Judge Blocks Oklahoma's Ban on Banks Supporting Green Energy
A state judge ruled Oklahoma cannot enforce its ban on using certain banks for state business due to their support for green energy.
Oklahoma enacted the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act in 2022. It allows the State Treasurer to create a list of banks that don’t support the oil and gas industry, then ban state agencies and pension funds from doing business with them.
The Oklahoma Public Employee Retirement System estimates it would cost them nearly $10 million to stop working with blacklisted banks.
Don Keenan is a state government retiree. He sued State Treasurer Todd Russ late last year, saying Oklahoma was using his retirement money to make political statements.
Last week, a judge ruled in Keenan’s favor and issued a permanent block on enforcing the blacklist. Attorney General Genter Drummond’s office says they plan to appeal this ruling to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Norman Regional Begins New Era In Health Care
The Norman Regional Health System is moving its flagship hospital to a new location off I-35 and Tecumseh in Norman.
The facility is set to open this weekend.
The new location will change its name to Norman Regional Hospital, and, starting July 29, the original location on North Porter Avenue will become an urgent care clinic called Porter Health Village.
On July 28, patients at the Porter campus will be moved to the new location.
The original location's intensive care unit, surgical services and emergency department will move to the new location.
Patients can also access emergency services at Norman Regional Moore and Norman Regional Nine.
Richie Splitt, the CEO of the Norman Regional Health System, told The Norman Transcript this expansion is what’s best for patients.
State Health Department Pursues Legal Action Against County Jail Over Denied Inspections
The Oklahoma State Health Department is taking legal action after being denied entry into the Oklahoma County Jail twice for routine inspections.
The state health commissioner has issued a compliance order demanding the jail to either allow inspectors into the facility, start paying fines, or be prepared to appear before an administrative law judge.
The facility has until July 31 to comply or face fines up to $10,000 per day.
Oklahoma July 4 Tourism Boost
Despite some storms, the July Fourth holiday weekend ended up generating more than $41 million for the state and local communities.
The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department says about 300-thousand people visited state parks between July 3 and July 8.
The state says tourism is its third-largest industry and a strong driver of economic growth and development.
'Twisters' Opening Weekend At The Box Office
Twisters had a whirlwind opening weekend at the box office.
Twisters is the half-sequel-half-remake of the 1996 film Twister.
Twisters beat forecasts with the third-best opening weekend of the year.
The main character in Twisters is Kate. She works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The real administration consulted on Twisters and has plenty of advice for the public.
Number one: Unlike in the film, DO NOT seek shelter from tornadoes under overpasses. Stay in your car or lay down in a low area below the level of the road.
________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU PM NewsBrief.