on April 19, 2008M at 9:57 pm
Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date.
The nation’s largest companies face tax audits about half as often as 20 years ago, according to a Syracuse University study that cites a “historic collapse” in audits of corporations with $250 million or more in assets.
Darlene Campbell, the grandmother of a 12-year-old Paoli girl, Alyssa Nichole Campbell, who died of meningitis, also has died from the highly contagious disease. Health officials say there’s no public health threat.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Brenda Andrew, who was sentenced to death for killing her estranged husband, Rob Andrew, in 2001 in Oklahoma City. Brenda Andrew and James Pavatt were convicted of killing Andrew for his insurance money.
Most Oklahoma patients are satisfied with their hospital care, a survey by the federal government found. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services published the results of its first national satisfaction survey on its Hospital Compare Web site.
Former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz plans to sue to get the team back from its Oklahoma City-based ownership group. The lawyer for Howard Schultz, Richard Yarmuth, said he will sue Clay Bennett’s Professional Basketball Club to prevent him from moving the NBA franchise to Oklahoma City. The team’s Oklahoma-based owners accused the city of Seattle of scheming with a potential purchaser to force them to sell.
Gov. Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 1819 offering the SuperSonics tax rebates for the next 15 years for the jobs the team would bring to the state.
A metalworker from Oklahoma City won $3.8 million to become the state’s first Hot Lotto millionaire. Steve Trimble, 50, quit his job and said he plans to relax, go on vacations and play a lot of golf.
Crude futures made their first foray past $115, propelled to a record by concerns about how much gasoline will be available during the peak summer months. Fuel inventories fell by a much larger than expected 5.5 million barrels.
Although he has been deployed to Iraq, Army Capt. Andy Riise was virtually present for the birth of his second son. He and his wife, Katie, used a call center run by the Freedom Calls Foundation to communicate during their son’s birth at Southwestern Medical Center in Lawton.
Pope Benedict XVI was met at Andrews Air Force Base by President Bush as the pontiff began his first U.S. visit. The two agreed in talks that terrorism is an unacceptable weapon for any religion, but steered clear of potential disagreements over the Iraq war. During the visit, Benedict met privately with people who had been abused by priests. He celebrated Mass for 45,000 in Washington, D.C., met with representatives of other religions and spoke to the United Nations.
The U.S Supreme Court upheld lethal injection as a method of execution, clearing for Oklahoma and other states to resume executions that have been on hold since September. The ruling in a Kentucky case held that the three-chemical method of execution created in Oklahoma more than 30 years ago does not violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
Oklahoma State University hired the University of Massachusetts’ Travis Ford as its men’s basketball coach to succeed Sean Sutton. Ford led UMass to the finals of this season’s National Invitation Tournament, where the team lost to Ohio State.
Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess, 55, resigned after being charged with 35 felony counts involving an alleged sex-slave operation at the jail. The allegations include having sex with female inmates and threatening to have a drug court participant in his custody sent to prison if she didn’t comply with his demands.
The political corruption trial of McAlester businessman Francis Stipe ended in Muskogee when he pleaded guilty to all four counts of a federal indictment. Stipe, 77, maintained his innocence on two of the felony counts — mail fraud and paying a bribe — but conceded that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a conviction on all of them. In addition to those counts, Stipe pleaded guilty to conspiracy and witness tampering. In return for Stipe’s plea, prosecutors assured a sentence that includes no prison time. Stipe’s guilty plea ended three days of deliberations by jurors.
State legislators voted to override Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of an anti-abortion bill. House members voted 81-15 to override. In the Senate, the vote was 37-11. Henry vetoed Senate Bill 1878, requiring women to get a description of ultrasound images of an unborn child before an abortion. The bill also was intended to protect health care providers’ rights not to participate in abortions.
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