House Will Continue Working On Tax Cuts Without Senate
Oklahoma House Republicans will continue to push for tax cuts despite the Senate’s abrupt adjournment of a special session without addressing the issue.
Speaker Charles McCall said at a news conference Wednesday that he was disappointed in the Senate's inaction.
Although the House will remain in special session, they can’t forward any legislation to the governor without Senate participation.
Gov. Kevin Stitt could call another special session to force senators to return to the Capitol. Should that happen, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat expects the governor to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee to answer questions about his tax cut proposals.
Stitt refused an invitation to appear before the committee on Tuesday.
Police Looking For Man After Deputy Was Shot
Law enforcement officials are seeking a 25-year-old man after an incident in southern Oklahoma.
The State Bureau of Investigation says Kameron Jenkins fired on officers after a chase on I-35 ending near Wynnewood.
A passerby was shot and killed while a Cleveland County deputy was injured and transported to OU Medical Center where he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Authorities say Jenkins, who is considered armed and dangerous, is currently on probation for a number of violent crimes dating back to 2016.
OSU Receives Grant To Research Indigenous Health Disparities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $10 million over five years to OSU’s Center for Health Sciences to address Indigenous health disparities and advance equity.
OSU and the University of Hawai’i were awarded the grant, and they work as partners under the department’s Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity. The grant will help both universities continue evaluating culturally appropriate approaches through local partnerships to reduce and eliminate Indigenous health disparities.
Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, OSU’s Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy director, says the award will help them improve these disparities.
“It typically is most effective this kind of intervention science, when the communities are involved at every level," said Jernigan.
Oklahoma Indigenous populations experience significant health disparities with higher cardiovascular disease risks, rates of obesity and hypertension, and limited access to healthy food sources.
TallChief Sisters Honored
The famed Tallchief sisters are being honored in Tulsa.
Marjorie Tallchief’s statue is coming back.
Last year, the bronze statue of Marjorie Tallchief was stolen from the Five Moons sculpture garden in front of the Tulsa Historical Society. It was eventually found in a nearby scrapyard but was in pieces.
The community and the original sculptors Monte England and Gary Henson rallied and a new one was created.
“The Maria Tallchief Quarter” depicts Maria in one of her break-out roles, “The Firebird,” in a spotlit ballet pose and includes her Osage name etched on the coin.
All this attention is getting noticed in Tulsa and on Sunday, Oct. 29, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum will declare that day Maria and Marjorie Tallchief Day.
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