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The Norman Transcript •

Ward 7 councilmember leans on experience in mayoral bid

To Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman, being mayor is about accountability, accessibility and transparency, he said in his opening remarks during a recent mayoral debate.

“I want everyone to know that they have a mayor that they can meet with, that they can talk with, who's going to be responsive to their concerns and who's going to work with everybody, no matter where they come from,” Holman said.
The Norman Transcript •

Norman mayoral candidates debate TIF, homelessness and more

Ahead of the Feb. 11 Norman mayoral election, candidates debated a slew of issues in the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord Hall auditorium on Thursday evening.

More than 100 people showed up to watch as six-term Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman, incumbent Mayor Larry Heikkila, and Riley Mulinix, a local attorney, spoke on a variety of issues, such as Norman Public Library, homelessness, the potential entertainment district and its tax-increment financing model.
The Norman Transcript •

Cleveland County Courthouse to receive major tech overhaul

The courtrooms at the Cleveland County Courthouse are set to receive “state-of-the-art” audiovisual upgrades after county commissioners approved a contract this week for up to $1.15 million.

Approving the contract Monday was the final step required to meet the American Rescue Plan Act deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday as the commissioners are financing the courthouse improvements using ARPA funds obligated for the project.
The Norman Transcript •

Fire burns barn in east Norman

A billowing black cloud of smoke emanated from a fire Friday afternoon as it burned through a pole barn and the surrounding brush near the 2300 block of North Porter Avenue.

According to Norman Fire Department spokesperson Jenny Jones, emergency dispatchers received the call at 2:44 p.m. for what was then considered to be merely a grass fire. A fire inspector was in the area and arrived on scene first. He elevated the call to a structure fire and asked for more units to be dispatched.
The Norman Transcript •

Cleveland County stays red in presidential election

Continuing a 60-year trend, Cleveland County voted predominately Republican in the presidential election with former President Donald Trump overwhelming Vice President Kamala Harris. However, Oklahoma County very nearly turned blue.

In Cleveland County, Trump lead with 67,131 votes (56%), while Harris took 49,363 votes (41%). Despite no longer running for president, Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received 1,290 votes (1.1%), Libertarian Chase Oliver received 866 votes (0.7%) and Independent Chris Garrity received 476 votes (0.4%).
The Norman Transcript •

‘One of the most important writers anywhere’

At the University of Oklahoma, over 17,000 miles away from her home country of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar, Ananda Devi accepted one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world – a replica of an eagle feather cast in silver.

That silver eagle feather is weighty, not merely due to the silver or it being over a foot long. That feather is the symbol of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature; 32 laureates, finalists and prize jurors have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in the past 53 years.
The Norman Transcript •

US Supreme Court agrees to hear Oklahoma v. EPA case

The United States Supreme Court on Monday granted Oklahoma’s petition for review in its case against the Environmental Protection Agency, which concerns the state’s plan to implement national ozone standards.

“Instead of working with Oklahoma to make whatever modifications the EPA claimed were necessary, the Biden Administration chose to burden the state with an unwieldy and costly one-size-fits-all plan,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a press release. “The EPA ignored the expertise of Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality, all at the expense of state sovereignty.”
The Norman Transcript •

OU students protest, demand divestment over Gaza conflict

On Wednesday, approximately 100 students protested at the University of Oklahoma, calling for the university to divest from companies “fueling the U.S.-Israeli genocide” in Gaza and Lebanon.

Formerly the OU Student Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, the OU Students for Justice in Palestine spent three weeks organizing the protest for Week of Rage, according to one of its organizers. Week of Rage is a national movement by pro-Palestinian student groups to mark “one year of genocide.”
The Norman Transcript •

Local fall festival brings attention to young adults with disabilities

The SunHive Collective offered free barbecue sliders, pumpkin painting, raffles and more to all who came out to their third annual Fall Festival on Saturday.

Founded by Loralei Gann and Melissa Collyar in 2022, the SunHive Collective “creates a safe and inviting space for young adults with disabilities to grow in their daily living, social and transitional skills,” according to its website. The SunHive Collective currently serves 28 young adults with disabilities.
The Norman Transcript •

Norman Seeks $1M HUD Grant for Affordable Housing

To further the city of Norman’s long-term goal to generate more affordable housing, the planning department will $1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city hopes to take advantage of HUD’s Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing grant initiative, which is designed to support “communities who are actively taking steps to remove barriers to affordable housing,” according to the grant website.
The Norman Transcript •

Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine calls for space industry action in Oklahoma

Speaking early Friday morning in a Max Westheimer Airport hangar, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told scores of business leaders, students, and educators that space industry growth in Oklahoma is vital to the nation.

“There’s a lot happening in Oklahoma that is tangentially associated with space, and I think more can and should be done,” Bridenstine said. “I think that if we do it right, we put a strategy around it, the amount of money going into space is going to continue to grow. It’s going to grow rapidly. It’s going to continue to be commercialized, and the state of Oklahoma could stand to benefit a lot from it.”
The Norman Transcript •

OU theatre season opens with French operas

The beginning of fall means the beginning of the University of Oklahoma’s 2024-25 theatre season, which kicks off with a double bill of French operas running Thursday through Sunday.

Witness the slapstick comedy of one-act operas “Rita” and “L’heure Espagnole” on stage at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, directed by Nicole Kenley-Miller, assistant professor of music, with musical direction from Jonathan Shames, professor of orchestral conducting.
The Norman Transcript •

Norman Regional Hospital accepts CEO resignation

Meeting until early morning Tuesday, the board of Norman Regional Hospital voted to accept the resignation of its president and chief executive officer, the Transcript has learned.

The Norman Regional Hospital Authority Board voted to accept the resignation of President and CEO Richie Splitt, who joined the hospital in 2016 and oversaw the main facility's recent move from its Porter Ave location in central Norman to its new Healthplex on I-35 and Tecumseh Road.
The Purcell Register •

Some obscure. Others outdated.

Want to raise a parakeet in public? Looking to play your phonograph really, really loud between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.? Desire to build a family mausoleum in the Purcell cemetery?
While these questions may seem odd, the Purcell Code of Ordinances has rules about all of them.
Though many city residents may be aware of the more common codes governing local elections or the local sales tax rate, the current code has several ordinances many would consider to be obscure, outdated or both.
One such code,...
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