AG Drummond Subpoenas Oklahoma Corporation Commission Over Winter Storm
It’s been nearly three years since Winter Storm Uri blasted through Oklahoma, but utility customers are still paying for a surge in natural gas prices during the emergency. As Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond investigates, he’s putting a magnifying glass on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
In July, Drummond announced legal action against natural gas middlemen, saying they artificially restricted supplies just before sub-zero temperatures hit.
Oklahoma utility companies were left to foot the $3 billion bill, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission agreed to let them recover those costs from ratepayers using long-term utility price hikes.
Now, Drummond’s office is ordering the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to hand over all communications from commissioners and employees that had anything to do with Winter Storm Uri cost recovery. That’s according to The Oklahoman, which obtained a copy of the AG’s subpoena.
Drummond’s office says it will keep investigating natural gas prices during Uri until QUOTE “proper relief for ratepayers is secured.”
Clemency Recommended For Death Row Inmate Phillip Hancock
Death row inmate Phillip Hancock is scheduled to be executed at the end of the month for the murders of Robert Jett and James Lynch.
But the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is recommending clemency.
Hancock’s attorneys opened Wednesday’s hearing by going over details supporting his claim he killed the two men in self-defense, including a video from a police questioning of a witness saying Jett was the aggressor.
Republican State Representatives Kevin McDugle and Justin Humphrey appeared before the Board to ask they recommend clemency, saying Oklahomans value self-defense.
Representatives from the Attorney General’s office argued Hancock did not act in self-defense and pointed out his previous violent crimes, including manslaughter.
The Board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency, but they did not recommend commutation.
It is now up to Gov. Kevin Stitt to grant or deny Hancock clemency.
Hancock is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 30.
E-cigarette Use Among Oklahoma Youth
Nationwide, 4% fewer high school students are using e-cigarettes compared to last year, according to new CDC data. Oklahoma continues an effort to reduce e-cigarette use among youths.
This year, 10% of U.S. high schoolers report using e-cigarettes. The most up-to-date Oklahoma statistics are from 2021, and they showed nearly 22% of Oklahoma high school students using e-cigarettes. The Oklahoma ABLE Commission also identified nearly 500 violations from minors caught in school with products that year.
Oklahoma recently became one of the first states to launch a registry where manufacturers and retailers report the vapor products they plan to sell. Yukon Republican Rhonda Baker says this will help local law enforcement crackdown on illegal product distribution.
“Those statistics are pretty staggering, and this truly is a wake-up call to all of those that have young children," Baker said.
Baker says Oklahoma schools are also using settlement money to invest in things like school vapor detectors.
Oklahoma Downtown Recovery Rankings Following Pandemic
New rankings show Oklahoma City and Tulsa are in the top 25 for downtown recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recovery metrics are based on a sample of location-based data derived from cell phones. They are computed by counting the number of unique visitors in a city's downtown area in a specific time period.
Researchers are using those numbers to track how cities are emerging from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data shows that Oklahoma City has about 93% of activity of what it had in 2019 and Tulsa is sitting at 82%. That ranks well in a national perspective, as many cities struggle to bring people back to their downtown areas.
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