From The Daily Oklahoman:

The national recession continues to be reflected in Oklahoma City sales tax revenue and could cause the city council to revise its budget, City Manager Jim Couch told council members Tuesday.

General fund sales tax revenues for July were $13.8 million, or 12.5 percent below expectations and 9.7 percent below July 2008 revenue. The July sales tax report includes taxes paid by consumers in the second half of May and estimated collections for the first half of June.

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From The Journal Record:

The transition of failed First State Bank of Altus to its new owner over the weekend was surprisingly smooth, said Campbell Burgess, chief executive of Herring Bank of Amarillo.

“This bank has really gone through the wringer the last several months,” said Burgess, who visited the southwestern Oklahoma town as it was placed into receivership of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It was the first state bank failure in 17 years.

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