Special Session Begins Tuesday
Oklahoma lawmakers are headed back to the Capitol for a special session Tuesday.
They're answering a call from Gov. Kevin Stitt to swiftly and deeply cut taxes.
It's unclear if anything will even get done.
House Speaker Charles McCall has filed five so-called shell bills about tax policy. But because of their nature of having little to no explanatory language, details are scant.
Senate leaders also appear hesitant to do much. Pro Tem Greg Treat has asked Stitt to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee to explain his tax-cutting plan.
In a live television interview, the governor told KOCO that the sides are still talking about that. But such testimony would be unprecedented.
Highway And Bridge Improvement Plan Updates
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved more than $9 billion in upgrades for highways and bridges Monday.
The projects include the 15 remaining structurally deficient highway bridges in the state that were not already under contract for rehabilitation or replacement.
Another 395 bridges at risk of becoming structurally deficient are also included.
About 11-hundred miles of 2-lane highways with deficient shoulders will also be improved.
The projects are part of updates of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-Year Construction Work Plan and Four-Year Asset Preservation Program.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation says the state was ranked No. 5 nationally in 2022 for its bridge conditions.
Tulsa's Third Excavation of Oaklawn Concludes
Tulsa’s third excavation for victims of the 1921 Race Massacre has wrapped up.
At a news conference Friday, archeologist Dr. Kary Stackelbeck and anthropologist Dr. Phoebe Stubblefield updated the media on what their teams have found at the historic Oaklawn Cemetery.
Stackelbeck says the field work has returned results.
“We have uncovered and delineated and mapped in 59 additional graves, all but two of which were previously unmarked," said Stackelbeck.
Seven sets of remains have been exhumed from the gravesites. The final set was exhumed shortly after the news conference.
Stubblefield says those remains will be examined closely.
“Each individual that goes through our—my lab, the forensic lab, we sample for DNA and we submit those samples to our colleagues at Intermountain Forensics," said Stubblefield.
Stubblefield is confident the research area is in line with Clyde Eddy’s eye-witness account.
She also said examining some remains has been difficult.
“Preservation is different in the Clyde Eddy area. The bones are much more fragile," she said. "We were able to obtain much less information from direct examination. It will require DNA analysis and maybe a little hope and a lot of prayer.”
Brenda Nails-Alford, a descendant of the original Greenwood residents, was also in attendance and thanked the crew and the city for their efforts.
OKC Animal Shelter Waives Fees
Oklahoma City Animal Welfare is waiving all dog adoption fees to help with overcapacity.
The OKC Animal Shelter houses nearly 430 dogs. That means the shelter is at 144% capacity. Of that number, just over 140 dogs are eligible for adoption.
In the last week, the shelter took in 231 animals according to Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Superintendent John Gary.
In a news release, Gary says the shelter desperately needs people to help these animals.
The shelter doesn’t just offer adoption but also flash fostering. That option will allow anyone to check a dog out from the shelter for a few days. This could be a good option for people who want to help the shelter, but aren’t sure if they can handle a long-term commitment.
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