This site will soon be directed to our new offering online with more features, video, additional reporters and a new look. City Sentinel Tulsa is live today at this link.

This evolution from Tulsa Today to City Sentinel Tulsa unites the largest metro areas of the state and adds national coverage which is critical to success as an independent news and media outlet. The growth has been needed in the market to counter corporate, government and progressive NGO narratives in the digital age. We must network together those of courage and good heart to build a better future and the Grellner Media Group dedicates itself to building the infrastructure necessary for truth to prevail.

In May, Oklahoma Human Services will host 10 listening sessions in five different cities across the state to assess the needs of aging Oklahomans. Through these open forum listening sessions, the agency plans to gather critical information from the current aging community and its providers to help in the development of a Multisector Plan on Aging. The agency is inviting Tulsa residents to participate Tuesday, May 9 at Life Senior Center at Southminster (3500 S. Peoria Ave.) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

By 2030, for the first time ever, the number of people over 65 will outnumber children under 18. This historic number of older Oklahomans will require a transformation in the way public, private, and non-profit groups approach the priorities for this significant population. To support this change, Oklahoma Human Services is looking ten years into the future and reimagining how it can better serve aging Oklahomans.

The goal of a Multisector Plan on Aging is to give every senior the confidence to live life on their terms and to provide them with the resources they need to lead a healthy lifestyle. In order to develop this comprehensive plan by August 2024, the agency is asking for the community’s input.

“We are calling for your feedback to help shape the future landscape for older Oklahomans,” said Jeromy Buchanan, Director of Community Living, Aging and Protective Services (CAP) for Oklahoma Human Services. “We want to accurately tailor our plan to the specific needs of this growing population. Any person or organization interested in improving the lives of their neighbors can play a meaningful role in the development of our Multisector Plan on Aging.”

Woodward – May 8
Tulsa – May 9
McAlester – May 10
Lawton – May 11
Oklahoma City – May 12

A virtual listening session will also be available on Thursday, May 25, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for those who will not be able to attend the in-person sessions.

Visit Oklahoman Human Service’s website to sign up today for a listening session and to learn more about Oklahoma’s Multisector Plan on Aging.

First American Art Magazine (FAAM), a quarterly print and digital journal covering art by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, will celebrate its tenth anniversary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a free evening reception coinciding with Tulsa’s First Friday Art Walk on May 5, 2023, from 6 to 9 p.m. The reception will take place in the atrium at Archer Studios at the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, 109 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the public is invited to attend.

Complimentary copies of the current FAAM No. 38, Spring 2023 issue, stickers, and bookmarks will be available. Chef Nico Albert (Cherokee Nation) of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods will cater the event and publishing editor America Meredith (Cherokee Nation) and contributing editor Stacy Pratt, PhD (Mvskoke) will share remarks. 

In addition to the event in Tulsa, FAAM is also sponsoring four episodes of the podcast 5 Plain Questions as part of its tenth-anniversary celebrations. Joe Williams (Dakota) of Eleven Warrior Arts and the Plains Art Museum of Fargo, North Dakota, hosts 5 Plain Questions which “poses 5 general questions to Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.”

In these special episodes he visits with the four Native American artists who were profiled in FAAM’s very first issue in 2013: Orlando Dugi, Diné fashion designer and beadwork artist; Anita Fields, Osage/Muscogee ceramic and textile artist; Tom Jones, Ho-Chunk photographer; and Erin Shaw, Chickasaw/Choctaw painter. Listeners can tune in and discover how these artists’ careers have transformed over the last decade.

FAAM was launched by Native artists in April 2013 as they saw the growing need for a publication that centered Native voices and offered serious yet accessible dialogue about Native art history and living Indigenous art. Since then, the magazine has provided a shared platform for artists, collectors, and scholars while reaching thousands of readers across the globe. It officially marks 10 years of publication with the most recent FAAM No. 38, Spring 2023 issue which will be available at this event.

Oklahoma District Two Congressman Josh Brecheen today announced that he is officially endorsing President Donald J. Trump for President in 2024.

“I voted for and supported President Trump in 2016 and 2020, and I will support him for President in 2024.  His actions as President were bold, decisive, and game-changing for our country, and we need that kind of leadership again. 

“He led with policies that brought energy independence reversing seventy-five years of reliance on foreign oil.  He showcased true peace through strength and kept us out of needless wars.  He inspired confidence in our economy, unleashing an economic boom by cutting taxes and federal regulations.  His bold actions restored and built 400 miles of border wall while securing our southern border. 

“He attacked political correctness and didn’t shy away from standing strong against a liberal ideology undermining our nation.  His support for religious liberty, Israel, and his actions that brought forth the Abraham Accords aren’t forgotten.  I’m grateful for his stand supporting parental rights and opposing Biden’s insane transgender policies.  Donald Trump kept his promises and Made America Great Again.  

“I am truly honored to endorse President Donald J. Trump for President in 2024.” said Congressman Josh Brecheen. 

Legislation allowing restaurants and school cafeterias to donate leftover food without threat of civil liability, except in certain circumstances, has been signed into law.

House Bill 1542, authored by Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, grants civil immunity to restaurants and school cafeterias donating leftover food.

“Unfortunately, the lack of protection from civil action has prevented Oklahoma’s restaurants and school cafeterias from donating perfectly good food to those in need,” Moore said. “It’s my hope that this legislation will help address food shortage issues within the state and open the door to more restaurants and cafeterias interested in donating leftovers.”

The bill provides for civil action in situations where the restaurant or school cafeteria willfully or negligently donate spoiled food.

“We have many seniors, individuals and families who are living with food insecurity, while restaurants and school cafeterias feel they have no choice but to throw away nutritious, good food,” said Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, who authored the bill in the Senate. “This new law is aimed at encouraging those restaurants and schools who would like to help address hunger in our state to do so. I appreciate the support of our fellow members and thank Governor Stitt for signing this bill into law.”

HB1542 was signed into law April 19 and will take effect Nov. 1.

A recent survey released today explores perceptions of Gen Z workers among managers and business leaders. The report also shares insight into the top reasons why Gen Z employees get fired. Overall, the survey garnered responses from 1.000 managers and business leaders who believe Gen Z is the most difficult generation to work with. The report was commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com,

“As a result of COVID-19 and remote education, it’s possible that GenZers lack the foundation to be more successful than older generations in entry-level positions,” says Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller.

Overall, 74 percent of managers and business leaders say Gen Z is more difficult to work with compared to other generations. Among the respondents surveyed, 11 percent say it is difficult to work with Gen Z ‘all of the time,’ 39 percent say ‘most of the time,’ 16 percent say ‘a lot of the time, and 20 percent say ‘some of the time.’ Additionally, respondents cited top reasons why they believe Gen Zers are challenging to work with. Thirty-nine percent say Gen Zers ‘lack technological skills,’ 37 percent say they ‘lack effort,’ 37 percent say they ‘lack motivation,’ and 37 percent say they ‘lack productivity.’ Furthermore, respondents also say Gen Zers are ‘easily distracted,’ ‘easily offended,’ and ‘dishonest.’

Survey results also indicate that, among managers who find Gen Zers difficult to work with, 59 percent say they have fired a Gen Zer. Sixty-five percent say it is ‘much more common’ or ‘somewhat more common’ to let go of Gen Z workers. In fact, 20 percent say they have had to fire a Gen Z employee within a week of their start date, while 27 percent say within a month. According to respondents, the top reasons for firing Gen Z workers is because they lack motivation and effort, and are too easily offended.

Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller continued, “We know that with remote work and education, communication skills do not develop as well and people tend to work more independently. Hiring managers need to be cognizant of this; GenZ may need more training when it comes to professional skills.”

Among respondents who say Gen Z is the most difficult generation to work with, 34 percent say they prefer to work with Millennials, 30 percent say Gen Xers, and 4 percent say Baby Boomers. Respondents who prefer working with Millennials say this group has the highest productivity and technological skills. Likewise, respondents who prefer working with Gen Xers say this group is the most honest and productive.

This survey was commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish on April 14, 2023. In total, 1,000 participants in the United States completed the full survey. Respondents went through a primary screening to include only respondents who are managers or involved in hiring employees, and a secondary screening to include only respondents who find Gen Z to be the most difficult generation to work with. Overall, 134 were disqualified by the primary screening question, and 347 were disqualified by the secondary screening question. All participants had to pass through demographic filters to ensure they are currently employed, work at a company with more than 10 employees, have a household income of at least $50,000 per year, and are at least 25 years old. To view the complete report, please visit: https://www.resumebuilder.com/3-in-4-managers-find-it-difficult-to-work-with-genz/

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NEOKgrassroots.org is organizing an effort to recall three Bartlesville City Councilors. This is the direct result of Council approval of public drag-shows contrary to expressed community outrage over such events being held at public venues (first in a public park in the center of the city). Public Votes have consequences.

NEOKgrassroots organizer Sarah Burnett wrote further on Facebook, “We live in a conservative small town, yet last year, a drag show took place on public property. Even though municipal code dictates that “[anyone who] lewdly exposes his person or genitals in any public place….shall be guilty…of a felony,” this event was allowed to take place, with many children in attendance.”

Burnett continued, “The community showed up en masse to speak in disapproval at the city council meetings last fall. Finally in January, the council voted to have the city attorney draft an ordinance to ‘define and regulate obscenity in Bartlesville.’

“Imagine the community’s frustration when the attorney came back, not with an ordinance restricting, but an ‘agreement’ with the nonprofit putting these events on, to allow them to continue, with children present, on public property, with police protection provided free of charge.

“The people of Bartlesville have clearly spoken, and yet the threats of one group have outweighed the concerns of the voters. We need a city council that will listen and defend our values with how they govern. They are public servants and they serve us, the people.

“Please join us this Tuesday as we begin the process of recalling the three city council members who voted for this evil to continue to affect the children and families of Bartlesville,” Burnett concluded.

Bartlesville resident Joel Rabin calls out the city council and city attorney on April 3, 2023. Click this link to view on Facebook.

This Oklahoma rebellion against an apparent insidious OKEQ agenda has been covered extensively by V1SUT Vantage on Substack and followed here on Tulsa Today. Further, Fox News covered the dispute today in a story, “Street preacher threatened with jail time after citing Bible verses against local Oklahoma LGBTQ organization.“

This is a stand by citizens to determine the moral character of Bartlesville as a community and Oklahoma as a state. How moral or not are we?

As V1SUT Vantage writes in conclusion, “There will be much more to report concerning Bartlesville’s battle for decency and this citizen-led recall effort. Stay tuned.”

After a hurried two months of stops and starts, and last-minute changes delivered less than two hours before the meeting Thursday, Corporation Commissioners Todd Hiett and Kim David approved orders declaring more than $6 billion of OG&E, ONG and PSO’s fuel procurement costs and expenses for 2021 to be “fair, just, reasonable and prudent” – costs and expenses that include the historically high natural gas prices paid during the February 2021 Winter Storm. Commissioner Bob Anthony disagreed.

In his 180-page dissent, Anthony, who voted against all three orders, details how the orders were approved without conducting a lawful prudence review of all the utilities’ 2021 fuel costs and expenses as the constitution, state statutes and commission rules require. In his media statement, Anthony didn’t pull punches. Anthony told Tulsa Today, “This six billion dollar question was the biggest consideration ever in my 34 years on the Commission.”

“The stench of these rotten deals is so pervasive, people on the outside are beginning to pinch their noses and look toward the Jim Thorpe Building with wrinkled brows wondering what the hell is going on at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Not only are these public injustices rotting from a putrid core of greed, public corruption and regulatory capture, but so are the various layers of whitewash that have been repeatedly and sloppily applied by their proponents and apologists over the last two years.

Anthony said, “Giving these utilities an unqualified clean bill of health for all their calendar year 2021 fuel procurement processes and costs is improper, irresponsible, negligent, an abuse of discretion, and a slap in the face to the hardworking ratepayers of Oklahoma who will ultimately pay for them.”

Today’s orders are the worst abuse of public utility ratepayers in decades.  Involving OG&E’s $2.1 billion, PSO’s $1.8 billion and ONG’s $2.6 billion, this $6+ billion sellout is probably the most expensive utterance ever in my 34 years at this Commission. 

In his dissent, Anthony calls the orders approved today “shameful public policy and legal malpractice” and says they “make a mockery of fairness and the judicial process.”  “The Commission is talking out of both sides of its mouth and contradicting itself repeatedly in these orders,” Anthony points out.  “With their approval, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has officially become a kangaroo court.” 

Anthony accuses his fellow Commissioners of hurrying to “fast-track” the 2021 prudence review cases and their “final orders approving everything that happened in 2021” after the multi-billion-dollar lawsuits in Kansas and Texas came to light in February accusing companies that also did business in Oklahoma of natural gas market manipulation.  “Unnecessarily hurrying these ‘prudence review’ cases through in the face of mounting evidence of wrongdoing makes no lawfully or economically justifiable sense,” Anthony writes. “But if you are engaging in a multi-billion-dollar cover-up, it makes perfect sense!”

Asking “How can historically high fuel costs that were potentially the result of unlawful conduct – including price-gouging, fraud and market manipulation – possibly be declared ‘fair, just, reasonable’ or ‘prudent’ before the true origins of those costs are thoroughly investigated and determined?” Anthony concludes that “Apparently Commissioners Hiett and David’s earlier concern was all for show.”  On February 28, Commissioners Hiett and David had voted to hire an “independent expert” to “review” the 2021 fuel procurement processes and costs for these exact cases, but it appears now Commissioner David believes that is unnecessary.  It is not clear what new evidence emerged to change her mind.

Anthony also repeats his criticism of “the ongoing obstruction of my attempts to perform my constitutional duties and actually investigate these 2021 fuel costs and the circumstances surrounding them,” pointing out that he has received thousands of pages of information from other entities of state government while his own agency has been largely unresponsive.  He says last week, after seven months, he finally received 250 “cherry-picked” emails of the more than 40,000 he requested from the OCC. “At this rate, it will literally be more than 100 years before OCC fulfills this one request!” Anthony points out.

The truth is that there has never been a proper or thorough “prudence review” of these 2021 fuel procurement processes and costs in full compliance with relevant State Statutes and OCC Rules, by the OCC PUD or anyone else.  The reason is simple: there are too many special interests – and two very obliging Corporation Commissioners – who don’t want the public to know or understand the crooked conspiracies at work and just how reprehensible the behavior of certain public officials and some of our state’s leading corporate citizens has really been.

It appears that not a single dollar of these utilities’ billions in 2021 fuel costs and expenses was disallowed for imprudence – not $1!  That alone probably says all that needs to be said about the thoroughness and legal validity of these “comprehensive” calendar-year-2021 prudence reviews.

Anthony concludes:

Make no mistake, this is damage control.  Today’s orders are yet another layer of whitewash – another attempt to cover up, not only the initial mistakes and wrongdoing during the storm, but now the subsequent and ongoing wrongdoing committed in the last year+ in an attempt to conceal what came before.  But the truth will not stay buried, and the public deserves to know what happened.

Oklahomans deserve honesty and integrity from their public officials and competence and transparency in the regulatory processes they oversee.  They have been shortchanged. 

To read Commissioner Anthony’s full dissenting opinion click here.

Why are statewide media not up-in-arms running continuous stories on this taxpayer pillage? The answer is… advertising makes the media narratives go round.

Analysis: What do you think taxpayers deserve for an investment in a public company – 5%, 10%, 15%? In the world of Wall Street, the return on investment for a large capital expenditure is generally a minimum of 8%. Why would you put shareholder money at risk for anything less?

Well, you the taxpayers– the shareholders of the State of Oklahoma, if you will– should be asking what the expected return on investment is if state leaders give Panasonic $950 million to put a battery plant for electric vehicles in Pryor. That’s apparently the new Panasonic request, upping the previous incentive of $700 million by another $250 million!

I’m all for chasing high-paying jobs but an in-depth financial analysis is still paramount. A great investment bought at too high a price is, in the end, a bad investment.

By this Tulsa financial planner’s calculation, if Panasonic meets its commitment of 3,500 jobs, at an average of $53,000 per job, payroll will be $185,500,000. For Oklahoma tax rates, it is common to use 11.3% to determine resulting tax revenue from income and sales taxes, which in this case yields $20,961,500 per year. It would therefore take Oklahoma 45.32 years to make its money back in tax receipts from the corporate welfare for Panasonic!

Granted, if a massive cottage industry of additional business sprouted in NE Oklahoma as a result of Panasonic, then maybe the huge investment would be worthwhile. But by my count, that would have to result in another 123,624 jobs very fast to recover the investment in 10 years.

Wouldn’t it be better to take $1 billion and give $100,000 grants to 10,000 true Oklahoma companies to help them grow in revenue, scale, and jobs? If each company could just grow ten jobs over five years at $50,000 per year the new payroll would be $5 billion with tax revenue of $565,000,000, and the total investment would be paid for in seven years instead of 50!

Hopefully, state leaders will get a very thorough financial analysis for such a huge giveaway to a public company and then look at how to invest in true Oklahoma companies that will grow jobs that are here to stay.

About the author: Mike Mazzei, CFP®, MPAS®, is the President of Tulsa Wealth Advisors. A Certified Financial Planner professional, and Master Planner Advanced Studies, he created The Financial Freedom Process to help individuals leverage their wealth in order to help them achieve their lifetime visions. Mike is a former Oklahoma State Senator (Dist. 25 in Tulsa) & OK Sec. of Budget. He is the proud husband to Noel and father to 5 great kids.

In a release today, Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Kevin Hern (OK-01) announced the Work Not Woke Act.

Hern’s bill is part of RSC’s anti-woke initiative, co-led by Anti-Woke Caucus Chairman Jim Banks (IN-03). The bill combats radical woke policies in the federal government wasting taxpayer money and preventing federal workers from performing their jobs effectively and efficiently.

“The left is bowing at the altar of wokeism, surrendering America’s ability to perform on an elite level,” said Chairman Hern. “These divisive, wasteful policies only add to the bureaucratic mess of Washington, DC, and prevent the federal government from fulfilling their responsibility to the American people. Federal employees should be in the business of service, not partisanship.”

Joining Hern and Banks as original cosponsors on the bill are: Representatives Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Brian Babin (R-TX), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), William Timmons (R-SC), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Marjorie Greene (R-GA), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Tim Walberg (R-MI), David Rouzer (R-NC), Mark Alford (R-MO), and Russell Fry (R-SC).

Background information

The Work Not Woke Act prevents federal funding from going towards certain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Executive Orders (EO 13985, EO 14035, and EO 14091), and would prevent President Biden – or any future president – from implementing similar orders.

The bill also codifies an Executive Order from President Trump limiting the Federal Government’s ability to engage in many forms of woke diversity trainings.

Now if we could only find a mayor for the City of Tulsa that understands the danger to individual Liberty from Leftist Ideology, race bating and process over principle.