Critics say new laws proposed by the insurance department ignore pervasive and sustained outrage over skyrocketing homeowners rates and would make it more difficult for policyholders to fight back.

The post Too Little, Too Late, Too Weak: Critics React to Proposed Insurance Legislation appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma Watch · TSET Investors Board Puts Asset Managers On Notice In Anti-ESG Push Paul Monies has more on Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ's continuing efforts to change the investment focus of the state’s tobacco settlement trust fund. Jennifer Palmer talked to a domestic violence advocate who resigned in protest from the Domestic Violence Fatality Review [...]

The post Long Story Short: TSET Investors Board Puts Asset Managers On Notice In Anti-ESG Push appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma Watch · Reduced Oklahoma Prison Phone Call Rates Aren’t Coming Back Keaton Ross on the FCC’s rollback of a rate cap that brought reduced phone call rates to Oklahoma prisoners and their families. Jennifer Palmer's latest story looks into alarming data on gun suicides among older adults. Ben Fenwick on a unique bit of [...]

The post Long Story Short: Reduced Oklahoma Prison Phone Call Rates Aren’t Coming Back appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma Watch · Former Corrections Director Approved Million Dollar Deal With AI Company, Then Went to Work For Them Jake Ramsey went on a ride-along with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department as the officer served evictions and talked about what he saw. Keaton Ross wrote about former Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe taking [...]

The post Long Story Short: Former Corrections Director Approved Million Dollar Deal With AI Company, Then Went to Work For Them appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

A photo essay showing the work of Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Davine Hopkins as she serves evictions.

The post Evictions Through the Lens of a Law Enforcement Officer appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

More than 8,500 state employees are working remotely at least some of the time, with the arrangement mostly from a lack of space at agencies.  The Office of Management and Enterprise Services compiled the latest numbers after a December executive order issued by Gov. Kevin Stitt mandating a return to the office for state employees.  [...]

The post Thousands of State Employees Still Working Remotely appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Known as legal morphine, kratom and 7-OH are readily available at convenience stores, smoke shops and online. The government is cracking down with restrictions that go into effect this year.

The post Kratom Compound Under Fire as Users Brace for Ban appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Yes. Using 2023 CDC data, several reports concluded that guns were the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17 for the fourth year in a row. Most gun deaths have continued to be gun suicides since 1995, accounting for 6 out of every 10 gun deaths. Since 2014, the gun suicide rates [...]

The post Are guns the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.? appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, and Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, attend a joint session of the Legislature on May 12, 2025. (Legislative Services Bureau) Gov. Kevin Stitt faced bipartisan criticism in April when he balked at the number of Democrat-authored bills advancing out of the House.  Many of those bills didn’t end up becoming [...]

The post How Bills Authored By Democrats Fared in 2025 appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

The state will pay Florida-based Trinity Food Services about $5 per prisoner, per day through mid-2027.

The post Oklahoma Inks $74 Million Deal to Privatize Prison Food Service appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.