Weekend Rewind: March 22, 2010
It’s the first Monday of spring, and our weekend snow has largely melted. Here’s what you might have missed from our team this weekend:
–Speculation continues in the December death of an 11-year-old Noble girl. Watchdog reporter Michael Baker takes a closer look here.
NOBLE — For days, the 11-year-old lay there dead, dressed in a purple T-shirt decorated with a butterfly pattern.
Stephanie Wilcoxson committed suicide, a state medical examiner concluded. Death caused by very high levels of methadone in her body
But the questions don’t end there.
A methadone overdose, a finding of suicide, Stephanie’s young age, her father’s suicide in 2005 and a continuing investigation all combine to shroud the girl’s December death in more questions than answers. Conjecture and some innuendo have circulated around Stephanie’s hometown of Noble, a growing one-high school town of 5,800 people situated just south of Norman.
–Legalized gambling has contributed hundreds of millions to state coffers, but does the entertainment contribute to other problems?
Gambling in Oklahoma has contributed more than $184 million to state government revenues, but it has come at a cost to tens of thousands of Oklahomans who have become problem gamblers, experts say.
Elsewhere:
–The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on corporate spending on political campaigns is still being worked out at the state level. But the Texas Tribune has found what might be one of the first directly sponsored corporate campaign ad from Texas’ primary election.
–The right to an attorney is a fundamental part of our legal system. But the system of indigent defense may be under review in New York, according to this New York Times story.
–Further afield in Afghanistan, where the opium crop is a way of life for many poor farmers, American and NATO forces are arguing against opium eradication during the latest battle for Marja.
–Paul
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