Oklahomans Rally at State Capitol to Protest Near-Total Abortion Ban on Dobbs Anniversary
Two years ago, Roe v. Wade fell, triggering a near-total abortion ban in Oklahoma. Oklahomans and advocacy groups from bordering states gathered outside the state capitol Monday to rally against these restrictions.
In tandem with strikes held across the country, advocates at the OKC Women’s Strike commemorated what they called the somber anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.
“This is not the will of the people. But the fight today is bigger than Roe. It's bigger than Dobbs," said Rachel Carmona.
Carmona and other advocates have continued fighting against threats to reproductive rights, like a Supreme Court case from Texas against an abortion-inducing drug.
“And local and state legislatures, including here in Oklahoma that has some of the most restrictive bans and some of the highest maternal mortality in our communities of color need to govern and protect and care for the people and not strip our rights away," Carmona said.
Advocates encouraged attendees to continue organizing against further restrictions.
Heat Advisory Prompts Precautions for Pets and Livestock
A heat advisory is in effect for Tuesday and the hot weather is not expected to leave soon. As people try to fend off the scorching temperatures, pet and livestock owners will need to help their four-legged friends beat the heat.
Triple-digit temperatures and warm overnight lows are expected nearly every day this week, impacting humans, animals and plants.
Paul Beck is a beef cattle nutrition extension specialist at Oklahoma State University. He says in temperatures around 100 degrees, the main thing people can do is make sure there is plenty of clean water for them to drink, adequate shade and air movement.
"I believe our producers, for the most part, are extremely good at what they do and takes the steps knowing that we're getting into the hot time of year," Beck said.
For animals in general, Beck says if people are uncomfortable outside, chances are animals are uncomfortable too.
Oklahoma Broadband Office Opens Second Round of Funding
A second round of funding is available for projects that expand high-speed internet in the state.
The Oklahoma Broadband Office is accepting competitive proposals through a portal on its website until July 8.
About $159 million in federal grants will be awarded.
The first round of funding totaled $374 million and upgraded internet access to more than 50,000 homes and businesses in 57 of the state’s 77 counties.
Carter County Sheriff Primary Ends in Tie, Winner Could Be Decided by Draw
Last week, Oklahomans voted in county sheriff primaries across the state. In Carter County, the two Republican candidates each received exactly 2,569 votes.
The Carter County Election Board will need to find a way to break the tie between current Sheriff Chris Bryant and challenger DJ Long. The state doesn’t allow runoffs for races with only two candidates.
If recounting the ballots by hand doesn’t change the results, it will come down to pure chance — a name drawn from a container.
Carter County Election Board Secretary Diane Hall says the candidates will choose the container, and their names will be written in identical font on identical papers folded identically. A district judge will draw the name.
Hall says the recount will take a while, but she hopes to determine a winner before the 4th of July. Because only Republicans ran, the victor will be the next sheriff.
New Education Rules Link District Accreditation to Test Scores
Gov. Kevin Stitt approved a slate of new administrative rules for the State Department of Education Friday. One of the rules championed by State Superintendent Ryan Walters could have a big impact on school district accreditation.
Stitt approved more than a dozen new rules for OSDE, but the most controversial one ties test scores to districts’ accreditation statuses.
School districts will receive an academic deficiency if a majority of their third through eighth and eleventh-grade students failed to score at or above the basic level on annual state standardized tests in English and math from this last school year’s testing cycle.
If the district fails to show a 5% increase in scores from next school year’s testing data, its accreditation will be downgraded to accredited with warning. And if districts fail to reach that 5% improvement goal in the following year, they’ll be downgraded to the last level before non-accreditation.
The Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition recently published a list of more than 60 districts that would be affected by the rule based on available testing data. Advocates called on lawmakers to reject the rule this legislative session, but the House punted it to the governor without taking a vote.
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