The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s ACCESS Oklahoma plan is moving forward again after The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the authority’s bond process.
OTA Director Tim Gatz spoke to reporters in the lobby of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation a few hours after the ruling was issued.
He says the OTA is thankful for the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Decision and the 15-year-long-range plan for ACCESS Oklahoma is now able to move forward.
“To be clear, we are at the very beginning stage of this long range plan. Construction in the Norman area specifically likely will be several years away from today," said Gatz.
This is especially pertinent to communities around Norman who fought the OTA about the project and its transparency. People who oppose the turnpike project also spoke to reporters, panning the OTA for not allowing public comment during their meetings.
Gatz says the long range plan will provide the state’s southern i-35 with reliever routes as the corridor continues to to face growing congestion.
It is unclear what is next for groups who oppose the ruling.
Gov. Kevin Stitt became the first governor in the country to issue an executive order defining men and women by their biological sex at birth.
In a ceremonial signing on Tuesday, Gov. Stitt signed an executive order to adopt a so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights” that was based on model legislation developed by Independent Women’s Voice, a conservative advocacy group.
The order defines men and women by their biological sex at birth - male or female - and defines biological sex as being equal to one’s reproductive system.
Stitt says it also seeks to ensure women’s spaces are only accessible to biological females.
“No men are going to go into women’s prisons in the state of Oklahoma. No men in women’s domestic shelters. No men in women’s locker rooms. No men in women’s bathrooms. No men in women’s sports,” Stitt said.
In a news release, Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said the order will not protect women but instead create civil rights violations and subject both cisgender and transgender women to increased scrutiny and harassment.
A community science project in Oklahoma City is launching a campaign to measure the effects heat islands have on the city. For StateImpact, Britny Cordera reports the data collected could be used to cool off certain neighborhoods.
The city is looking for volunteers to help with a mapping project on Saturday August 12th. Volunteers will drive around the city with equipment on their cars that will measure air temperature and relative humidity as well as air quality.
The information gathered will be analyzed and turned into maps to show the hottest areas in Oklahoma City.
Sarah Terry Cobo is an associate planner for the city’s Office of Sustainability. She says the maps will help determine best solutions to combat extreme heat, particularly managing the city’s tree canopy.
“Managing the tree canopy is huge. Tree folk say that the best tree is the one that was planted 20 years ago, and the next best tree is the one that you plant today," said Cobo.
Cobo says other potential solutions include building permanent and temporary cooling centers where people can hydrate and learn about best ways to keep cool and building shelters at bus stops that aren’t covered.
Black Tech Street announced a partnership with Microsoft to bring more Black tech professionals to Tulsa.
Black Tech Street is an organization dedicated to reviving Black Wall Street through technology.
Founder of the group, Tyrance Billingsly II says this new partnership will be all-encompassing.
“This alliance between Black Tech Street and Microsoft is 20 months in the making. One thing to get down at the beginning is: it’s not one specific program or one specific offering. This is Microsoft coming to the table and saying ‘we believe in this vision, in this mission, and we’re gonna provide a suite of different supports," said Billingsly.
Billingsly says only 6% of Tulsa’s tech workforce is Black—below the national average of 14%.
The new partnership is expected to bring 1,000 Black cyber professionals to Tulsa by the year 2030.
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