Reporter

Mo' Money. Governor Mary Fallin will have $6.5 billion to craft her Fiscal Year 2013 budget, an increase of $120.3 million over the previous year, according to the Oklahoma Board of Equalization's certified revenue figures.

"The numbers certified by the Board of Equalization today indicate that tax revenues are increasing as Oklahoma's economy continues its rebound from the national recession. That's the good news. The loss of one time funding sources, however, means the state is currently facing an estimated budget shortfall of $150 million. While that number may change, the bottom line is that next year's budget will be flat at best. Moving into 2013, state agencies should redouble their modernization and efficiency efforts to ensure they are maximizing the value of their appropriated funds and saving taxpayer dollars."

Filling a Need. Osage Casino employees sponsored 75 needy children as part of the "Adopt-a-Star" 2011 campaign this holiday season.

Osage Casino.

Employees selected a child's name on a star hanging from a holiday tree at the central offices in Tulsa. A few weeks later, Osage Casino central employees loaded many bags, including seven bicycles, into vehicles for Osage Nation employees to deliver. The recipients are families in the Osage Nation Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Osage Nation was the first Tribe in Oklahoma to administer a Tribal TANF Program. The Osage TANF program mission is to provide welfare related services to needy Native American families who reside within the Osage Tribal service area.

Osage Casino is an economic enterprise of the Osage Nation with 7 locations in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Bartlesville, Skiatook, Hominy, Ponca City and Pawhuska.

Coming Home. Oklahoma soon will be home to legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie's comprehensive archives, which were recently purchased by George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF). GKFF purchased the archives from Woody Guthrie Publications in New York (refer to "Revanchment for a Troubadour" on Page 8).

In addition to original musical recordings, the archive includes nearly 3,000 song lyrics, many rare books by and about Guthrie, more than 700 pieces of artwork, letters and postcards, as well as manuscripts and personal journals. A key piece of the collection is Woody Guthrie's original handwritten copy of "This Land is Your Land." Additional archived items include a research paper detailing Guthrie's mental and physical deterioration from Huntington's disease, a hereditary neurodegenerative condition that ultimately caused his death at age 55.

This is the second time GKFF has been involved in preserving the Guthrie archives. In 2010, GKFF provided a grant to the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives to allow reel-to-reel audio tapes and a collection of postcards to be digitized, making them accessible for the first time to researchers, historians and musicians. For additional information on the archives, visit woodyguthrie.org.