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Friend of Oklahoma Memo, John Thompson, shared a guest column he wrote for The Oklahoman about the Oklahoma Strong Readers Act. Let’s give it a read.

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo

Gov. Kevin Stitt is pushing back after a multicounty grand jury report suggested he used his influence to help the wife of a political ally avoid prison time.

The controversy centers on Sara Polston, who was sentenced to eight years in prison after a DUI crash that nearly killed a 20-year-old woman. Despite the sentence, Polston was released to house arrest after serving just 73 days in prison.

Newly released audio aired Friday appears to capture Sara’s husband, tax attorney Rod Polston, discussing conversations with the governor about a possible pardon. The clip in the video was one of a couple of dozen made available by the state attorney general’s office.

What those files did not contain was Stitt himself saying anything, nor did the grand jury accuse the governor of committing a crime.

👉 Click here to read the rest of the story

• Grand jury releases jailhouse calls, crash video in Sara Polston case (The Oklahoman)*

• Polston got TV perks, Chick-fil-A while in Cleveland County jail, report says (The Oklahoman)*

• Gov. Stitt rejects claims he helped secure early prison release for friend’s wife (News 9)

By Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch
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The July meeting of the Cleveland County Republican Party grew heated. The topic was abortion.

Kari Rayl, a nutritionist and health practitioner who served as chair of Precinct 345, had returned to address the executive committee after being removed. That event grew out of a personal conflict between her and longtime member Gary Barksdale, an instructor in the University of Oklahoma’s math department.

In addition to an intense and personal argument taking place during the meeting, Rayl’s position on abortion became front and center. She found herself pitted against The abolitionists, a fast-growing splinter group now assuming control of Oklahoma’s Republican Party.

Rayl acknowledged the personal issues being aired but also underscored her beliefs about abortion; Plan B, a contraceptive, also called the morning-after pill, is not an abortion pill.

“We have a couple people in our group that are adamant,” she told them. “Women must be incarcerated if they use the morning-after pill at 15 because they were raped or if their baby dies inside of them. They’ve just gone way too far and as a Republican and a conservative that acts in grace, I won’t be swayed to act this way.”

Barksdale, now a committeeman in the statewide party, could not hide his outrage over the personal remarks, nor the abortion stance. He decried a post in which he said Rayl was pressuring other Republicans to back off on the abortion issue.

“Abortion is fundamentally the pillar upon which we have to build all of our values because it is the value of life and those values are reflected in our first value and our last platform plank,” Barksdale said. ”We even passed the resolution unanimously as an abolition vow.” 

👉 Click here to read the rest of the story

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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:

• Learning management system Canvas back online after worldwide cybersecurity attack (KGOU)

• Frustrations flare between House, Senate GOP leaders as legislative session nears end (Oklahoma Voice)

• Paxton responds to critics of his choice to end Oklahoma Senate work early (KOSU)

• Hackers steal $212,000 meant for Johnston County emergency management center (KSWO)

• Mayor kicks off more community conversations with City Hall wins (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Philbrook’s rebranding begins with new event space, expanded gardens (Tulsa Flyer)

• Beacon Drive-In torn down after more than 70 years in Guthrie (Guthrie News Page)

• Oklahoma Legislature’s proposed tobacco settlement power grab lacks support (Oklahoma Voice)

• Bill ensuring Oklahoma's federal milk compliance reaches last legislative hurdle (KOSU)

• This Tulsa pool sat closed for years. Neighbors banded together to bring it back. (La Semana)

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