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Oklahoma and Medicaid expansion
For the nearly 700,000 Oklahomans currently without health insurance coverage, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling upholding the bulk of the Affordable Care Act offers hope.

The price of modernizing alcohol laws
Thanks to a recent state Supreme Court decision, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to allow the 15 most populous counties to vote on allowing the sale of wine in certain grocery stores. They will vote whether to “modernize” socalled “antiquated” liquor laws so that our daily lives will be more convenient.

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.

No time for wine
Despite a recent state Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for a petition drive to go forward, its organizers believe a state question to allow sale of wine in Oklahoma grocery stores is unlikely to make the ballot this November.

Exit Stage?
Built in 1970 by renowned architect John Johansen, the building at W. Sheridan and S. Hudson avenues has been empty since it sustained significant flooding damage in 2010. Afterward, the Arts Council of Oklahoma City transferred ownership of it to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

Living with character
Few things could bring life to a stretch of road in an otherwise sleepy corner of downtown like a new apartment complex housing hundreds of residents. With construction on Level near completion, Richard McKown, the project’s developer, is finding that with 125 residents moved in and more on the way, N.

Central suitor
The Oklahoma City University School of Law is headed for downtown Oklahoma City, albeit not for at least a year. The school on July 13 beat out a bid by Oklahoma City Public Schools to buy the old Central High School building from American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company.

Game on
Just when it looked as if Oklahoma.

Slippery when wet
Police arrested the Oklahoma City man July 9 after he evidently had been spotted two days earlier making himself happy while watching young girls at the pool of his apartment complex near N.W. 122nd Street and N. Pennsylvania Avenue. Bourn, a registered sex offender, also wound up booked for assault and battery on the arresting officer.

Tit for tat
Meanwhile, allegations of collusion continued to unfold. Reuters, which has been on the Chesapeake saga like a duck on a June bug, reported July 11 that Chesapeake may have gotten sensitive information from a rival Canadian energy company, Encana, to give Chesapeake the upper hand against landowners in negotiations.

Wanna be the next Carrie?
Per the norm, the audition will lure in young, fresh-faced and bright-eyed musicians, a few of whom might even be able to carry a tune. Panel reviews have gotten a lot less harsh since Simon Cowell left the show, but the most Godawful contestants still manage to draw a few scathing comments.

Better late than never
Written by the folksinger in 1947, the book on Texas farmers has sat in a Coney Island closet for decades. In writing it, Guthrie reportedly was inspired by John Steinbeck..

Father knows best?
Pickens in 2005 donated $165 million to OSU to build a new football stadium and athletic facilities. School officials, deciding to ignore that old adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket, then decided to put all the gift money — plus more of its endowment — in Pickens’ hedge fund, The Wall Street Journal.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
—Generally, airbags save lives, but apparently not Ronald Smith’s. According to a coroner’s inquest in Darlington, England, in May, Smith’s airbag deployed, but in the process was cut open on jagged glass, which forced a rush of the bag’s gas and talcum powder into his lungs.

Wine wedding
Look for wines that offer high-end quality for guests, while also representing a good value. In order to calculate the number of bottles, Collier recommended using 1.5 liter bottles, which typically provide eight to 10 glasses. Discounts are given often for wines bought by the case.

Parrot talk
I want “authentic” food to be made out of natural ingredients and not a big pile of chemicals, but other than that, who cares? Chefs change things all the time based on taste or the availability of ingredients, or just because.

Foodie feat
“Culinaire” is a French word that means “the art of cooking.” Fleischfresser has spent more than 30 years perfecting his art, starting as a cafeteria cook at Oklahoma State University. He apprenticed for a renowned French chef, Bernard Cretier, and devoted himself to culinary training.

Grape expectations
Winery owners and winemakers nationwide will be in town Tuesday for wine tasting at the Jim Thorpe Association and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Proceeds from the event benefit the organization’s Bright Path programs, which affords competitive sports opportunities for kids and provides drug prevention education.

FOOD & DRINK
It’s cookout season, and vegetarians shouldn’t be left out of all the grilling goodness. The Buddha Mind Monastery, 5916 S. Anderson, is hosting a Veggie Fest Saturday and Sunday.

OKG 7 Seven places to get your brew on
With its modern, sleek design, this coffeehouse is great for many reasons. Come and study, bask in the delicious and always fresh-roasted aroma permeating the space, or simply enjoy an espresso or cup of hot tea. Pick up a bag of beans to take home or keep at the office.

OKG 7 Seven things to do
Anything can go at Anything Goes, Cole Porter’s classic high-seas musical comedy. It’s being staged by the landlocked Summerstock Productions, Friday-Sunday through July 29 at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Mitchell Hall Theatre, 100 N. University Drive in Edmond.

Folk it
Jeepels creeples, where’d ya get Grant Peeples? As of 8 p.m. tonight, you can answer, “At The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley, silly goose!” Because that’s when Peeples, the rootsy singersongwriter from sunny Florida, performs in support on his folkin’ great new album, Prior Convictions.

Race it
“This is going to be huge,” swears Rodney Berryhill, owner of Norman’s Oklahoma Motorsports Complex, 3501 S. Interstate Drive. He’s talking about the Grand National Championship Motocross his venue will host for seven days starting Sunday, uprooting it from its usual home in Ponca City.

Rock it
Saturday.

Trek it
Star Trek: The Next Generation?.

Bowl it
Saturday.

Bat it
The Dark Knight Rises.

Let there be light
At Architectural Antiques and Dead People’s Stuff (1900 Linwood Blvd.; 232-0759), the selection is vast. Some of the light fixtures look as if they were claimed from a European castle, while others must have been captured from the kitchen of a 1960s’ housewife.

Bare necessities
Oaklake Trails Naturist Park offers the sort of outdoor recreational and resort amenities as any retreat worth its salt. Visitors can hook up their RVs, pitch a tent or rent one of the cabins. Activities include volleyball, hiking, stargazing from scenic vistas, swimming and general outdoor fun.

Vision statements
With the theme of this year’s camp being art and culture, more than 70 campers descended on places like the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, Science Museum Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Myriad Botanical Gardens. They also completed hands-on art projects with local artists.

Exchange rate
John Gearhart, regional director, said that normally, finding host families isn’t a problem, as many Americans welcome the opportunity to learn more about different cultures through the students they house. But this year has seen a shortage of volunteers.

LIFE
Food, beverages and musical entertainment await spectators, who may have a shot of superstardom, because the tourney is being shot for season two of History’s hit noodling reality series, Mudcats..

Fore your eyes only
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Visual arts
Showing daily through Sept. 9, his lifelike paintings emphasize reflection, highlights and shadows through strong complementary or contrasting colors. The freelance designer now lives in Chickasha..

Play in the water
Under the sharp direction of Michael Jones, The Tempest is one of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s best presentations of a Bard play in some time.

On the fly
Suppose someone approached you at work, gave you a random word or phrase, and told you to act out a 30-minute scene based on it. Could you do it?

Bad teacher
“It was a little bit of a difficult decision at first, because of the content,” said Nelson. “You realize this is about illicit drug manufacturing and illegal activity, which those of us who work at the university are against. We absolutely abhor it. But when I watched it, I thought, ‘This does not glorify the drug life.

Dancing queen
“We’ll have two routines a week, so we have to practice, practice, practice to get them perfect for the show,” Case said. “Because it is a live show, you only get one shot. You’ve got to practice as much as you can before.”.

THE VISIBLE MAN
“What would you do if you couldn’t be seen?” is a question that preoccupies neither author Chuck Klosterman nor the genius misanthrope Y____, the subject of the writer’s second novel, The Visible Man.

Harp dreams
It’s been a long music career for Oklahoma City songstress Camille Harp — one that’s lasted as long as she’s been alive, really.

New ease
A massive presence in the formative days of MTV, the blues-influenced pop rockers unleashed a string of feel-good, smash-hit singles, including “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” “Hip to Be Square,” “I Want a New Drug,” “Stuck with You” and “The Power of Love.

Childish melodies
Surprise: The guys behind power-pop outfit Forever the Sickest Kids never wanted to grow up.

Extra-strength EDM
When house DJ and music producer Kaskade steps out onstage and is greeted by thousands of screaming fans, it sort of feels like a dream.

SOUNDCHECK
Who doesn’t miss the music the ’90s brought? It was heartfelt, catchy, soulful and universally accessible — everything popular music isn’t now.

Oh, brother
Portrayed by real-life brothers, Koichi and Ryunosuke have been pulled apart by their parents. Koichi lives with their mother (Nene Ohtsuka) and grandparents (Isao Hashizume and Kirin Kiki) in Kagoshima, while Ryu is off with their dad (Jô Odagiri), an aspiring rock musician, in the northern city of Hakata.

Dead zone
As Randall isn’t at all fazed by the frightening news of his forthcoming demise, his friends and family aren’t so calm. His mother, Corinna (Rebekah Turner), is so determined to find a cure that she goes to extreme measures to do so; his girlfriend, Sasha (Carrie Slaughter, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt),.

Chesty Morgan’s Bosom Buddies
Let’s get this out of the way: Chesty Morgan has extremely large breasts; unlike her name, they are God-given. They’re on display in the new triple-feature Blu-ray, Chesty Morgan’s Bosom Buddies,.

Django, Kill! (If You Live Shoot!)
Directed with little subtlety — just as we like it — by Giulio Questi, the movie is sold as one of the more shocking and violent Italian Westerns.

Too Big to Fail
Some of the famous faces cast as the CEOs — James Woods, Matthew Modine and Bill Pullman among them — get the short shrift, but that’s to be expected in a work that boils an extremely complex situation down to an hour and 39 minutes with credits.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
I’m thinking that Dickens might be an inspirational role model for you in the coming weeks, Libra. It will be prime time for you to expose difficult truths and agitate for justice and speak up in behalf of those less fortunate than you. You’ll get best results by maintaining your equanimity and good cheer.