Calvey brother supported Obama
Republican Congressional candidate Kevin Calvey has spent thousands of dollars buying airtime for television ads condemning the “Obama-Pelosi agenda” and praising himself for fighting “the liberals.” Turns out an Obama supporter helped pay for those ads.
We reported Sunday that Calvey’s brother, Michael, has helped funnel at least $270,000 into his brother’s campaign. Michael Calvey also gave to President Obama’s campaign in 2008. Federal Election Commission records show Michael Calvey, a wealthy international investor who has been wildly successful in Russia, has made political donations in the past to Obama For America, Republican Sen.…
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Health care chat
Washington Bureau reporter Chris Casteel and I hosted a chat on the health care package this morning. Chris said the mood in D.C. right now is crazier than he’s ever seen it, which is saying something considering he’s been there for as long as I can remember. Here’s the replay:
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Senate approves date of birth secrecy bill
The Senate this morning unanimously approved a bill making the birth dates of public employees confidential.
Senate Bill 1753 passed 44-0. There was no discussion. The bill, authored by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, now goes to the House for consideration. It does not have a title, which is needed to become law.
Open government advocates oppose the bill. Public employee groups support it.
Without dates of birth, it is nearly impossible to conduct accurate background checks of employees who are paid by taxpayer dollars.…
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Bills for the blind
Last month, our colleague Carrie Coppernoll had an excellent series on the struggles blind students are having to get Braille textbooks in Oklahoma. You can read the stories here and here.
Sounds like at least one state representative read Carrie’s stuff. Rep. Anastasia Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, has authored three bills that aim to fix the problem by providing better educational opportunities to the state’s blind students. Pittman recently won support for the bills from stakeholders in the state’s visually impaired community – many of the same people Carrie interviewed for her stories.…
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Morning highlights: Dropouts and death for sex offenders
Capitol highlights from Monday, Feb. 8:
- A candidate for a state House seat dropped out of the race the day before a court appearance on a driving under the influence charge. Read the story.
- Repeat sex offenders who rape a child younger than six years old could be sentenced to death under House Bill 2965, which passed the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. The bill’s author, Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, said the bill helps Oklahoma get in line with a recent U.S.…
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MAPS 3-related eminent domain talks start today
The Oklahoma City Council today will begin discussing how the city should acquire the land it needs to build the MAPS 3 downtown park and convention center.
As Bryan Dean reported here yesterday, one option under consideration is declaring most of the land between downtown and the Oklahoma River an urban renewal area, which would make it easier for the city to use eminent domain to acquire land it needs for MAPS 3 projects. The area under consideration for urban renewal is commonly referred to as the Core to Shore area.…
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Politicos preparing for Tea Party factor
The state’s Congressional delegation isn’t deaf to all the noise local Tea Party activists have been making lately. Quite the opposite, actually. Capitol Bureau reporter Michael McNutt reports that the delegation agrees the right-leaning Tea Party activists will noticeably impact Oklahoma elections this year:
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said he expects to see Tea Party supporters recruit candidates to run Republican congressional and state races. In November, they are more likely to support Republicans.
“If I were a Democrat, I would be very worried,” Cole said.
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Capitol recap video
Capitol Bureau reporter Michael McNutt and editorial writer Owen Canfield’s video wrap-up of this week’s Capitol news is now online. You can watch it below.
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Crippling cuts in Colorado
Need some sunshine amidst all the doomsday budget talk coming out of governments across the state? Look no further than Colorado Springs, where the city is shutting down stop lights because it can’t pay its bills. Makes Oklahoma’s budget problems seem a little less gloomy, doesn’t it?
From The Denver Post:
COLORADO SPRINGS — This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.
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Federal budget worries local energy industry
Our energy reporter, Jay F. Marks, has an insightful article today detailing why local energy officials are worried about the effect President Obama’s proposed federal budget may have on their industry and our state’s economy, which has taken a big hit recently from low natural gas prices. Marks reports that the energy industry is particularly concerned with Obama’s proposal to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies:
Administration officials estimate the loss of those subsidies could cost the oil and gas industry as much as $40 billion over the next decade.
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