The year in news

2013’s top stories from Tulsa and around the state

1 // Tornado devastates Moore

The swirl of numbers surrounding the May 20 tornado in Moore are mindboggling: At 2:56 p.m., a mile-wide EF5 tornado tore through 17 miles of Oklahoma City and its suburbs on an otherwise pretty nice Monday afternoon in May. In 39 minutes, 24 children and adults died; 377 were reported injured; an elementary school was destroyed; 1,150 homes were gone; neighborhoods were obliterated; 61,500 power outages and $2 billion in damages were suffered in less than an hour.

When the skies cleared, love poured in from everywhere. More than 100 people were rescued. One minute of silence was observed in the U.S. Senate at noon on May 21. President Obama arrived on May 26. Dozens of celebs and private sector groups offered aid (including members of the Oklahoma City Thunder such as Kevin Durant, and companies such as Devon Energy). The Healing in the Heartland benefit concert tugged the nation’s heartstrings and raised $6 million for the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

2 // Fallin’s anti-gay antics

Governor Mary Fallin rankled many progressive nerves when she vowed to stop Oklahoma’s National Guard offering benefits to married same-sex couples, despite a Pentagon directive and presidential decree. When the Pentagon insisted, Fallin cut spousal benefits for the entire Oklahoma National Guard. In a statement, Fallin became a late-night punchline when she reasoned, “The state of Oklahoma does not recognize same-sex marriages, nor does it confer marriage benefits to same-sex couples. The decision reached today allows the Oklahoma Guard to obey Oklahoma law without violating federal rules or policies. It protects the integrity of our state constitution and sends a message to the federal government that they cannot simply ignore our laws or the will of the people.”

On Nov. 22, lovable faux-hawk pundit and comedian Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, responded to the governor’s words, in part, with this: “We wouldn’t even have this problem if gays weren’t allowed in the military. So no one should be allowed in the military…

“Governor Fallin, I heard that gay people in Oklahoma enjoy the scent of your state flower the Oklahoma Rose just as much as straight people do. So you should order everyone in your state to cut off their noses to spite the gays.”

3 // Tulsa mayoral race “bitter” and “expensive”

It definitely felt as though most of those dollars were thrown at an endless parade of slick and cheesy campaign ads. You couldn’t turn on a Tulsa television set without a barrage of political endorsements for incumbent Mayor Dewey Bartlett and former mayor Kathy Taylor. Bartlett captured “55 percent of the vote after a bitter 10-month campaign that became the most expensive mayor’s race in city history,” the Tulsa World declared on Nov. 13.

Despite Taylor’s healthy fundraising lead (she spent $3.32 million to Bartlett’s $958,000), Bartlett pulled out a win in an election with a higher-than-usual turnout. Bartlett’s second three-year term began on Dec. 2.

4 // Barresi’s battle over public education

Oklahoma School Superintendent Janet Barresi’s A-F grading system came under fire after many schools received D’s and F’s. But her biggest battle this year was over Common Core, a curriculum patterned after Florida’s (whose reforms were spearheaded by then-Governor Jeb Bush) and now adopted by several other states. Congressman Jim Bridenstine, Glenn Beck and Focus on the Family have all come out against Common Core; more importantly, many local superintendents also oppose the reform.

5 // Baby Veronica and the question of justice
A Cherokee man named Dusten Brown and his daughter Veronica kicked off what the Los Angeles Times later called a “four-year legal odyssey” after Brown responded to a text message. You probably already know the details of the story as it was covered extensively in local and national media this year. Brown found himself on the wrong side of legal loopholes from here to the U.S. Supreme Court. Veronica’s adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco gained custody of the girl in September. Indian Country Today wrote a tender account of Veronica’s goodbye that speaks more to the concern of family and of justice: “In Oklahoma, she was surrounded by her large extended family, which included her grandparents, her father and stepmother, her sister Kelsey from Brown’s first marriage and a chatty phalanx of half a dozen cousins, with whom she had grown close. She had made friends at pre-school and loved her pets.

“In South Carolina, Veronica will be the only child on both sides of her adoptive parents’ families. … Time will tell what the ultimate outcome will be for Veronica, who will undoubtedly be given the best of what the Capobiancos can afford in terms of education and the trappings of an older, upper middle income childless couple.”

6 // The war on “Obamacare”

Governor Mary Fallin appears twice in our list for 2013 on the hot-button issue of the year: healthcare. The Affordable Care Act, nicknamed “Obamacare,” met with resistance – and lots of longshot lawsuits – in Oklahoma and around the nation. Gov. Fallin rejected the expansion of Medicaid, which could leave many without health insurance who would have otherwise qualified. Fallin said she wanted to implement an Oklahoma Plan instead, but there’s no ETA on expanded coverage. Meanwhile, state attorney general Scott Pruitt is certain Oklahoma’s latest legal challenge to the ACA will work this time. In a Dec. 1 Wall Street Journal editorial, Pruitt opined that if his lawsuit (and others like it) succeed, “the structure of the ACA will crumble.”

7 // Knee deep

When OKC Thunder all-star point guard Russell Westbrook and Houston Rockets player Patrick Beverley collided during an April 24 game, no one thought much of it. He played the rest of the game, but was then diagnosed with a torn lateral meniscus, which became known as “the injury that arguably reshaped the NBA’s entire Western conference,” per Bleacher Report. Westbrook has since undergone surgery, recovery and then more complications. But the Thunder held their own, with a trip to the Western Conference semifinals and another scoring title for superstar Kevin Durant.

8 // Tulsa’s trash woes

Tulsa’s switch to once-a-day service with new contractor NeWSolutions and snazzy trash and recycling bins didn’t go as smoothly as anyone hoped. But much of the kerfuffle focused on an ailing green waste program. The Tulsa World reported that the city’s green waste was being burned rather than recycled into mulch, as promised. We knew things had gone from bad to worse when the trash board lawyered up in November. Ongoing trash concerns will affect us in 2014, though this is one story we’d like to take out to the curb (in clear plastic, stickered bags, natch) in 2014.

9 // The sky fell, sort of

All eyes focused on the partisan stalemate in Washington this summer as many wondered how a federal government shutdown would play out nationwide and here in Tulsa. Apocalyptic post-government scenarios were floated, and many wondered if the sky might really fall. After the dust settled, the shutdown did affect us, just a little: federally run parks closed briefly and some local civilian personnel were furloughed. The biggest little story of 2013 had the biggest bark without much bite after all.

10 // Goodbye Steve’s Sundries

For generations, this cozy bookshop and deli was a respite for Tulsa’s book nerds. Thanks for the memories. We’ll miss you.