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Women fared well in legislation
The recent state legislative session was a positive one with regard to matters of interest to women. There were a number of bills waiting in the wings that managed to receive much-deserved attention.

Wherefore art thou, Democrats?
Oklahoma will hold elections this year, but we’ll do it largely without the Democratic Party. The institution that dominated state politics for nearly a century is moribund.

LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette. com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

To the letter
The Oklahoma City school district has quietly begun investigating accusations of falsification of attendance records and grades leveled by former teachers, employees and students against the principal of Frederick A. Douglass Mid-High School.

Race to the right
One of the most competitive state legislative contests this year involves Senate District 41, which covers most of Edmond and Arcadia and includes a portion of far northeast Oklahoma City. Republican incumbent Clark Jolley, first elected in 2004, faces challenger Paul Blair in the Tuesday primary.

Raise a VOICE
“We hope to get citizens engaged in conversations that confront our communities, and we will try to hold public officials accountable for their decisions and votes,” said Lance Schmitz, pastor of Capitol Hill Church of the Nazarene and an original member of VOICE’s earlier entity, the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee.

A bright idea
Driving down Route 66 can be like a 70 mile-per-hour history lesson, where vestiges of the state’s past stand out along 400 miles of highway. In Yukon, a 100-plus-year-old flour mill visible from the Mother Road is a symbol of local pride and community spirit.

Academic achievement
When she first went to work at OSSM in the summer of 1988, the facility was 32 acres of land filled with dilapidated houses, old storefronts and an elementary school in desperate need of remodeling. Today, OSSM includes an academic center, a residence hall, a gymnasium, a discovery center and a library.

Kern she win?
He said his ties to the community and HD 84 run deep, having been raised there. Moore, 47, said he decided to run because he felt Kern has concentrated too much on social issues instead of the district’s needs, such as the economic revitalization of the Route 66 corridor.

Tweet tweet
Chicken-Fried News is as addicted to Twitter as the next idiot with calloused thumbs and too much time on his or her hands, but these days it’s tough to tell which tweets are on the up-and-up and which are of the made-up variety. Twitter has become an irresistible outlet for parodies of people in the news.

You’ve got male
That’s right, ladies and juiced up He-Men, Oklahoma City was named the manliest city in all ’Merica by Combos — “everyone’s favorite cheesefilled pretzels, crackers and tortillas made with real cheese” — along with the undoubtedly delectable, yet...

Scatological divide
The national collegiate wakeboarding championship kicked off May 31, but rather than the competitors rocking the Oklahoma River, they found themselves paddling up, well, Shit Creek. The contest had to be moved to Guthrie after elevated levels of E. coli bacteria were found in the water.

Extending dominion
Lifechurch.tv, the Edmond-based megachurch with 15 virtual campuses in five states, has made an application for a new .church domain extension. ICANN, the organization that oversees domain extensions, is about to add dozens of new extensions, including proprietary names like .

CFN’s favorite recent tweets by lil wayne (@liltunechi) not
1. “I do LIV on sundays I say chuuuurch!” 2. “Vampire sesh” 3. “Nino.”.

Super-sized
Attempt that feat this fall after the city gets a twostory McDonald’s, slated for the corner of N.W. 23rd Street and Penn Avenue..

Of the weird
Wait, that’s illegal?.

One tequila, two tequila
One variation the machines made easier is the swirl. The Mont, 1300 Classen Blvd. in Norman, has long been known for its combination of frozen margarita and frozen sangria. It’s a refreshing combination of sweet, tart and bitter, and for summer days on The Mont’s excellent patio, the swirl is the perfect choice.

Shawn’s secret
We’re a lot better at freezing and defrosting things than we used to be. But if you think that the fish is superior from shop to shop, you’re mostly fooling yourself. The food may vary, depending on the skill and artistry of the chefs, but that’s true of any cuisine.

New brew
Oklahoma’s newest craft brewer has shipped its first kegs. McNellie’s, 1100 Classen Drive; Republic, 5830 N. Classen Blvd.; and Tapwerks, 121 E. Sheridan, are the first three in-state locations to carry Anthem Brewing Company’s Golden One, a Belgian blond ale.

Food & Drink
One of the nation’s pioneer health food stores, Akin’s Natural Foods Market, celebrates its 77th birthday with a tasting fair from 11 a.m.to 2 p.m. Saturday at both metro locations, 2924 N.W. 63rd and 2370 W. Memorial. The party will include free samples, goodie bags, drawings for prizes and vendor representatives on hand to answer questions about products. —Gazette staff

OKG 7 Seven new spots to try
Sometimes you just crave a good hot dog. Hawk’s serves Nathan’s all-beef hot dogs to help you out with that craving strikes! From $2-$3.50, it’s an inexpensive and tasty meal to grab if you don’t have time to stop and eat. Like Hawk’s on Facebook to stay up with locations, hours and specials.

OKG 7 Seven things to do
No way would I ever stick my bare arm into a hole underwater — I’ve seen Jaws: The Revenge. And yet every year, as they will Saturday, the bold and the brave converge on Pauls Valley City Park in (yes) Pauls Valley, to do just that at the world-famous Okie Noodling Tournament.

Watch it
Oklahoma City-based crooner Darla Z recently lit up Sin City with her singing, and each “Magic Moment” from that neon-soaked night can be relived at 8 p.m. Saturday, when OETA broadcasts her music special, Darla Z Live from Las Vegas..

Film it
Five documentaries across four days examine today’s modern city, showing at Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch. Urbanized,.

Prom it
Prom it.

Art it
Admission is free. Call 232- 6060 or visit iaogallery.org..

Chuck it
Chuck it.

Line it
Live in the Sunshine.

Put your feet up
Building a space to call home is a considerable task. It’s much more than simply filling up rooms with furniture and hanging things on the walls. I mean, it does involve that, but the thought behind each piece is generally fraught with meaning..

Critter care
Zoo officials said the new hospital, which will be named the Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital, is expected to cost about $9 million and have bigger labs, exam and quarantine rooms, and more space for medicine and supplies. It also will have new equipment and a larger, more efficient commissary.

Shake it
It’s called Nia, and it’s been gaining followers and popularity slowly, but surely over the last 30 years.

LIFE
Written by playwright JudyLee Oliva, the two-act play with music tells the true story of the Chickasaw Indian actress and storyteller Te Ata, whose career spanned more than 60 years, performing for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Roboshop
The Oklahoma City-based business uses cast-aside items to form good-as-new, gleaming ’bots. Some serve a specific purpose, as incense burners, shelves or beverage holders, while others are designed purely for aesthetic pleasure..

Visual Arts
For one night only, JRB Art at the Elms hosts a special reception for Gail Rothschild, the Brooklyn-based painter, sculptor and — yes — competitive rock climber..

Sweet tooth
A great alternative is taking your mind, if not your body, on a tour of pure imagination.

Crazy house
James’ performance is a joy to behold. His sequin-laden costumes look sharp, too.

Thunder city
But that changed with Hurricane Katrina, another state’s tragedy, which allowed Oklahomans to do what they do best: rally. That changed with the New Orleans Hornets, whose twoyear residence proved that OKC had both the enthusiasm and acumen to support an NBA franchise.

Game on
Before 1972, Molly Johnson’s career would have seemed unlikely at best, and more likely, nigh impossible.

Music Made Me: Cami Stinson
My brain almost exploded the first time I heard Ella do that scat on “How High the Moon.” This album made me realize there is more to singing than just singing pretty. Ella inspired me to use my voice as an instrument. She takes solos as well as a great instrumentalist, and there is honestly no reason we don’t all do it.

Slumber party
“It’s everything I really like, melded into one. You take West Texas fiddle music and combine it with big band swing and Mississippi Delta blues and New Orleans jazz and country songwriting,” he said. “It’s about as American as it gets. It’s good-time music.

Auto parts
When the two guys behind Canadian act Autoerotique got their start as producers back in 2007, they never thought electronic dance music — aka EDM — would have taken over the mainstream in less than half a decade, more focused on making friends, partying and meeting hot chicks.

Jazz hands
Santa Fe, N.M.-based pianist Bert Dalton may not look like your prototypical Latin jazz musician, but he’s as experienced and talented as they come.

Star trek
Most touring bands book years of shows in dingy rock venues, playing for few more than the members of other groups on the bill before getting the call up to the big leagues. On its debut road trek, Los Angeles rockers Stars in Stereo nabbed such a spot opening for post-hardcore favorites The Used.

SOUNDCHECK ALBUM REVIEW
The opener, “Shivers,” is a distillation of everything that makes Cusp as promising as it is, and the song is perfectly named, too. It might inspire a chill or two. “Sleeping Tree” — a pretty number that sounds like the work of someone far more seasoned — succeeds it.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Neurophysiologists say that singing really loudly can flush away metabolic waste from your cerebrum. I say that singing really loudly can help purge your soul of any tendency it might have to ignore its deepest promptings.