Why cant downtown just be a "central" business district? Why does it have to have entertainment at all (especially entertainment paid for by tax $$$, the gov't has no business being in the entertainment business)? part of downtown's problem is that it is not centrally located,  Tulsa is mostly south of downtown, and that is where the money is.

The local gov’t needs to let growth happen naturally, like in Brookside and Cherry Street, even in the Brady Village. When gov’t gets involved beyond basic infrastructure, the development fails (main mall is a great example as was the Albertson’s on North Lewis... the BOK arena will follow suite soon enough). The private sector is willing to do the work if the oligarchic families of the city would just get out of the way. The our way or the highway mentality of these families and their bought-and-paid-for city leaders have done nothing but hurt the city of Tulsa, while allowing the suburbs to grow at an expediential rate. Very soon, there will be no reason to come into the city of Tulsa, because the suburbs will have everything they need in their own community.

If the city was serious about development downtown, they would offer up tax incentives to businesses to locate there, or even offer up a sales-tax free zone inside the IDL. That's the kind of carrot that businesses want, not an albatross of an arena in the wrong place.

It’s time for the city leaders to get out of the way and let developers like Branson Landing to come in and develop the city in the right way!

Yeah, Im late to the Party... I finally saw the "I Am... Find me in Tulsa" signs on my way beck from Indianapolis this morning.

Here are a few that came to mind:
(Picture of a pot hole) I am 600.00 worth of front end work, find me in Tulsa.
(Picture of Zingo ) I am a big wooden roller coaster, find me in Tulsa.
(Picture of Branson Landing) I am shopping and dining on the river, find me in Tulsa.
(Picture of the "Borg Cube") I am competent city leadership, find me in Tulsa.
(Picture of the new arena) I am a waste of money, find me in Tulsa.

Thanks to a post by Dave and some No River Tax signs I started rethinking my stance on the river again.

The facts are:
The river is unreliable, it can be nothing but sand bars one week and full the next. low water damns may fix that issue.
The river is shallow, only major dam/levy work will change that fact.
The river is on a bed of sand, which causes problems with low water dams & causes the water to look muddy most of the time.
There are two refineries and a sewer treatment plant on the river, all north of 61st. this will not change.
The west bank of the river is mostly industrial.
The river has a beautiful park that runs the length of it from downtown south, a fact that was commented on by a person complaining about the hot August weather and the PGA last week. "The Arkansas River runs through here, and there's a beautiful park that parallels it, following the contours of the river. People jog and ride bicycles through the park, past beautiful sculptures here and there."

With those facts in place, the best places for development are north of the 21st St. bridge on the west bank & south of 61st

I’m beginning to thing that outside of the Branson Landing people, we (being the taxpayers) should leave the river alone and make the roads  safe to drive on. We need to quit following other people and play up what makes Tulsa unique... and an undeveloped river definitally makes us unique after all it hasnt been developed in 100+ years.

 

 In what is the most complex and comprehensive scheme to track people, China is combining RFID in residency cards with sensors and cameras.

"Data on the chip will include not just the citizen's name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord's phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China's controversial "one child" policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card."

There are only a few steps left to make this the mark of the beast. making all purchases possible on the card/chip and to implant the chip... All that technology is already here

Revelations 13:16-17
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark..."

UPDATE: and they couldnt have done it without our help.

"We have a very good relationship with U.S. companies like I.B.M., Cisco, H.P., Dell,” said Robin Huang, the chief operating officer of China Public Security. “All of these U.S. companies work with us to build our system together."

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee came in a suprising 2nd place in the Iowa straw poll with 18.1%.

Does this mean the conservative base is finally looking past the big 3(4)?

I personally hope so, but like I said, several key players didn't participate

For the last several years the media has been waving the global warming banner while using the numbers from NASA showing that 1998 was the "hottest year on record"... problem is, there was a Y2K glitch, once corrected, 1934 ended up being the hottest year on record and ½ of the 10 hottest years happened before WWII!

You probably wont hear that on the MSM...

 

In what was the most recent disappointment in major league sports, and the lack of morality found within their institutions. Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron’s homerun record on Tuesday night, to the cheering of the crowd. It’s a sad state of affairs when cheaters, drug abusers, dog fighters, gangstas and thugs are allowed to be the idols of the nation’s children. Even our leaders turn a blind eye, and some like Nancy Pelosi, even heap praise upon these so called "heroes":

"Tonight, Barry Bonds etched his name into baseball's history books and took his rightful place among sport's immortals," Pelosi said. "It was a great night for baseball and a great night for San Francisco”

Yeah, immortals like OJ Simpson, Michael Vick, Mike Tyson…

 

Every move you make
They'll be watching you

You can run, but you cant hide.

 

Now we are nothing more than a follower, and we don't even do that right…

Back before Vision 2025, former mayor LaFortune, met with the mayor of Indianapolis and discussed its success, after that meeting, our mayor said he wanted Downtown Tulsa to resemble Indianapolis' downtown. I have been in downtown Indianapolis, in fact I will be there again in a bit over a week. But instead of emulating Indy, we go our own direction, building an arena we don’t need and tearing down buildings that could have been rehabilitated for parking lots and AC units. Indy’s downtown is dense with very little surface parking, but there are plenty of places to park your car

The came along Vision 2025, which they claim was modeled after the MAPS project in OKC, again another transformation to copy someone else, then completely ignoring what makes Bricktown and MAPS successful.

Lastly we have Branson Landing, the people of Tulsa want river development, but after having to pay for all the blunders our so-called "leaders” have made since the Susan Savage administration, we are running short of patience and money. A Tulsa Landing can be done, but like all the previous other fiascos, if our oligarchic gov’t  cant have their way, it wont happen.

 

...thats the number of bridges in Tulsa county that are structurally Deficient or Obsolete...
and here is a map (thanks Mee)

Status	Rating	Road	Place	County	Feature	Location
D	19.2	20		TULSA	CREEK	5 MI E JCT SH 11
D	17.5	20		TULSA	CREEK	5.2 MI E JCT SH 11
D	33.0	20		TULSA	BLACK JACK CREEK	0.1 MI W JCT US 169
O	70.9	8341		TULSA	FRED CREEK	7300 S HARVARD
D	40.6	8301		TULSA	CROW CREEK	3200 S PEORIA
D	48.9	8300		TULSA	CROW CREEK	1500 E. 31ST
D	42.4	8321		TULSA	FLAT ROCK CREEK	4200 N LEWIS AVE
O	52.6	8380		TULSA	COAL CREEK	1400 E PINE STREET
O	76.0	44		TULSA	33 AVE. UNDER	.6 MI E JCT SH 66
O	65.0	44		TULSA	33 AVE. UNDER	.6 MI E JCT SH 66
D	59.7	8311		TULSA	B.N. R.R. UNDER	700 N UTICA
D	8.8	8289		TULSA	CROW CREEK	3200 S RIVERSIDE DRIVE
D	42.6	8421		TULSA	MINGO CREEK	0.3 MI S E 31 S
D	60.0	44		TULSA	PEORIA AVE. UNDER	1.6 MI E JCT US 75
O	74.0	44		TULSA	DARLINGTON AVENUE UNDER	5.2 MI E JCT US 75
O	73.0	44		TULSA	DARLINGTON AVE UNDER	5.2 MI E JCT US 75
D	50.8	75		TULSA	NICKLE CREEK	5.2 MI N JCT SH-67
O	60.0	44		TULSA	HARVARD AVE UNDER	3.6 MI E JCT US 75
O	60.0	44		TULSA	HARVARD AVE UNDER	3.6 MI E JCT US 75
D	30.0	44		TULSA	YALE AVE. UNDER	4.7 MI E JCT US 75
D	30.0	44		TULSA	YALE AVE. UNDER	4.7 MI E JCT US 75
O	58.7	75		TULSA	POLECAT CREEK	3.8 MI N JCT SH 67
D	49.8	75		TULSA	NORTH DUCK CREEK	1.4 MI N C/L
D	35.0	64		TULSA	SNAKE CREEK	10.4 MI S OF TURNPIKE
O	31.2	169		TULSA	S.H. 135 UNDER	8.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	31.2	169		TULSA	S.H. 135 UNDER	8.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	57.2	169		TULSA	E 56TH N ST. UNDER	6.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	56.2	169		TULSA	E 56TH N ST. UNDER	6.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	79.0	44		TULSA	M&V R.R. UNDER	.5 MI E JCT US 75
O	79.0	44		TULSA	M&V R.R. UNDER	.5 MI E JCT US 75
O	68.0	169		TULSA	PINE ST UNDER	2.8 MI N JCT I-44
D	51.0	169		TULSA	PINE ST UNDER	2.8 MI N JCT I-44
O	64.0	169		TULSA	11TH ST. UNDER	0.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	64.0	169		TULSA	11TH ST. UNDER	0.7 MI N JCT I-44
O	77.0	169		TULSA	ADMIRAL PL. ST. UNDER	1.6 MI N JCT I-44
D	28.4	75		TULSA	MOOSER CREEK & RD.	9.8 MI N JCT SH 67
D	58.4	75		TULSA	MOOSER CREEK & RD. UNDER	9.8 MI N SH 67
D	50.0	75		TULSA	I-44 UNDER	1.9 MI E JCT SH-66
D	50.0	75		TULSA	I-44 UNDER	2.0 MI E JCT SH-66
D	53.0	75		TULSA	NORTH DUCK CREEK	1.4 MI N C/L
D	22.0	75		TULSA	POLECAT CREEK	3.8 MI N JCT SH 67
D	91.0	51		TULSA	PITTSBURG AVE. UNDER	1.3 MI SE 21 ST
D	91.0	51		TULSA	PITTSBURG AVE. UNDER	1.3 MI SE 21 ST
O	54.0	8300		TULSA	MINGO CREEK	9400 E 31ST ST
O	89.0	75		TULSA	81ST ST. UNDER	7 MI N JCT SH 67
O	89.0	75		TULSA	81ST ST. UNDER	7 MI N JCT SH 67
D	63.6	75		TULSA	NICKLE CREEK	5.2 MI N JCT SH-67
D	70.0	75		TULSA	NICKLE CREEK	5.2 MI N JCT SH-67
O	77.0	51		TULSA	YALE AVE. UNDER	1.8 MI SE 21 ST
D	68.5	51		TULSA	MK & T R.R. UNDER	2.6 MI SE 21 ST
O	75.1	51		TULSA	31ST ST. UNDER	1.9 MI SE 21 ST
O	73.2	51		TULSA	YALE AVE & 31ST ST UNDER	1.8 MI SE 21 ST
O	78.0	244		TULSA	I-244 WB UNDER	.10 MI E JCT US 169
D	72.0	11		TULSA	S.L. & S.F. R.R. UNDER	1.2 MI SE SHERIDAN RD
O	79.0	11		TULSA	AIRPORT RD. UNDER	0.9 MI SE SHERIDAN RD
O	75.0	244		TULSA	U.S. 169 UNDER	6.69 MI E JCT I 244
O	80.0	244		TULSA	U.S. 169 UNDER	6.69 MI E JCT I 444
D	59.0	169		TULSA	I-244 UNDER	.01 MI E JCT US 169
D	82.0	244		TULSA	89TH E AVENUE UNDER	5.74 MI E JCT I 444
D	78.0	244		TULSA	I-244 RAMP W-N UNDER	5.39 MI E JCT I 444
D	67.0	244		TULSA	I-244 WB UNDER	5.51 MI E JCT I 444
O	80.0	244		TULSA	MINGO ROAD UNDER	6.26 MI E JCT I 444
O	83.0	244		TULSA	I-244 UNDER	5.45 MI E JCT I 444
D	40.8	244		TULSA	I-44 UNDER	2.4 MI E US 169
D	67.0	244		TULSA	R.R. & ADMIRAL PL. UNDER	3.62 MI E JCT I 444
D	42.7	244		TULSA	ARKANSAS RIVER & ST.	4.1 MI N I-44
D	41.5	244		TULSA	ARKANSAS RIVER & ST.	4.1 MI N I-44
D	63.0	64		TULSA	LINCOLN AVE RAMP UNDER	0.5 MI E JCT SH 97
O	79.0	64		TULSA	LINCOLN AVE RAMP UNDER	0.5 MI E JCT SH 97
O	90.0	64		TULSA	97TH W AVE. UNDER	0.8 MI E JCT SH 97
O	77.0	64		TULSA	97TH W AVE. UNDER	0.8 MI E JCT SH 97
O	73.8	64		TULSA	S.H. 97 UNDER	8.1 MI SE C/L
O	73.8	64		TULSA	S.H. 97 UNDER	8.1 MI SE C/L
D	66.0	64		TULSA	MAIN ST. UNDER	0.3 MI E JCT SH 97
D	65.0	64		TULSA	MAIN ST. UNDER	0.3 MI E JCT SH 97
D	70.0	11		TULSA	PINE ST UNDER	1.7 MI SE SHERIDAN RD
D	70.0	11		TULSA	PINE ST UNDER	1.7 MI SE SHERIDAN RD
D	60.0	51		TULSA	LEWIS AVE UNDER	1.0 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	65.0	51		TULSA	LEWIS AVE UNDER	1.0 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	77.0	51		TULSA	15 ST. UNDER	1.2 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	74.0	51		TULSA	15 ST. UNDER	1.2 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	63.0	51		TULSA	21ST ST. UNDER	1.8 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	66.0	51		TULSA	21ST ST. UNDER	1.8 MI E PEORIA AVE
D	78.0	244		TULSA	STREET & R.R. UNDER	4.8 MI N I-44
D	42.0	64		TULSA	EUCHEE CREEK	6.4 MI SE C/L
O	79.1	244		TULSA	MAIN ST. UNDER	6.0 MI N I-44
D	44.1	75		TULSA	I-444 UNDER	AT JCT I-244 & I-444
D	66.3	244		TULSA	BRADY ST. UNDER	5.4 MI N I-44
D	72.0	64		TULSA	CO. RD. UNDER	2.6 MI SE C/L
D	53.0	11		TULSA	EDISON ROAD UNDER	I-244 & SH 11 JCT
D	57.6	244		TULSA	DENVER AVE. UNDER	5.7 MI N I-44
D	47.0	244		TULSA	1ST UNDER	6.9 MI N I-44
D	53.3	64		TULSA	DENVER AVE. UNDER	15.2 MI E OSAGE CO
D	56.3	75		TULSA	U.S. 75 UNDER	I-244 & US 75 JCT
D	79.4	244		TULSA	BIKE PATH & ABAN.R/R UND	5.5 MI N I-44
O	68.0	244		TULSA	BIKE PATH & ABAN.R/R UND	5.5 MI N I-44
D	75.2	64		TULSA	ABN.R/R&BIKEPATH UNDER	15.0 MI E OSAGE CO.
D	47.0	244		TULSA	I-444 UNDER	6.9 MI N I-44
D	54.3	75		TULSA	U.S. 75 UNDER	I-244 & 75 JCT.
D	30.0	244		TULSA	I-444 UNDER	6.9 MI N I-44
D	37.3	244		TULSA	U.S. 64 UNDER	5.6 MI N I-44
O	89.0	75		TULSA	BIRD CREEK O'FLOW & RD	0.6 MI N 56 ST
D	62.5	64		TULSA	CO. RD. & SHELL CREEK	4.6 MI SE C/L
D	62.4	244		TULSA	I-444 & R.R. UNDER	6.7 MI N I-44
D	54.1	244		TULSA	I-444 & R.R. UNDER	6.6 MI N I-44
O	80.0	75		TULSA	49 ST. UNDER	10.2 MI N JCT SH 67
O	66.6	444		TULSA	5TH ST. UNDER	0.1 MI E JCT I-244
D	64.0	75		TULSA	41ST ST. UNDER	11 MI N JCT SH 67
D	49.0	75		TULSA	R.R. & ST. UNDER	2.2 MI N JCT I-44
D	54.2	244		TULSA	I-244 UNDER	4.8 MI N I-44
O	67.6	444		TULSA	I-244 UNDER	4.7 MI N I-44
O	79.1	750		TULSA	I-244 UNDER	2.2 MI N I-44
O	77.0	64		TULSA	7TH ST. UNDER	10.8 MI S-E OSAGE CO
O	77.0	64		TULSA	7TH ST. UNDER	10.8 MI S-E OSAGE CO
O	78.0	64		TULSA	81ST ST. UNDER	10.0 MI S-E OSAGE CO
O	77.0	64		TULSA	81ST ST. UNDER	10.0 MI S-E OSAGE CO
D	64.0	64		TULSA	QUANAH AVE UNDER	14.5 MI S-E OSAGE CO
O	87.0	64		TULSA	25TH W AVE. UNDER	13.8 MI S-E OSAGE CO
O	76.4	8300		TULSA	BROOKHOLLOW CREEK	10800 E. 31ST ST.
D	54.0	51		TULSA	UTICA STREET UNDER	0.8 MI E I-444
O	81.0	169		TULSA	S.H. 51 UNDER	0.5 MI N 51 ST
D	67.0	44		TULSA	STREET & R.R. UNDER	0.2 MI E I-244 JCT.
O	71.9	8501		TULSA	ASPEN CREEK	0.5 MI S OF HOUSTON
O	76.5	8260		TULSA	N. FORK LITTLE JOE CREEK	0.2 MI E YALE AVE
O	55.3	8320		TULSA	B.N. R.R. UNDER	700 W 23 ST.
O	64.1	444		TULSA	"I-444	S.H. 51
O	78.2	8300		TULSA	BROOKHOLLOW CREEK	10100 E 31 ST.
O	72.6	8260		TULSA	W. BR. JOE CREEK	3000 E 51 ST.
O	62.4	5780		TULSA	COAL CREEK	4600 E DAWSON ROAD
O	68.3	8320		TULSA	MINGO CREEK	9500 E 21ST ST
O	68.3	8320		TULSA	MINGO CREEK	9500 E 21ST ST
O	66.5	8340		TULSA	ARKANSAS RIV. & RIVERSID	1.2 MI E OF SW BLVD.
O	74.9			TULSA	HAIKEY CREEK	0.4 MI E OF ASPEN
O	88.6	75		TULSA	S.H. 11 UNDER	3.4 MI N OF I-244
O	96.0	11		TULSA	HARVARD ST & R.R. UNDER	0.3 MI E US 75
O	96.0	11		TULSA	HARVARD ST. & R.R. UNDER	0.3 MI E US 75
O	94.0	75		TULSA	BIRD CREEK O'FLOW & RD.	6.5 MI N OF I-244
O	61.0			TULSA	LEWIS AVE ACCESS	0775
O	61.0			TULSA	CREEK TP	0921
O	61.0			TULSA	U.S. 64 (MEMORIAL DR.)	12.22N

and some use of old tech that should scare the hell outta you!

Using Face Recognition Instead of a PIN Number

Infrared Cameras to count the number of people in cars

Police want DNA from Speeders for their database

UPDATE: FCC to Develop 'Super V Chip' To Screen All Content

In and of themselves not necessarily a bad thing (except for the DNA retrieval) but in the hands of the wrong people... as I asked earlier... what would someone like Hitler do with this technology?

not really all that cheap now is it?

 

Mayor Taylor has announced that the smaller arena inside the Convention center will not be turned into a ballroom. so now we will have two arenas within walking distance of each other. Unless the usage fees for the new arena is comparable to the old arena, or they are given a "deal", why would the Oilers and the Talons move to the new arena? They can't fill the old arena, they wont be able to fill the new, so why would they pay more?

 ...that’s the excuse we get for years and years of neglect on the roads... so why is city hall rewarding itself with a new building? It wasnt that long ago, does anyone remember the reason for that? deferred maintenance... they let city hall deteriorate as well.

Talk about putting the cart in front of the horse... It's time for new leadership in Tulsa, in the mayors office, in the council and at the county level (at the very least, Randi Miller has to go)