Santorum rally site changed
The site for the rally for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has changed.
It will be at the Magnuson Hotel and Meridian Convention Center, 737 S. Meridian Ave. It’s just south of Interstate 40.
The venue was changed because of the overwhelming response, according to the Oklahoma Republican Party’s website. It originally was scheduled at the nearby H&H Shooting Sports Complex.
The time remains the same at 9 a.m. There is no charge to attend the rally.
Santorum’s visit today …
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Rep. Tom Cole Praises Selection of House Speaker Designate
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, praised the selection of state Rep. T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, as the House speaker designate. If all goes as planned, Shannon would be speaker of the state House of Representatives in early 2013.
Cole and Shannon are both citizens of the Chickasaw Nation. Shannon once served on Cole’s staff.
“I am enormously pleased and proud that the Oklahoma House of Representatives has selected T.W. Shannon as their next Speaker,” Cole said in a prepared statement.
“As …
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Oklahoma lawmakers: Social media being used more
Several legislators who use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter say they are effective ways to communicate with constituents.
Some said they were apprehensive when U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., said last week that his Twitter account had been hacked and someone sent a lewd photograph of himself to a woman. Weiner admitted Monday that he had sent the picture.
In Oklahoma, several officials or their staff frequently change passwords and monitor the accounts to delete any inappropriate …
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Elections 2010: Tracking tweets about the Oklahoma governor candidates
The New York Times has an interesting interactive on its website that lets you compare tweets by and about various candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor. Here’s the one for Oklahoma’s gubernatorial race:
–Paul…
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Calvey baby arrives
Kevin Calvey, involved in a GOP congressional runoff race that will be determined in two weeks, is a new dad.
Thomas Calvey was born Tuesday evening at an Oklahoma City hospital.
He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and is 21 inches long, a campaign spokesman said.
Calvey’s wife, Toni, and Thomas are doing fine, the spokesman said. Thomas is their second child; Anastasia is about 22 months old.
Calvey, of Oklahoma City, faces James Lankford, of Edmond, in the Aug. …
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Last-minute DOB privacy legislation, Part II
We just got word tonight that Rep. Randy Terrill has filed new legislation that will close off the dates of birth of all public employees in Oklahoma. This is despite the fact that the state makes millions selling the same information for registered voters, licensed drivers and college students. Sensing that a standalone bill like [...]
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House strengthens ban on texting while driving
House members have revived efforts to ban texting while driving. As reported Thursday by the Capitol Bureau’s Micheal McNutt, Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, put language into a Senate bill that would prohibit a person from driving and using an electronic device to write, send or read a text.
They could be fined up to $1,000, if ticketed under this version of the bill.
The new language to Senate Bill 1908 is much harsher than the Senate version of the …
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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 …
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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 …
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Fiscal year 2010 budget agreement reached; details to be announced today
An agreement should be announced today on how state leaders will take care of a nearly $500 million deficit at the end of this fiscal year.
The agreement, which will show much of the state’s savings account will be tapped to balance this fiscal year’s budget, apparently was ready to roll out Wednesday, but legislative leaders were unable to show it first to all lawmakers.
A couple interesting things to note in the agreement will be how much of the …
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