Morning update for a rainy Friday
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Rain smacks OKC this morning
Seattle’s mayor said Monday he’s hoping the Oklahoma City-based owners of the NBA team will sell the team if they’re forced to honor the last two years of a lease at a city arena. Mayor Greg Nickels was the key witness in the first day of a trial that could determine whether the SuperSonics must play here for two more seasons or can move to Oklahoma City this year.
In Picher last night, Angry words over whether insurance proceeds should be deducted from federally funded buyout offers were exchanged Monday evening during a Tar Creek buyout trust meeting. Most residents voiced disapproval of the trust’s position over the buyout protocol of residences destroyed in the May 10 tornado that destroyed 114 homes and caused severe damage to 30 others.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced a $178 million deal on Monday that will give it more access to the Haynesville Shale natural gas field in northwest Louisiana.
Thunderstorms will continue to develop and move across parts of Oklahoma this morning.
Some of the stronger storms will contain hail, strong winds and heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service. Rain may cause flooding of low-lying or poorly-drained areas, especially where repeated thunderstorms occur.
Today: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid-80s. Easterly winds about 10 mph. Fifty percent chance of thunderstorms.
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Which do you prefer: wind or rain?
So far this summer has been ridiculous with non-stop wind. Angi hit Bricktown to ask people if they preferred this summer’s wind or last summer’s rain.
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Immigration lawsuit update
A federal judge Wednesday blocked enforcement of employer-related provisions of House Bill 1804, the state’s controversial immigration law.
The Oklahoman’s Jay Marks and Devona Walker report U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron in Oklahoma City ruled those sections likely interfere with federal rules regarding the hiring of unauthorized workers. In granting the injunction, she said a pending lawsuit against HB 1804 has “a substantial likelihood of success.”
Continental Airlines Inc. said today it is cutting 3,000 jobs and reducing capacity in the fourth quarter by 11 percent, citing record fuel costs that have pushed the airline industry into a “crisis.”
John Sutter reports the state secretary of agriculture asked the governor Wednesday afternoon to start the process of classifying the Oklahoma Panhandle as a disaster area because of an extreme drought. Here’s how it’s affecting farmers: Crops are failing in the western Panhandle, and farmers are running out of grass to feed their cattle.
Your OKC forecast: Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 90s. Southerly winds 25 to 35 mph. Twenty percent chance of thunderstorms, with some turning severe late in the afternoon.
Bricktown developing a master plan
Oklahoma City officials are boasting about having the world’s largest Wi-Fi “mesh” network. That means that every city public safety vehicle is tied together on a wireless Internet protocol network that blankets a 555-square-mile area with Wi-Fi coverage. each city fire or police vehicle is in itself a moving wireless router that can broadcast on the network and serve as a Wi-Fi access point if another part of the network is disabled. You can learn more about this, by reading Jim Stafford’s report in today’s Oklahoman or online at NewsOK.com.
Meanwhile, Steve Lackmeyer reports Oklahoma City officials are negotiating with a national real estate advisory firm to develop a master plan for Bricktown. Check out more from Lackmeyer – and no one covers Bricktown like Steve Lackmeyer – at his blog on NewsOK – at okccentral.com.
Arizona State won the Women’s College World Series, routing Texas A&M last night at Hall of Fame Stadium 11-0 to win the best of three series.
Hot, windy and dry weather is expected today. A storm system will approach by late week and bring the potential for severe thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday. Today in OKC Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-90s. Southerly winds 20 to 30 mph.
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Tornado safety podcast
I produced this podcast earlier today. John Sutter, a reporter from The Oklahoman, interviewed Greg Carbin from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman. We recorded the interview in the OPUBCO Studios podcast room, John on mic 2, Greg from Norman via phone. Pretty cool that we can have phone interviews that sound at a broadcast level. I know it’s not rocket science or remotely advanced technology. But when you have so many simultaneous projects going at once, it’s nice to have simple technology that works well.
And this was a good interview, listen here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
