Incoming Norman Mayor to Defend National Weather Center in D.C.
The incoming Norman mayor will make the case for the National Weather Center in Norman to Oklahoma's senators and congress members.
Amidst reports of layoffs and downsizing at the weather center ordered by President Trump and Elon Musk, Norman City Council Member Stephen Tyler Holman, who becomes mayor in July, will be part of a city delegation to visit Washington DC next month. Holman says he will stress the weather center jobs and facilities are important locally and beyond.
“Those are jobs that help support our local businesses and in the research field play a very vital role in national public safety," said Holman.
Holman says he's watching for more details on the cuts from Oklahoma's Congressional delegation.
This story was produced by Sam Moore with The Freelancer.
Walters Pressures AG Drummond for Opinion on Trump Order
State Superintendent Ryan Walters is firing back against Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s refusal to issue a formal opinion on a Trump executive order. Walters re-issued his request to Drummond Wednesday.
Last month, Walters asked Drummond for a formal opinion on whether an executive order that bans federal funding from being used on undocumented people would apply to students.
Drummond responded Monday that as it was directed at federal agencies, his office did not have jurisdiction to make that call. He told Walters to cooperate with however federal agencies implement the edict.
In Walters’ reply, he points to a section of the Oklahoma Constitution he says requires the attorney general to write opinions at the request of any state officer. He also gives several examples of when Drummond has opined on federal issues.
Drummond, who called the initial request “manufactured political drama,” was asked for a response free of “chastisement, hyperbole and baseless accusations.”
Oklahoma Superintendent Pushes Bibles in Classrooms Despite Funding Denial
Despite Oklahoma lawmakers not approving a funding request to purchase Bibles for every classroom in the state, the State Department of Education plans to distribute them to some classrooms anyway.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters has directed the State Department of Education to provide Bibles to all AP U.S. History classes across the state.
In a press release sent on Wednesday afternoon, the department said teachers will have the option to “use the material as supplementary content to illustrate the influence of religious texts on American law and civic thought.”
This move comes as some parents, teachers, and faith leaders are calling for the Oklahoma Supreme Court to block Walters’ Bible mandate.
Also on Wednesday, state lawmakers denied Walters’s request for $3 million to purchase Bibles for all Oklahoma classrooms.
Gov. Stitt Calls For Special Audit of State Mental Health Agency
Gov. Kevin Stitt is requesting a special audit of the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Stitt asked the Oklahoma State auditor to look at the mental health department’s spending over the last five years.
He has concerns about how taxpayer money is being used for the state Medicaid program.
Stitt says department head Allie Friesen told him her staff has uncovered misused funds from before her one year in office.
Friesen didn’t specify how much money might have been wasted.
“We're asking the state auditor to go in and do a deep dive and find out exactly if there has been any kind of financial mismanagement. Why do we have a gap in funding?," said Stitt.
Along with the state auditor, legislators have tasked a special commission designed to investigate public spending with looking at the department’s budget.
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