. Henry says he supports a ban on withholding political donations from paychecks and other financial awards. But he says the bill sent to him is unconstitutional because it only prohibits an attorney from deducting money from judgments or settlement proceeds. Henry challenged lawmakers to send him what he called "a constitutional, comprehensive version" of the legislation and he will sign it. Sponsors say of House Bill 1601 say it is needed because there is evidence lawyers have deducted money for political purposes from judgments without the knowledge of their clients.
Oklahoma House overrides veto
4/23/09, 9:50 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House has voted to override Gov. Brad Henry's veto of a bill that would that would ban embryonic stem cell research in the state. A two-thirds majority is needed in both the House and the Senate to override the veto.
House members mustered that majority Thursday, voting 68-26 to
override. The fight now goes to the Senate, where 32 votes will be needed to nullify the veto.
Backers of the bill have cast it as a measure to protect life in the form of embryonic stem cells. Henry says supporters of the measure have laced their arguments with misinformation. He says the bill has nothing to do with protecting life, and would hinder potentially life-saving medical research.
Personal income grew in all counties in 2007
4/23/09, 8:53 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Personal income rose in every one of Oklahoma's 77 counties from 2006-2007, reflecting a pre-recession period when the nation's personal income also grew by 6 percent.
The estimates released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis serve as stark contrast to the current scene, where
Oklahoma's personal income grew just 0.1 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2008. The estimates also showed that per capita personal income in Oklahoma went from $32,755 in 2006 to $34,997 in 2007.
Some counties in the Panhandle struggled to make gains. Texas County, for example, posted a per-capita income increase of just $23.
Henry vetoes stem cell bill
4/23/09, 8:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has waited out a late-night session of the Oklahoma House tonight and vetoed a bill outlawing embryonic stem cell research, saying the bill unjustly criminalizes scientists and threatens research to save lives. The veto message came down just after 11 p.m., after adjournment of the 101-member House, preventing an immediate override attempt.
Henry says there has been misconceptions and misinformation spread concerning the issue and that the bill has been misrepresented as an anti-abortion measure. Rep. Mike Reynolds, the Oklahoma City Republican who introduced the bill, says that if people value money more than human life, they should find another state or country to live in. Reynolds said late Wednesday he would move to override in the House, which passed his bill on an 82-6 vote. He says he'd rather that happen sooner than later. Henry says he wanted to veto the bill after lawmakers went home so he could fight a possible override attempt early tomorrow.
Civil justice plan still alive, but wounded
4/23/09, 8:32 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Senate has rejected a plan to cap plaintiff attorney fees, while voting to keep alive a Republican-sponsored bill to shake up the state's civil justice system.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee says rejection of the attorney fee cap is a blow to GOP leadership efforts to pass a comprehensive bill to make changes that will curb civil lawsuit awards that drive up business and health care costs. He says he will continue to push for the changes, however, and holds out hope for a negotiated settlement.
The vote was 23-23 on a referendum to cap attorney fees at 33 percent for the first $1 million in damages and at 20 percent for amounts over $1 million. It takes 25 votes to pass a Senate bill.
BLM nets $4.9 million in lease sale
4/23/09, 8:19 a.m.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has netted more than $4.9 million from the sale of 60 oil and natural gas leases in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Fifty bidders registered for Wednesday's quarterly auction in Santa Fe, and all but 15 parcels in Kansas and one in New Mexico
received bids. The agency says 42 parcels in New Mexico brought in more than $3.6 million; four parcels in Oklahoma brought in $16,000 and 13 in Texas brought in just over $1.2 million. In Kansas, one parcel went for $1,120. The highest bid for a parcel was $768,000 for 640 acres in Chaves County, New Mexico, by Wise Oil and Gas #8 Ltd of Texas.
Henry to veto stem cell bill
4/22/09, 4:46 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry says he plans to veto a bill that would make it a crime for a scientist in Oklahoma to perform any form of embryonic stem cell research.
The governor says the bill would threaten life-saving research. He says the bill has been misrepresented as helping protect the sanctity of human life, when in reality, it wouldn't save any lives or stop any abortions.
Proponents of the legislation object to the ethics of using embryonic stem cells for research. Henry says these cells are produced in medical facilities where women seek in-vitro fertilization and the cells ultimately end up being discarded anyway.
House passes student testing bill
4/22/09, 4:41 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House has given final passage to legislation that would move the office that analyzes student test scores out of the state Department of Education. The House approved the Senate-passed measure 58-39 Wednesday. It now goes to Gov. Brad Henry for his signature.
The bill's author, Rep. Lee Denney of Cushing, says the bill moves the Office of Accountability out of the Education Department. Denney says the move will make the office more independent from the agency that is responsible for student instruction. Denney says Oklahoma students historically have scored lower on student achievement tests than students in other states. She says the move should help improve test scores. But opponents say low test scores are due to poverty and low per capita spending on education.
Puppy mill bill advanced by Senate
4/22/09, 4:09 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A bill to regulate puppy mills has passed the Oklahoma Senate over arguments it lacks teeth and penalizes good breeders. The vote was 30-16 for the measure, which puts the state Department of Agriculture in charge of regulating puppy mills. Sen. Jay Paul Gumm says the bill misses the mark because it has no funding to increase the number of agriculture regulators needed to find puppy mills in secluded areas. Gumm says it only affects legitimate breeders who already are registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sen. Cliff Brannan, the measure's Senate sponsor, says he will try to address those concerns in a conference committee before the bill comes up for final legislative approval.
Thousands of SS numbers on lost flashdrive
4/22/09, 9:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the Social Security numbers of more than 5,500 people is on a flashdrive that was lost by an employee.
Commission spokesman John Carpenter says the employee put the information on a flashdrive after his laptop was infected with a virus. Carpenter says the employee then accidentally took the flashdrive to a conference in Dallas where he lost it.
Carpenter says there have been no reports of identity theft because of the lost information.
Tulsa to offer municipal warrant amnesty program
4/22/09, 9:29 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tulsa plans to begin a municipal warrant amnesty program that local officials hope will pour about $15 million into the city's coffers. From May 1 to May 22, those who have old municipal warrants can have them resolved without having to be arrested or put in jail because of the warrant. The city also will waive all late fees and court costs related to the warrants. Court officials sayd Tulsa had 188,659 outstanding warrants as of last month. Three kinds of outstanding warrants can be resolved during the amnesty period -- a failure to appear warrant with a preset fine, a failure to appear warrant on a book-to-court citation or arrest
case and a failure to pay warrant. The city already has launched a parking citation amnesty program, which began April 6 and runs through Friday.
Henry vetoes bill on judicial appointments
4/22/09, 8:51 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed a bill requiring Senate confirmation of Workers' Compensation Court judges. Henry says the measure would have modeled the state's judicial selection process after the "highly politicized" system in Washington, D.C., that results in gridlock. He says the bill also is unconstitutional because it abolished two positions on the workers' comp court. He says the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits doing away with officials' positions before their terms of office expire. Under the Oklahoma system, the governor appoints judges from a list of three names submitted by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission.
Senate backs off autism coverage
4/21/09, 3:50 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Senate has backed off an amendment to a House bill to require the Oklahoma High Risk Health Insurance Pool to cover autism spectrum disorders. Instead, the Senate voted Tuesday to adopt a House a proposal for licensing and training programs for autism therapists. That bill returns to the House, which is expected to pass it and send it to the governor.
Last week, the Senate adopted an amendment requiring the high risk pool to cover autism treatment up to $36,000. Sen. Jay Paul Gumm said his amendment was a good compromise to mandating that private insurance companies cover autism. He says the House plan will do nothing to help families pay for autism treatment.
Consumer group blasts health insurance industry
4/21/09, 3:43 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A consumer-advocacy group is criticizing the health insurance industry and legislative leaders for what it described as a host of measures aiding the industry at the expense of consumers. Dr. Rene McNall Knapp specializes in treating children with cancer and blood disorders at OU Health Sciences Center.
On Tuesday, Knapp and officials with Oklahomans for Healthcare Reform criticized legislative leaders for failing to hear bills that protect consumers from unfair practices by insurance companies. But Republican Sen. Patrick Anderson of Enid says its unfair to criticize leaders of any particular party. Anderson says there are some legitimate concerns about the ultimate cost of additional coverage mandates.
House OKs reduction in income tax rate
4/21/09, 2:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Despite a massive budget shortfall this year, lawmakers have approved further reducing the state income tax rate. The Oklahoma House on Tuesday voted 85-13 to reduce the top individual income tax rate from 5.5 percent to 4 percent beginning in the 2010 tax year.
Senate Bill 315 now goes to a conference committee, where legislative leaders will determine how much of a tax cut, if any, the state can afford. The bill initially would have reduced the rate from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent, costing the state $114 million annually.
But an amendment further reduced the rate to 4 percent, which is estimated to cost more than $686 million each year. Some Democrats argued the bill is a political ploy since legislative leaders already have said it would be difficult to approve a tax cut given the tight budget.
Oklahoma City expects $44.7M from federal stimulus
4/21/09, 2:08 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma City stands to reap $44.7 million in rewards from the federal stimulus package for projects including street repairs, public transportation upgrades and new police programs.
The City Council was told Tuesday that the stimulus will bring $15.2 million to resurface more than three dozen sections of city roads and another $10 million to upgrade the city's bus fleet and make other public transportation improvements.
Will Rogers World Airport and Wiley Post Airport will each get new lighting on their runways, and the police department will benefit from two grants totaling just under $3.5 million.
Pakistan power company teams with Oklahomans
4/21/09, 1:32 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma businesses are getting nearly $100 million in contracts to build two power plants in Pakistan. Pakistani businessman Igbal Z. Ahmed announced the contracts Tuesday along with former Gov. David Walters, president of Walters Power International. Ahmed and Walters are partners in Pakistan Power Resources. Ahmed is also founding chairman of Associated Group, one of Pakistan's largest energy businesses. He says Tulsa-based ProEnergy EPC Services will build the two power plants, which will bring electricity to underserved areas of Pakistan. Engineering will be done of EDG Engineers in Tulsa.
Pistachio product recalls
4/21/09, 11:47 a.m.
UNDATED (AP) - Jerry's Nut House is recalling some pistachio products - including some that were available in Oklahoma. The recall is because the products may be contaminated with salmonella. Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections. Those especially susceptible are young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems:
The recall includes:
-JNH code 1385; UPC 07298911511; Jerry's Nut House natural pistachios; 14 ounces; sell by 01/26/09 to 08/31/09
-JNH code 1387; UPC 07298911512; Jerry's Nut House natural pistachios; 8 ounces; sell by 01/26/09 to 08/31/09.
Also being recalled are shelled, roasted and salted pistachios that were available in Colorado and Nebraska and shelled, raw pistachios available in Colorado and Missouri.
Applications for conceal carry permits rise
4/21/09, 9:08 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State officials say a record number of people are applying for permits to carry a concealed weapon. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says a record of more than 21,000 people applied for concealed-carry permits last year. And permit registry manager Felicia Jackson says the number of applications so far this year is more than double what it was at this time in 2008. Some firearms instructors say the increase is due to a rise in violent crime or concerns about President Barack Obama's policy plans. OSBI officials would not speculate on possible reasons for the increase.
Stem cell bill puts researchers in jeopardy
4/21/09, 8:59 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation president Stephen Prescott says a bill making it a crime to do stem cell research will hurt Oklahoma research efforts and penalize people with debilitating diseases. Gov. Brad Henry has until Wednesday to sign or veto the bill. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce has urged him to veto it and the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce took a similar stand at a meeting yesterday afternoon. Prescott was critical of the bill in a statement responding to questions from The Associated Press. Prescott says it would be the most restrictive ban on stem cell research in the country. He says it will make Oklahoma an "unattractive place" for biotech companies and investors.
Oklahoma dams to be repaired using stimulus money
4/20/09, 10:00 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The state will use federal stimulus money to help repair seven high-hazard dams in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission says Oklahoma will get about $14 million to repair the dams and the state will provide a 35 percent match.
High-hazard dams are those that - if they break - would kill people. Three of the dams to be repaired are in Pontotoc County, two are in Caddo County and one each is in Adair and Kingfisher counties.
The federal government awarded the money under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act that's intended to improve infrastructure and stimulate the economy.
New immigration office to open in Tulsa
4/20/09, 9:41 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is coming to Tulsa. The office is expected to investigate human trafficking, drug smuggling and the employment of illegal workers at potential terrorist targets such as oil refineries and airports. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., says he expects the office to crack down on transnational gangs, sex predators and document fraud. Sullivan says the investigations will focus on criminal activity rather than on a specific ethnic group.
FEMA to assess damage from NW Oklahoma snowstorm
4/20/09, 8:38 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State and federal emergency management crews will visit northwestern Oklahoma this week to survey damage caused by a snowstorm that hit the area last month. As much as 2 feet of snow was reported in some areas after a blizzard moved through in the first week of spring, causing several roofs to collapse. Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency for 50 Oklahoma counties. The preliminary damage assessments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency will concentrate on 11 counties in northwestern Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to Interstate 35 along the Kansas state line. The crews will focus on damage to roads and bridges, plus other emergency response costs.
Governor hears concerns on stem-cell ban
4/20/09, 8:22 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry is weighing input from researchers and businesses as he decides whether to sign or veto a bill that would ban embryonic stem-cell research in Oklahoma. Spokesman Paul Sund says Henry has heard from researchers and businesses expressing "serious reservations about the unintended consequences" of House Bill 1326. The executive committee of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce urged the governor to veto the bill because it would be detrimental to the state's bioscience industry. Henry has until Wednesday to sign or veto the bill.
Homeland Security deputy defends intelligence assessment
4/20/09, 8:15 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is defending an intelligence assessment suggesting that military veterans could be more likely to engage in terrorist activity. Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute says it is wrong to characterize the report's distribution as an attempt to insult veterans and that the assessment could have been "more tightly written and presented."
Lute was speaking today after attending a remembrance ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing that killed 168 people. Timothy McVeigh, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, was convicted of murder and executed for the largest act of domestic terrorism to date. But Lute says her agency doesn't monitor ideology and does not focus on any group because of its beliefs.
State unemployment rate keeps climbing
4/20/09, 8:06 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's unemployment rate is continuing to climb. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reports the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 5.9 percent in March. That's a 0.4 percent increase over February and represents more than 7,000 people who become unemployed in the last month. The Employment Security Commission says unemployment rate in March 2008 was 3.3 percent, which means seasonally adjusted unemployment has increased by more than 82 percent, or nearly 47,000 people, over the last year.
