Oklahoma City Airport Gets First International Flight In Decades
If you're thinking about taking a trip to Mexico, a new flight option from Oklahoma City will be available later this year.
The OKC Will Rogers International Airport announced Wednesday it will start offering a direct flight to Cancun, Mexico in November.
It will be the first time in decades an international flight directly from OKC has been an option.
The flight will be offered through American Airlines.
Airport spokesperson Stacey Hamm said there is already a demand.
“We know that we've got almost 45,000 passengers from Oklahoma City that visit Mexico every year through American Airlines,” Hamm said.
Hamm said she hopes the new option will help the airport expand its world market, potentially adding more direct flights to vacation destinations in the near future.
Tickets for the nonstop flight to Cancun go on sale starting Monday.
Stitt Nominates Tulsa Businessman For Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents
Gov. Kevin Stitt has nominated Tulsa businessman Tracy Poole to the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents.
Poole replaces Trudy Milner, who was the last person appointed by another governor.
Milner’s resignation came one day following the announcement of former president Kayse Shrum’s departure from Oklahoma State University.
Poole founded FortySix Venture Capital and works there currently.
He was previously an attorney at the law firm McAfee and Taft.
The state senate must confirm Poole’s appointment.
State Lawmakers Debate Setback Regulations For Wind Turbines
State lawmakers want to decide how far wind turbines can be built from homes and other buildings.
But there is some disagreement on whether the state should regulate the issue at all.
House Bill 2751 by Faxon Republican Trey Caldwell aims to limit how close renewable energy developments, like wind turbines, can be to homes, schools, military installations and other structures…
The prevailing consensus in the House is that wind turbines should be no closer than half-a-mile from someone’s home; solar farms should be at least a quarter mile away.
Energy companies looking to build must get approvals from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Exceptions apply to property owners who waive the distance requirement in writing.
Detractors of the regulations call into question the state’s role in limiting energy investments, rather than leaving it to Counties that benefit from the developments directly.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said he’s OK with some setback regulations, but that the half-a-mile distances seem excessive.
After certain amendments were adopted on the floor, the bill allows for counties to opt-in or out of certain provisions.
State Schools Superintendent Calls for Block Grant Approach to Federal Education Funds
State Superintendent Ryan Walters wants the recently imperiled U.S. Department of Education to shift to a different funding mechanism for certain federal funds for Oklahoma students.
In a memo to the department Tuesday, Walters calls for changing the allocation method for Every Student Succeeds Act funds to consolidated block grants.
Also known as ESSA, the federal grants are designed to improve learning outcomes and equitable access to education.
Consolidated block grants are a type of federal funding where the grants are combined into a lump sum allocated to states, which decide how to divide them.
Walters claims the current distribution process imposes “significant administrative burdens” on the state department and districts. He says a block grant approach would simplify management, reduce reporting requirements and allow for more targeted allocations.
The news release for the announcement included comments of support from the state House Speaker, Senate Pro Tem and chairs of the Senate Education and House Education Oversight Committees.
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