While some rain was finally reported in northern and central Oklahoma early Thursday, by all appearances the breadth of dry conditions in the sate is growing. The latest Drought Monitor report shows growth just in the past week, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet and State Climatologist Gary McManus. He described it as “an intensifying drought …
When Patrice Douglas served as an Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner, she had obvious differences with the other woman on the commission—Dana Murphy. Now Douglas has come out with an endorsement of Murphy’s opponent in the race for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor. She has endorsed former state GOP chairman Matt Pinnell, also a candidate to …
The Denver Federal Appeals Court on Thursday heard oral arguments on legal challenges to the Obama-era hydraulic fracturing rule on public and tribal lands.. The legal question was whether the Interior Department’s fracking rule exceeded the agency’s authority. It was in June of last year when Wyoming federal judge Scott Skavdahl ruled the federal government …
Tulsa-based Public Service Company of Oklahoma announced Wednesday that it will partner with Southwestern Electric Power Co. on the new Wind Catcher Energy Connection project in far northwest Oklahoma, according to a company press release. If approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the project may provide nearly 40 percent of power from wind for PSO …
Tulsa-based ONEOK, Inc. increased the energy midstream service provider’s quarterly dividend by 13 cents per share, or 21 percent, to 74.5 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.98 per share, according to a company press release issued on Wednesday. The dividend is payable on August 14, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August …
Oklahoma’s senior statesman, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, is co-sponsoring S. 1514, the Hunting Heritage and Environmental Legacy Preservation (HELP) for Wildlife Act. Introduced on June 29, 2017 by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the bipartisan bill reauthorizes and establishes several government wildlife conservation programs and provides regulatory clarity for sportsmen. Inhofe’s amendment allows land-grant universities like …
After 9 years as an Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner, Dana Murphy has announced her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor. The Republican already has more than $600,000 in her campaign fund and said it is no secret that Oklahoma is at a crossroads. “Our state’s next set of leaders must be able to navigate solutions that spur our …
Lawsuits brought by the State of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation over a closed uranium plant near Gore have been on hold for nearly two months. Sequoyah County District Court Judge Jeff Payton issued an order in May staying the restraining orders against Sequoyah Fuels. The state and the tribe sought to stop the company …
The two women who claimed recently to vandalizing the Dakota Access pipeline during last year’s protests in North Dakota weren’t strangers to law enforcement and the courts. Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya of Des Moines, Iowa had civil disobedience arrest records. They were arrested this week for damaging a sign outside the Iowa Utilities board office …
A new study of Oklahoma businesses indicates more are surviving longer than firms in the past and most Oklahomans are working for companies that are 10 years of age or older. Entitled Business Establishment Survival in Oklahoma, the report was done by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. It found that the older establishments, those more …