Oklahoma

Oklahoma Turnpike Expansion Project Challenged by Lawsuits
A recent court ruling could turn the tide against a roadway expansion plan that threatens to displace homes and businesses and that locals say was pushed through with little transparency or community input.

Oklahoma City Begins Work on its First Bus Rapid Transit System
The BRT line has been in the works since 2005, when the city created a plan to focus on regional transit solutions.

Business Owners Force Removal of New Tulsa Bike Lanes
Local politics is still an obstacle for street reconfigurations that make space for people on bikes.

Biden Administration Targets Five States that Ban School Mask Mandates
President Biden asked his education secretary to see what could be done about states that prohibit school districts from enacting CDC public health recommendations. Miguel Cardona responded by empowering his Office of Civil Rights to investigate.

Pandemic Geography: Missouri Outbreak Driven by Delta Variant
With 65.4% of the nation's adult population at least partially vaccinated, daily new COVID cases have dropped to the lowest level since late March 2020. However, cases are increasing in some states, none more than Missouri.

Black Wall Street's Second Destruction
After the Tulsa Race Massacre, Greenwood rebuilt strong. Then came "urban renewal."

Oklahoma House Approves Protections for Drivers Who Hit Protestors
A heated debate and a party line vote in Oklahoma.

Hospitals and Healthcare Workers Brace for Influx of COVID Patients
Coronavirus infections, while at record-high levels, have decreased during the past week, unlike hospitalizations, which are still surging. Public health experts expect it to get a lot worse due to the Thanksgiving holiday travel.

The Changing Geography of the Pandemic
During the pandemic's first phase in March and April, the Northeast was devastated by COVID-19. After Memorial Day, the surge was in the South and West. As cases decrease nationwide, they are now spiking in the Midwest, particularly North Dakota.

Design Collective Using Black-Centered Approaches to Transform Cities
BlackSpace seeks to empower Black practitioners and change the way planning and design happens in and affects Black communities.

Floridians File Lawsuit to Protect Jacksonville from the GOP
A public nuisance lawsuit filed July 8 aims to ensure that an unsafe indoor mass gathering like President Trump held in Tulsa last month, which reportedly led to coronavirus infections, does not occur during the Republican National Convention.

Rural Transit Agencies Provide a Lifeline During the Pandemic
More evidence of the essential benefits of public transit, but this time the source of the evidence is found in rural communities all over the United States, like Hugo, Oklahoma.

States to Train Public Health Armies to Move Beyond Mitigation to Containment
As some governors open nonessential businesses, subjecting workers and customers to potential viral infection, others move beyond social distancing to the next steps, boxing in the coronavirus with testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine.

Will the Coronavirus Spare Rural America?
Many counties throughout the nation have recorded no deaths from COVID-19. A perception exists that population density is responsible for the massive death toll in New York and New Jersey and that exurban and rural counties may be spared.

5 Transit Projects to Watch in the D.C. Region in 2020
Light rail, bus rapid transit, subway cell service, and more.

In Tulsa, Pushing Back on the Dollar Store Incursion
Restrictions in North Tulsa are part of a backlash against the dollar stores flooding communities that are food deserts in need of real grocery stores.

Just What the Planet Needs: More Oil Production
A surge of oil from four countries—Norway, Guyana, Canada and Brazil—will more than compensate for slowing growth of U.S. oil production. The new sources might cause oil prices to dip to $50 a barrel and slow the transition to electric vehicles.

Big Oil Not Happy With Methane Regulation Rollback
The Trump administration's rollback on August 29 of an Obama-era regulation to reduce methane emissions in the production and distribution of oil and natural gas did not sit well with large oil and gas companies who see value in reducing emissions.

Free Bus Rides in Tulsa
The Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority (Tulsa Transit) is launching a redesigned bus system this September. Tulsa Transit is offering free rides to boost the new service.

Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma Formed
Officials in six Oklahoma cities are hoping to add public transit connections throughout the region.
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