July 2, 2021

Infant who died from COVID-19 in Kansas is the second child death reported by KDHE

Kansas public health officials reported a second child death from COVID-19 this week.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment data showed a child, who was less than 1 year old, died with COVID-19 as either the underlying cause of death or a significant contributing factor to death.

“KDHE added an infant to the deaths connected to COVID-19 this week,” agency spokesperson Kristi Zears said in an email. “The individual passed away in November. The death certificate was finalized this week, connecting the death to COVID-19, which is the reason the death recently appeared in our totals. Due to patient privacy laws, we are unable to provide further details about the individual.”

The state agency has now reported 5,156 deaths from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic. Two of those were children. The other child was a 6-year-old, who also died in November, but their death was first reported in February.

Read more: https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article252518258.html

July 2, 2021

Kansas groups halt voter registration drives to avoid being jailed under new law

TOPEKA — The League of Women Voters of Kansas and other nonprofits are suspending voter registration drives for fear of criminal prosecution under a new state law.

The groups filed a lawsuit over new election-related restrictions enacted by the Legislature this session, and a judge has yet to act on a request for a temporary injunction to block enforcement of the laws until the case is resolved. One of the provisions makes it a crime to engage in activity that “gives the appearance of being an election official.”

Without clarity from the court, the organizations argue in court filings, there is a “serious risk” that someone will mistake people who are knowledgeable about voter registration as election officials.

Jacqueline Lightcap, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Kansas, says she has asked the organization’s nine local leaders to temporarily suspend their voter education and registration efforts.

Read more: https://kansasreflector.com/2021/07/01/kansas-groups-halt-voter-registration-drives-to-avoid-being-jailed-under-new-law/

July 2, 2021

Bill that would ban teaching aspects of race and gender in Oklahoma schools takes effect Thursday

OKLAHOMA CITY — A controversial law passed last session that would restrict teaching certain aspects of race and gender in schools is among 79 new laws that became effective Thursday.

House Bill 1775, by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, bans the teaching that one race or gender is superior to another and makes college gender or diversity training voluntary.

It also bans the teaching that a person, by virtue of race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.

Some believe that the measure is aimed at the teaching of critical race theory — a premise that argues that American society, including its laws, politics, and economic system — have been shaped in ways to benefit whites at the expense of minorities. The specific term "critical race theory" is not mentioned in the bill, however.

Read more: https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/bill-that-would-ban-teaching-aspects-of-race-and-gender-in-oklahoma-schools-takes-effect/article_4b1855fe-d5e9-11eb-add3-c70d664d0882.html

July 2, 2021

Northwest Oklahoma is a 'maternity desert'

ENID, Okla. — Teirna Adair was six minutes from the hospital when she gave birth to her daughter in the parking lot of Sunset Plaza.

She and her husband, Eric Cantrell, already had driven almost an hour from their home to deliver their third child. Adair’s contractions, which began earlier in the day, had intensified as she picked up her two children from school to bring them home. She knew it was time to go in.

For weeks before the birth, Adair had been having dreams that she would not make it to the hospital in time to deliver her baby. She reached out to her friends from nursing school for advice on what she would need to deliver her daughter outside of a hospital setting.

“They told me everyone makes it to the hospital, but I still asked. I got towels and tubes and everything else, put it all in my bag,” Adair said. “Just in case.”

Read more: https://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/northwest-oklahoma-is-a-maternity-desert/article_a30393f2-d5f6-11eb-a114-ef1d6b2c4da1.html

July 2, 2021

She spent six months in an Oklahoma jail waiting for mental health treatment

Joy Sharp awoke shortly after 1:30 a.m. one night in September 2020 as her 24-year-old daughter broke into her house, screaming angry accusations.

Grace Franklin heard voices and had delusional thoughts. She had spent most of the past few weeks in a near catatonic state, staring at the walls of Sharp’s house in rural Stephens County or sitting in the bathtub. Franklin has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but like many people with the disease, she refused treatment because she didn’t believe she was sick.

Sharp called 911 as Franklin tried to force her way into her mother’s locked bedroom. She hoped law enforcement would finally help Franklin get the mental health services she needed.

Franklin, who has no prior criminal record, would instead spend most of the next six months locked inside the Stephens County jail with her case in legal limbo, unable to understand the charge against her or assist an attorney with her defense. She joined a long waiting list of mentally ill people held in jails across Oklahoma found incompetent to stand trial. Franklin was forced to wait for a bed to open up at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, a state hospital where mentally ill people deemed too sick to participate in legal proceedings receive court-ordered treatment — but only until they are well enough to face criminal prosecution or the state can’t legally hold them any longer.

Read more: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/she-spent-six-months-in-an-oklahoma-jail-waiting-for-mental-health-treatment/
(The Frontier)

July 2, 2021

The pandemic hasn't stopped one of Oklahoma's most prolific evictors from suing tenants

The judge read the names of each of the Cobblestone Apartments tenants facing eviction to the nearly-empty courtroom, repeating each one three times. Each short pause between names was greeted with silence, and a default judgement for the landlord was declared.

None of the 14 tenants from Cobblestone Apartments facing an eviction hearing on June 10 showed up to their court hearings at the Tulsa County Juvenile Center, where eviction hearings have been held since shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across Oklahoma.

Had they shown up, most tenants would have been eligible for free legal counsel and, due to the ongoing federal moratorium on evictions, more time to pay their rent without an eviction judgement against them.

In Tulsa County, most people do not show up for their eviction hearings, which gives the process an assembly line-like process. There were 102 eviction hearings scheduled for that day.

Read more: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/the-pandemic-hasnt-stopped-one-of-oklahomas-most-prolific-evictors-from-suing-tenants/

July 2, 2021

Edmond may have just elected its first black mayor, but some residents are apparently still pining f

Edmond may have just elected its first black mayor, but some residents are apparently still pining for the days when it was a sundown town.


A reading of the proclamation for the first recognized Pride month in the city by Mayor Darrell Davis was interrupted by Karen … errr … Cheryl Williams.

“I am deeply offended because someone on this council felt like he could speak for all of you without your vote and most likely without your input and then shove it down my throat. That’s not the America I live in,” Williams said.

She goes on to name the ship her ancestors arrived in America aboard. I wonder what the name of the ship Davis’s ancestors arrived on was.

Anyway…

Williams then does the city council equivalent of “I’m not racist, but…” explaining how everyone can live side-by-side with her on Lapwing Road, presumably as long as they keep their gay mouths shut and don’t do any queer stuff.

Read more: https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/edmond-may-have-just-elected-its-first-black-mayor-but-some-residents-are-apparently-still-pining-for-the-days-when-it-was-a-sundown-town/Content?oid=8522402

July 2, 2021

'A very joyful moment': Medicaid expansion takes effect in Oklahoma

After more than a decade of fierce debate about whether Oklahoma should expand Medicaid, the Sooner State on Thursday became the 37th state to implement Medicaid expansion and offer health benefits to more low-income residents.

Medicaid expansion has been one of the most heated political topics in Oklahoma since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010.

Supporters of State Question 802, which Oklahoma voters passed last year to expand Medicaid, celebrated the change that is expected to result in roughly 200,000 more Oklahomans qualifying for Medicaid benefits.

About 25% of Oklahomans are already enrolled in Medicaid, but the expansion allows adults ages 19-64 whose income is 138% or lower than the federal poverty level to qualify.

Read more: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/07/01/oklahoma-expands-medicaid-after-years-debate-becoming-37th-expansion-state/7786089002/

July 2, 2021

Boy Scouts of America reaches pivotal agreement with victims

Source: AP

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America have reached an agreement with attorneys representing some 60,000 victims of child sex abuse in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in the organization’s bankruptcy case.

Attorneys for the BSA filed court papers late Thursday outlining a restructuring support agreement, or RSA, with attorneys representing abuse victims. The agreement includes both the official tort claimants committee, which is charged with acting as a fiduciary in the bankruptcy case for all abuse victims, as well as a separate plaintiffs group called the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice. It also includes attorneys representing local Boy Scouts councils and lawyers appointed to represent victims who might file future claims.

“After months of intensive negotiations, the debtors have reached resolution with every single official and major creditor constituency in these Chapter 11 cases,” BSA attorneys wrote.

The agreement signals the BSA’s acknowledgment that the gulf between attorneys representing abuse victims and those representing the BSA’s insurers is currently too broad to be resolved. They may very well be left to resolve their differences in future court battles, a prospect that the BSA had sought to avoid.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/boy-scouts-of-america-business-d945e210108b8af1b593c43910aae4c7

July 2, 2021

Amid indictment, Edinburg mayor announces reelection bid

Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina officially announced he is seeking reelection for mayor despite his indictment for illegal voting and election fraud.

Molina issued a news release Thursday morning announcing he is running again in the city’s November elections, for which two other candidates already announced they were seeking the mayorship.

In his announcement, Molina said he had kept the promises he made to voters when he first ran in 2017, stating that he focused on infrastructure, invested millions in road improvements, improved lighting, upgraded parks and built new, inclusive ones.

He added that the city is currently tackling drainage issues and “making sure our local businesses have the support they need to succeed.”

Read more: https://myrgv.com/local-news/2021/07/01/amid-indictment-edinburg-mayor-announces-reelection-bid/