Lionel Ramos of Oklahoma Watch
Lionel Ramos is a Report for America corps member who covers race and equity issues for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at (210) 416-3672 or lramos@oklahomawatch.org.
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Existing inequities in Oklahoma related to housing, employment and means of accessing government assistance programs exacerbated the challenges of resettling Afghans when they began arriving in September 2021.
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Oklahoma's decision to close the center with the aim of mitigating monthly half a million dollar losses, and the siphoning of funds from other veterans services provided to help cover it, means the veterans living in Talihina need to leave a place many thought would be the last stop in their life journeys of service and sacrifice.
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The new Rural Emergency Hospital license is meant to rescue financially distressed rural hospitals. The arrangement comes with a sacrifice that only two Oklahoma community hospitals have been willing to make.
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A bill intended to protect some tenants from being evicted for complaining about substandard living conditions faces a deadline in the Oklahoma Legislature.
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House Speaker Charles McCall said the differences between the treatment of felony-indicted Republicans and Turner are a matter of time and place. Turner’s Democratic colleagues see a double standard.
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The company managing Clinton Regional Hospital pulled out in December, closing the facility and local clinics. Almost 200 staff were left without a job, and the southwest Oklahoma town’s most vulnerable citizens are scrambling for health care.
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Oklahoma’s Hispanic population increased by 42% since the 2020 census, making it the state’s fastest-growing demographic. Yet 21,000 Spanish-speaking Oklahoma citizens will be required to cast ballots in a language they don’t fully understand next month.
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Starting Jan. 1, a law lowering taxes for employers will take effect. But critics say it comes at the expense of unemployed Oklahomans.