Archive for the Week of December 14, 2008 - December 20, 2008
News Archives (Week of December 14, 2008)
State ends 2008 with average rainfall
12/19/08, 5:32 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma is ending 2008 with an average precipitation total, but the weather in the state this year was anything but average.
Dust Bowl-like drought gripped the Panhandle for months, near-record rainfall drenched northeastern Oklahoma and the state had its deadliest tornado in nearly a decade. The statewide average for rainfall this year was about 37 inches, or about an inch above normal.
This figure is made up of regional averages from different parts of the state.
Oklahoma state revenue down
12/19/08, 11:40 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State financial officials say Oklahoma lawmakers will have $309.6 million less to spend next year than they did this year. State Treasurer Scott Meacham is releasing details of the proposed state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The total proposed expenditure authority for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is $6.8 billion. That is 4.4 percent less than the $7.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that began last July. The budget reflects decreases in individual income tax collections and gross production taxes on oil and natural gas.
Tulsa mayor meets Obama
12/19/08, 11:15 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor and 13 other mayors had a surprise meeting with President-elect Barack Obama on ways cities can work with the federal government. Taylor says the mayors were meeting with Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett in Chicago yesterday to talk about issues such as jobs, housing, energy and education.
During the meeting the president-elect arrived unexpectedly and joined the talks.
The Tulsa mayor says the discussion focused on building relationships between cities and the federal government to help create jobs, provide housing, education and energy.
Will Rogers closed to arriving flights
12/18/08, 4:30 p.m.
UPDATE: Will Rogers World Airport began accepting arriving flights on Thursday night after the heavy fog lifted in the Oklahoma City area.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Heavy fog has closed Will Rogers World Airport to arriving aircraft. Airport spokesman Mark Kranenburg said fog moved in about noon Thursday at the Oklahoma City airport and reduced visibility below the minimum for aircraft to land. Departing flights have also been disrupted. Kranenburg said airport officials were taken by surprise when the fog proved so heavy that visibility was reduced to less than a thousand feet.
New license plates issued
12/18/08, 4:16 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - There's a new look on Oklahoma roadways. New state license plates ordered by the Legislature last spring are showing up on cars and trucks across the state. It's the first installment of a license plate reissuance program that will provide new plates to owners of an estimated 3.1 million vehicles registered in the state.
The new plates prominently feature the Gilcrease Museum's"Sacred Rain Arrow" statue of an American Indian, framed against a blue sky, preparing to fire an arrow skyward. The new plates are not scheduled to be issued until after Jan. 1. But about 1,600 of the plates have already been issued to motorists who want to retain their old license plate number. Motorists must pay a $17 fee in the plate retention program.
3 downtown Oklahoma City projects delayed
12/18/08, 11:54 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Developers have put three multimillion dollar projects in downtown Oklahoma City on hold - including plans for a new Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce headquarters. Officials say the economic crisis and projections of falling construction costs are among the reasons for the delays.
Chamber President Roy Williams says the chamber will wait 60 to 90 days then meet with a contractor to assess the situation. Developers also say a planned $20 million mixed-use development is being delayed for six months. And plans for a $61.3 condominium complex are on hold with no firm timetable to start the project.
Clay Bennett named 2008 Oklahoman of the Year
12/18/08, 11:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Today, the magazine of Oklahoma since 1956, has named chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Clayton I. Bennett, Oklahoman of the Year for 2008.
Bennett, founder of the private investment firm, Dorchester Capital, is touted as the man who brought the NBA to Oklahoma. He leads a group of eight investors, all from Oklahoma City, who form Professional Basketball Club, LLC. The team played its first Oklahoma City game on October 29, 2008, after relocating from Seattle. Today, the team plays at the Ford Center in downtown Oklahoma City and is considered one of the youngest team in the NBA.
“No one came close to Clay Bennett as we set about selecting this year’s Oklahoman of the Year,” says Louisa McCune-Elmore, Oklahoma Today editor in chief. “His accomplishment presents an extraordinary moment in the life of Oklahoma, probably among the top achievements in our capital city’s history.”
Those who know him best describe Bennett as a man of action. “People respect Clay,” says former Oklahoma City mayor Ron Norick. “When Clay is involved, things are going to happen.” Bennett grew up in Oklahoma City , graduated from Casady School in 1978 and married his high-school sweetheart, Louise Gaylord, in 1981.
Bennett’s respect for hard work and his civic involvement have garnered this Oklahoman of the Year great regard from his peers, both locally and in the wider community of the NBA. “I feel confident about the good hands the [Thunder] is in,” says NBA commissioner David Stern, “because they’re in Clay’s hands and in the hands of his investor group.”
The feature story, written by senior editor Steffie Corcoran, on Bennett appears in the January/February 2009 issue. The issue will hit newsstands regionally on January 2.
DOJ demands money from Oklahoma
12/18/08, 11:33 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department has filed a legal claim against Oklahoma, demanding the state pay more than $21 million due under a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers for construction of Sardis Lake reservoir. The Justice Department says the state has owed payments to the federal government since 1983, and its last payment was 11 years ago. The federal government's filing in the U.S. District Court in Tulsa follows a judgment from the same court on May 19, 2005, ordering Oklahoma to pay more than $14 million within 90 days and to make further payments over a 36-year period. The state appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which sided with the federal government, and to the Supreme Court,
which declined to hear the case.
Humane Society criticizes poisoning prairie dogs
12/18/08, 9:00 a.m.
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - The Humane Society of the United States is criticizing the city of Lawton for its program to poison prairie dogs living in a city park. City officials say they want to thin out the prairie dog population because the animal's droppings and burrows make the park dangerous.
But Oklahoma Humane Society director Cynthia Armstrong says the poison bait is cruel. She says the prairie dogs may soon get special protection from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The state Department of Wildlife Conservation gave the city a three-month permit to use the poison and city workers began distributing it last week. The city was fined $800 in February 2007 after using gas to poison prairie dogs in the park.
Oklahoma personal income up 0.2 percent in 3rd quarter
12/18/08, 8:42 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma's personal income grew just 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2008, slightly better than the national rate of zero and ranking the state 21st nationally in growth. Estimates released Thursday from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis indicate a slowdown in Oklahoma, after the state posted growth rates of 1.3 percent and 3 percent in the first two quarters of 2008. The third quarter personal income growth was the weakest for the nation since the first quarter of 1994, the bureau reported. Oklahoma posted personal income of $135.2 billion in the third quarter, which lasted through September.
State energy secretary is resigning
12/18/08, 8:35 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Energy Secretary David Fleischaker is resigning to return to the private sector. Gov. Brad Henry is expected to appoint Deputy Energy Secretary Bobby Wegener of Oklahoma City to take over the department. Wegener has served as deputy secretary for three years after working as an attorney in the oil, gas and public utilities field. Fleischaker will return to the oil and gas exploration company Jolen Operation where he is president and chief executive officer.
New driver's manuals being delivered
12/18/08, 8:29 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Department of Public Safety says 100,000 updated driver's manuals have been printed and delivery should be completed statewide by the end of next week. Driver's examination offices, tag agents and operators of driving schools had been plagued with requests from parents and others for the manuals since midsummer. But public safety officials said the agency could not afford to reprint the manuals and encouraged the public to access them online at the DPS Web site.
They found funding after a public outcry for printed manuals. Funding was made available through the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. The driver's manual displays a new front cover showing the effects of drinking and driving and law enforcement actions. The back cover lists the estimated costs of a DUI in Oklahoma.
Treasurer predicts tough budget year
12/17/08, 5:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham says a predicted decline in state tax revenue means the state could be in for a tough budget year. The state Tax Commission has said lawmakers will have about $250 million less in state tax revenue to spend next year. The current state budget is about $7.1 billion.
Meacham and other officials are using the estimate to compile revenue projections for the upcoming year that will be certified on Monday by the state Board of Equalization. Meacham said Wednesday that the Tax Commission's estimate will likely not be the final projection and that state revenue may decline even more next year. But Meacham says he does not believe revenues will decline to the level that will require agency budget cuts and furloughs of state workers.
Crude oil spill at Port of Catoosa
12/17/08, 4:52 p.m.
CATOOSA, Okla. (AP) - Officials at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa say crude oil accidentally leaked into a navigation channel at the port. Port director Bob Portiss said Wednesday that port officials were notified of the leak Tuesday and it was contained within the port's terminal.
Portiss says the U.S. Coast Guard and a pollution response team were called to block the entrance to the port and to begin cleanup of the oil spill. Coast Guard Lt. Eric Carrero says any environmental damage is expected to be minor and no barge traffic will be allowed into the port until the cleanup is complete. There was no immediate estimate of how long the cleanup would take.
8 high schools named scholarship state champs
12/17/08, 3:39 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Eight Oklahoma high schools that combined to qualify 325 graduates for free college tuition have been named"Oklahoma's Promise 2008 State Champions" by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The top schools from each class were recognized for having the most graduates qualify for Oklahoma's Promise, a state scholarship that provides tuition for students whose families earn less than $50,000 per year.
The schools are: Pond Creek-Hunter (Class B), Snyder and Soper (Class A), Tushka (Class 2A), Kingfisher (Class 3A), Broken Bow (Class 4A), Booker T. Washington (Class 5A) and Broken Arrow (Class 6A). To be eligible, students must apply by the 10th grade and maintain a 2.5 grade-point average in 17 core courses.
DPS official retires after investigation exonerates him
12/17/08, 3:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A top official at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has retired after an investigation cleared him of alleged wrongdoing. DPS officials say Assistant Commissioner Billy McClure retired last week after being exonerated.
The investigation found McClure did not use state equipment for a private security company at a concert in Tulsa. It also found he did not use his position and relationship with the governor's office to get private security contracts. McClure was among those named in a series of allegations by the Oklahoma State Troopers Association that included improper use of department vehicles and perceived favoritism by some supervisors. DPS attorney Wellon Poe declined comment on other aspects of the investigation.
State shows revenue shortfall
12/17/08, 9:47 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Two hundred fifty million dollars. That's how much less lawmakers will ahve for the state budget next year. The Oklahoma Tax Commission made the estimate late Monday, blaming the shortfall on the major plunge in oil and natural gas prices.
On Monday, the State Board of Equalization will certify its first estimate of state revenues dedicated to operating government services. The projected shortfall is already being seen by legislative leaders as the reason why new spending and state employee pay raises are not likely next year.
City Council approves TIF district
12/17/08, 9:15 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma City Council approves a plan to create a new tax increment financing district to fund about $175 million in public improvements and economic development efforts in downtown. Officials with Devon Energy Corp. had sought the TIF district to go along with its planned 54-story tower to house a new world headquarters.
The company wanted improvements to infrastructure, such as utilities, streetscapes and enhancements of Myriad Gardens, as well as a commitment to economic development policies and incentives to attract other investments, businesses and employers in the area. Officials estimate that Devon will pay at least $11 million a year in ad valorem tax and $20 million in city sales tax during construction. The building is scheduled for completion in 2012 and the first TIF revenues are expected to be received in 2014.
State workers seek better pay
12/16/08, 4:06 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - It's been more than two years since state workers got a pay raise. But legislation that will be considered by lawmakers in 2009 could offer new opportunities for regular salary increases for the
state's 34,000 employees.
The executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, Scott Barger, says the group supports a measure called the State Employee Turnover Reduction Act. Barger says the measure would provide workers with a $2,000 pay raise in July and automatic 2.5 percent raises each year until the cost of state worker turnover is reduced. The raises would cost about $60 million a year. Another measure would give state agencies more flexibility to increase the salaries of individual employees as an incentive for their talent and innovation.
Oklahoma gets $3 million grant
12/16/08, 3:22 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new government grant will provide job placement and training services for Oklahomans affected by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. The grant was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao says it will provide services to about 550 civilian defense workers impacted by BRAC. The almost $3.2 million grant will help minimize the time that workers are unemployed and help them upgrade their skills to attract potential employers.
Officials say the project will also help develop a skilled aerospace workforce. Among the installations that will be served are Tinker Air Force Base, Vance Air Force Base, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, the Defense Ammunition Center, the Tulsa Air Guard Station, Will Rogers World Airport Air Guard Station and several Armed Forces Reserve Centers.
Appeal filed in poultry litter case
12/16/08, 1:29 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma is seeking to overturn a federal judge's decision against stopping 13 Arkansas poultry companies from disposing of bird waste in the Illinois River watershed. The state's 61-page appeal to the denial of a preliminary injunction was filed late Monday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
Attorney General Drew Edmondson suggests in the appeal that the district court didn't offer findings or conclusions in its order supporting the refusal of the injunction, and was wrong to label the testimony of two of the state's expert witnesses as "not sufficiently reliable." In September, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell wrote that Oklahoma had "not yet met its burden of proving that bacteria in the waters of the IRW are caused by the application of poultry litter rather than by other sources, including cattle manure and human septic systems."
Arctic blast hits Oklahoma
12/16/08, 9:35 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Freezing drizzle began falling in Oklahoma early this morning after an Arctic cold front blasted into the state yesterday. At least three traffic deaths have been blamed on icy roads and
schools around the state are closed today or are opening late. Several minor traffic accidents were reported this morning in central Oklahoma after freezing drizzle coated already frozen roadways.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory until 9 a.m. for northeastern Oklahoma and another advisory until noon for most of the remainder of the state. A wind chill advisory for the Panhandle was canceled. Yesterday a 3-year-old girl was killed in a rollover crash on the Sand Springs Expressway after the driver of the pickup truck she was riding in lost control.
A 65-year-old Big Cabin man was killed with the semi he was riding in collided with another tractor-trailer that had jackknifed on the Will Rogers Turnpike. And a 54-year-old Cheyenne man died of exposure after being
trapped in his car after it crashed on U.S. Highway 283 in Roger Mills County near Cheyenne.
State withholds some payments to private prisons
12/16/08, 9:09 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Department of Corrections has withheld more than $589,000 in payments to private prisons in the past year because of staffing shortages. The shortages include a lack of medical personnel that Corrections Corporation of America says are difficult to fill because of a nationwide shortage.
The decision to penalize private prisons for contract violations stems from a recommendation made in a performance audit of prisons requested last year by the Oklahoma Legislature. The state has 4,540 inmates housed in three private prisons in the state. Besides CCA facilities in Cushing and Holdenville, the third private prison that contracts with DOC is the Lawton Correctional Facility. CCA spokesman Steve Owen says the company is making a good faith effort to fill its medical openings. Until then he says part-time employees will be hired or the company will pay overtime to prevent a drop-off in services.
Chinks emerging in state's economic armor
12/16/08, 8:58 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma has remained well-insulated from the national economic crisis because of high prices for oil and agriculture commodities earlier this year. But experts say some chinks in the state's economic armor are beginning to emerge. In the last month, more than a dozen companies have announced
plans to layoff hundreds of workers in Oklahoma, including more than 100 employees at a Gatorade plant in Pryor, 80 workers at an Oklahoma City beverage can manufacturer and nearly 200 jobs at a Sand Springs steel mill. Late last month, Google delayed the opening of a $600 million data center in Pryor that was expected to employ about 200 workers.
Still, State Treasurer Scott Meacham says that Oklahoma has weathered the national economic storm better than any other state and even better than he expected. In a report issued last week on state revenue collections for November, Meacham reported better-than-expected collections from income taxes, sales taxes and the state's gross production taxes on oil and natural gas.
Mattel settles with 39 states over tainted toys
12/16/08, 8:49 a.m.
NEW YORK (AP) - New York state officials say toy maker Mattel Inc. will pay $12 million to 39 states, including Oklahoma, to settle an investigation over Chinese-made lead-tainted toys shipped to the U.S. in 2007. Mattel and its Fisher Price unit recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys last year, beginning in August.
The company feared the items were tainted with lead paint and tiny magnets that children could accidentally swallow. All the affected toys were pulled off shelves by December 2007. As part of the agreement, Mattel also agreed to lower the acceptable level of lead in toys shipped to the states to 90 parts per million down from 600 parts per million, which is currently the federal standard. When new regulations go into place next year, however, the federal standard will also fall to 90 parts per million.
Arctic blast hits Oklahoma
12/15/08, 5:08 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Arctic cold front blasted into the state today, icing some roads in northeast Oklahoma, forcing school closures and leading to traffic accidents that injured several people and killed one.
Temperatures across most of the state were in the teens or low-20s by the afternoon, with winds gusting to more than 20 miles per hour in some locations. The weather was dry after some morning freezing drizzle that caused 75 school districts in northeastern Oklahoma, including Tulsa Public Schools, the state's largest, to cancel classes. Many of the 172 prep basketball games scheduled for Tuesday night were also in danger of being called off.
Oklahoma electors meet, cast votes for McCain
12/15/08, 5:03 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's seven electors have cast their presidential votes for the losing Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin, who carried the state in the November general election.
The electors are chosen by the party of the state's winning presidential candidate. They cast their ballots in a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday afternoon. Electors in all 50 states are formally casting their votes.
Gov. Brad Henry certified the voting documents once the votes were cast. Oklahoma has not supported a Democrat for president since backing Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Prairie dog could get protections
12/15/08, 10:12 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A federal agency has worried some members of Oklahoma's farm community by suggesting the black-tailed prairie dog may deserve protection as an endangered or threatened species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced plans to review the status of the prairie dog. Congressman Frank Lucas says he finds it "difficult to believe" the action is a good use of taxpayer money.
Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Joy Gober says the agency isn't saying the animal should be listed as endangered or threatened. She says the review is because of new information that includes plague in South Dakota and new poisons used in Oklahoma and other states to kill the animals.
More Oklahomans turning to payday loans
12/15/08, 9:58 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - With a sluggish economy, more Oklahomans are turning to high-cost loans with equivalent annual interest up to 500 percent or more to make it through tough times. A report on klahoma's so-called payday lending industry showed more than 1 million loan transactions were made from July 2007 through June 2008. The report shows the average borrower took out more than nine loans during that period.
Former Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit Administrator Donald Hardin says the high-interest loans are designed to exploit low-income people who regularly come up short on their monthly bills. But Dylan White, operations manager for Federal Cash Advance of Oklahoma, disagrees. He says many Oklahomans who have poor credit ratings and live paycheck to paycheck often face few good alternatives when they need access to quick cash for an emergency. A 2003 Oklahoma state law specifically authorizes payday deferred deposit lending and sets maximum interest rates.
Arctic blast hits Oklahoma
12/15/08, 9:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Arctic cold front blasted into Oklahoma, bringing frigid temperatures across the state and light precipitation that left slick roads in some areas. The slick roads led to dozens of schools closing for the day in northeastern Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation was treating slick roads early Monday in northeastern Oklahoma including areas of Interstate 40 between Okemah and Henryetta. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also reported roads in the Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma were slick in spots. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory until noon for the northeastern corner of the state and in parts of northwestern Arkansas.
Oklahoma could benefit from stimulus plan
12/15/08, 9:36 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A new report shows Oklahoma could gain an additional $453 million in federal matching funds for Medicaid under an economic stimulus plan being pushed by Congressional Democrats. The report by Families USA shows the additional Medicaid funding would not only provide health care to more Oklahomans, it could help create 9,300 new jobs with $297 million in new wages. It's also estimated to spur $819 million in new business activity in the state.
Families USA is a national health consumer group that advocates high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The group's analysis is based on passage of legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Every dollar a state spends on Medicaid pulls new federal matching dollars into the state. According to the report, those dollars pass from one person to another in successive rounds of spending, generating more business activity, jobs and wages, the report said.
Former congressman to deploy with military unit
12/15/08, 8:49 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Former two-term Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson will be deploying out of state as a member of a military reserve unit. Cherokee Nation spokesman Mike Miller says the 41-year-old Carson will leave his current post as CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses. After Carson departs, Miller says Cherokee Nation Enterprises CEO David Stewart will become CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses.
Carson did not return calls from the Tulsa World, and Miller would not go into detail about Carson's deployment, saying Carson did not want publicity about it. In 2000, Carson successfully ran for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional seat as a Democrat, winning re-election in 2002. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate against Tom Coburn in 2004.
