Multiple rounds of winter weather expected this week
This week Oklahomans are preparing for more winter weather. Meteorologist Ryan Bunker with the National Weather Service in Norman says a mix of precipitation will be possible through early Thursday
"This is going to be mainly freezing rain and sleet with this event. Northern Oklahoma may experience some snow. There may be some snow that briefly mixes in as far south as central Oklahoma. But the main types are going to be mainly freezing rain and sleet," said Bunker.
The Weather Service predicts between a trace and a tenth of inch of ice accumulation will be possible around the metro—higher amounts expected for southeastern Oklahoma.
OKC trash pickup schedule adjusted for weather
Oklahoma City is postponing trash and recycling service for Tuesday (1/31/23) due to road conditions from this week’s sleet and ice.
The city says customers who have regular Tuesday trash and recycling service will have pickup on Saturday, Feb. 4th. Residents will need to set their carts out for collection no later than 6 a.m.
Service should run as normal on Thursday and Friday.
New Asian OKC Chamber of Commerce
Last week, a group of Oklahoma City business leaders launched the new Greater Oklahoma City Asian Chamber of Commerce.
The new organization had its official kick off with an event attended by city and state officials - like OKC Mayor David Holt and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Data from the OKC Chamber of Commerce shows 55% of all people with Asian ancestry in Oklahoma live in the greater Oklahoma City area. That’s nearly 50,000 people.
Not only has OKC’s population been growing - but there has also been an increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses.
The new Greater Oklahoma City Asian Chamber of Commerce has several goals - including strengthening and advocating for Asian businesses and professionals, recruiting Asian-owned businesses and pursuing educational and cultural initiatives.
ARPA funding for water projects
Hundreds of Oklahoma cities, towns and rural water districts applied for competitive grants to fund water and wastewater projects. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board has announced 76 communities across the state that are likely to receive that money.
The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which spread almost $2 trillion across the United States in hopes of boosting the economy out of the COVID-19 slump. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board ended up with 100 million of those dollars to mete out for water infrastructure projects.
There are a couple of patterns in the original applications of communities that came out on top of the grant process. Many of the smaller water systems said they needed grants to comply with consent orders from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Those are agreements between the system and the DEQ about required actions to fix environmental violations.
In larger communities, prioritized applications tended to address aging infrastructure and concerns about staving off future violations.
Oklahoma legislators propose bills to address Oklahoma’s disproportionally high incarceration rate
While efforts to address mass incarceration in previous years have included reclassifying simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor and commuting the sentences of over 400 inmates, both Democrat and Republican lawmakers are shifting their focus to what happens after people leave jails and prisons.
Bills seeking to aid criminal rehabilitation and reentry would increase educational opportunities to inmates and lower the barrier to entry for drug court. Additionally, bills like Senate Bill 153 filed by Sen. George Young would give a second chance to youthful offenders by preventing minors from being sentenced to life without parole.
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