Another of the Republican’s corrupt power brokers goes down in flames, admits to taking 2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Another with close ties to Abramoff and Delay is rolling and pleading guilty to misusing $19 million in funny contributions. Wonder what he has to say and who is getting charged next?
There is more and more evidence that the Republican leadership we have in Washington now may be the more corrupt and power hungry group that this nation has ever seen. There are growing cries to have this president impeached for cooking intel data to force the war and lying to the American people. Nixon was bush league compared to these people. Pun intended.
The best things about any city are the things that make it unique. No one cares how many Starbucks there are or if you have seven or more 15 screen multiplexes. Those are things are NOT unique. The Elephant Bar is NOT unique, well, the food is uniquely bad, but I digress.
One city in this region that most would agree is cool is Austin. Why is Austin cool? Is it all the jobs at Dell? Is it UT? Dell makes a decent computer but Dell is not what makes Austin cool and no one in Oklahoma is going to say UT is cool. Now some might say having a stoner for a spokesman for a PC company is strange or even wrong, but in Austin they would say it's weird. Austin is not cool becuase of Dell. Dell is cool because Austin rubbed off on Dell and they ended up with the slogan, "Dude, yer buyin' a Dell".
It's the weird that in large part that makes Austin cool and Austin is proud to be the center of weird in Texas. Austin's city slogan is "Keep Austin Weird" http://www.keepaustinweird.com/ That certainly makes Austin unique, and unique is cool. Austin is in fact afraid of losing it’s “weirdness” . They should be, who wants to be just another Dallas? hell, Dallas doesn't want to be Dallas.
Why do I mention this? Well, Tulsa certainly has it’s share of weird, and it is part of makes this city special. Sometimes the conservatism here has tried to hide, medicate, or otherwise get rid of the weirdness that is in Tulsa. Sometimes I miss the fact that some of our conservatives are just plain weird too. That’s wrong, so long as no one is in danger or hurt, we should embrace those institutions and people that are weird here.
Paul Tay is a local weirdo, and he has recently come out of hiding and is spreading is weirdness as fast as he can. So long as he's not pulling an inflatable penis down the BA at rush hour I'm on his side. Here is what seems to be his new and very weird blog. Good for Paul!
I propose a new slogan for Tulsa, “Free Paul Tay and Save Tulsa's Weirdness!” We should all embrace that Tulsa is a weird place, and that is a good thing!
If you don't believe me, well, here are some places on the web that are examples of real, authenic weirdness in Tulsa:
http://www.bikerfox.com/ I have no word to explain this, you have to see the site, but have you seen the man? Usually in the shopping district along 71st, very weird.
http://www.oru.edu/ Come on, it’s Tulsa’s Six Flags over God, look at it, ORU is weird, seeing a 700 ft Tall Jesus telling you to build a hospital just as tall is weird, going and doing it is really beyond words weird.
It’s a good day when the brittle glass wall of right wing false Christian morals is exposed again!
Onward Christian Soldiers is a well-worn charge to battle. Anymore the right should use “Onward Hypocritical Soldiers!”
Many people on many pages have defended DelGiorno, to cheer him even as is the case here, is to defend and cheer hate, racism, hypocrisy and the destruction of this city. He hates Tulsa, has said so many times as be begs to have his contract bought out.
The ostrich head in the ground defense of the Beacon continues too. That paper took bribes for providing accident reports to ambulance chasers and the right does everything they can to ignore the facts because The Beacon claims to be Christian.
But the glass wall is cracking, listen to this, Bates asking for forgiveness from DelGiorno for not supporting him enough to Tulsa Today. Really good stuff
Even in Tulsa, the right is starting to fail. We need a candidate for mayor from the other side, Lafortune is dead in his own party and the right is going to way of the Dodo, who is it going to be?
Todd Hiett is traveling the state as speaker talking about rural issues, hmm, sounds like he’s having taxpayers pay for his first tour of the state as a candidate for Lt Governor. State Republicans certainly are holding up the ethical traditions of the national party aren’t they?
Hiett Crisscrosses State For Rural InitiativeOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Todd Hiett is nearing the finish of a whirlwind two-month tour of Oklahoma as part of a fact-finding mission he initiated as speaker to find ways to rescue economically depressed rural areas. From Idabel to Woodward, from Miami to Frederick, Hiett will have traveled through much of rural Oklahoma by the time the tour winds up on Nov. 30 in Poteau. Everyone agrees Hiett's Rural Economic Development Initiative has a noble mission, but the Republican speaker's critics suggest the tour may be more political than substantive. The tour began Oct. 4 in Blackwell, a week before Hiett, R-Kellyville, announced he was running for lieutenant governor, his first statewide race. Others running for the post include House Democratic Leader Jari Askins, D-Duncan, and Republican Sens. Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow, and Nancy Riley, R-Tulsa. A wide open contest for the post developed when incumbent Mary Fallin announced she would seek the GOP nomination for the 5th Congressional District post Ernest Istook is leaving to run for governor. Hiett announced the REDI tour in mid-August, appointing a task force to help develop a plan to aid rural areas. He is using $114,000 of legislative money under his control to help fund the effort, along with funds from Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins of Stillwater, a former Democrat, was awarded a $60,000 retainer to work on the plan. The REI is a Durant-based nonprofit economic development organization with offices in Oklahoma City and in the Wes Watkins Center in Stillwater. Like much of rural America, many towns on Oklahoma have fallen hard economic times in recent decades, the aftermath of the industrialization of farming, the loss of some markets and other factors. Lisa Pryor, state Democratic Party chairwoman, said the Hiett group is duplicating previous efforts by the state Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Extension Service, which held county-by-county ``listening sessions'' in 2003 and made suggestions on how to help rural communities obtain more jobs. ``We already have had two very credible groups gather information about rural economic development,'' she said. ``I don't know why it needs to be done again, much less in an election year. So, it kind of stinks. ``My concern is what are the citizens of Oklahoma really going to get out of this? Is it more about exposure for Hiett or is it really trying to address issues that are important for rural economic development?'' She suggested the tour could be a factor in why Hiett has resisted calling a special session to appropriate money to help the Department of Corrections speed up the hiring of prison guards. Hiett maintains prison staffing problems can be fixed with a supplemental appropriation when the Legislature convenes in regular session in February. Citing a series of escapes, fights and other recent violent incidents at prisons, Pryor said: ``If Hiett wants to be a leader, he should get back to Oklahoma City and take care of this issue.'' ``If anyone who attended the hearings associated with the REDI task force would know, that is a ridiculous statement,'' responded the speaker, a former dairyman. ``It is the first time in many years, if not in state history, that a state leader has been willing to commit this kind of effort to revitalizing the economy in rural Oklahoma. ``I have a job to do as speaker and I am going to do that job. Revitalizing the rural economic is a passion of mine and I am going to do everything I can to move the state in that direction.'' He said rural residents who have attended the REDI meetings have shown they are ``hungry for leadership and solutions'' to their plight. ``The flow of information is so much more productive when the Legislatures goes to the rural communities than when the rural communities come to a committee room at the Capitol to express their thoughts,'' he said. Hiett is not ready to disclose details of the developing program to help rural Oklahomans, but says the task force is receiving many solid proposals. ``The problem we are going to have is narrowing down the ideas that we have picked up to a level that can be handled in one legislative session,'' he said. Hiett will be term-limited next year and had considered a race for governor before opting to go after the post Fallin is leaving. He is the state's first Republican speaker in 82 years.
Looks like more Repubs may be going to jail, this time for trying to fix the vote in NH in 2002.
Ex-GOP official to be tried for phone conspiracy Republican accused of jamming Democrat phone lines on Election Day The Associated Press Updated: 3:21 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2005 CONCORD, N.H. - A former national Republican Party official will stand trial on charges he conspired to jam Democratic get-out-the-vote phone lines on Election Day 2002, a federal judge said. Ruling Thursday, Judge Steven McAuliffe rejected an argument by James Tobin that the conspiracy charges should be dismissed because the government’s allegations were insufficient. The judge said he will consider a motion to dismiss another charge, relating to violating others’ right to vote. A trial for Tobin, who in 2002 was political director of the national committee working get Republican senators elected, is scheduled for Dec. 6. He accused of helping arrange hundreds of computer generated hang-up calls that paralyzed Democratic get-out-the-vote and ride-to-the-polls phone lines in New Hampshire cities for more than an hour on Nov. 5, 2002, the year of a closely watched Senate race won by Republican John Sununu against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Tobin’s lawyers argued the allegations against their client may have prevented some from mustering voters, but did not amount to blocking voters from their right to cast a ballot, a distinction McAuliffe agreed to consider. Prosecutors countered that the intent to blocking voters outweighed the means of deterring them. “There is no reason to do it if it isn’t to keep someone from voting,” said prosecutor Nicholas Marsh. Two of Tobin’s GOP associates — former New Hampshire Republican chairman Chuck McGee and consultant Allen Raymond — have already pleaded guilty to phone-jamming conspiracy charges. Both were fined and sentenced to months-long prison terms; both have cooperated with investigators. The three men and another former GOP official face a related civil suit from Democrats in Hillsborough County.
Yes, I said it; it’s like a dirty word to our “faith and politics” bloggers here in Tulsa. You do see that what they want is to instill their version of faith into our politics. That is what that mean, and what was meant by all the posts recently about how the only people fit to serve in political posts are fundamentalist Christians.
Anyway, evolution is on their hit list. Along with abortion, public schools, any politician that disagrees with them, developers, the chamber, taxes, welfare, gambling, immigrants, Indians, non fundamentalists and The Tulsa World.
I found a humorous site from a serious group. The National Center for Science Education has a site parodying all the creation science and intelligent design sites that have list of scientists that support their wacky views. First, I read a couple of those sites, and I looked and almost none of the “scientists” the creationists have supporting them have degrees in anything relating to evolution. And the ones they do have DIED before Darwin’s theory was published or generally accepted. Of the others, the closest they came to a relevant field was geology and medical doctors. No modern scientists at all in a relevant field. No anthropologists, no archeologists, no physicists, no astrophysicists, no geneticists, no molecular biologists, no biologists at all, no astronomers, no biochemists, no chemists, no one with a real accredited degree acting in a research role of any kind at any real university. None, not one. So, anyway, the National Center for Science Education came up with an idea of having relevant scientist named Steve list themselves as supporting evolution.
NCSE's "Project Steve" is a tongue-in-cheek parody of a long-standing creationist tradition of amassing lists of "scientists who doubt evolution" or "scientists who dissent from Darwinism." (For examples of such lists, see the FAQs.) Creationists draw up these lists to convince the public that evolution is somehow being rejected by scientists, that it is a "theory in crisis." Most members of the public lack sufficient contact with the scientific community to know that this claim is totally unfounded. NCSE has been exhorted by its members to compile a list of thousands of scientists affirming the validity of the theory of evolution, but although we easily could have done so, we have resisted such pressure. We did not wish to mislead the public into thinking that scientific issues are decided by who has the longer list of scientists! Project Steve mocks this practice with a bit of humor, and because "Steves" are only about 1% of scientists, it incidentally makes the point that tens of thousands of scientists support evolution. And it honors the late Stephen Jay Gould, NCSE supporter and friend. We'd like to think that after Project Steve, we'll have seen the last of bogus "scientists doubting evolution" lists, but it's probably too much to ask. We do hope that at least when such lists are proposed, reporters and other citizens will ask, "but how many Steves are on your list!?" The statement reads: Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry. Although there are legitimate debates about the patterns and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism in its occurrence. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to "intelligent design," to be introduced into the science curricula of our nation's public schools.
Here is the current list of “Steves”, they have over 600 names, which means if they were to compile a real list of supporters it would be over 60,000 names long.
Lastly: A point, evolution being real does not mean there is no God, Science is about HOW, religion is about WHY. Science doesn’t care about why, that is a whole other argument. That’s what creationists are confusing here and why no biblical quote is relevant. The biblical story of creation, and really there are two, was meant as an allegory, it’s not factual. Where it is plainly wrong is in the how, but that does not have to invalidate the why.
Tulsa’s version of Bricktown/Oklahoma River in South Tulsa?
A stretch of the Arkansas River is going to be very impressive, even more so if the city of Tulsa would take control of it’s bank of the river. 81st to 111th along the river should become the top tourist destination very shortly in Oklahoma, if it isn’t already.
The east bank of the river (Tulsa side) 81st to 91st will see the largest casino-resort in Oklahoma, a $120 million river walk, hotel, shopping and gambling complex that broke ground last week. 91st to about 98th on this side is part of Tulsa’s huge Riverparks system. There is a pedestrian bridge here at 96th linking both side of the river, the bridge is painted white and lighted at night so the bridge almost glows. There is an auto bridge next to the pedestrian bridge that links Riverside Parkway with Main St in Jenks. Also at 96th on the other side of Riverside is a large power-center shopping complex. Target is rumored to be building a SuperTarget in this area as well. ORU is one mile down 81st from the river as well as additional upscale shopping and restaurants at the Plaza. Back on the river on the north side of the Creek Turnpike is planned the King’s Landing riverfront center. Negative on this side is that there is a restaurant complex just north of King’s Landing that ignores the river. Also, just south of the turnpike on the river a new gas station is planned. There is additional land available south of the planned gas station, let’s hope Tulsa dictates that the use takes advantage of the river.
At 111th on the river is planned a new low water dam that will keep the rive full in this region. Local funding is in place waiting on federal matching funds for this dam. Once this dam is in place water taxi stops are planned on the Tulsa side at the Creek Casino and King’s Landing center.
On the west bank (Jenks side) starting at 81st the Creek Nation owns additional land and is planning a riverfront complex that compliments the casino complex now under construction on the opposite bank. A water taxi stop is likely here. Just north of the Creek land is the big Riverwalk Crossing center, which is now about half done. Phase I is done with shopping, spas and restaurants facing the river, a theater is nearing completion now and phase II with more retail space and a hotel is just now seeing sight work. Just south of the Riverwalk is the pedestrian bridge, which is Jenks’ Main St., with all of it’s antique stores, gift shops and day spas just three block off of the river. The Riverwalk also wants water taxi stops and is planning a trolley service that would run much of the length of the west bank. South of the bridges is a hotel, and there is more land for additional restaurants and such around the hotel. All of this is on the campus of the Oklahoma Aquarium, which really was the project that started all the river construction, the Aquarium is also wanting water taxis stops once the dam is constructed. South of the Aquarium is the Creek Turnpike and immediately on the other side of that highway is the site of the planned move of Bell’s Amusement part, with a roller coaster that would actually go out over the river itself.
This stretch of the river already sees millions of people visit a year, even with many if not most of the attractions still not even done. Tulsa, are you going to take advantage and ask developers to do what is in their and the city’s best interest? How about some land use rules on the river? Mayor Lafortune is not likely to ask anything like this, he would let developers do whatever is easiest, do whatever they want. How about the so-called reformers on the city council? This is as important as all the money that is being spent on downtown, why nothing from the council on the waste of this very valuable resource?
You all know the Tulsa Beacon, right? It’s the moral and Christian newspaper that is supposed to be so much better than the Tulsa World? Yeah, well, the owner (it’s pretty much a one man shop) got caught using his status as a reporter to get accident reports.
Sounds ok, right? Well then he was selling those reports for to a lawyer, a chiropractic clinic and the “Trinity Restoration” body shop. KOTV contacted all three and got no comment from Bewley Chiropractic or the Bergman Law firm, but the obviously Christian Trinity Restoration says they fired a “woman” for the practice. Right, I guess Eve got them again. Why is it that people and companies that so publicly wrap themselves in the bible so often turn out to be slime?
As for the blatantly fundamentalist Christian biased Tulsa Beacon, owner Charlie Biggs, a former Tulsa World employee also had no comment to KOTV.
I wonder what kind of press this is going to get in the Beacon? They love to publish rumor and one sided stories about the World and politicians they don’t see as their kind (read: right wing Christian) so I wonder what Mr. Biggs is going to have to say about this? Hmm, Is there a woman around somewhere to blame?
I further wonder, all the Christian themed political blogs here in town that are always SO supportive of the Beacon, and his ultimate Christianess Michael DelGiorno that also just loves the Beacon will have to say?
I wonder.
It’s a small scam, but it’s illegal and it’s preying upon the victims of accidents for a profit. Now is that what Jesus would do?
There are some wildly differing views on the company chosen to run the arena and convention center. More on what I think at the end of this very lengthy post.
This is from the Vision 2025 site http://http://www.vision2025.info/ SMG Selected to Manage Tulsa Facilities Mayor Bill LaFortune announced today that the new management group for the BOK Center and Convention Center will be SMG, the largest manager of Arena and Convention Centers in the United States. SMG was founded in 1977 to manage the Louisiana Superdome. Since its founding it has grown to manage 176 facilities. At this time SMG manages 74 arenas, 7 stadiums, 51 convention centers, 34 performing arts centers, and 10 other recreational facilities. With over 770,000 managed seats, SMG arenas stage everything from professional, minor league and NCAA collegiate sporting events to family shows such as Sesame Street Live and Ringling Bros./Barnum and Bailey Circus, plus concerts for every age and musical taste. SMG-managed facilities grossed more than $1 billion in 2004, hosting more than 9,000 events and attracting more than 50 million patrons. An open invitation for bid went out July 15th and two national firms and the Tulsa Convention Center Staff responded. The City of Tulsa’s Vision 2025 Oversight Committee followed standard City evaluation processes and assigned points in various categories. After countless hours in the research and interview process, the committee recommended SMG. Mayor LaFortune said, “The proposal presented by SMG was so strong that it led the Committee to this recommendation and my acceptance of it. “SMG is arguably the best in the business, and due to its huge size and relationships, it will have great leverage in events bookings, creating a competitive advantage for Tulsa. Also, our current Arena tenants and our naming rights sponsor, BOK, endorsed SMG, along with numerous other clients and vendors,” Mayor LaFortune said. “SMG projected millions in net revenues over five years. SMG based these numbers on their wealth of experience and extensive research into the Tulsa market. They have already been working with Tulsa Vision Builders on the Arena project for the past several months providing operational advice for design purposes. SMG, after the first full year that both facilities are open, shows at least one million dollars a year in combined operating profit,” Mayor LaFortune added.
Norman Conquest? Did Cox Connection Influence Mayor’s Arena Choice? Yesterday, I attended the press conference at which Bill LaFortune announced his selection for the new arena’s management contract. LaFortune's handpicked Vision 2025 Oversight Committee and the Events Center Design Committee a selected the Philadelphia based company, SMG. [Please note that one of the members of the oversight committee is local attorney Charles Norman, of the law firm Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler & Dowdell] Originally formed in 1977 to manage the Louisiana Superdome, SMG (Sports Management Group) is a joint venture in general partnership form with two equal principals: The Hyatt Hotel Company and ARAMARK Corporation. The firm manages 74 arenas and 7 stadiums, which is admittedly quite impressive. However, it has been rumored for some time that the current administration was leaning very heavily toward SMG, even as much as a year ago. The V2025 Oversight & Design Committees conducted interviews from the three applicants on Thursday, November 3rd, from 9AM to 2 PM. One would assume the team stopped for lunch. It took LaFortune and his team less than one day to conduct interviews with SMG and the other three applicants, to talk over their thoughts, to weigh all the options, to choose SMG and then to put together and conduct a press conference in City Hall. That's pretty quick for a guy that often takes months to determine who to put onto the Sign Advisory Board. So was the fix in? If so, why? Or did SMG have an advantage based on relationships with committee members? Who did SMG beat out for the contract? Two others applied. They were John Scott and his staff, who currently operate the Convention Center and another international team named Global Spectrum. (I encourage you to click on the hyperlink to see Global Spectrum's site, lest you think they were some minor player compared to SMG.) Here's a bit about Global Spectrum (ironically, also Philadelphia based) from one of their news releases: Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than 45 facilities throughout the United States and Canada, manages the Iowa Events Center. The Philadelphia-based company is part of one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks, Comcast SportsNet, a regional sports programming network, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities, and Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company. Comcast-Spectacor owns three minor league baseball teams - the Bowie Baysox, the Delmarva Shorebirds and the Frederick Keys - all affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles. What is very interesting to me can be found in Global Spectrum's full name; "Global Spectrum, a subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor." Here's a link to Comcast Specator's site. Having one time been employed in the cable industry, I'm very familiar with the name Comcast.For those of you that aren't familiar with Comcast, here are some details from the company's web site: Comcast is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, serving more than 21.5 million cable subscribers and more than 7.7 million high-speed Internet customers. Comcast serves 1.2 million cable telephone subscribers. Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks and the creation and delivery of programming content. Comcast provides basic cable, digital cable, high-speed Internet and digital phone services The Company's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One and four Comcast SportsNets.The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia ,Comcast also is a partner in joint ventures focused on digital cable technology developments including GuideWorks, TVWorks, Combined Conditional Access Development (CCAD), Conditional Access Licensing (CAL) and OCAP Development. Compare this now, to Tulsa's local cable company, Cox Communications: Cox Communications is a multi-service broadband communications company with approximately 6.6 million total customers, including 6.3 million basic cable subscribers. The nation’s third-largest cable television provider, Cox offers both analog cable television under the Cox Cable brand as well as advanced digital video service under the Cox Digital Cable brand. Cox provides an array of other communications and entertainment services, including local and long distance telephone under the Cox Digital Telephone brand; high-speed Internet access under the Cox High Speed Internet brand; and commercial voice and data services via Cox Business Services. Local cable advertising, promotional opportunities and production services are sold under the Cox Media brand. Cox is an investor in programming networks including Discovery Channel. What is the significance of this? Well, if you're Cox Communications and you have the cable franchises for the two largest cable markets in the state of Oklahoma, how excited are you going to be to have a subsidiary of the nation's largest cable company suddenly getting a toehold in your market? Not very, I can assure you. Don't forget to throw into the calculation, this little factoid. We've just announced that BOK is going to be given the naming rights for Tulsa's arena and most of us know that Oklahoma City awarded their naming rights to the area Ford dealerships.What is probably of less common knowledge for Tulsans is that OKC's convention center, was renamed, too. Formerly the Myriad Center, OKC's city government also secured naming rights for the convention center. And who was awarded those rights?Click here to see for yourself.Note the logos in the lower right-hand corner. Not interesting enough for you, yet? Okay...remember when I asked you to note the fact that local big-wig attorney Charles Norman was a member of the Vision 2025 Oversight Committee that was selected by Mayor Bill LaFortune? Would it surprise you to know (if you didn't already) that before he was our mayor and after he was our District Attorney, Bill LaFortune was an attorney for the law firm of Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler & Dowdell? Wait...it get's better. Would it surprise you to know that one of NWC&D's biggest clients is none other than Cox Communications? Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler & Dowdell Location: 2900 Mid Continent TowerTulsa, Oklahoma 74103Representative Clients:Bethlehem Steel Corp.; BSW International; Citicorp Real Estate, Inc.; Crum & Forster; Mid-Continent Concrete Co.; Mid-Continent Energy, Inc.; Raytheon Co.; Sooner Pipe, Inc. and affiliates; Sovereign Insurance Life Insurance Company of California; St. John Medical Center; Cox Communications; Tulsa City-County Library System; Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc.; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance; Duke Energy Field Services, Inc.; Hillcrest Health System; Warren Foundation. So what if the firm represents Cox...that doesn't mean they are a client of Norman's? How about this from the Tulsa City Council's online meeting minutes from February 22, 2005: Public Works CommitteeAgenda Item Number 8 Franchise agreement with Cox Communications to allow television cable access and equipment within the City of Tulsa’s right of way. 05-119Discussion At Meeting:A representative from Cox, Mr. Mullin, came to discuss a permanentnon-exclusive franchise with the City of Tulsa. Charles Norman is also here as Cox’s representative to negotiate with the City of Tulsa. Councilor Sullivan says that this item allows others to move into this contract through a bidding process and that Cox is a friendly community partner. Charles Norman, the legal representative from Cox, talked about how the Charter expresses that this contract would be at will from the side of the City for cause. He also gave an extensive history of cable franchises to the Council. He says that he feels that a vote of the people is not needed to establish a franchise. Councilor Sullivan added more support for this arrangement.
Further throw into the mix the fact that Mr. Norman serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Tulsa with such luminaries as Steve Turnbo [Great Plains Airlines], Bob & Roxanna Lorton [Great Plains Airlines], Buddy LaFortune [Mayor's father], Sharon Bell [BOK Board], Paula Marshall [BOK Board] and Kathryn Taylor [BOK Board]. Think any influence is getting applied to Hizzoner the Mayor? Maybe. Maybe not.
I too worked in the cable industry..That’s a load of crap, and if Mr. Medlock worked in cable, he should know it is. Cable companies don’t compete like that, or with each other really for that matter. Cable companies trade markets constantly and work in concert in most cases. Tulsa being a case in point, having been traded from AT&T cable (now Comcast) to Cox several years ago. So if the people at Comcast wanted in the Tulsa market so bad, they would have kept us. Really, it’s just makes good business sense to group your markets together in a region so Tulsa got traded. The only real arguments they have within the cable industry is when a provider owns channels and battles with other cable companies on the price they charge to provide that channel. Comcast is not a major competitor of Cox’s and would not be any more of one if their subsidiary managed the events center here. The only way Comcast becomes a direct competitor of Cox in the Tulsa market is if they start laying fiber optics cable in Tulsa and selling services, and overlay markets are rare. Managing the arena is a long way from Comcast laying fiber, many hundreds of millions of dollars far in an already competitive market. It’s not going to happen. Cox’s competitors here are SBC, DirecTV, Valor and Dish Network and any number of smaller Clecs like Birch. AEP might soon be a competitor, but Comcast doesn’t even register and the arena would not change that. But then Medlock would know this if he worked in cable.The World reported that according the to the proposal from Global Spectrum only showed a new $1 million profit after five years vs. $5 million from SMG. That would seem an easy choice and Cox vs. Comcast has nothing to do with it.Mr. Medlock, how about instead of stirring up trouble among the conspiracy crowd you suggest building and use requirements along the river so gas stations aren’t built right on the river? Now that would be worthwhile.
What I think:
I think that the Democratic party in Tulsa needs to field a serious candidate for mayor. There are real concerns about sharing a management company with Oklahoma City. Not to mention, why would two similar companies have such different outcomes for profit/loss on the arena? One really has to be wrong, and if Councilor Medlock is correct in that only an hour was spent on the decision, then what confidence can we have in what Mayor Lafortune has decided? I don’t buy the inside job idea on a weak link between the mayor and Cox, but even so, was a reasoned decision made? The pro business Republicans are fighting the fundamentalist Christian Republicans, that is no choice. In the process they are killing this city. Kick the bums out, all of them!
Tom Coburn talking about his thinking that there should not be a “litmus” test for Supreme Court nominees. Whatever, let’s see what he says when a Democrat is president after the next election.
Washington, DC (AP) - Senator Tom Coburn says he could support a Supreme Court nominee who supports abortion and gay rights.The Oklahoma Republican is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will consider the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during hearings beginning in January.Coburn said on N-B-C's "Meet the Press" he probably won't ask Alito about specific cases or decisions. He says overturning the decision that legalized abortion won't result in significant change in the nation.Coburn says the change that's needed is the hearts and minds of people.
What exactly was Dr Tom looking for in those crossword puzzles during Roberts’ hearings? And what does “change in the hearts and minds of people” mean? Or is that just 8 down?
Tulsa - A press conference is scheduled this afternoon, where a proposed settlement of a lawsuit between Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust and Bank of Oklahoma over the failure of Great Plains Airlines will be discussed. City Councilors Chris Medlock, Roscoe Turner, Jack Henderson and Jim Mautino announced the press conference Monday afternoon. It will begin at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall. The lawsuit against TAIT was filed by the Tulsa Industrial Authority and Bank of Oklahoma after Tulsa-based Great Plains, the beneficiary of a 30-million dollar loan, filed for bankruptcy liquidation in January, leaving behind a 7-point-5 million dollar debt. Airport funds cannot be used to pay the debt. In a press release from Councilor Medlock, he states that Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune has supported a settlement agreement in which the City of Tulsa would pay seven million dollars to settle the lawsuit. The council has been meeting in executive session for weeks discussing the city's position in the matter. The Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust operates Tulsa International Airport. Last month, TAIT discussed the possibilities of filing for bankruptcy, something analysts say would be unprecedented and what LaFortune said could wreck the city's economic development. Industry analysts say they've never heard of a commercial airport like TIA filing for bankruptcy and that, in the end, it would be far more costly than the 7-point-5 million dollars owed.
Guess what? President Bush is ordering ethics training for his White House staff! Outstanding idea, do you think that Rove and Cheney will be able to pass the quiz at the end of the session?
Seriously, well, serious as in it’s true, but still damn funny. Harriett Meirs will conduct the training. You know, the White House council and so called nominee to the Supreme Court. Perfect. Nothing against her, but I say Bush found the one prominent woman in his circle that was three things; one - a lawyer, two – nowhere near competent to serve on the court, and three – a woman loyal enough to be dragged through the mud with no chance of confirmation so that Bush could nominate whatever ultraconservative white male he wanted to when she was rejected. If anyone complained about a man being nominated this time, he can always say he tried to nominate a woman, but America rejected her. And people call him stupid.
Her version of ethics training:
Rule one, do whatever the great George Bush says Rule two, don’t get caught
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) _ Level 3 Communications says it'll pay $680-million for the Internet access and services company, WilTel Communications Group. Level 3 will pay $370-million cash, and issue 115-million shares in the deal. The Broomfield-based company operates Internet protocol-based fiber-optic networks. WilTel is headquartered in Tulsa, and delivers voice, data, video and IP services over a next-generation fiber-optic network. WilTel is a subsidiary of New York-based Leucadia National Corporation. The acquisition includes all of WilTel's communications business, including a multiyear contract with SBC Communications, and WilTel's Vyvx video transmission business. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006. Level 3 president and Chief Operating Officer Kevin O'Hara says the combined companies will reach 50 new markets and include three-thousand new route miles, compared with Level 3's pre-acquisition facilities.
This looks bad, very bad, but, telecom is in such flux right now, that bad today can change fast, it may end up being good, probably not, but you can’t rule anything out yet. The mergers that have been needed for so long in telecom are really heating up now with the approval of Verizon/MCI and SBC/AT&T this week. You can look for a lot more mergers to happen pretty fast now with other companies like Qwest, Bell South, Cox, Comcast, Sprint and others buying (or being bought) to try and create the kind of scale that Verizon/MCI and SBC/AT&T will now have. The rule is going to be, get big or die, and these companies have to move fast.This story is made worse by Level 3 NOT buying Wiltel’s building, and only signing a lease for two years. But, Level 3 will probably be purchased themselves sometime before the lease on the building runs out in two years, and the real decision on jobs will be whatever company buys them, this is all far from over. And it’s way to early to decide if this is a good or a bad thing, on it’s face, it’s bad, but two years is a really long time.
Stay tuned on this one. If you work for Wiltel brush off that resume.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is going to break ground November 8th on the long awaited $120 million casino and resort at about 83rd and Riverside in Tulsa, to be located on the Arkansas river just south of the current casino. The Tulsa world reported it will be done in three phases with a casino itself being the first phase and a hotel, shops, a theater, and restaurants on the river being the second and third phases. The project is designed with the river in mind and will not just level the natural area around the casino. A parking garage will be below the building so the site will not be just one big ugly parking lot. The existing casino will be phase out at the new one is completed. The casino should be completed by 2007.
The tribe has also purchased land on the opposite (west) bank of the river from the casino and would like to do a complimenting development. That land is just north of the Riverwalk Crossing center in Jenks The Creek Nation also continues to look into doing a casino downtown in the Brady District with developer David Sharp near the historic Cain's Ballroom and Brady Theater.
Tulsa is now a complete casino city with four large casinos in the metro area, and likely a fifth on it’s way.
In addition to the Creek Complex at 81st and Riverside, there are the two Million Dollar Elm (Osage Tribe) casinos in the Tulsa area, one in north Tulsa and another in suburban Sand Springs. These are both nice new casinos, but there are no hotels are attached. And then the nicest casino not just in Tulsa but all of Oklahoma, is the Cherokee Resort and Casino in suburban Catoosa. This is a Las Vegas style hotel and casino, though on a smaller scale of course. It was built last year for around $60 million. It has Original artwork by Cherokee artists in every room, golf course, Very nice place, and it does very well. Word is that that they are going to break ground soon on a major expansion of the casino and a second hotel tower, this is not confirmed, but I do think it’s true.
Casinos may well be a drag on discretionary dollars in the local economy, but larger, nicer casinos with hotels are going to bring in more people from out of town and the state. These more upscale casinos can be and already are positive tourist destinations. And I have to believe that in today’s world with online gaming, the lottery, horse tracks, OTB betting, bingo, bookies, and private poker games et al if someone wanted to gamble even before the casino became so large here, they were going to be able to place bets.
Tulsa’s new arena will be the Bok Center. The Bank of Oklahoma has paid $11 million for the naming rights and SMG has been chosen to operate and manage the BOk Center and Convention Center
