The Oklahoma Department of Transportation subsidizes the route to the tune of about $3 million a year. It carries about 80,000 passengers annually, which detractors say is too few to justify the expense.

The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and train enthusiasts disagreed at last week’s committee meeting. Chamber President Roy Williams said passenger rail service is necessary for the capital city to compete with other cities.

“It’s really a means of aligning and linking cities all the way from Chicago to almost Mexico,” Williams said.

“Eventually we could have a Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth system here. When you think really long range, these are huge opportunities for our city.”

The committee did not mention Tulsa, which has been seeking a connection to the Heartland Flyer for years.

Fresh food: State Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, used an interim study to tout the benefits of urban gardens in combating hunger and poor nutrition in low income areas.

“Urban gardens are changing the face of agriculture worldwide,” Matthews said.