News for the heart of Oklahoma City. Volume 53, Issue 7 February 26, 2015 — March 15, 2015 www.city-sentinel.com Ten Cents Page 3 Page 6 Page 8 Page 9 Ed Shadid faces three opponents in Ward 2 City Council race Israeli Rabbi addresses Chabad Community event OCU presents “Two Birds And A Stone” OCU Presents ‘Pirates of Penzance’ CityRep The City Sentinel endorses Ed Shadid brings Patti Signs of healthy political counter to the spending ma- discourse are seen across nia in Washington. LuPone to Oklahoma City, where a to- During his tenure at the tal of 10 candidates are con- City Council, some have tending in three city council dubbed Ed Shadid “Mr. Neg- our town, races. ativity,” and in truth there For the open Ward 8 seat, have been times he was the for one three political newcomers only, or one of just a couple, are competing. This news- opponents of one or another paper has no editorial prefer- idea sustaining the concen- night only – ence among the contenders. tration of resources on the In Ward 6, incumbent Meg downtown area, often at the March 7 Salyer faces Dario Alvarado expense of the rest of the city. and Bob Waldrop. The lead- His inclination to vote no on Staff Report Ed Shadid ership of The City Sentinel re- certain things forces needed spects each of these individ- positive to the table, and each clarity and focus in the pro- Tony and Olivier Award uals but makes no endorse- of them is commended for cess of city governance. winner Patti LuPone comes ment. running. Yet, Shadid devotes hercu- to Oklahoma City in her new In Ward 2, The City Senti- However, only one can- lean efforts to positive com- concert “COULDA, WOULDA, nel endorses incumbent Ed didate has consistently and munity-building, hosting fo- SHOULDA….played that part.” Shadid. persistently raised concerns rums that have engaged or She will perform songs from Dr. Shadid faces three op- and asked reasonable ques- re-engaged thousands of resi- musicals which she could have ponents hoping to either de- tions about overuse of tax dents in policy development played, should have played, did feat him outright or force an credits and special breaks for and debate. play and will play. April 7 runoff. They are John business. That one person is Now, more than ever, the The list of LuPone’s shows Riley, James Cooper and Ma- Ed Shadid. informed voice of the incum- includes “Hair,” “Bye, Bye jor L. Jemison. Like David Dank in the bent in Ward 2 is needed at Birdie,” “Funny Girl,” “West Not much is known about state Legislature, Shadid is City Hall. This is no sneer- Side Story” and “Peter Pan” – Riley, while Cooper -- a lik- informed and passionate. ing dismissal of others in the and, of course, her Tony Award able activist positioning him- He has kept his eyes on the race, nor do we offer a single winning performances in “Evi- self as a “positive progres- prize, pressing to build a bet- word of negativism about the ta” and “Gypsy.” sive” – could use a little more ter place to live, and more eq- other hopefuls. However, we The production is conceived seasoning before assuming uitable use of scarce taxpayer are positive that Ed Shadid is and directed by Scott Wittman, public office. resources. the right one for the job. with musical Arrangements by Pastor Jemison is a good Some of us remember City elections are, at least Dick Gallagher. LuPone will man, a dedicated preacher when Washington wags in theory, non-partisan. Cit- appear one night only at the Patti LuPone - Photo by Rahav. and the respected sponsor of called U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn izens of these three wards Oklahoma City Community a fine school at St. John Mis- “Dr. No.” He earned that should take the time to study College’s new Performing Arts and Olivier Award, the Drama showstopper after another, the sionary Baptist on the east monicker for steady and un- the hopefuls and cast in- Center Theater located at 7777 Desk Award, Oscar-winning Broadway icon finds new ways side of our great city. relenting focus on debt and formed votes. S. May Ave., Oklahoma City, films and a hit television series. to be explicit and subtle at the No doubt each of these public spending. His inclina- In Ward 2, The City Senti- OK 73159. The Wall Street Journal com- same time.” challengers brings something tion to vote no was a healthy nel endorses Ed Shadid. Patti LuPone’s career in- mented on her new produc- Tickets for the event, a City- cludes several Tony Awards, tion, “Singing one Broadway continued on page 9 Rabbi Riskin announces historic curriculum for Israeli schools during visit to Oklahoma By Patrick B. McGuigan Publisher During a visit to Oklahoma, Israeli Rabbi Shlomo Riskin unveiled plans for historic cur- ricula detailing advancements over the last 50 years in Jew- ish-Christian relations and understanding the Christians who live in the land of Israel. David Nekrutman, executive director of the Center for Jew- ish-Christian Understanding & Cooperation (CJCUC), told CapitolBeatOK the organiza- tion is working with the gov- ernment of Israel to develop a pilot program within the high Rabbi Shlomo Riskin speaks at Oklahoma City’s Chabad Community Center, Feb- The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will hold its 24th Annual Membership Meeting & Awards Dinner fea- school system to have Israeli ruary. 17, 2015. Photo by Fran Kozakowski. turing keynote speaker Frank Thompson, former Oregon State Penitentiary Warden on Saturday, April 4. Photo provided. Jewish students understand the Catholic Church’s “theological developments between both its 50th anniversary. The docu- Coalition hosts two events featuring turnaround toward the Syna- faith communities. ment, forged during the Second gogue: and what has been done This comes at a time when Vatican Council held during Frank Thompson - warden turned anti in the half century of positive “Nostra Aetate” is celebrating continued on page 6 death penalty advocate By Darla Shelden of Central Oklahoma campus. Center, at 2nd St. and Garland City Sentinel Reporter Both events will feature Godfrey Dr. in Edmond. special guest speaker Frank From 3 - 4 p.m. the UCO De- The Oklahoma Coalition Thompson, a former Oregon bate Team will examine “Strat- to Abolish the Death Penal- State Penitentiary warden – egies for Ending the Death ty (OK-CADP) has announced now an anti-death penalty ad- Penalty” in Constitution Hall two events to be held on Satur- vocate. The programs will be on the 2nd floor. Led by UCO day, April 4, on the University held in the Nigh University continued on page 2 From left: Dr. Kay Northcutt, Rabbi Abby Jacobson, Rev. Kris Ladusau, and Dr. Nancy Pittman will discuss the Cooperative Spirituality featuring the Jewish, Christian and Buddhist faiths during the new Lenten series hosted by the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. The series, presented in three parts, features the Jewish, Christian and Buddhist faiths. All ses- sions are held at FFC-OKC’s Fellowship Hall and are free and open to the public.“This Lenten Series is designed to give time to explore the common spiritual ground found in three major religious traditions that influence our lives,” said FCC-OKC Associate Minister Jeff Hamilton. “Hopefully the spirit of learning from each other can increase religious understanding and good will,” he added.Jewish Spirituality will be explored by Rabbi Abby Jacobson, spiritual leader of Emanuel Synagogue in Oklahoma City. Dr. Kay Northcutt, former Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, will explore the topic of Christian Spiritually. Buddhist Spirituality will be introduced by Rev. Kris Ladusau, Spiritual Leader of the Dharma Center and member of the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation of Oklahoma. Dr. Nancy Pittman, Dean and Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Phillips Theological Seminary will preach on the theme of Spirituality during FCC-OKC’s regular morning worship service on March 22. For session schedules visit fccokc.org or call 405-525 6551. For Darla Shelden’s full article, go to city-sentinel.com. Photos provided. Page 2 www.city-sentinel.com February 26, 2015 — March 15, 2015 NEWS Check us out on Facebook and Twitter Ed Shadid faces three Coalition hosts two events featuring opponents in March 3 Frank Thompson - warden turned anti election for Ward 2 City death penalty advocate Council continued from page 1 Director of Debate, Matthew By Patrick B. McGuigan Oklahoma City. The church op- Moore, the team will debate Publisher erates St. John Christian Heri- what is the best path for elim- tage Academy, a private school inating capitol punishment. Council Member Dr. Ed serving grades pre-K through The debate is free and open to Shadid is seeking a second six. He has served the church the public. term on the City Council, since 1984, when he joined the Thompson will speak fol- where he has been a passionate staff. He assumed leadership Ed Shadid. Photo by James Nimmo. lowing the debate during an vote for accountability in use there in 2003. ic development.” He contends audience participation session of public resources. He is being Jemison led the Progressive those politics “will ensure we at 4 p.m. opposed by three opponents in Baptist National Convention continue to add jobs and pro- Registration for OK-CADP’s the March 3 election, including in 2006. He studied at Har- tect our neighborhoods, so that 24th Annual Membership Rev. Major L. Jemison, a well- vard Divinity School, earning a Oklahoma City keeps moving On April 4 the public is invited to a free event hosted by OK-CADP featuring the Meeting & Awards Dinner UCO Debate Team, who will examine “Strategies for Ending the Death Penalty” known east side minister.