Quotable
"Did you get your passport stamped?"
- City Councilor Phil Lakin, joking with Councilor G.T. Bynum, who represents part of midtown but attended a public meeting in south Tulsa.
"There is no 'I' in team."
- City Councilor Jack Henderson, speaking of his desire to have councilors' names put back on the "Progress as Promised" capital improvement signs, which include the mayor's name.
From Twitter
Tweets from Tulsa city officials and World City Hall reporters Kevin Canfield (@KevinCanfieldTW) and Zack Stoycoff (@ZackStoycoffTW)
Town Hall (meeting) was over capacity. Exceptional comments & support from citizens. Folks want to fix and widen streets & bring more people to Tulsa
- City Councilor Phil Lakin (@phlakin)
Another reason Warren Buffett is a great American: "All commenters (on Tulsa World) will be required to use their real name and town."
- City Councilor G.T. Bynum (@gtbynum)
(Trayvon Martin) marchers have stopped at Guthrie Green.
Moment of prayer/silence happening.
- Staff Writer Zack Stoycoff (@ZackStoycoffTW)
ISSUE WATCH
The issue: Trayvon Martin
It may be a stretch to say that Tulsa politics have become a battleground for the debate over George Zimmerman's acquittal in the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
But, at least for now, the debate has become an interesting blip on city councilors' radar.
More than 200 people showed support at Thursday's council meeting for a request that the council adopt a resolution urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute Zimmerman on civil rights charges in Martin's death.
Councilors' reactions after the meeting generally reflected the obvious: That, surely, a symbolic municipal resolution from Oklahoma would do nothing to influence federal prosecutors.
But Councilor Jack Henderson promises to try to gather council support for the resolution nonetheless, linking the issue to his call for Tulsa not to be divided between north and south.
Passing the resolution would be simple: Five of nine council votes would be needed. The resolution would mandate no real action, so its adoption would be symbolic.
Henderson said he would talk to council colleagues to gauge their support and would only propose a vote if he knew it would pass. But he seemed to doubt that the resolution has the support, and several councilors echoed that sentiment after Thursday's meeting.
The issue: Renaming Brady Street Brady Street
You read it right: The suggestion was made at City Hall recently that Brady Street be renamed after 19th-century photographer Mathew Brady.
Brady, who has no ties to Tulsa, is best known for his documentation of the Civil War. City Councilor Jack Henderson scoffed at the idea but is in favor of a name change. Brady District property owners have said they oppose renaming the district. The street is named after Tate Brady, an early Tulsa businessman who had association with the Ku Klux Klan.
LOOKING BACK
Town hall meeting: At least 145 people - and possibly as many as 200 - attended Tuesday's City Hall in Your Neighborhood meeting at south Tulsa's Hardesty Regional Library, officials said.
About two dozen spoke during the hour-long, open-mic segment, with many addressing what they said is key to Tulsa's future: young working adults.
Speakers showed support for funding downtown public parking garages, a Peoria Avenue rapid bus transit system, streets and public transportation.
Google the city bus: Tulsans can now plan their local bus trips on Google Maps.
The technology is easy to use: Go to
tulsaworld.com/googletransit, type in your starting point and destination and click on the "get directions" icon.
When the map shows on the screen, click on the bus icon. The trip is then broken down into time and available bus routes and even tells the user how long it would take to walk to the closest bus stop.
EPA cleanup grant: The city has been awarded $1.4 million in brownfields grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The federal grants include $600,000 to clean up three parcels at the former Evans-Fintube industrial complex in the 100 block of North Lansing Avenue, and $800,000 for a revolving loan fund program.
CDBG allocations: The City Council will allocate nearly $5.5 million in Community Development Block Grants next week, ending a months-long process notable for its lack of controversy and confusion.
The largest proposed allocations this year include $1 million for a small-business loan fund for the Tulsa Economic Development Corp.; $890,000 for enhancements to the Mental Health Association of Tulsa's Building Tulsa, Building Lives program; and $570,000 for the city's Working In Neighborhoods' homeowner rehabilitation program.
New IT director: Interim Tulsa Information Technology Department Director T.L. Cox will take over as the city's chief IT officer Aug. 1, Mayor Dewey Bartlett announced Thursday.
- Kevin Canfield and ZACK STOYCOFF, World Staff Writers
FROM THE BLOGS
Read the City Hall blog at
tulsaworld.com/cityhall
1 p.m., Tuesday: City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment, City Council chambers of City Hall, Second Street and Cincinnati Avenue.
1:30 p.m., Wednesday: Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, City Council chambers of City Hall, Second Street and Cincinnati Avenue.
I'm ashamed that today's story about Tuesday's capital improvements town hall meeting failed to mention perhaps the most memorable proposal from the meeting's open-mic citizen comment segment.
The proposal: Fund an aerial drone to patrol for texting motorists.
It's not as crazy as it sounds. Unmanned drones, much like the ones used by the military, are being deployed by law enforcement agencies across the country.
And wouldn't using them to protect drivers from their distracted counterparts be worth the money?
Makes me wonder what other paradigm-shifting ideas could be out there.
For instance, would Tulsa's texter-patrolling drone have heat-seeking missiles that would actually rid our streets of these vermin?
Maybe the city could install electromagnetic pulse devices next to traffic light cameras.
- ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Read more of this blog and other City Hall blogs at tulsaworld.com/cityhall.
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Follow Tulsa World City Hall reporters Kevin Canfield (@KevinCanfieldTW) and Zack Stoycoff (@ZackStoycoff) for the latest news on the City of Tulsa.
Tulsa City Council
Mayor Dewey Bartlett and former Mayor Kathy Taylor have eight weeks to make their cases before voters go to the polls Nov. 12.
Michigan-based Horizon Group Properties and Charlotte, N.C.-based Collett & Associates, the developer of the Tulsa Hills shopping center, seek to build a large outlet mall on a 64.8-acre parcel at 129th East Avenue and Interstate 44, officials said.
