Lawmakers Say Oklahoma Storm Chasing License Measure on Pause For Now
Oklahoma lawmakers want to take a closer look at a measure to grant professional storm trackers special road privileges during severe weather. The bill’s authors have put it on pause for now.
House Bill 2426 would create a special, optional license for people who track severe weather for news stations or research institutions.
Weather trackers with the license would still need to yield to emergency vehicles, but they’d also get flashing roof lights and take priority over other motorists.
The measure received bipartisan support, but it also drew criticism from people who interpreted it as putting restrictions on storm trackers—though the measure wouldn’t directly affect chasers who don’t qualify for the license.
A version passed the House by a relatively narrow margin, but it won’t head to the Senate immediately. Instead, the bill’s authors will hold an interim study this fall to gather more input from law enforcement and public safety officials.
The legislature can take another look at it next year.
Group Representing Oklahoma Nursing Homes Praises Ruling Tossing Federal Minimum Staffing Mandate
A federal judge threw out a nursing home staffing mandate that Oklahoma providers argued asks them to find staff they can’t afford and that doesn’t exist.
A judge for the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas ruled in favor of national nursing home advocacy groups, saying regulatory responses must be consistent with Congress’s legislation, and the mandate’s provisions are not. The provisions included things like nursing facilities being required to have a registered nurse on site 24/7.
"This mandate has caused a lot of undue stress on caregivers," said Steve Buck, CEO of Care Providers Oklahoma. "And they have been living with the pressure of thinking that they were going to have to hire new staff that candidly weren't in the pool, and they're going to have to hire them with money that wasn't available."
Buck says this decision is a relief, and now, his association hopes to lend its efforts toward closing the gap between Medicaid reimbursements and the cost of care for state nursing homes.
Judge Throws Out Defamation Lawsuit Against Ryan Walters by Former Norman English Teacher
State Superintendent Ryan Walters is now a defendant in one less lawsuit. A judge threw out a defamation suit last week filed by former Norman teacher, Summer Boismier.
Nearly three years ago, Boismier shared a QR code to an online library that included banned books. After a student complaint, Boismier resigned from the district. Walters called for Boismier’s teaching certificate, said there was pornographic material in the books and falsely said she had been fired.
The judge ruled because Boismier had made herself a public figure by speaking to media outlets and writing an opinion column, she would have to have proved a higher standard of “actual malice.” While the judge agreed Walters should have fact-checked before posting that she had been fired, he also said Walters’ characterization of pornographic material, given the sexual content in the books, wasn’t a reckless disregard for the truth.
In a statement, Walters calls the ruling a “win… for the integrity of our education system.”
Trader Joe's To Open Second Location in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is getting a second Trader Joe’s location.
The store will be located near the intersection of Northwest Expressway and Rockwell Avenue.
The new Trader Joe’s will be the largest in the state, nearly double the size of its Nichols Hills or Tulsa locations.
In late 2024, retail rival Whole Foods also announced a new location in Edmond coming soon.
The new Trader Joe’s is expected to open later this year.
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