Judge's Partial Pause on Classroom Discussion Law Faces Backlash
It appears nobody is happy with a judge’s recent decision to pause parts of an Oklahoma law that limits certain discussions of race and gender classroom discussions.
Both the Attorney General and the plaintiffs are contesting the decision.
In June, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against enforcing parts of House Bill 1775.
Earlier this week, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued notice of his appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the injunction order, the judge writes the plaintiffs established a substantial likelihood of success in challenging certain sections of the law, including one that prohibits any student orientation or school requirement that presents race or sex stereotyping, or a bias based on race or sex.
He writes it was too vague and could prevent college classes from studying discriminatory beliefs.
The plaintiffs, which include OU’s Black Emergency Response Team, teachers and professors, are also appealing the parts the injunction left out.
While they agree with the sections the judge parsed out to put on pause, they say the rest should be subject to an injunction as well.
Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana Authority Announces Layoffs
Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana Authority laid off 29 staff members this week.
The agency says the downsizing is due to a decline in the number of new commercial licenses, and state funding issues.
Adria Berry is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. In an email to employees impacted by the layoffs, she gave two reasons for the reduction in force:
A drop in revenue from fewer commercial medical marijuana license applications, and a state government shakeup that made the agency independent, rather than under the state’s health department.
A 2022 moratorium on new commercially licensed cannabis operations will be in place for two more years.
Without potential for new growers, distributors and retailers, money taken in by the state is dropping.
In addition, as its own agency, the authority didn’t get as much money from state lawmakers as it wanted.
They appropriated almost $42 million dollars to the authority for the next fiscal year.
Which was an increase, but not as much as Berry had told lawmakers she needed. So, 29 people lost their jobs.
Korean War Soldier’s Remains Identified More Than 70 Years After Death
The remains of a soldier from Shawnee were found more than 70 years after he was pronounced dead.
Korean War Army Corporal Jesse Mitchell reportedly died from malnutrition while in captivity in the summer of 1951.
Mitchell's nephew Daniel Mitchell said that there are still many U.S. soldiers who haven’t come home from overseas conflicts.
“There’s still over 7,000 missing from Korea. And, and 10,000 from World War Two and several hundred from Vietnam. And these things occurred 70 years ago,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell credits the Korean War Project for helping him find out about his uncle's remains.
Corporal Mitchell’s return to his final resting place in Shawnee is tentatively scheduled to take place later this year.
OKC Zoo Welcomes Rare Tortoise Babies
The Oklahoma City Zoo is celebrating the birth of five rare baby tortoises.
The zoo is the first in the nation to successfully breed this species.
Max, an 80-year-old Volcan Alcedo tortoise, is now the proud father of five.
Senior Animal Caretaker Katie Porth said his five hatchlings are a big deal.
"This group of hatchlings is the first group of pure Volcan Alcedoever born in the U.S.,” Porth said.
And for years, she has been waiting for this moment.
“When I shined a light and saw all the little blood vessels and I saw a little foot kick at the light immediately crying,” Porth said.
Because of a species survival program the Zoo participates in, they can breed this Galapagos tortoise species.
In fact, they are the only zoo in the nation to try it because of accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The young tortoises are living happily in the Zoo’s Herpetarium.
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