An Oklahoma success story
THIS week it was announced that Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby’s, is buying Oklahoma City-based Sonic for $2.3 billion. That creates some uncertainty for employees at Sonic’s corporate headquarters, which officials have said will remain here, but it also showcases an Oklahoma business success story on a national stage.
Sonic was founded by Troy Smith in Shawnee in 1953. Since that time, the company has grown to include more than 3,600 drive-ins, making it the nation’s largest drive-in chain, and the company achieved $477 million in annual sales last year. Sonic’s home office employs roughly 400 people. The long-term future of those jobs is unpredictable given the pending acquisition, but that doesn’t mean Oklahomans should not celebrate this news.
Smith’s success with Sonic occurred after three other failed restaurant ventures, making the business a testament to perseverance. And the dramatic growth of the company after Smith sold it is a testament to Oklahomans’ business savvy and spirit of innovation.
Oklahoma is often dismissed as “flyover country,” but this state continues to produce leaders in politics, business and the arts. Opportunity isn’t limited by geography, as the success of companies like Sonic demonstrates, and there’s no reason to think other Oklahomans won’t enjoy similar success if they continue to work hard and pursue their dreams.
Congratulations are owed to those who built Sonic through the years, along with fervent wishes for continued success.
Lawmakers’ ethics in question
This week the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected a state Ethics Commission lawsuit that effectively asked the court to order the Legislature to better fund the agency. The lawsuit was considered a long shot, although the court’s 5-4 decision shows the commission nearly succeeded, and it’s hard to argue an agency should be allowed to dictate the size of its appropriation. Even so, the commission’s underlying argument still makes sense. This year, as they were ramping up state spending by $1 billion, lawmakers voted to appropriate no money to the Ethics Commission and instead forced the agency to rely on fee revenue. That amounted to a massive budget cut that severely curtails the commission’s ability to investigate campaign finance violations. The public tends to hold politicians in low esteem. That reputation isn’t improved when state politicians appear to actively undermine efforts to prevent illegal campaign activity.
Funny line, but ...
At The Oklahoman’s forum Monday featuring gubernatorial candidates Kevin Stitt and Drew Edmondson, one question involved Edmondson’s desire to improve funding for education and other state services by raising taxes on tobacco and gross production. Edmondson, a Democrat, said that if the Legislature didn’t agree with his proposals, he would work to submit them to a vote of the people. But he also noted that 75 percent of the Legislature agreed this year to boost the GPT to 5 percent from 2 percent, and thus his plan to bump it to 7 percent isn’t “insurmountable.” Edmondson also pointed out that there will be many new faces in the Legislature in 2019. When moderator Chris Casteel noted that taking on a tax package might not be high on the newcomers’ to-do list, Edmondson replied: “It’s an off year. None of them will be up for election that year.” The line drew a big laugh from the audience, although those new lawmakers may not find it so funny.
No good deed goes unpunished
During Hurricane Florence, a North Carolina woman who runs an animal rescue took in more than two dozen dogs and cats. Her thanks for these acts of kindness? County officials have charged her with practicing veterinary medicine without a license. Tammie Hedges, founder of Crazy’s Claws N Paws animal rescue, faces a dozen misdemeanor counts. The heinous crimes she is accused of committing include giving some animals medications such as amoxicillin and a topical antibiotic ointment, and soliciting a donation of tramadol, a prescription pain medication used for animals that is also a Schedule IV controlled substance. That this occurred in an environment of evacuations, flooding and general chaos is apparently of no concern to county officials, who said animal control officers had “serious concern regarding the practice of veterinary medicine without a license and the presence of controlled substances.”
Misreading Hispanic voters
Trying to enhance their appeal to Hispanic voters, some Democrats are declaring their support for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But a recent poll of registered Latino voters conducted for NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo suggests this strategy is seriously flawed. The poll found 33 percent of Latino voters were more likely to support a candidate who favors abolishing ICE, but 36 percent were more likely to oppose such a candidate. The poll also found 47 percent of Latino voters were more likely to favor a candidate who “supports cutting the tax rate for businesses and corporations and cutting taxes for most Americans,” compared with 23 percent who were less likely to support that candidate. Those generally conservative views came from Latinos who give President Trump only a 26 percent approval rating. Dare we suggest that Democrats basing campaign positions on racial stereotyping is a bad idea?
Cosby reaction
After comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced this week to three to 10 years in prison for sexual assault, his publicist Andrew Wyatt told reporters, “They persecuted Jesus and look what happened.” Wyatt quickly added that he was “not saying Mr. Cosby is Jesus” (glad he clarified that) but added, “we know what this country has done to black men for centuries.” Other people of color rejected that argument, and said Cosby got what was coming to him after years of por- traying himself as an outstanding father and husband. “I knew he was a hypocrite,” writer Michael Arceneaux told The Associated Press. “To learn how much pain he has caused to women over decades. I find it ironic.”
Out with the old …
What could be wrong with a school mascot that depicts a hearty 19th-century frontiersman looking to strike gold in California? Plenty, it seems. “Prospector Pete,” mascot for Cal State Long Beach, is being retired. The university’s president, Jane Close Conoley, says Prospector Pete, used since the school’s founding in 1949, reflected the founding president’s “common references to having struck the gold of education.” Over time, however, “we came to know that the 1849 California gold rush was a time in history when the indigenous peoples of California endured subjugation, violence and threats of genocide …” So, a change is being made. Meantime, a large statue of Prospector Pete will be moved from its present location on campus to a less prominent site. “We are more than one mascot. We are the Beach,” Conoley said. “A model of diversity, success and relevance.” Sigh.