Data breach or data reach?
Oklahoma’s chief officer responsible for election security felt like he had to defend the state’s record after President Donald Trump’s speech during primetime TV. Trump claimed that China has attempted to meddle in elections by accessing voter registration data in states including Oklahoma. State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said: “There is no claim that Oklahoma’s voter registration database was compromised or breached.” The Tulsa World’s Steve Metzer with this lead story.
My take: Fact checking is something that isn’t easy to do in real time, which is why it’s important after “hearing something” to go to legit news sources and check it out. Friendly reminder.
The last polio survivor in an Iron Lung died. She lived in Shawnee
I did not know that fellow Oklahoman Martha Ann Lillard was the last to use the technology from the 1940s. People magazine reported that she died after the machine started to break down and they couldn’t find anyone to repair it. Lillard contracted the disease when she was 5 years old in 1953, two years before a vaccine helped eliminate it. KFOR in Oklahoma City did a story on her just eight days before her death.
My take: She did a lot of things in her life but always needed something built 20 years before the electronic calculator debuted. Unreal.
The end of reading is here. Again.
A lot to unpack from this unlocked article from The Atlantic with the headline “The end of reading is here.” For those scoring at home, 16 percent of Americans read for pleasure. About 57 percent of Americans gamble.
My take: First, yes, I did read to the end of this article. The history of what has threatened the act of reading over the decades includes novels and journalism. But also this: Print book sales are up from a decade ago (but from less customers), new bookstores keep opening up and Substacks like this one keep popping up, asking their followers to read. This is a long story but it’s worth it. Makes me want to join a book club. (Currently reading What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins with Five Gears in Reverse by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips up next.)
Questions abound about Manna drone delivery service. Here are some answers.
That’s the headline of Kevin Canfield’s Tulsa World Q&A with the founder of Manna, which led the Collington Index when it was announced the drone delivery company was coming to town. Canfield did report and allow the founder to explain why he’s no longer delivering in his native Ireland and decided to open up in Tulsa.
Joe Tomlinson at the Tulsa Flyer talked to residents in Ireland about what the Manna experience was like. “When it’s going out in the street, well, it’s a motorcycle in the street — it might be noisy. But you don’t have it going over your back yard.” (The company founder told Canfield the drone’s noise level is like the hum of an air conditioner. Check out the video and you decide.)
My take: If Tulsa wants to be known as the “Drone Capitol of the World” (as some politicians, business people and universities want) there will need to be drones actually flying in Tulsa. How on the cutting edge does Tulsa want to be?
Quotable quotes
On marriage
“The inner stability that you both feel becomes the outer resilience that the two of you share as you face the natural ups and downs of life. Making sure that you are still developing your self-awareness and wisdom will help you not project your inner tension onto each other. Supporting each other in making space for personal growth is one of the most selfless ways to love each other.”
– Yung Pueblo in his essay 11 lessons from 11 years of marriage. His book “Clarity and Connection” is one I have given to others after a friend gave it to me following my divorce. Highly recommend.
On grass
“ … that Super Bowl was a horrible day in my life. That just wasn’t how that grass performs; it was about how it was being managed.”
– Dennis Martin, an OSU professor and turfgrass extension specialist, interviewed by the Tulsa World’s Ashton Slaughter in a story about OSU creating the turf the World Cup final was played on. Slaughter reported that Tahoma 31 — the warm-season Bermuda grass that OSU agriculture researchers began creating in 2006 – was also used in Super Bowl LVII where a number of players slipped during play.
On the ballot
“I will get sued. And then we’ll have the discussion.”
– Oklahoma governor candidate Mike Mazzei talking to the Stillwater Frontier Rotary Club about his expectations about his education plan. The Stillwegian’s Chris Peters reported that Mazzei announced that in his first week as governor, he would hire a statewide literacy director by executive order and direct the State Department of Education to terminate the 24 reading curricula Oklahoma’s 500-plus school districts currently choose from. Peters also fact checks everything said at the event, saying the candidate’s claims fared unevenly against the record.
On the ballot as well
“This lawsuit is about protecting Oklahoma homeowners and holding insurance companies accountable when they fail to honor the promises they make to policyholders.”
– Oklahoma governor candidate and current attorney general Gentner Drummond, who for the second time in less than a month has sued an insurance company for allegedly denying or minimizing payments for valid hail and wind damage claims. Oklahoma Voice’s Barbara Hoberock with the details.
On land
“I think Oklahoma is so strained for jobs and economic development that we will roll over too easily and give away the farm.”
– Oklahoma Rep. Amanda Clinton, a Tulsa Democrat and Cherokee citizen, in this unlocked New York Times story reported from multiple places across the state about the data center boom on Native land.
On camera
“We have access to 3,000 cameras now. We would like to double or triple that.”
– Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larsen – who just announced his retirement – during a talk titled “The State of Public Safety in Tulsa” on July 8, presented by the Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture. The center’s director is OU-Tulsa Professor Rodger A. Randle, a former Tulsa mayor, who hosts events for the public good. Larsen said Flock cameras placed strategically around the city have helped reduce car thefts by 47%. Some cities in California and Michigan have recently canceled contracts with the technology company, pointing to changes about owning or selling users’ data. This is what Flock is saying.
Notable numbers
1
– The number of additional minutes that Owasso Public Schools students will spend each day in school to comply with Oklahoma’s new recess law, which doubled the required daily recess time for kindergarten through fifth grade students from 20 minutes to 40 minutes. It’s going from 3:45 p.m. to 3:46 p.m. The Tulsa World’s Macey Thaxton with the details.
97%
– The percentage of Tulsans in a citywide survey conducted by City Auditor Nathan Pickard that have a lot or some trust in the Tulsa Fire Department, according to a story from Tulsa Flyer’s Ginnie Graham. Guess who finished last.
7,000
– The percentage of interest for one of the loans at the heart of a case that has resulted in thousands of Oklahomans getting a new landlord. Former arms dealer Efraim Diveroli – played by actor Jonah Hill in the film War Dogs – exercised his option on the high-interest loan to claim ownership of a large real estate portfolio that spreads from Oklahoma City to Tulsa and cities in between. KJRH’s Erin Christy broke this story.
NonDoc’s Tristan Loveless dug into court documents to show all the Tulsa apartments included.
0.6%
– The percentage of Epic Charter School’s 2025 senior class that achieved a minimum score on the ACT required for college admission without remediation, was accepted to a college or university and completed the FAFSA. That’s just one number of many troubling ones Oklahoma Watch’s Jennifer Palmer found in new reports to the Statewide Charter School Board.
For the love of kindergarten teachers (Thank you, Mrs. Allen)
Also a tip from Adam Grant, who writes great books: “When you meet someone new, don’t ask: What do you do? It limits what people share about themselves to a job description. Instead, try: What do you love to do? It ignites curiosity and invites people to express their distinctive interests.”
New York, New York
During our break last week, we took on NYC.
Thanks for reading. Forward to those who need to know what’s up.
There is no cavalry.
It’s up to us.
All together now. jc
P.S. Save the dates for some candidate forums before the Aug. 25 election. On the ballot is the GOP run-off in the Oklahoma governor and state superintendent races, as well as open city council seats in Tulsa. I will moderate these events alongside some of the best reporters in Tulsa who will ask the questions.
The Tulsa Press Club, Tulsa Flyer and Tulsa World present forums for candidates running for city council seats. Listen to city council candidates answer questions from reporters Kevin Canfield of the Tulsa World and Ginnie Graham of the Tulsa Flyer.
July 23, 6-7 p.m.: District 3 incumbent Jackie Dutton and Tanisha Bowen, Tulsa Air and Space Museum, 3624 N. 74th E. Ave.
July 27, 6-7 p.m.: District 5 incumbent Karen Gilbert and Adam Burnett, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 3702 S. 90th E. Ave.
Aug. 3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.: District 7 incumbent Lori Decter Wright, Dave Perry and Kenny Wogoman, Frossard Auditorium at the Hardesty Library, 8316 E. 93rd St. Note: This event is not affiliated in any way with the Tulsa City-County Library. The Library neither sponsors nor endorses this event, the speaker(s) or the organization.
Aug. 6, 6-7 p.m.: District 2 incumbent Anthony Archie and Aaron Bisogno, University Village Theater, 8555 S. Lewis Ave.
Aug. 10, 6-7 p.m.: District 9 candidates Ben Johnson, Pete Regan and Shawn Tiemann, Community Brookside, 1307 E. 38th St.
The University of Tulsa’s Office of Civic Engagement, the Tulsa Press Club, Tulsa Flyer and Oklahoma Watch present Candidate Conversations. The forums invite those appearing on the ballot this election year a chance to present their cases and answer questions from local journalists including Randy Krehbiel from the Tulsa World, Andrea Eger and Paul Monies from Oklahoma Watch, and Ginnie Graham from the Tulsa Flyer.
The events will be at the Lorton Performance Center on TU’s campus, 550 S. Gary Place.
At TU, civic engagement is an institution-wide commitment that draws upon the power of education, community service, civic leadership and informing policy to create lasting impact and opportunity in Tulsa and beyond. The event is hosted by the Office of Civic Engagement’s director Melissa Abdo. Learn more about the office at utulsa.edu.
This event is open to the public and does not require tickets but the seating is limited. Parking is available across from the center.
Aug. 11: Governor and state superintendent candidates appearing in the run-off election: We have invited candidates Gentner Drummond, Mike Mazzei, Robert Franklin and James Taylor to share their visions for Oklahoma and to take questions from local journalists on the biggest issues in the state.
5:30 p.m.: Meet and greet the candidates.
6-6:45 p.m.: Governor candidates answer questions.
6:45-7:30 p.m.: Superintendent candidates answer questions.
