100 Years of Oklahoma Governors

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries website has a new link to "100 Years of Oklahoma Governors." (Click on title above, then again look for "100 Years of Governor" on actual site, and click on Lasso ODL's round-up of the state's chief executives.) This site includes a photograph and brief biography of all of Oklahoma's governors. Pictured is "Alfalfa Bill" Murray (my favorite Governor) who served from January 12, 1931 until January 15, 1935.

He is known for helping feed the hungry during the Great Depression and donated his own salary for that purpose. He also married the neice of the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, started a ranch in Bolivia, and called out the National Guard to reopen an Oklahoma constructed bridge on the Red River, which had been closed by the Governor of Texas. He also helped raise the price of oil to increase production and gain revenue for the state during a time when we really needed the money. Check out all of the great biographies on this website.

Buying or Selling a House in Oklahoma?

Most students, faculty or staff at SWOSU will purchase or sell a house at some point in their lives. If this occurs in Oklahoma, you may be interesting in an Oklahoma Document (R 500.5 U58p) entitled State of Oklahoma Uniform Contract Information Pamphlet. This 20 page jewel explains many legal terms in simple, easy to understand language. Terms include: contract, purchase price, earnest money, financing supplemental agreement, closing, funding, and possession, accessories, time periods, residential property condition disclosure act, investigations, inspections, and reviews, risk of loss, acceptance of property, title evidence, mediation, breach and failure to close.
Also listed are details about pitfalls of home buying - such as flood notice laws. For instance, the City of Tulsa makes it the buyers responsiblity to find out about floodng from storm run off, sewer backup or water history. A report may be purchased from the Corps of Eningeers by phone. Termite damage and inspections are also included, along with lead-paint disclosure. Megan's Law is an oklahoma law which requires sex offenders to register their address. Is the home you're looking at on the offender list? It would be a good idea to check these things out before purchasing a home. An hour of reading time might save you thousands of dollars in repair bills and a lot of headache later on.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Department of Justice has just published a new (2006) report about Intellectual Property in the United States (J 1.2: IN 8/11/2006 in Government Documents). This book explains: what intellectual property actually is and how laws in the United States protect the owners of intellectual property. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is shown in the photo above with report. Click on the title above to link to online source.