The Norman Transcript

Opinion

Discussion

January 16, 2013

How about Norman MAPS?

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — The transformation of downtown Oklahoma City has been the topic of numerous national magazine profiles. The NBA Thunder franchise is just part of the renaissance.

Twenty years ago, citizens voted for the temporary, one-cent MAPS sales tax. In the 66 months it was in effect, the tax produced more than $309 million and another $54 million in interest earnings.

The money was used to build, remodel and enhance public facilities throughout the city. A later effort, MAPS for Kids, transformed schools throughout the Oklahoma City area.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett will discuss the MAPS project at a Norman Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting Feb. 22. His talk comes as some in the community are beginning to discuss the possibility of a Norman MAPS type plan to fund community improvements.

Included would be a swimming pool, new libraries, Ruby Grant park development and other facilities proposed by various constituencies.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Opinion
  • Republican Party has unmitigated gall

    Editor, The Transcript: When it comes to unmitigated gall, the Republican Party has no equal. Take the current Benghazi hearings, for example. This is nothing but a political charade aimed at the 2014 election and Hillary Clinton’s ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Airline changes coming

    In the airlines business, time is money. American Airlines wants to try and speed up its boarding process. Passengers who travel with only a personal item such as a purse or a brief case can now get on first....

    May 19, 2013

  • SEC should act on conflicts

    Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want....

    May 19, 2013

  • We all deserve better

    The tough treatment of the Tea (Taxed Enough Already) party and other conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service is being assailed by leaders of both political parties....

    May 19, 2013

  • John Tullius’ cartoon is wrong about education

    Editor, The Transcript: John Tullius’ last Saturday cartoon has jumped up and stepped right on my toes, along with, I suspect, the toes of teachers and school personnel all over town: “Growing up — we learned good morals, values and ...

    May 19, 2013

  • What hope for our humanity’s predicament?

    Editor, The Transcript: Well, what is it, this “predicament” of ours, our humanity’s? What’s behind or underneath this predicament, this predication, this saying before or is it a “before saying?” Ah, that might be getting closer to what ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Gas stations used to command loyalty

    More than 50 years ago, Ed Ruscha set off on a road trip from California to Oklahoma City and back. The young artist was driving to see his mother, who still lived in Oklahoma....

    May 19, 2013

  • Women can’t be at the front in Catholic church

    Editor, The Transcript: Kathryn Jean Lopez’s editorial, “Women to the front,” made me scratch my head. Since it was about the Catholic Church, she must know that Catholic women can’t be at the front. They cannot be priests, bishops or ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Tax plan gets projects going

    A deal to divert state use taxes to fund completion of the American Indian Cultural Center Museum in Oklahoma City and build the Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa looks like a good way to get some momentum on both projects....

    May 18, 2013

  • Tax cuts help wealthy and harm schools

    Perhaps it’s old news by now, but I hope the controversy will live on....

    May 18, 2013