Bethany approves road projects using stimulus money
Bethany City Council members this week approved an agreement with the state Transportation Department for two road improvement projects using funds from the federal economic stimulus package.
The project entails overlaying Rockwell Avenue from NW 16 to NW 23 and on NW 36 from Rockwell to Hammond avenues. It also will include installing ramps for the disabled.
The state Transportation Department has been authorized to use $589,898 in stimulus funds for the project.
According to the agreement, the Transportation Department will pay all costs and handle the bid process.…
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Jolley drops AG bid
“Accordingly, I have reached the decision to remain in the Senate representing my district and forego a run for attorney general at this time,” Jolley said.
Jolley is not up for re-election this year. He said he intends to seek a third and final four-year term in 2012.…
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Sunshine Week legislative wrap-up
We’re almost halfway finished with this year’s state legislative session, so here’s the latest on pending bills that concern open records and freedom of information:
DATES OF BIRTH
AT STAKE: Senate Bill 1753 exempts public employee dates of birth from the Open Records Act; dates of birth of public workers are now presumed open.
WHERE IT STANDS: Passed [...] To Read more go to Data Watch
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Call Volume Up as Health Care Vote Nears
Most of the offices of Oklahoma’s U.S. House members are getting a lot more calls this week as Democratic leaders push toward a vote on health care reform.
Katie Bruns, press secretary for Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, reports a “steady stream of calls” on health care, most opposed.
Leslie Shedd, press sec. for Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said the same and that she had heard some people had trouble getting through because of the volume of calls to U.S. Capitol offices.…
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Pet breeders weigh in…and bring pets
Pet breeders met with lawmakers on Tuesday in hopes of making changes to legislation that puts regulations on breeding dogs and cats. Deborah Millette and her cats on a leash turned a few heads in teh Capitol hallways Tuesday morning. Millette, a Vietnam veteran who has post traumatic stress disorder, uses her cat as a service animal. The A1 Savannah breed of cat started in Ponca City, Millette said. New restrictions proposed in legislation aimed at cutting down on ‘puppy mills’ in the state could make it difficult for the breeder to do business.…
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Edmond police release annual report
Edmond police were called to the Chapel Ridge Apartments, 501 W 15th St., more than anywhere else in the city during 2009.
Officers went to the apartments 404 times, according to Edmond Police Department’s 2009 annual report released this week.
Rolling Greens Apartments, 400 E Danforth Road, was next in line with 294 calls for an officer during the year. Officers were called to Bryant Place Apartments, 1600 Kickingbird Road, 256 times during the 12-month period.
Coming in fourth and fifth place are two of the city’s busiest intersections.…
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FBI, IRS trawl social media sites
My story today took a look at some of the issues surrounding state agencies using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkIn to reach out to the community.
On a related note, here’s an Associated Press story about how the FBI is also on Facebook and Twitter, although they don’t necessarily want to be your [...] To Read more go to Data Watch
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Capitol Debrief
Check out the weekly rehash of Capitol activities from last week with Michael McNutt and editorial writer Owen Canfield. Hear more about the Obama picture controversy and other business.
http://www.newsok.com/multimedia/video/71631231001…
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Last week in the rotunda
Last week was deadline week for bills to make it out of their chamber of origin. A flurry of bills passed. House bills will now head to the Senate. Senate bills head to the House.
Here are some highlights from last week:
Take a look at bills that survived and those that didn’t in this Sunday story from the Capitol Bureau.
Credits for electric cars hit some bumps. These bills seek to limit the credit that at one time cut the price of an electric car in half.…
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Inhofe on Gore, Earmarks
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, gave a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon on his signature issues, both old and new: global warming and earmarks.
Inhofe used former Vice President Al Gore, who won the Nobel prize and an Academy Award for his work on global warming, as a focal point for his position that the arguments behind climate change are coming unraveled.
Gore, who recently wrote a lengthy piece in the New York Times dismissing the claims of skeptics like Inhofe, is “drowning in a sea of his own global warming illusions,” Inhofe said.…
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