Tulsa, OK

PLANiTULSA Kicks-Off May 13

Mayor Kathy Taylor will launch a two-year initiative, PLANiTULSA this week. This long-range comprehensive plan for Tulsa will guide our city’s physical development into the future.

Fregonese Associates, one of the most respected land-use planning firms in the nation, was recently hired to lead the process. Firm President, John Fregonese, will present details of the planning process at the kick-off event, set for May 13 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The event will be held at Central Community Center at Centennial Park, 1028 E. 6th St.

For more information about this initiative, visit the City’s PLANiTULSA web pages online.

Tulsa Crime Statistics Show Significant Decreases

It is vitally important for the Tulsa Police Department to find innovative ways to combat crime, and the department has been busy reallocating resources to respond to specific types of crime throughout the city.

Last spring, the department created the Safe City Initiative which ran throughout 2007 and continues today and has resulted in a significant drop in violent crime, especially in areas once frequented by gangs and.

A similar targeted effort began earlier this year, targeting both residential and business burglaries. That program, pattered after the Safe City Initiative, has already resulted in numerous arrests and recovery of stolen property.

The recent release of annual crime statistics by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that Tulsa’s crime rates are down in several areas. Among them are:

Homicide     -62.5%

Rape           -17.5%

Robbery      -2.6%

Assault        -5.9%

Burglary      -0.8%

Larceny       -5.6%

Auto Theft  -31.8%

New Hutcherson YMCA Dedicated

There was a huge turnout for the Hutcherson Family YMCA dedication Thursday, May 8th. Community leaders and citizens celebrated as Mayor Taylor declared the day as “W.L. Hutcherson YMCA of Tulsa Day!”

The state-of-the-art 47,000-square-foot successor to the previous Hutcherson “Y” is located just south of the old facility at Pine and Peoria and is dedicated to carry out the work of building strong families and communities. In 2009, the local branch will celebrate 100 yrs.

Oklahoma House Rep. Jabar Shumate, a member of the YMCA, said, “Moving from the old building to the new one has proven growth in North Tulsa. More city wide members are traveling to the area to work-out at the new facility.” He also stated, “It doesn’t matter what city, state or facility you’re in, the heart and soul of the people are the same and you’re always welcome. That’s the spirit of every YMCA.”

The dedication recognized the generous contributions from individual donors, corporations and foundations. $6.5 million dollars was raised for construction and service expansion.

This new center enables the YMCA of Greater Tulsa to provide infant care and doubles the number of children served in the after school and day camp programs.

Other amenities include a multi-purpose gymnasium, strength and conditioning center, aerobics studio, and indoor pool.  The pool features lap lanes, a graduated sloped entrance, and interactive play features.

For more information about activities at the Hutcherson YMCA, visit: www.ymca.net

Plant a Tree? Register it With ReGreen Tulsa!

During the December ice storm, an estimated 10,000 trees were damaged across Tulsa.

By planting a tree, you help the environment and help re-green Tulsa. You can register your new trees with ReGreen Tulsa, and help Tulsa reach its goal of 20,000 trees by the year 2010.

Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award Update

Wednesday, May 14 is the deadline to submit your Executive Summary and participate in the 2008 Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. If you have a plan for a business and want to get it started, now is the time to unleash your big idea!

Besides the potential to receive the $30,000 cash grand prize, you will receive:

• Coaching from nationally recognized business leaders of Tulsa
• Access to additional funding sources
• Extensive exposure to the media
• Connections to a broad entrepreneurial network

After the executive summaries are reviewed, 25 businesses will be notified and invited to submit their full business plan. Once the business plans are reviewed, each business will have a chance to present a seven-minute pitch to the Spirit Award judges.

In November, we will announce Mayor Kathy Taylor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award winner and present him or her with a check of $30,000 for first place, second place with $5,000 and third place with $2,500 – each provided by SpiritBank.

SeekingSitters the 2007 Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award winner was featured last Thursday night, May 8th on CNBC show’s “The Big Idea” with Donny Deutsch. We congratulate SeekingSitters and encourage you to visit the Spirit Award website at www.tulsaspiritaward.com to watch a video clip of this innovative Tulsa Company unveiled to the nation.

For rules and regulations and to enter the Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, visit www.tulsaspiritaward.com.

Tulsa Celebrates Tulsa Achieves and Super Service Week

The City of Tulsa, Tulsa Community College and Volunteer Central of Greater Tulsa sponsored the first Super Service Week for Tulsa Achieves scholars, from May 5 – 11. Mayor Kathy Taylor and Tulsa Community College (TCC) President and CEO Tom McKeon kicked off the week with Tulsa Achieves students last Monday at the Tulsa Zoo.

Tulsa Community College’s Tulsa Achieves scholarship program provides students the opportunity to attend college based on their ability to achieve, not on their ability to pay, by providing up to 100 percent of tuition and fees for up to 63 college credit hours for students living in Tulsa County. Application deadline for the Tulsa Achieves Scholarship program is April 30 of each year.

Tulsa Achieves scholars must complete 40 community service hours each academic year as part of their Tulsa Achieves scholarship obligation to TCC.  Super Service Week is designed to engage Tulsa Achieves scholars in a coordinated effort to obtain some of these hours as well as reinforce the importance of community and public service. Tulsa Achieves students who have already completed their service hours for 2007 – 2008 will earn hours toward 2008 – 2009 by participating.

Some of the opportunities for Tulsa Achieves scholars through the partnership with the City of Tulsa include: Accounts Payable, Animal Welfare, Communications, Human Resources, Tulsa Parks, Tulsa Police Academy and the Tulsa Zoo.

“Community service is a valuable experience for Tulsa Achieves students and is of great benefit to the community,” Taylor said. “Through Tulsa Achieves, some students are exposed to community service for the first time. They then take that experience into their professional lives upon graduation. We created Super Service Week in partnership with TCC and Volunteer Central to connect students with City of Tulsa departments, as well as organizations across the city in need of volunteers.”

Tulsa Achieves students can select volunteer opportunities for Super Service Week, as well as for the academic year, by accessing Volunteer Central of Greater Tulsa’s online referral service at 1-800-volunteer.org. Simply enter the keywords: “Super Service Week.”  The online servicesoftware is a national model being tested in a college setting using the Tulsa Achieves program.

Wednesday Kick-Offs Ozone Alert Season

Join fellow Tulsans at Drillers’ Stadium Wednesday for the annul Kick-Off of Ozone Alert Season. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and includes a barbecue lunch at 11:15 and a brief program at 11:45. As an additional bonus, all attendees will have a reserved seat for the 12:35 p.m. Drillers’ game.

This year’s Ozone Alert program is designed to help you find ways to make Tulsa’s air cleaner. Too much ozone causes health problems. Immediate health concerns include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain when inhaling deeply
• Wheezing and coughing
• Increased susceptibility to respiratory infections

As exposure to ozone increases there are additional risks:

• Asthma attacks
• Pulmonary inflammation
• Premature death
• Hospital visits

Ozone happens when atmospheric conditions are right for the chemical reaction that creates ozone: high temperatures, sunlight, emissions from gas-powered vehicles and small motors. These combine to form Ozone, which threatens our health and quality of life.

There are many things you can do to help reduce the amount of ozone in our air. Follow these guidelines all summer long to reduce the amount of ozone produced in our city.

• Drive less
• Avoid idling your car longer than 30 seconds
• Refuel in the evening and don’t top off the tank
• Avoid using gas-powered yard tools like your mower until after 6 p.m.
• Combine your errands and schedule them to reduce your drive time (saves fuel, too!)
• Postpone your errands until days when there is no Ozone Alert.

During this Ozone Alert Season, Tulsa Transit will offer 50 cent bus rides every Friday from May 16 through August 29, sponsored by Sunoco.