A new federal tax credit program opens scholarship funding to public schools for the first time, but public districts face an uphill battle against private school organizations with years of head start and an existing state infrastructure with oversight gaps. Oklahoma is one of 30 states that have opted in.
Tag: Oklahoma Watch
Posted inYour Money
Here’s why Oklahoma electric bills are going up and it’s not just data centers
Oklahomans are reporting sticker shock at the mailbox when opening their electric bills this summer. While artificial intelligence and the data centers needed to support them have become major subjects of public discourse, state lawmakers and regulators say they are only one part of a much larger explanation.
Posted inBusiness
Vesta Realty’s collapse has left tenants unsure who gets the rent — and scared of what comes next
Competing bankruptcy proceedings in two states, a court-ordered management transfer and a cast of characters including a former arms dealer have created what one attorney called the most complicated landlord-tenant situation she has ever seen.
Posted inNews
Marijuana testing hampered by lack of consistency, lab shopping
Oklahoma’s medical marijuana testing system faces questions about inconsistent laboratory results, lab shopping for favorable potency numbers and whether the state’s pesticide screening panel tests for enough compounds to protect patients. A state quality assurance laboratory authorized in 2023 is still not fully accredited three years later.
Posted inBusiness
‘Where you want to put your data center is not a trade secret.’ Oklahoma’s NDA debate, explained.
For decades, state agencies and municipalities have quietly signed NDAs while competing to attract new employers. But as data center proposals have spread across the state, those contracts have become the subject of legislative proposals, citizen protests and growing questions about where business confidentiality ends and the public’s right to know begins.
Posted inNews
When landlords don’t pay the bills, it’s the tenants who struggle
When Cassandra Rhodes arrived home to her Drexel Flats apartment, a notice from Oklahoma City greeted her, stating her water would soon be shut off.
Posted inNews
Candidates running for office can use campaign funds to cover childcare, but few do
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission in 2024 approved allowing candidates and officeholders to use campaign funds to cover the cost of dependent care.
Posted inNews
Left behind: Oklahomans deported by ICE leave behind families of citizens and lasting trauma
Families share stories of life after their loved ones were deported amid a surge of ICE arrests across the country.
Posted inGovernment
Oklahoma media outlets partner to challenge how Tulsa charges for public records
The City of Tulsa charges between $50 to $85 an hour for public records that require more than a single hour of labor. Media outlets are challenging that rule.
Posted inSchools & Families
Record highs, bottom rankings: Oklahoma’s education spending gap explained
State lawmakers are touting historic education spending levels, but Oklahoma’s per-pupil spending rate is still dead last among surrounding states.
Posted inYour Money
Oklahoma’s eviction process is being used as a form of rent collection, data shows
It happens to hundreds of Oklahomans every month. Rent is due on the first, but the paycheck hits their bank account on the sixth.
Posted inEntertainment
As Hollywood loses ground, Oklahoma plays the long game
Across the country, states are competing for film and television projects with increasingly aggressive incentive programs. The result is a high-stakes competition in which emerging markets such as Oklahoma are trying to find a foothold.