If you have information about Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, @readfrontier.bsky.social wants to hear from you.
Brianna Bailey
@briokc.bsky.social
Managing editor for @readfrontier.bsky.social. I report on Oklahoma and live here too.
Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads. @readfrontier.bsky.social's new database lets voters track Super PACs and dark money groups. Learn more: readfrontier.org/political-ads
Who bought that ad? We’re following the money in Oklahoma elections
Outside groups that sometimes try to hide their financial backers are spending millions on political ads.
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An investigation by The Frontier found seven people have died of preventable causes in the 70-bed Tulsa Municipal Jail over the last three years. Now, the jail is being shut down. Follow The Frontier’s continuing investigation at readfrontier.org.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols says the city will close its jail. The announcement comes one day after @readfrontier.bsky.social published video and reporting on a man who died in a restraint device there. www.readfrontier.org/stories/tuls...
Tulsa mayor orders closure of city jail after Frontier investigation
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols ordered the immediate closure of the Tulsa Municipal Jail after The Frontier's investigation into the death of Justin Benner.
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A man died at the Tulsa city jail after detention officers placed him in a full-body restraint device. The video is hard to watch, but we at @readfrontier.bsky.social hope it will shed light on conditions at the jail, where at least seven have died since 2023. www.readfrontier.org/stories/tuls...
Tulsa police took him to the city jail instead of a hospital. Video shows he was dead within an hour.
Justin Benner pleaded for help as detention officers wrestled him into a full-body restraint device and left him alone in a cell.
readfrontier.org
Attorneys say Oklahoma County bail hearings fall short of constitutional standards and leave many people jailed simply because they can't afford bail. @readfrontier.bsky.social's investigation with @kosuradio.bsky.social: www.readfrontier.org/stories/just...
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
Public defenders say judges routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Other counties have already faced civil rights ...
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The anti-abortion group Human Coalition has five lobbyists in Oklahoma and pushed for changes to the state’s Choosing Childbirth program. The group gets two-thirds of its annual revenue from government grants in other states. www.readfrontier.org/stories/reje...
Rejected for Oklahoma funding, an anti-abortion group helped rewrite state law
The Texas-based nonprofit Human Coalition lobbies for anti-abortion programs and gets millions of dollars in funding from other states.
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Violations at Continental Carbon's Ponca City plant included failing to report leaks and spills of carbon black, exceeding pollution limits, missing three years of equipment testing and failing to keep records and submit reports to the state. www.readfrontier.org/stories/afte...
After years of black dust complaints, Oklahoma cites Continental Carbon for 81 alleged violations
Regulators say the Ponca City carbon black plant failed to meet pollution limits, missed required equipment testing and violated a 2015 federal agreement to improve air quality.
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Supporters of a county pretrial release program say thousands of people who pose little public safety risk remain jailed because they can’t afford bail. Prosecutors frequently oppose release, even though the program is designed to help people show up to court.
Oklahoma County has a program to help poor people get out of jail. Prosecutors rarely support it.
Supporters of a county pretrial release program say thousands of people who pose little public safety risk remain jailed because they can't afford bail. Prosecutors frequently oppose release, even tho...
readfrontier.org
Our latest collaboration with @kosuradio.bsky.social: Prosecutors in Oklahoma County try to block most poor people from accessing a program to help them get out of jail while they wait to see a judge. www.readfrontier.org/stories/okla...
Oklahoma County has a program to help poor people get out of jail. Prosecutors rarely support it.
Supporters of a county pretrial release program say thousands of people who pose little public safety risk remain jailed because they can't afford bail. Prosecutors frequently oppose release, even tho...
readfrontier.org
NEW: @readfrontier.bsky.social & @propublica.org identified at least 114 oil field waste injection wells across Oklahoma that are located within a half-mile of a public water well. More than 300,000 residents live in communities that rely on these water wells. www.readfrontier.org/stories/to-p...
To protect its drinking water, this city has to appeal to the oil regulators that put it at risk
Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
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Enid, Oklahoma's public water wells are right next oilfield waste injection sites, due to lax oversight by regulators. And it's not just Enid, @propublica.org + @readfrontier.bsky.social found 114 injection wells less than 1/4mile from a public water supply well www.readfrontier.org/stories/to-p...
To Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at Risk
Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
propublica.org
NEW: Oklahoma officials across the state signed confidentiality deals with data center developers. Records obtained by @readfrontier.bsky.social show some agreements even barred officials from disclosing the existence of the NDAs themselves. READ MORE: www.readfrontier.org/stories/how-...
How data center developers won secrecy pledges from Oklahoma officials
One contract required public officials to keep secret that a confidentiality agreement even existed. At least one agreement allows the companies to sue cities to enforce the terms of the deals, someti...
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Imagine saving 12 years for your dream home, only for oily black water to surge through the foundation overnight. This is the reality for one Oklahoma family. Watch their story in “Toxic Ground,” a documentary from readfrontier.bsky.social and Propublica.org www.readfrontier.org/stories/toxi...
The Frontier (@readfrontier.bsky.social)
Oklahoma's best independent nonprofit journalism. To donate --> www.readfrontier.org/donate
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Join @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org TOMORROW at Circle Cinema in Tulsa for a FREE documentary screening and Q&A on Oklahoma's oilfield wastewater pollution problem. RSVP HERE: events.propublica.org/toxic-ground
Can a Democrat flip Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District again? Here’s what to know about the two trying ahead of the June primary. www.readfrontier.org/stories/two-...
Two Democrats, one shot at flipping Oklahoma’s 5th District
Jena Nelson and Trey Martin both think they can win in an area reshaped by redistricting and Republican control.
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🎞️Join @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org at Circle Cinema in Tulsa for a free documentary screening and panel on Oklahoma’s oilfield wastewater pollution problem. RSVP 👉 events.propublica.org/toxic-ground
May 20: Join us in Tulsa for a documentary screening about Oklahoma’s oil field wastewater crisis and its threat to public health and the environment. In partnership w/@propublica.org RSVP is required to save your seat at Circle Cinema Theater. LINK: events.propublica.org/toxic-pressure
.@readfrontier.bsky.social wants to speak with Oklahomans who have been to substance use treatment in California. Email Frontier Staff Writer Kayla Branch at kayla@readfrontier.com or call or text her at 405-274-5430.
Join @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org for for a free screening of a new documentary about Oklahoma's oilfield wastewater crisis. Prepare to be outraged RSVP HERE 👇👇👇 events.propublica.org/toxic-pressure
We're suing the Department of Corrections for more transparency about how it's working with ICE and a for-profit prison that houses immigration detainees. www.readfrontier.org/stories/two-...
Two Oklahoma newsrooms take the Department of Corrections to court over ICE records
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections won’t release its full agreement with the federal government for services at a for-profit prison that houses immigration detainees.
readfrontier.org
www.readfrontier.org/stories/okla...
Oklahoma boots just 10 people from SoonerCare as part of Trump Administration immigration review
The state’s Medicaid agency has checked the immigration status of thousands of enrollees flagged by the Trump Administration, finding few eligibility issues.
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Today at 3 p.m. CST Join readfrontier.bsky.social, DeSmog.com and ProPublica.org for a discussion on how failures to properly regulate oilfield wastewater disposal now threaten public health and the environment. 👇👇👇 events.propublica.org/wastewater-c...
Impact: @readfrontier.bsky.social’s reporting on deaths at the Tulsa city jail gave an oversight group cause to investigate. www.readfrontier.org/stories/disa...
Disability rights watchdog opens probe into Tulsa city jail after Frontier investigation
A federally designated watchdog is examining conditions at the municipal jail, citing concerns over medical care and treatment of people with mental illness.
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Oklahoma County is cutting jail monitoring staff to save money — even as the facility struggles with chronic understaffing and a history of preventable deaths. by @maddykeyes.bsky.social www.readfrontier.org/stories/okla...
Oklahoma County cuts jail monitoring staff to close a budget gap, meaning fewer eyes on detainees
It will be up to detention officers at the understaffed jail to monitor detainees as county officials look to cut costs. The jail is "running with a skeleton crew,” an administrator said earlier this ...
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A company behind a proposed aluminum smelter near Tulsa says it’s bringing cleaner technology to Oklahoma. But its track record includes air pollution violations, fines, and a lawsuit from residents who say emissions made them sick. Read more 👇 www.readfrontier.org/stories/one-...
One of the companies behind a planned Oklahoma smelter has a history of air pollution violations
Century Aluminum paid a settlement and fines tied to emissions issues as it pitches a new facility near Tulsa that it says will be cleaner.
readfrontier.org
Black Lives Matter OKC didn’t have its own bank account when anti-police protests ignited across the country in May 2020. But over the course of a month, national nonprofits sent more than $5.3 million in donations. www.readfrontier.org/stories/how-...
BLM OKC leader accused of using millions in protest donations to buy homes, travel and retail goods
A federal indictment alleges T. Sheri Amore Dickerson spent millions raised after the 2020 protests on real estate, vacations and personal purchases.
readfrontier.org
Hotel stays, private jet flights, Washington Nationals tickets and outdoor gear, just some of the things Markwayne Mullin’s leadership PAC spent $1.5 million on
Brianna Bailey@briokc.bsky.social · 5mo agoOklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking water pollution, the state chose not to act.
Oklahoma Ignored Records Revealing 600 Illegally Operating Injection Wells
Oklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking wa...
readfrontier.org