Newswire

Crating downtown

The Blue Dome District is about to unpack a new development. 

On June 9, Nelson-Stowe developers announced plans for The Boxyard, a new retail-focused project that will be made up of more than 30 320-foot repurposed shipping containers. 

In addition to local retailers, The Boxyard will have a handful of small restaurants and will host community events and live music atop the containers. 

The project at the southeast corner of 3rd and Frankfort is slated to open in early 2016. 

TCSO petition group hits signature numbers early

A grassroots group seeking a grand jury investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office exceeded the required signatures more than a week before the deadline. 

June 9, We The People Oklahoma announced that more than 6,000 people had signed its petition in the aftermath of Eric Harris’ April shooting death by a reserve deputy. 

The petition calls for Sheriff Glanz’ removal and an investigation into the shooting, the training and qualifications of reserve deputies, an alleged buy-a-badge program, records violations and more. 

If the Tulsa County Election Board verifies at least 5,000 signatories as registered Tulsa County voters, the petition advances to the Tulsa County Court Clerk’s office, where a judge has up to 30 days to certify the results before calling in potential jurors to start the grand jury process. 

Catholic diocese QUITS anti-discrimination group over gay pride PARADE

 The Catholic Diocese of Tulsa has resigned from the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice. In a June 6 letter to OCCJ leadership (which was simultaneously sent to the Tulsa World), Rev. Monsignor Patrick Gaalaas attributed the resignation to their marching in the Tulsa Pride parade behind an OCCJ banner. 

The June parade was the first since same-sex marriage was legalized in Oklahoma.

“To march in such a parade seems to us to be a deliberate and full-throttled expression of support for the so-called gay agenda, a central component of which is same-sex marriage,” Gaalaas wrote. “Unless a clear statement can be made by OCCJ that its participation does not imply support for same-sex marriage or be seen to condone sexual acts outside of marriage, we have no option but to withdraw from membership.”

Originally  the Tulsa chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews since 1958, OCCJ changed its name and became an independent non-profit organization in 2005. Its ongoing mission is to “fight bias, bigotry and racism, and promote respect and understanding of all people” in Oklahoma.

Local state senator sued over missing money

Claiming embezzlement, the Better Business Bureau filed a civil lawsuit June 5 in Tulsa County District Court against state Sen. Rick Brinkley (R-Owasso). 

The former BBB executive is accused of taking more than $1 million from the organization over 15 years and using it to finance, among other things, his mortgage, pool cleaner, personal credit card bills and gambling. 

Despite maintaining he did nothing wrong, June 8, Brinkley resigned from his posts as assistant majority floor leader, vice-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and chair of the Senate Pensions Committee.

State Supreme Court won’t intervene in OPEN RECORDS suit

On June 8, the Oklahoma Supreme Court declined a governor’s office request to intervene in a records lawsuit stemming from Clayton Lockett’s botched 2014 execution. 

The court unanimously denied the application to assume original jurisdiction over an open records suit filed in Oklahoma County District Court by Ziva Branstetter, the Tulsa World and BH Media Group.

Branstetter (now editor-in-chief of The Frontier) and the World submitted execution-related records requests to the governor’s office and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. More than a year later, the request remains unfulfilled. 

State officials have argued the request has not been denied and the lawsuit should be dismissed—a request denied by the Oklahoma County District Court. Attorneys for Gov. Mary Fallin and her co-defendant, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson, argued that the lower court cannot rule because the Open Records Act had not (in their view) been violated.

For more from Lenzy, read these recent editions of Newswire.