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Choice Matters honors leaders with ‘Parent Power’ awards
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Three schools and two parent leaders were honored with 2020 Parent Power Awards on the final day of the 2021 Oklahoma Parent Power Summit & Education Expo, which concluded on Friday, Jan. 29. The event was hosted in conjunction with National School Choice Week and aimed at providing parents tools to improve educational outcomes for children.
Winning schools were selected for contributing to academic excellence in Oklahoma, expanding parent choices, and elevating the needs of parents and students over other considerations. Honorees included:
• Traditional Public School District of the Year: Lawton Public Schools. LPS provided families the choice of in-person, remote or blended learning experiences in 2020. It did so after extensive input from the Lawton community.
• Public Charter School of the Year: Epic Charter Schools. Epic is the fastest growing school district in Oklahoma, offering parents an established, cutting-edge virtual learning option. Epic also worked to launch a new program, Heritage Academy, focused on bilingual education and culturally relevant instruction for Hispanic students.
• Private School of the Year: The Academy of Christian Studies. Based in Oklahoma City, the Academy annually doles out over a half million dollars in financial aid and scholarships, and it has placed an emphasis on attracting families from underserved, lower income communities.
Two parents also received Parent Power Awards for their work to expand access to school choice for the entire Oklahoma community. They are:
• Choice Advocate of the Year: Ronda Peterson. Peterson, of Edmond, has organized numerous meetings with lawmakers for parents to advocate for policies such as the expansion of the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships and an increase in the tax credit cap for Equal Opportunity Scholarships. She continues to meet and train parents, support them in their advocacy, and represent them at the Capitol.
• Parent Power Champion: Jennifer Johnson. An Owasso native, Jennifer helped to organize and lead a press conference at the Oklahoma State Capitol advocating for schools to reopen to in-person instruction. She helped to launch and lead the new group Parent Voice Oklahoma.
The Parent Power Summit and Expo was hosted by ChoiceMatters, a non-profit supporting parent-led education initiatives in Oklahoma. Executive Director Robert Ruiz said the organizing principle of the summit was that parents and families need to come first.
“Education, and especially public education, needs to elevate the needs of parents and students above all else,” said Ruiz, who organized the event which concluded on January 29.
“It’s about getting kids the tools they need to succeed and giving parents the opportunity to find the best educational fit for their kids. The schools and the individuals we honored are working to make sure we always put families first.”
Choice Matters honors leaders with ‘Parent Power’ awards Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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Celebrating 26 years of healthcare Manos Juntas Free Clinic to host Virtual Ribbon Cutting Event2/3/2021 ![]()
Oklahoma City – This month, the Manos Juntas Free Clinic, located in Oklahoma City, is celebrating its 26th anniversary of providing healthcare to those in need. To honor this event, Manos Juntas will introduce its new combined office and clinic located near south Western and I-240.
The public is invited to participate in the Manos Juntas 26th Anniversary Virtual Ribbon Cutting Event on Friday, Feb. 26, from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. The link can be accessed on the Manos Juntas Free Clinic website (https://ift.tt/3oGEwHO ) and to the Facebook page – Manos Juntas Ribbon Cutting Event).
Led by founder, president and medical director Dr. Boyd Shook, Manos Juntas relocated last summer to a building at 1145 West Interstate 240 Service Road. The clinic is now within 10 miles from 90 percent of its patients, according to Shook.
“With the purchase of this building, my dream of a free clinic home is now possible,’ he said. “High quality medical care is now available for those in need.”
Manos Juntas first began serving patients in the library of Epworth United Methodist Church and later moved inside the Penn Avenue Church in 2015.
Manos Juntas joins hands and works to break the cycle of poverty through healthcare and education.
Founded in 1995, the concept of Fundacion Manos Juntas (Joined Hands Foundation) was the brainchild of Dr. Shook and his daughter, the Rev. Dr. Kathy McCallie (https://ift.tt/39LB8qZ ).
Since its beginning, the Manos Juntas Free Clinic (https://ift.tt/3pMFgMJ ) has been treating people each Saturday for free who have no insurance and are unable to afford an examination by a physician or purchase their medicines.
“This move has allowed us to expand our clinic services,” said Shook. “The new building has a lot of parking space which creates the opportunity to be more efficient.
A native Oklahoman specializing in Internal Medicine, Shook practiced Hematology and Oncology for 25 years. He has worked as a medical director for the Central Oklahoma Medical Group and as Chief of Ambulatory Care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
“Now we are offering some weekday services as well as the free clinic on Saturday,” Shook said. “Sometimes during the free clinic, we identify patients who need more extensive evaluation than we can perform in the brief amount of time allotted. We can thus ask those people to return during the week when we can offer at no cost a more thorough evaluation.
Manos Juntas took ownership of the new facility last month and is following CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19.
“We have added capabilities including ultrasound and electrocardiography,” Shook said. “This represents an increase in the services that we offer to the city and surrounding area. This program will continue to reduce the amount of healthcare expense sustained by the local emergency rooms.
“The hope is that we might be able to obtain more physicians for donation of a few hours of their time to assist in this provision of care,” Shook added.
Kris Barnes, former Manos Juntas executive director said, “We meet our mission by providing medical care, medications, diabetes testing supplies, laboratory exams, and specialty referrals.
“The patient flow begins with signing in, they are entered into our medical records system, then the patients are triaged,” Barnes continued. “Every patient has their vital signs checked, basic medical history is taken, and they are examined that day.
“All diabetes patients have their glucose checked at every clinic visit. Then they are seen by our primary care physicians,” Barnes added. “Patients can then go to the pharmacy and have their prescriptions filled.”
“Many of the programs designed to help the poor have left these people out, so we had to create a totally free clinic,” Shook said. “Among our patients, a $4 prescription is still beyond their reach. By giving them free medication, we’ve found that they are very cooperative, they respond extremely well, and they’re very grateful for what we are able to provide for them.”
Bob Benson, a Manor Juntas patient for over 11 years said, “Manos Juntas has been very important to my life because the medicines I take are lifesaving. I wasn’t working and I needed my blood sugar medicines. I don’t have insurance and don’t have the means to get them anywhere else. If it weren’t for Manos Juntas I don’t know where I would turn to get the medicines I need.”
According to Shook, the clinic has served over 25,000 patients in the past 25 years.
“These patients are very diverse in their ethnicity and come from many different countries and cultures,” Shook said. “The one thing they have in common is that they all need healthcare. We will see anyone as a patient, regardless of their background or how they got here.
“We continue to request donations to assist in provision of the services.”
The patients aren’t the only beneficiaries of Manos Juntas clinic.
“Each week a large team of students gets the ‘hands on’ experience they need to be culturally competent doctors, nurses, pharmacists and health care workers,” Shook said.
“One of my goals has always been to tell the volunteers when you get out into practice remember what you’re learning here.” Shook added. “How they interact with the patients at a cultural level is something they take with them to medical school.”
Dr. Richard Meier (https://ift.tt/2MwsP9C ), who began his Internal Medicine residency in New York last July, stated, “I got my start in healthcare as a volunteer at Manos Juntas more than a decade ago and I wouldn’t be the physician I am today if it weren’t for Dr. Shook’s mentorship and all the ways that Manos Juntas taught me to love evidence-based, patient-centered care.”
To register in advance for the Mantos Justas Virtual Ribbon Cutting event on Feb. 26, cut and paste to access this link: https://ift.tt/2MT85J6 . After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting online.
“It’s just been a wonderful experience,” said Anoushka Mullasseril, a Manos Juntas volunteer of the year. “I’ve been able to really understand the specific needs of patients here in Oklahoma. This is a very special place.”
For clinic updates, to volunteer and to donate https://ift.tt/3oGEwHO . Donations can also be sent to 1145 W Interstate 240 Service Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73139. For more information call 405-605-3101.
Celebrating 26 years of healthcare, Manos Juntas Free Clinic to host Virtual Ribbon Cutting Event Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
The City Sentinel Staff Report
In response to COVID-19, the Paseo Arts Association has made the decision to reschedule the 2021 Paseo Arts Festival. Originally scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend, May 29-31, the festival will now take place on Labor Day Weekend, September 4-6.
Given the high level of uncertainty surrounding this rapidly evolving situation, the decision was made with careful consideration and in the best interest of the hundreds of festival artists, performers, vendors and volunteers that make up the event.
“The health and safety of the 60,000 visitors the festival draws to the district each year has always been the top priority of the PAA, and this time is no different,” says PAA Executive Director Amanda Bleakley.
Updates on how the community can support Paseo Arts District businesses and regarding all other PAA programs can be found online at thepaseo.org and on the district’s social media pages. PAA staff and board members will follow both city and state safety guidelines regarding COVID-19 and make adjustments as necessary.
The Paseo Arts Festival is the largest annual fundraiser for the Paseo Arts Association. The money raised through beverage and merchandise sales directly supports the mission of the 501(c)3 nonprofit, and is used to put on your favorite Paseo programs and events provided to the community year-round, such as Fairy Ball, Magic Lantern, SPACE, FEAST and First Friday Gallery Walks.
Visitors to the festival will enjoy almost 100 nationally acclaimed visual artists, who fill the Historic Paseo Arts District with original artwork: everything from painting, ceramics and photography to woodworking, glass, sculpture and jewelry.
Voted Best Free Entertainment in Oklahoma Gazette’s 2020 Best of OKC, the festival is famous for its more than 50 musicians and live performers on two stages who donate their time and talents to support the Paseo.
For more information visit the thepaseo.org or call (405) 525-2688. For daily details, follow the Paseo Arts District on Instagram @paseoartsdistrict, Facebook @paseo.artsdistrict and Twitter @PaseoOKC.
Paseo Arts Association announces postponement of 2021 Paseo Arts Festival Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
The City Sentinel, Staff Report
Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All of the Paseo galleries have reopened, some with abbreviated hours, and most will be open late for First Friday. Restaurants will be open for dining, patio seating and takeout.
All guests are required to wear a mask, practice social distancing and use provided hand sanitizer when shopping. This month’s First Friday is February 5, 6-9 p.m.
The Paseo Arts and Creativity Center (PACC) is proud to feature two exhibits in February -- in Gallery One, Poetic City’s Melanin Stories, and in Gallery Two, the annual Paseo Arts Association Members’ Show. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 5, 5 to 8 p.m.
The PACC will limit capacity and require masks and social distancing. Both exhibits will be on display February 5-27 in the PACC at 3024 Paseo.
Melanin Stories, presented by local performance group Poetic City and curated by Sunee Rice, will feature eight local artists of color working in various mediums to tell stories of history and culture.
According to a press release form the Paseo Arts Association, “The goal of this exhibit is to enlighten observers and provide a diverse and inclusive community to all. Poetic City is a high energy and inclusive performance arts entity that supports all forms of creative expression. They recognize that love and ambition come in all shapes and sizes, and work to coordinate and promote professional platforms for those seeking a creative outlet for their passion.”
The annual juried Paseo Arts Association Members’ Show will exhibit many eclectic and inspiring art works created by 48 of the PAA’s talented and supportive members. “Artists and our members are the drive behind the work our organization does, says PAA Program Manager Paige Powell.
“We have been overwhelmed by their support throughout the pandemic and our expansion into the PACC, and we are proud to show off their talent and the diversity of our membership.”
This year’s Members’ Show was juried by Diana J. Smith, a painter, ceramicist and graphic designer with a long history of support and involvement with the PAA. Awards will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 5, during the opening reception.
Oklahoma City’s Unique Arts Destination, the Paseo Arts District is located between NW 27th & 30th Streets and Walker & Hudson. Each First Friday, Paseo galleries offer special themed exhibits, guest artists and a variety of live entertainment -- all within walking distance. Ten restaurants and a handful of other shops round out the Paseo’s distinctive atmosphere.
For more information, call the Paseo Arts Association at (405) 525-2688 or email [email protected]. Visit thepaseo.org/join for membership information.
Mask Up for Paseo’s First Friday Gallery Walk on February 5 Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
Greg Forster, Ph.D.
I recently wrote about the increasing levels of political pressure from both socialists and economic nationalists to abandon our historic aspiration to a free and growing entrepreneurial economy. One issue I held aside to deal with separately is the more radical line of attack coming from advocates of a certain kind of racialism. An economy built on equal rights and freedoms for all people under the rule of law — securing your right to control your own work as well as rights to property, contract, and exchange — is now seen by many people as a form of white supremacy.
Race always has been, and continues to be, America’s big stumbling block. Our history of injustice based on race, and our continuing inability to heal or resolve the wounds arising from it, put a perennial question mark at the end of every sentence about who we are. Almost no issue in our public life, from health care to national defense, is free of the seemingly endless complications arising from this difficulty.
[Editor’s note: Forster’s previous essay on pressures to abandon an entrepreneurial economy can be viewed here: https://ift.tt/3pOn7hU].
The moral traditions that constitute our economic order are no exception. “America’s successful economy was built on slavery” and similar statements are common. In its more highly developed form, the argument is that our system of equal rights and freedoms under the rule of law – the moral order at the heart of the free and growing entrepreneurial economy— were always just an empty ideology covering up racial domination. White supremacy was the real rock-bottom reality behind all the 18th century rhetoric about property and contract rights.
This is an educational as well as a political question. Scholars like Calvin Schermerhorn and Edward Baptist have been reshaping U.S. history scholarship along these lines. And the big push to get high schools to use an adapted version of the New York Times’ “1619 Project” in classrooms takes this into the K-12 sector, since parts of the “1619 Project” echo the themes of this line of attack.
For the sake of clarity, we need to differentiate three questions that are often lumped together as if they were the same question: Did America steal massive amounts of wealth from African-Americans in the form of forced labor? Was slavery a cause of America’s economic growth and success? And was the idea of equal rights and freedoms under the rule of law really an ideology of white supremacy?
Massive Theft of Economic Value
The answer to the first question is an unambiguous yes. The injustice of slavery is obviously much larger than just the stealing of economic value. But it does find its formidable origin in that colossal and shameless larceny; if not for the theft of economic value, there would have been no slavery in the first place. To steal people’s labor was the whole point.
And the sheer quantity of economic value stolen is sufficient to stagger even the most powerful imagination. Lincoln wasn’t kidding around when he said that God would have been perfectly just to let the war rage on until every drop of blood spilled by slavers’ whips had been taken right back out of America’s hide with bullets and bayonets. Contemplating the horror of, say, Shiloh — in which almost 100,000 men spent two full days in what is essentially a big, flat, empty space doing nothing but slaughtering each other nonstop—we might well conclude that God really must be merciful if he let us off the hook that easily.
I believe one major reason people take this line of attack on the modern economy is simply because they want the historical fact of this massive theft of economic value recognized. In that, they are right. As the descendent of immigrants who came through Ellis Island from Italy, I know my people are quick to point out how much of America was built by Italian-Americans. The difference is that America isn’t ashamed to recognize the fact of our contribution; if anything, it’s ashamed of its efforts to prevent us from contributing. The economic contribution of African-Americans is not in the same position, and recognizing it is psychologically difficult for all of us. But justice demands it. And I think if we were more ready to offer that recognition, much of the impetus to this attack on our traditional economic order would be removed.
A Cause of America’s Economic Growth?
However, the question of whether America stole massive amounts of economic value from African-Americans is not the same as the question of whether slavery drove economic growth. Quite the reverse is true. Slavery was an economically backward institution. It kept large portions of the United States literally shackled to no-growth primitive agrarianism for generations after our neighbors were industrializing.
That slavery impeded rather than contributed to America’s economic growth and success has been established by the diligent labor of scholars like Phillip Magness, Nathan Nunn, and Stanley Engerman. But really, you only have to know the barest outline of the real history to see this. That the North was rich and the South poor because the former had rights and laws while the latter had whips and chains was always known (though not always frankly acknowledged) by everybody on both sides. The Union won the war precisely because its industrialized manufacturing economy could grind the Confederacy’s atavistic agrarianism — enslaved by slavery — into the ground. Enormous academic obfuscation has been necessary to produce a generation of Americans ignorant of these basic facts.
The key thing to grasp is the difference between moving wealth around and creating new wealth. Stealing wealth is just moving it around. Getting rich that way is fragile, and completely unsustainable. The way nations really get rich, reliably and continually, is by giving their people the conditions necessary to create new wealth. Those conditions are recognition of human rights — to control your own work, and to property, contract, and exchange.
Our economic success was not built on slavery. It was built in spite of a huge economic drag from slavery. And it was built by repudiating the principles of slavery.
An Ideology of White Supremacy?
That brings us to our third question. It is true that America professed the principle of equal rights while practicing the perfidy of white supremacy. It does not follow that the former was simply a cover for the latter. On the contrary, the founders’ liberal principles were actually the deadliest enemy of their licentious practice. It has been precisely a dedication to our nation’s founding principles that has inspired good people in every generation of Americans to rise up against white supremacy in all the forms it has taken in this country.
We have always known that the principles of the Declaration of Independence were inconsistent with white supremacy, from the southern delegations who walked out of the Continental Congress in 1776 to prevent a clause condemning slavery from being included in the Declaration to the marchers who heard Martin Luther King in 1963 call the Declaration a “promissory note” that Americans of all colors were entitled to cash. As King himself said, America has always been “a schizophrenic nation,” torn between its liberal moral principles and its atavistic racial impulses. We are torn because they pull in opposite directions.
A commitment to equal rights and freedoms under the rule of law does mean that the long-term legacy effects of past injustices cannot be swept away by immediate, radical government action. But the alternative is to jettison the very moral principles that make slavery and segregation wrong in the first place. You can’t eat your cake and also have it; you can’t demand a radical revolution against the legacy of injustices that trampled on people’s rights while also denying that people have rights. That’s why radical government plans to reinvent society from the ground up overnight have never actually accomplished their goals, and usually end in tyranny and mass murder.
It’s worth pausing to ask: Who else, besides these radical racial critics of the liberal order on the far left, has advanced all these claims? The answer is: radical racial critics of the liberal order on the far right — the white supremacists themselves. From the Dred Scot decision to the Internet sewers of the alt-right, American white supremacists have never had room for more than one idea in their tiny brains, and that idea is this: That America’s successful economy was built on slavery, and the Declaration’s promises of equal rights and freedoms always had “For Whites Only” written between the lines in invisible ink.
In fact, almost all of the radical postmodern ideas that have taken over the American left since the 1960s were first developed by the intellectuals (if we can call them that) who in earlier generations defended slavery and segregation. Rights and freedoms and the rule of law is all just bourgeois ideology, designed to produce an atomistic individualism so industrialists can manipulate and exploit factory workers as “wage slaves.” Community is supreme over the individual; the lives of individuals only have meaning insofar as they know their proper place within a stable community that tells them who they are. The crass majoritarianism of democracy must yield to complex systems that create group rights by giving a veto to self-appointed group representatives (today we call it “stakeholder democracy” or “multicultural democracy,” but when John C. Calhoun invented this system in order to preserve slavery, he called it rule by “concurrent majority”). Above all, it is an act of war to pass moral judgment on someone else’s culture. And, conveniently, any individual within the culture who dissents too loudly can be relabeled as an outsider and dealt with accordingly.
I said at the beginning that the attack on the liberal, entrepreneurial economy comes from “advocates of a certain kind of racialism.” They exist on both political sides, and they push the same idea — that equal rights and freedoms under the rule of law is a system of white power. If we want an economy of all people, by all people and for all people, we should borrow a line from Mercutio and reply to the racialists of left and right alike: “A plague ’o both your houses!”
NOTE: Greg Forster (Ph.D., Yale University) is a Friedman Fellow with EdChoice. This essay first appeared here: https://ift.tt/3oFHzQF . The essay is reposted with permission. Forster He has conducted numerous empirical studies on education issues, including school choice, accountability testing, graduation rates, student demographics, and special education. The author of nine books and the co-editor of six books, Dr. Forster has also written numerous articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as in popular publications such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. His latest book is Economics: A Student’s Guide (Crossway, 2019).
An economy of all people, by all people, and for all people: A Commentary Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Responding to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s State of the State speech, legislative Republicans have offered support for many of the chief executive’s comments.
In a staff release sent Monday afternoon (February 1) to CapitolBeatOK.com and other news organizations, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, issued the following statement:
“I appreciate the optimism of Governor Stitt’s state of the state speech. Senate Republicans are ready to work with the governor and our House colleagues to help Oklahoma rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, grow and diversify our economy, help state government deliver services more efficiently to taxpayers, and invest in the people of Oklahoma. I appreciate the governor’s acknowledgment of the constitutional authority of each branch of government and look forward to working with him as the session progresses.”
In a staff press release, House Republicans also reacted favorably to several components in Stitt’s State of the State speech.
Concerning Gov. Stitt’s third speech to kick off a legislative session, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, commented: “Governor Stitt’s leadership has Oklahoma positioned for big success this session. The governor will find strong support in the House for keeping the economy open, resuming in-person school, empowering parents and improving school finances. On those and all other issues, we appreciate and will reciprocate the governor’s pledge to work together and have a productive session for all Oklahomans.”
State Representative Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, commented on vaccination progress in her statement, sent to news organizations by the legislative communications staff: “I’m grateful Governor Stitt is actively encouraging Oklahomans to do their research and consider receiving the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them. Herd immunity would allow Oklahomans to return to our schools, help our businesses thrive and return to our normal lives. I'm pleased our state is making significant strides in rolling out the vaccine.”
Reflecting views of some in the majority caucus of the House, Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said: “Every year our schools receive less money per student because our formula sends out money for ghost students, students that do not actually exist. We must end this practice of watering down school finances by funding schools based on the number of students they actually have in their classrooms.”
As for the governor aspiration for open transfer, Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, commented: “Our parents and children deserve to choose the education model that works best for their student, and I’m glad the governor is encouraging schools to offer multiple learning options. Our parents and students need the flexibility offered by open transfer, and a one-size-fits-all approach to education does not serve anybody’s best interest.”
And, state Rep. Mike Osburn, an Edmond Republican, applauded Stitt’s push for civil service reforms, saying, “It is very encouraging to hear Governor Stitt prioritize the type of civil service reform that can positively transform state government for employees, managers and - most importantly - the taxpaying citizens. Having worked on this issue for years, I am pleased Governor Stitt is at the table with all stakeholders this session to help get this to the finish line.”
Senate Pro Temp Greg Treat and other Republican state legislators respond to State of the State Address Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, and her state House counterpart, Representative Emily Virgin, were both critical of the State of the State address delivered Monday, February 1, by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican .
In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK and other news organization, Senator Floyd said:
“[Monday’s] State of the State Address makes clear what the Senate Democrats have long been advocating: fighting the COVID-19 remains our state’s most urgent priority. This is critical to the health and safety of all Oklahomans and to jumpstart our state’s economy.
“The governor and the Legislature must ensure our state agencies have all necessary resources to defeat the pandemic. We need to continue funding personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, and vaccine distribution. Oklahomans are doing their part, but there is still much work to be done to get our positive test rate under control and to reduce the number of hospitalizations.
“Getting the pandemic under control is critical to efforts to safely reopen our public schools. We all agree students learn best in the classroom, but we need to make sure our school districts have the funding necessary to protect students, teachers, support staff, and their families.
“We continue to be concerned with the process through which the governor is implementing a managed care system for the state’s Medicaid program. Converting Medicaid delivery to managed care is a $2.2 billion endeavor, yet there has been very little input from the Legislature and from the medical community. It is especially troubling this process, which is a major change to our state’s health care system, is being rushed through as our state’s hospitals and medical providers are on the front lines treating Oklahomans with COVID-19.
“As we predicted when state agency management was consolidated under control of the governor, this structure leads to less collaboration with the Legislature, which is a co-equal branch of government, and less input from subject matter experts when major policy decisions are made. The managed care implementation is just one of several examples of this.
“Oklahoma faces many challenges which must be addressed this session. Senate Democrats look forward to working with our colleagues in the majority and the governor on behalf of the people of Oklahoma.”
As for House Minority Leader Virgin, D-Norman, her statement found little to praise in the chief executive’s speech. In her comments sent to news organizations, Rep. Virgin said:
“We heard a rosy picture painted by the Governor today, but the reality is that his actions, or more often, his failure to act, have cost Oklahomans financially, emotionally, and physically.
“At times during the past year, instead of focusing on our state’s pandemic response and at times our surging COVID case numbers and hospitalizations, Gov. Stitt has been distracted by national politics and political patronage.
“[Monday’s] State of the State speech was no different. It was far from the call for unity Oklahomans desire. I’ve listened in the House Chamber to 11 different State of the State Addresses.” She declared the “speech was by far the most divisive. Unfortunately, the governor … chose to bring DC politics to Oklahoma, delivering more of a campaign speech than the united message that we need as a state and as a nation.
“The version of the last year that the governor sold to Oklahomans … was nothing more than revisionist history.
“Let me be clear, as COVID-19 rages in Oklahoma - January was our worst month, yet - no state wishes they would have responded to this pandemic as Oklahoma has. From his own lack of personal responsibility to the lack of public health policies enacted, Governor’s Stitt’s response to this pandemic has been an example of failed leadership.”
Democratic Legislative leaders critical of Republican Governor Kevin Stitt’s state of the state address Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden will feature its grizzly bears during its wild approach to the annual Groundhog Day celebration.
According to a press release, the OKC Zoo’s Groundhog Day ambassadors, grizzly bear brothers, Will and Wiley, “will try their paws at predicting the changing seasons to determine if winter is here to stay or spring is on its way.”
In anticipation of Groundhog Day and this week’s forecast for some warmer weather, the OKC Zoo will be open to the public on Tuesday, February 2, and Wednesday, February 3. The events will include Facebook Live videos, photo opportunities and more.
Since the Zoo is not home to groundhogs, the bears step in as official Groundhog Day prognosticators.
Advance tickets are required for all guests and ZOOfriends members, which can be purchased at okczoo.org/tickets .
Presented by Bob Moore Subaru, the Zoo’s Groundhog Day event includes a themed enrichment activity for the bears to engage with as they try their forecasting skills.
Guests are invited to attend this year’s Groundhog Day event happening from 10 a.m. to noon at the Zoo’s Oklahoma Trails, Big Rivers building.
Activities for the Groundhog Day celebrations are free with Zoo admission.
Zoo goers 11 and under will learn about bear behaviors as they explore Oklahoma Trails. They will also be able to make their own weather prediction, spring or winter. Activity cards will be available at the event information table at the entrance of Oklahoma Trails.
The event will include Facebook Live Chats with the Zoo’s carnivore caretakers at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The OKC Zoo’s designated “town crier” will read the official proclamation adding a festive element in the spirit of early Groundhog Day traditions at 10:15 a.m. in the Big Rivers Building.
Animal Enrichment for the Zoo’s grizzly and black bears will begin at 10 a.m. and continue throughout the day at the grizzly and black bear habitats.
Guests at the Conservation Education Station can view bio-facts, discover fun facts about the world’s bear species, have the opportunity to create their own bear den for a chance to win a wild encounter, and discover how the Zoo is contributing to bear conservation.
During the #Make Your Own Den Social Media Challenge event participants and Zoo fans at home are invited to share their cozy bear dens online on social media for a chance to win a Grizzly Bear Wild Encounter for four. Follow the Zoo on Facebook (https://ift.tt/2YEYCaF ) and Instagram (https://ift.tt/36tTyKA) to learn more.
The OKC Zoo is home to black bears, Maynard and Woody; and grizzly bear brothers, Will and Wiley.
In the past, the OKC Zoo has enlisted the help of several Groundhog Day delegates including a bison, prairie dog and pot-bellied pigs.
Bears were originally used to predict the weather in Europe but, when the population of bears decreased, a badger or “groundhog” inherited the task, resulting in the name, Groundhog Day.
The Oklahoma City Zoo is open Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., normally with no public access on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, (although the facility will be open for the Grizzly/Groundhog events). Advance tickets are required for all guests and ZOOfriends members and can be purchased at okczoo.org/tickets .
Zoo tickets are limited each day to maintain social distancing among guests. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free.
Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming a ZOOfriends member. Starting at $45, memberships can be purchased at Zoofriends.org and provide access to the OKC Zoo for an entire year plus, additional benefits and discounts.
For more information, call 405-424-3344 or visit okczoo.org .
Oklahoma City Zoo’s “guessing grizzlies” will predict the weather for its annual Groundhog Day Celebration Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
One of Oklahoma’s most impactful advocacy organizations has announced a strong early endorsement for the incumbent governor of Oklahoma. The announcement came in a press release sent to The City Sentinel, CapitolBeatOK.com (an online news organization) and other news organizations.
The endorsement press release read as follows:
“The Association of Oklahoma General Contractors (AOGC) is proud to be the state's first member organization to publicly endorse Gov. Kevin Stitt in his bid for a second term as Governor of the great State of Oklahoma. Under Stitt's leadership, Oklahoma has become a Top 10 state for the condition of its bridges, expanded our state's infrastructure and technology, is leading the largest transportation construction projects in our state's history, and keeping the 8 Year Construction Work Plan moving forward.
These projects and plans have a tremendous positive impact on our state's economy, including providing good-paying, steady jobs for Oklahomans and keeping construction companies and the construction supply industry invested in our state.
By re-electing Gov. Stitt, Oklahoma will become a national leader in transportation infrastructure and drive future economic development. His foresight is paving the way for better, safer roads and bridges to keep Oklahoma as America's destination for the traveling public and businesses.
The AOGC looks forward to supporting Gov. Stitt for a second term in office and asks that all Oklahoman's who drive on our roads and bridges do too."
-AOGC Executive Director Bobby Stem
www.CapitolBeatOK.com
Statement Endorsing Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK ![]()
This past week, I submitted the final proofs of my sixth book, which is my tribute to my father's unwavering faith in education, emancipation, and Kashmir.
The sense of accomplishment and gratification that I have after the completion of this project is inimitable.
After my book "Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's Reflections on Kashmir" was published in January 2018, I promised my publisher that I would have my next book done by December 2019.
But my father's fragile health and the political tumult in Kashmir prevented me from remaining centered amid all of life's chaos.
I couldn't transcend the unpredictability of the situation in Kashmir and was unable to garner the courage to write a book during that period of mayhem.
But in March 2020, I promised the retreating wraith of my father that I would commemorate and honor him in everything I did. He would not drown in oblivion. And my life would continue to be enriched by his wise counsel and unconditional affection.
We put our best foot forward in times of difficulty and adversity. My father's unconditional love taught me to see hard times as an opportunity to grow, not as a misfortune.
I want my father's strength. He taught me to be grateful for God's mercies and was a content man. I never saw my father grieve, because he looked for meaning in every situation, and didn't forget to count his blessings. That's exactly what I do every single day!
NOTE: Dr. Nyla Ali Khan is author of the forthcoming book, “Educational Strategies for Youth Empowerment in Conflict Zones: Transforming, not Transmitting, Trauma” (Palgrave MacMillan, May 2021). She is a regular contributor to The City Sentinel newspaper, and frequently appears on the CapitolBeatOK news website. Both are based in Oklahoma City.
To Honor a contented man: A Daughter’s finished book Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
Pat McGuiganThe dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know. Archives
September 2021
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