Bethany to consider stimulus road project
Bethany City council members March 16 will consider an agreement with the state Transportation Department for two road improvement projects using funds from the federal economic stimulus package.
The meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at city hall, 6700 NW 36.
If approved, crews would overlay Rockwell Avenue from NW 16 to NW 23 and on NW 36 from Rockwell to Hammond avenues.
The state Transportation Department has been authorized to use $589,898 in stimulus funds for the project.
Tim Henley…
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Lucas Schedules Town Hall Meetings
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, whose sprawling district covers much of western Oklahoma and even reaches over to the northeastern part of the state, will be touring some Oklahoma towns when Congress finishes up a busy period, possibly culminating in a vote on health care reform this week. Here are the town hall meetings Lucas has scheduled for March 30 and March 31:
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
WATONGA
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Watonga City Hall
117 North Weigle
KINGFISHER
1:00 p.m.…
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Boren, House Sportsmen Write Obama About Fishing
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and other members of the House Congressional Sportsmen Caucus sent a letter to President Barack Obama today expressing concerns about recreational anglers being able to fish in the oceans.
Dear President Obama,
As leaders of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, we urge you to include recreation, especially recreational fishing and boating, as a national priority in the Ocean Policy Task Force’s final report, as directed in your June 12, 2009, memorandum on “National Policy for the Oceans, our Coasts and the Great Lakes”.…
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Let the sun shine
Sunday begins Sunshine Week, a national effort to promote open government. You will see lots of stories in The Oklahoman about the topic, and we’ll be blogging about it as well.
Throughout the week we’ll try to address why openness is so important and some of the issues on the front lines of the current open records battles in the state and nation.
It’s easy for me to understand the importance of our state’s open records and open meetings acts because I couldn’t do my job without them, but it can be difficult for some to understand how it affects their daily lives.…
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Speaker Pelosi on health care today
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a news conference today, addressing several questions about health care legislation and the timetable for voting in the House on the Senate bill. Here is a transcript of the news conference, provided by her office:
Speaker Pelosi. Good morning. Here we are on Friday morning, one day closer to passing historic legislation to make health care more affordable, more acceptable to the American people and holding insurance companies accountable. Each day we move closer in terms of narrowing the decisions that need to be made.…
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Sen. Coburn’s Reaction to Being Named to Deficit Panel
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, released this statement in reaction to being named to President Barack Obama’s special commission on attacking the nation’s debt:
“I’m honored to serve on this commission and look forward to offering proposals to restrain the growth of government. The American people should realize, however, that the formation of a presidential deficit commission is an indictment of Congress and its inability to address our long-term fiscal challenges. Congress does not need to wait on this commission to begin making the hard choices needed to restrain spending and reduce the burden of debt on the next generation.…
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Jett to enter 5th Congressional District contest
State Rep. Shane Jett is expected to announce today he is running for the congressional seat being vacated by Mary Fallin.
Jett, R-Tecumseh, will become the second state lawmaker and the sixth Republican to enter the race for the open 5th Congressional District seat.
Jett is passing up re-election to serve in the congressional district that covers most of Oklahoma County and Seminole and Pottawatomie counties.
Jett, elected in 2004 to House District 27, will announce his congressional bid at noon today at the state Capitol, according to his campaign.…
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Obama Donates Nobel Peace Prize Money to Charity
Here is a press release from the White House on where President Barack Obama is sending a portion of the $1.4 million that came with the prize:
$250,000 to Fisher House
Fisher House is a national non-profit organization that provides housing for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers.
$200,000 to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund
In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, President Obama asked former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to create the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to raise funds for long-term relief efforts in Haiti.…
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Fallin Casts First Votes of the Month
U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, returned to Washington on Wednesday and cast her first votes in the House this month, after missing 20 votes in March while campaigning for governor.
Fallin was “tweeting” from the campaign trail in western Oklahoma on Tuesday, as the House was in session. She missed three votes and an Armed Services subcommittee hearing about how the children of military personnel are affected by their parents’ deployments.
Last week, she missed a hearing in the same subcomittee in which the panel heard from the military officials in charge of doing a detailed study of how the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would affect the armed forces.…
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Coburn, Inhofe oppose unemployment extension
Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, and Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, voted against a $140 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies for the unemployed. The bill passed 62-36.
In a speech on the Senate floor this morning, Coburn blasted the spending, saying it would add $1,282 in debt to every American family.
“When will it ever be enough?” Coburn said.
Coburn said the nation’s rising debt is giving more influence to the countries financing it, particularly China. Lawmakers could do something about it but won’t, he said.…
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