PAYNE

• CentralSquare Technologies , an industry leader in public sector technology, today announced that five Oklahoma public safety agencies have selected CentralSquare’s 911 solution to go live this summer.
• This deployment aims to improve GIS mapping, enable seamless collaboration and ensure critical 911 infrastructure has backup servers to maintain operations during severe weather events.
• Unified through Payne County 911 Authority, Payne County Sheriff's Office, City of Stillwater Police, City of Yale Police, City of Cushing Police and the Oklahoma State University Police needed technology that would support the safety of the region’s 80,000 residents and Oklahoma State University’s 25,000 students.
• “We selected CentralSquare’s 911 Solution because it has advanced features such as text, location, video, integrated mapping, and call-handling in one system.

• AUSTIN, Texas, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Mergers & Acquisitions, a premier firm specializing in business brokerage and advisory services, is excited to announce the opening of its newest office in Austin, Texas.
• Jackson Payne, known for his dedication, adaptability, and personalized approach in the M&A industry, brings a wealth of experience to the new Austin office.
• Jay Offerdahl, President and Founder of Viking Mergers & Acquisitions, expressed enthusiasm about the new office: "The decision to expand our presence to Austin represents a significant milestone in our growth strategy.
• The Austin office is poised to become a cornerstone for Viking M&A in Texas, reflecting the firm's commitment to fostering successful business transitions and building lasting partnerships with entrepreneurs across the state.

• As public attention focuses on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ close personal and financial relationship with a politically active conservative billionaire, the scrutiny is overlooking a key role Thomas has played for nearly three decades on the nation’s highest court.
• Thomas’ predecessor on the court, Thurgood Marshall, was a civil rights lawyer before becoming a justice.
• In his concurrence with the majority decision in that case, Thomas declared his opposition to Marshall’s principle, lamenting that the court had not done more to pare back its prior work.

A shield for those in need

• At the root of Marshall’s jurisprudence was a hope that while law could be a powerful tool of oppression, it might also be a shield.
• While his Payne dissent criticized the court for reversing itself, Marshall was no stranger to calling for reconsideration of established law.
• The distinction between Marshall and Thomas is not really about whether the court should reverse past decisions but simply which ones.

Power as a key factor

• While last summer’s abortion decision is an obvious example, Thomas has led the court’s assault on precedent in other areas as well.
• Similarly, recent decisions have followed Thomas’ lead in weakening the vitality of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which fortifies the separation between church and state.
• Those in need of constitutional protection in Thomas’ view are more likely to be property owners, corporations making campaign contributions or gun owners.

On affirmative action

• Perhaps no topic better captures the distinction between the two men’s views than affirmative action, which the court is considering in a pair of cases from Harvard and the University of North Carolina to be decided this term.
• He has railed against affirmative action, saying it brands Black people in prominent positions with a “stigma” about “whether their skin color played a part in their advancement.” Indeed, Thomas claims his position requiring colorblindness is a better path toward full Black citizenship.
• But this summer, the court may finally embrace a different vision on affirmative action, coming again to a position Thomas has been advocating for decades.

• She has written "World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, & Other Astonishments" (2020).
• "We were so excited to have Aimee Nezhukumatathil on campus," said Payne, who is the chair of FHU's Department of Communication and Literature.
• FHU freshman Ben Cooper took a selfie with Nezhukumatathil after she signed a copy of "World of Wonders" for him.
• "Be curious, the world is full of wonders, let yourself be astonished," Nezhukumatathil said.