The weekends are busy for most of us, so in case you didn’t catch a lot of “news” recently, the briefs below represent a selection of stories you might want to check out. Some come from NonDoc and some come from elsewhere, but all deserve a look in case you missed them.
OKC to re-vote on Indigenous People’s Day
Portland, Ore., Albuquerque and Bexar County, Texas, all voted earlier this month to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A previous vote at the OKC City Council resulted in a tie, but the Council is expected to vote again Oct. 13, one day after Columbus Day 2015. (That’s today, by the way.) If you’re jonesing for an IP Day celebration, you can head to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, which has made the switch thanks to a Student Government Association vote.
Hernandez loses, Pollard wins bid to lead OKGOP
Following the circulation of several attack mailers, Oklahoma Republican Party vice-chairwoman Estela Hernandez lost her bid to replace former OKGOP chairman Randy Brogdon on Sunday. Pam Pollard won the race with 163 votes, while Hernandez received 115 and Robert Hubbard had 77.
Earthquakes rumble across northern Oklahoma
In a continuation of previously recorded seismic activity, Oklahoma tremors registered 4.5 and 4.4 near Cushing and Medford, respectively, on Saturday. NonDoc contributor Casey Holcomb has discussed similar seismic events, and the Enid News & Eagle is in the middle of a six-week (six-week!) series on the topic.
McAlester Public School officials in throes of bankruptcy since before hire
The McAlester Public School district deals with a budget in excess of $20 million annually. Unbeknownst to at least three MPS board members, MPS Superintendent Dr. Marsha Gore and her husband, MPS Director of Plant Operations Skip Gore, filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Although they remained financially insolvent at their time of hiring in 2011 — and Gore said she told the board about it — the McAlester News-Capital’s story on Friday marked the first time at least three board members said they had heard about it.
News media pounce on senator’s traffic-violating wife
Summer Loveless, wife of Oklahoma state Sen. Kyle Loveless (R-OKC), was arrested Oct. 4 for traffic violations and released Monday after spending the night in the Oklahoma County Jail. By Wednesday, many local media outlets had pulled out all stops — including ambush on-camera interviews and highway reenactments — to report an event that likely didn’t warrant the coverage it received.
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