This is a day when no news media outlet can fathom nor sufficiently report all that has transpired. Yet the resilient people of Oklahoma have kept their calm and resolve to help each other through whatever may come.
  Congratulations Okies!  You're going to make it after all.

SB252 was presented for final passage in the Oklahoma House, today. The language is the product of a conference committee comprised of both senators and Representatives. 
  The vote totals were 45-49, with enough absent lawmakers to possibly change the outcome, had everyone actually voted.

​  The bill would essentially kill the bail bonds industry and replace it with a computer algorithm of deciding who will be released on their own recognisance.
  Democrats supported this bill and voted overwhelmingly for it. Most rural Republicans opposed it.

  The Keystone Dam is now releasing 200,000 cubic feet of water every second. That's close to the record rates they were releasing in October of 1986, when the the levies in Jenks were barely high enough, at 620 feet above sea level.
  But the Tulsa metro area has changed greatly in the past 35 years. River Development has been all the rage and Jenks has led the way by encouraging new ventures outside the levies. 
  The water being dumped into the Arkansas River is beyond comprehension, so let's create a mental picture... A College Football field (including the endzones & sidelines) would be under 3 feet of water every second; as a result of this kind of water release.
In 1986, I was part of the effort to save Jenks from the floods. At that time there was one old limestone house where the Riverwalk Crossing now stands. The water was near the roofline of that home.
The entry to the Oklahoma Aquarium is at 614'  above sea level.  The Riverwalk is about 615'.  The River Spirit Casino Hotel in Tulsa is at 613'.

  HB1269 takes the criminal justice reforms of SQ780 (passed by the voters in 2016) and allows the state Pardon & Parole Board to apply the sentencing guidelines to individuals who were serving or charged with a felony possession during that time.
  The Joint Conference Committee amended the original language so that district courts would not be involved, but rather, the parole board would hear the cases and make final recommendations to the governor.
  This would not apply to those who either committed a violent crime or were involved in distribution of controlled substances.
  This is a huge victory for patients who were treated with cannabis medicines for chronic conditions before the state authorized the medical option.

  There were a few more than a dozen who opposed this reform. And certainly the District Attorneys are very vocal in opposition.  Several of those who voted 'nay' were also staunch opponents of SQ788 and any current program to allow patients to utilize cannabis medicines for their very serious health conditions.
​  The Senate is expected to approve this final language and send it to the governor within the next few days.
 the bill is a collaborative work of Democrat Rep. Jason Dunnington & Majority Floor Leader Rep. Jon Echols.

  The Oklahoma media was enamored by the hot mic incident at the capitol Blue Room, yesterday. While the House Republican Caucus was awaiting the governor to join them for a prominent press event, the news crew of News9 KWTV had already set up their live feed for the newsroom, back at the station. Recently several news media outlets have begun capturing the events on facebook and other social media. This time they decided to let the feed run live on their website and social media acct. pages.
  Then Rep Fetgatter was asked by Rep. Mark McBride about the rumors surrounding a sexual misconduct investigation. In McBrides dry humor style, he posed a loaded question which had drawn the ire of Fetgatter, mostly because Fetgatter says he's been asked the same line of questions for several days.
  Fetgatter then responded sarcastically, clarifying the scenario which Sooner Tea Party had published. He said, " ..I allowed it to happen."
  This incited even more dry sarcasm from McBride. He then upped the level of bad taste with a remark suggesting beastiality might be what really happened.
  The entire press event that Speaker McCall & Governor Stitt had organized, was then overshadowed in the press. 

  Jim Gallogly surprised the state's academic world by emerging from an executive session of the board of regents and submitting his resignation.
  In his written statement, he reviewed the fiscal austerity plan he implemented and it's accomplishments.
  Gallogly openly refuted rumors that the current sex scandals being investigated were instigated as part of a perceived rift between him and Boren.
  Gallogly characterized his candidacy for president was not so much a pitch of his own personal advancement, but rather a pitch to reform the administrative course for the whole OU institution.
  Gallogly says he was retired when he agreed to take the office of OU President, and he plans to resume his retirement when a replacement is named and his skills are no longer needed.
  The regents met in a very long executive meeting with very little hint of what topics were discussed and what divisions might be apparent within the group of participants in that room.

​The written statement was distributed to some media outlets. Here's the text of what SoonerPolitics was able to get ahold of.

Conservative Candidate for Tribal Chief, David Walkingstick went live Friday night to alert the tribal citizens of what he sees as collusion by the current chief and Attorney General, to fix the election for their preferred successor.
​  Here's the transcript of his message...

  Aaron Brilbeck of News9 TV, has some insightful reporting on a confrontational meeting between senate leaders and Gov. Stitt's pick for budget secretary. Mike Mazzei is a former senator with a mediocre legacy. ​ In questioning before a senate committee, Mazzei confirmed that Stitt's team deliberately withholds some agency funding information from the legislature.
  What was even more revealing was the governor's apparent effort to flee the capitol meeting room and get away from the assertive questioning of Brilbeck.
​here's how Brilbeck put it...

  Sooner Politics joined the set of 3D Politics on Monday night, to discuss the breaking details of the Sexual Misconduct investigation of Rep Chris Kannady & Rep. Kevin McDugle.
 On Tuesday night we had more details of additional attorney staffing, including the attorney who has handled settlement negotiations when Dan Kirby faced allegations in 2016.

  It's been about 11 days since the Sooner Tea Party first broke the story of a young female legislator's harassment and molestation narrative. Al Gerhart provided quotes and even audio clips which depict a frat house atmosphere at some legislative events, both official and unofficial.
  But today a development occurred which verifies an official investigation is now commencing. Rick Rose, an associate of Speaker Charles McCall directed Mr. Al Gerhart to correspond directly with Atty. Chelsea Smith with any more evidence or other correspondence.

Scandal Causing Wear on Conservative Alliances
The sexual harassment/sexual battery scandal at the Capitol is causing a lot of frustration between conservative factions as the frustration builds at House leadership's lack of visible action or public acknowledgment of the scandals, leaving many unsure if anything will be done to protect the women that have to work and visit the Capitol. These are serious allegations and they should deserve a rapid response on leadership's part if for no other reason than to quell rumors and displace rumors with solid information.

Two Camps
There are two camps that are apparent, both have good intentions. The first includes the Sooner Tea Party headed by Al Gerhart, someone known more as a pit bull than known for patience and finesse. 

  Oklahoma has long held a policy of allowing 14 year olds to become licensed motorcycle drivers. But after one reckless mother abused a scooter on Riverside expressway and watched her son die for her stupidity; the Tulsa City Council is preparing a draft ordinance to ban anyone under 16 (or possibly 18), from riding a scooter. Some say that only battery powered scooters will be affected.
  It's yet another knee-jerk reaction to a highly publicized tragedy. The mother who was giving her 5 year old son a ride on the fateful night would still be allowed to give more kids a ride, since it would still be under an 'adult' control.
  This is just another way that Oklahoma policymakers pick on children. In the past 15 years, the state legislature has piled on ridiculous unrelated requirements on children, when it comes to transportation issues.
  Currently a spanish reading teenager must show that he can read at a high school level in order to get a drivers license. But that rule has nothing to do with demonstrating motor skills needed to drive safely.
  At the same time, elderly drivers get free license renewals even when they are senile.
Why... Pandering to voters and lobbyists like AAA & insurance companies.
​   But Tulsa's city council isn't even using sensible reasoning on the scooter policy frenzy.

 A Tulsa motorist died in a rainstorm, last Tuesday, around sunset. The scenario seems so easy to happen to anyone. His vehicle hydroplaned and left the highway, and landed in a stormwater channel that was 15' - 20' ft. deep.
 Tulsa citizens found his body and vehicle the next day, It was swept over a mile away.
  Public safety officials emphasize that motorists should only drive at speeds that road conditions warrant. The problem for many drivers is that they are not aware of just how quickly the safe roads can become deadly.
  It appears that Hwy 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway) no longer has the drainage it used to have. When the Highway dept. added a 3rd & 4th lane where there used to be a center median ditch.
  Because of shortcuts like ignoring stormwater runoff capacity, motorists should always reduce speeds in times of precipitation, but especially when driving toward the bottom of slopes in the roads.
 Hwy dept engineers should also reassess their decisions about guard rails and cables. This creek was not visible to east-bound motorists and has no guard rails or even a sign marker.

From Greg Piper, of the College Fix

​No bans allowed on spontaneous speech and assembly 
  Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed legislation Monday that bans “free speech zones” on public college campuses and protects the right of campus community members to “spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble, speak and distribute literature.”
Worryingly for college officials, it subjects them to litigation by individual and student groups whose freedom of expression was violated. 
​
Democrat Legislators Say 1st Amendment Leads To Dictatorships
​  Several Democrat members of the legislature fear that free speech policies are bad for society. Democrats warned that free speech could lead to tyranny. Rep. Regina Goodwin said the annual-report requirement could “intimidate administrators.” Rep. Merleyn Bell said the law could be “weaponized by hate groups.”
Rep. John Waldron, “a career social studies teacher until entering the Legislature this year,” said the law would encourage the “politics of confrontation.”
Weaponized free speech led to “the rise of dictatorships in Italy, Germany and the former Soviet Union,” according to Waldron.

  Late Thursday night a political newsletter issued a special edition, detailing the claims of a female who says she was subjected to sexual, emotional, and physical abuse from two legislators who are currently holding leadership positions in the House of Representatives.
  The article says she requested that her identity be protected, but the details of her ordeal are rather explicit.  The Sooner Tea Party released snippets of the transcript they journaled from an interview with the victim. The article refers to her as a married younger woman who was at a 2017 event with several lawmakers. Rep. Chris Kannady is a veteran lawmaker who later became the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Kevin McDugle would have been a freshman lawmaker at that time, and is now the chairman of the House Wildlife Committee.
  McDugle was involved in an extramarital affair at the time and divorce court testimony includes his admission of a sexual addiction. The article says that McDugle was showing the much younger woman some graphic video content of explicit pornographic acts.  The article says that Rep. Kannady was busy feeling her leg while the video was playing.