Rick Green
NewsOK
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Past articles by Rick:
DHS to cut 91 positions as it struggles with funding
AUG 3, 2016 - DHS to cut 91 positions as it struggles with funding → Read More
Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Steven Taylor to retire
AUG 2, 2016 - Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Steven Taylor, 67, plans to retire Dec. 31 after serving more than three decades as a judge in the state. → Read More
If there's no teacher raise, 6 Oklahoma agencies would get bulk of $140 million surplus
AUG 2, 2016 - A list released by the state of Oklahoma shows that if the money isn't diverted to teachers, it would go largely to common education, health care, higher education, human services, mental health and corrections. → Read More
Millions to flow to alternative Oklahoma transportation projects
AUG 2, 2016 - “There are neighborhoods all over this state that don’t have sidewalks,” said Mike Patterson, executive director of the Oklahoma Transportation Department. “It’s an effort to create walkable communities.” → Read More
Oklahoma Marine's remains buried 73 years after death in World War II
JUL 14, 2016 - The remains of an Oklahoma Marine who died in the Pacific during World War II were buried Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. → Read More
Oklahoma campus bond projects draw attention amid budget cuts
JUL 14, 2016 - Oklahoma lawmakers cut state appropriations for higher education by nearly 16 percent this year, but that hasn't put a crimp in a separate source of money that allows universities to spend millions on new construction. → Read More
Legislators join Oklahoma’s annual New York visit with bond advisers
JUL 9, 2016 - Top Oklahoma officials made their customary rounds to meet with three of the nation's bond ratings agencies in late June to discuss Oklahoma's bond rating. This time, top legislative leaders also made the trip. → Read More
State Rep. Kevin Calvey faces challenger in GOP primary
JUN 26, 2016 - Robert M. Jernigan Jr., 42, a homebuilder, is running against Kevin Calvey for the Oklahoma House District 82 seat. → Read More
Senate seat in Edmond draws preacher, former Air Force captain
JUN 26, 2016 - The Rev. Paul Blair, 63, a former NFL player who is pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, and Adam Pugh, 38, who served as an electronic warfare officer on AWACS planes at Tinker Air Force Base, are competing in the June 28 Republican primary. → Read More
Republicans continue to gain in voter registration in Oklahoma
JUN 26, 2016 - Records maintained by the state Election Board show 929,989 registered Republicans, 838,665 Democrats, 281,790 independents and 807 Libertarians. → Read More
Supporters of penny sales tax for education call legal challenge 'obstruction'
JUN 24, 2016 - Dave Bond, chief executive officer of OCPA Impact, said the challenge brings up substantive issues, including that the gist did not explain the penny tax would be in addition to existing taxes. → Read More
Patrice Douglas bows out of $250K state job offer
JUN 22, 2016 - Patrice Douglas on Wednesday declined a $250,000-a-year offer to work for a state agency overseeing tobacco settlement funds. The lucrative offer, which is $100,000 more than Gov. Mary Fallin makes, stirred criticism from the public and elected officials. Douglas, a former mayor of Edmond and a former member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, said she was disappointed the job… → Read More
Oklahoma lawmakers could call special legislative session to distribute budget surplus
Shelly Paulk, Oklahoma's deputy budget director, said the general revenue fund surplus stands at $166.6 million through 11 months and that even assuming revenue declines in June, a surplus topping $100 million is likely. → Read More
Oklahoma payroll procedures could block $250K TSET job
JUN 18, 2016 - Payroll procedures could block the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust's plans to hire Patrice Douglas as its new chief executive officer at a controversial salary of $250,000 a year. → Read More
Oklahoma governor puts state troopers' card readers on hold
Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to delay using its Electronic Recovery and Access to Data readers until a clear policy has been established. → Read More
OK governor "does not approve" of agency's $250K salary offer
JUN 16, 2016 - An Oklahoma agency violated the spirit of a state hiring freeze when it placed a former state official in a newly created job paying $250,000 per year, Gov. Mary Fallin said Thursday. The salary offer from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust amounts to $100,000 more than Fallin herself earns. “This agency needs to play by the same rules it has been playing under until it… → Read More
Mystery solved: Douglas winner of $250K OK state job
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust announced Tuesday Patrice Douglas has accepted a newly created $250,000-a-year job heading up the state agency. Douglas is a former Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner, a former Edmond mayor and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. House. The announcement came a week after the trust stirred public concern with word that it was starting a… → Read More
Fallin among governors meeting with Trump
JUN 14, 2016 - Gov. Mary Fallin is among seven Republican governors meeting with Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday. Fallin's name has been mentioned in speculation about the vice presidential selection process, but Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has not contacted her to talk about being his running mate, said Michael McNutt, a spokesman for the governor. He didn't know… → Read More
Oklahoma Legislature rebuffs Gov. Mary Fallin's 'aggressive agenda'
Why can't a Republican governor get her agenda through a Republican-dominated Legislature? → Read More
Initiative would downgrade simple drug possession to misdemeanor
Backers of an initiative that would downgrade simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor say they've collected more than enough voter signatures to get it on the Nov. 8 ballot. They are planning to drop off the signatures at the Oklahoma secretary of state's office for this proposal, and for a second initiative that seeks to better fund treatment for criminal diversion programs… → Read More