Dave Morris NewsOK.com Blogging Community

The Oklahoman's Nolan Clay reports Oklahomans have been a lot less charitable with their income tax refunds lately. Donations made through Oklahoma tax forms were down over the last 12 months, a reflection of a nationwide trend. Only $147,404 was raised off Oklahoma tax forms in the latest fiscal year, which ended last week. That's the lowest total in years, records show.

A hole the westbound lanes of the Crosstown Expressway was repaired Sunday. Transportation Department officials said the repairs were completed and the roads reopened about 10 p.m. after having been closed for more than six hours.

A public hearing is planned at the state Capitol this week to discuss whether a four-day work week for state employees would save money as energy prices continue to rise. Scott Barger, the deputy director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, said cutting one commute a week would be one way to help defray costs for state employees. The hearing is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Today in OKC: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-90s. Southerly winds 10 to 20 mph.

At first glance, this seems really cool. And about time. Official traffic web cams for OKC. Except they are static images instead of live, streaming cars and trucks going fast down the highway.

But hey, this is a start. And I’m all for it. I think the best weather coverage on TV sometimes is a live stream of the guy driving down the street.

I remember when NewsOK, or Oklahoman.com, had the Koala Cam at the OKC Zoo. Little guys never moved.

Check out the new highway cams for yourselves, the web cams are at oktraffic.org.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports From 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Monday — 78 hours — the OHP worked no fatal accidents. Just four years ago, 18 people died in vehicle accidents during the Memorial Day holiday weekend in Oklahoma.

While the highway patrol did not work any fatal vehicle accidents over the Memorial Day holiday, at least four Oklahomans lost their lives on city streets, lakes and out-of-state highways.

Joe Muller, a former associate athletic director at Oklahoma State, will be introduced this morning as the athletic director at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Earle H. Hagen, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "The Mod Squad" and other TV shows, has died. He was 88.

Today in OKC: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 80s. Easterly winds about 10 mph. Thirty percent chance of thunderstorms in the morning, before turning partly cloudy in the afternoon.

A bad accident in SE OKC this morning. A woman was driving a car when she collided with a passenger van carrying about a dozen people. Two people are dead and six are injured. The accident happened about 7 a.m. near Winfield Lane and SE 94. Several people were thrown from the vehicle, described as a work van.

Police are investigating the death a person whose body was found about 5 a.m. today in west Oklahoma City. The body was found in a front seat of a small, dark-colored foreign-made car near a park on the south side of Lake Overholser. Police are searching for the person who may have driven the car. They are also checking hospitals for anyone who may have been injured this morning in a vehicle accident.

Oklahoma County voters narrowly approved the latest Tinker Air Force Base bond issue proposal Tuesday. With all precincts reporting, approval of the plan to buy the abandoned General Motors plant and lease it to Tinker was carried by about 53 percent of the vote, according to the Oklahoma County Election Board.

Thunderstorms will develop this morning over southwest Oklahoma, expanding to most of Oklahoma during the day and early Wednesday night. Today: Cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s. Northeasterly winds 10 to 15 mph. Seventy percent chance of thunderstorms.

Ride your bike to work week. The Oklahoman's Don Mecoy did just that yesterday. And we followed him with cameras. His fellow business reporter Jim Stafford rode the bus. See their rides to work online at NewsOK.

An update from this morning's headlines:

The Oklahoman's John Rohde is reporting local businessman Ed Evans on Tuesday morning announced the purchase of Oak Tree Golf Club from previous owner Don Mathis. Evans said he bought the prestigious private course in north Edmond with the intent of luring another professional major event, or perhaps landing an annual stop on the PGA Tour.

The NBA announced today that New Orleans Hornets head coach Byron Scott was selected as the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year. Read more about the Hornets' playoff race on the NBA blog.

Northbound I-35 is being diverted onto NE 36 after fatality accident on highway. The accident is near I-35 and NE 50. You can find a live traffic report on NewsOK.com