Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/)
Food intake doubled at Oklahoma’s food banks over the past year – the result of a federal program designed to buy up products from farmers affected by responses to U.S. tariffs. The flows of fresh goods are welcome, but the downside is many local pantries can’t accept the surplus and their food choices have narrowed.
Who’s responsible for oversight of Epic Charter Schools? In light of accusations revealed by Oklahoma Watch and others detailed in a state investigator’s report, have overseers done enough to put a check on the state’s largest virtual school? State officials have asked for an investigative audit, but where it will lead is unclear.
Since the USDA began buying meat, produce and dairy from U.S. farmers last fall, the food people receive from food pantries has been more fresh and nutritious. But it’s also presented challenges for those who get the food from growers’ fields to dinner tables across the country.
A state investigator’s search warrant filed in court seeks evidence of alleged embezzlement of state funds and obtaining money under false pretenses at Epic Charter Schools, including through the use of “ghost students” who receive little or no instruction at the school.
One of the state’s most contentious education initiatives, the Reading Sufficiency Act, is fully funded for the first time. Will more support for struggling readers reduce the number of students who are retained?
In advocating on state policies, Oklahoma’s 27 district attorneys operate on two fronts: the District Attorneys Council, a state agency, and the District Attorneys Association, a private group that contracts with lobbyists. Advocacy groups say the setup stacks the deck against criminal justice reforms. (Use our slider image to compare attendees at both groups’ meetings.)
The E Foundation, a nonprofit that raised eyebrows when former Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb started the group before his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid last year, has closed. Is a new similar organization being created?
Oklahoma’s air may be getting worse. The newest data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows air quality throughout much of the state was down during each of the past two years. That bucked a trend in which state had seen significant improvement during the past decade.
Administrators at Epic Charter Schools have been allowing, encouraging or pressuring teachers to manipulate students’ enrollment for years in order to improve employees’ bonus pay, according to at least seven former teachers.
Marijuana has become a burgeoning industry in Oklahoma in the year since voters approved a state question to allow medical marijuana. Locate the dispensaries in your area and clusters or deserts in different parts of the state or cities.
Glenn Coffee has withdrawn as an outside attorney in the state’s ongoing opioid trial, saying his work on pretrial strategy and settlement discussions with drug companies had come to a close.
Vaccination has become a dirty word at the Oklahoma Capitol. As Oklahoma joins 25 other states in the worst measles outbreak in a generation, vaccination policies have become so politically toxic that few lawmakers want to take a recorded vote on the issue.