Spencer Popp

Despite a vote showing majority support for campus smoking restrictions, Student Congress has no plans to enact new smoking policies. READ MORE

Hundreds of Oklahoma Vietnam veterans received an official thank you for their service in a ceremonial commemoration Saturday at Reaves Park, which included keynote speakers, musical performances, a 21-gun salute and an F-16 flyover. READ MORE

Voters will decide whether or not to pass a ballot measure this November to establish term limits for all statewide elected officials in Oklahoma. READ MORE

Incumbent Republican Tom Coburn is running for a second term in the U.S Senate and will be challenged in Tuesday’s election by Democrat Jim Rogers and independents Stephen Wallace and Ronald Dwyer. The winner will hold one of two seats in the U.S Senate representing Oklahoma. READ MORE

The race for State Senate District 16 is heating up this week as the two hopeful candidates, Democratic incumbent John Sparks of Norman and Republican challenger Sharon Parker of Norman, call and visit with residents in last-minute efforts to win over voters. READ MORE

Reacting to last month’s failed rate increase request for sanitation services, the Norman City Council will reduce the frequency of yard waste collection this winter from weekly to monthly and canceling the 2011 Spring Cleanup event to balance the Sanitation Fund budget. “We took detailed information to the voters about the City’s Sanitation Rates,” Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said in a release. “More importantly, when the voters spoke, we listened. The Council is taking citizen input to heart and has begun the work to immediately identify short and long-term solutions. We believe that the voters spoke very clearly about their desire to see us live within our current revenues during these tough economic times and we share their concerns.” READ MORE

City officials and water planners are scrambling to balance the budget and build a plan with long-term solutions to fulfill the city’s growing demand for water since Norman residents voted against water rate increases Aug. 24. The proposed increase would have funded day-to-day expenses of the Norman water treatment facility as well as capital projects, salaries and benefits, operating costs, debt from previous projects and the exploration of long-term water sources for the city. READ MORE

Students will now be able to use meal plan points and SoonerSense to purchase game day concessions at OU sporting events, starting with this Saturday’s football game against Utah State. The change is aimed at making games more economical for students, said Lauren Royston, OU Housing and Food Services spokeswoman. READ MORE

As part of a five-year study, OU researchers will conduct an earthquake simulation in northeastern Oklahoma and attempt to learn more about how earthquakes affect bridge structures in quake-prone areas later this month. Amy Cerato, OU assistant geotechnical engineering professor and researcher on the project, said she and her team hope to find a less expensive way to protect existing structures. READ MORE

Fresh off a summer of competition in California and Germany, the Sooner Racing team is gearing up for another year atop the national rankings of the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers. READ MORE