MAPS for kids

[Midtowner]

Those of you that work or have children in the OKC Public School System, what have your experiences been with MAPS for kids and its contributions to your child's education or your interaction with the district?

A lady in my church teaches at Douglas High School. She told me that the new building is coming along very nicely. It will be a huge improvement over the old facility.

[Luke]

Great topic. I'm curious about this as well.

[Midtowner]

Anyone? Okay, I know some of the money went to Bass Pro... but what else?

Originally Posted by Midtowner

Anyone? Okay, I know some of the money went to Bass Pro... but what else?

[Midtowner]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Please see "Why I hate the Oklahoman" thread.

I have already shown how the money came from three sources that were intended for other uses. One was the MAPS II funding.

While we're on the topic of MAPS and fraud, what were your personal feelings of the whole Moshe Tal vs. Urban Renewal saga? I spent quite amount of time researching court dockets from these cases, and talking with both Moshe Tal and Randy Hogan personally. My heart still leads me to believe a good ole boy network existed between Randy Hogan and Mayor Kirk Humphries, but it's never been proven. You thoughts Midtowner?

[Midtowner]

By all of the evidence that I have, I think it's pretty obvious that we got screwed so that Humphries' buddy could have a payday. Tal would have been the better choice to head up the project. Humphries says that all the details aren't public. I guess if he were concerned about his reputation, he could easily make the details public...

But I guess he's not concerned about his reputaiton.. or he is really concerned what making the info public would do to his reputation.

Again, I'll repeat a phrase that is most often true: Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Seems like we're on the same page. I think we got screwed. Hogan basically got the land for free and hasn't put together near the development that Tal/Cordish planned. Many questioned Tal's financing. When Tal made his first pitch, it was without Cordish. I would've questioned Tal's financing on his own. But, with Cordish as part of the picture, I think financing was more solid.

In the end, I'm not necessarily sure Bricktown 2000's proposals would've been successful though. They proposed a pretty large mall, that would've been larger than any in the state. With malls on the way out, I'm not certain an upscale mall of that caliber would've been successful downtown.

But, Cordish has a lot draw, so I'm sure he would've put together a pretty first class development. It would've been better than the suburban development we have now.

Problem is, it's so difficult to prove conflicts of interest in court. Tal was trying to prove that Humphries and Hogan were business partners. I don't necessarily believe they were business partners, but they were good friends...I saw it more as one friend helping out another.

[Midtowner]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Seems like we're on the same page. I think we got screwed. Hogan basically got the land for free and hasn't put together near the development that Tal/Cordish planned. Many questioned Tal's financing. When Tal made his first pitch, it was without Cordish. I would've questioned Tal's financing on his own. But, with Cordish as part of the picture, I think financing was more solid.

In the end, I'm not necessarily sure Bricktown 2000's proposals would've been successful though. They proposed a pretty large mall, that would've been larger than any in the state. With malls on the way out, I'm not certain an upscale mall of that caliber would've been successful downtown.

But, Cordish has a lot draw, so I'm sure he would've put together a pretty first class development. It would've been better than the suburban development we have now.

Problem is, it's so difficult to prove conflicts of interest in court. Tal was trying to prove that Humphries and Hogan were business partners. I don't necessarily believe they were business partners, but they were good friends...I saw it more as one friend helping out another.

Like I've said in the past though, this is how business gets done in OKC. It's been the way of things for years. The best investment in the city is in a winning political campaign. The Oklahoman in the meantime is content to sit there and pump sunshine. Very sad. The media is supposed to watch out for the public in times like this -- at least that's what I learned in all of my journalism/broadcasting classes.

You know what's really sad though? If I break into a 7-11 and steal $50 with a gun (and kill no one), I'll be in jail with a felony record for quite some time. If I give millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to a buddy in return for some kind of handsome reward, or just to be a good pal, I'm not committing a crime at all. There's simply no justice in that.

Originally Posted by Midtowner

Like I've said in the past though, this is how business gets done in OKC. It's been the way of things for years. The best investment in the city is in a winning political campaign. The Oklahoman in the meantime is content to sit there and pump sunshine. Very sad. The media is supposed to watch out for the public in times like this -- at least that's what I learned in all of my journalism/broadcasting classes.

You know what's really sad though? If I break into a 7-11 and steal $50 with a gun (and kill no one), I'll be in jail with a felony record for quite some time. If I give millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to a buddy in return for some kind of handsome reward, or just to be a good pal, I'm not committing a crime at all. There's simply no justice in that.