Quick Tulsa links
Steve Roemerman was at Tuesday night's meeting about the IVI toll bridge -- has a good summary of the controversy here.
Meeciteewurkor is having another contest -- come up with the funniest (but still decent) answer for what the P. J. stands for in Tulsa Whirled reporter P. J. Lassek's name. For extra credit, write a typically slanted Whirled City Hall news article, then write the Ken Neal editorial founded on that article.
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IVI is supposed to be working with a New York bank for financing. After the Bank of Oklahoma/Great Plains Airlines loan financial mess, will deal makers on this project expect "moral obligations" of Tulsa taxpayers if some type of financial screw up happens again like it did with the Great Plains Airlines creative financing that creates a picture of GREED and conflicts of interests and bad loan deals gone sour?
When FRANK KEATING left office as governor, he had already lined up for himself a very lucrative influential lobbying job as President and CEO of American Council of Life Ins. What dealmakers gave him that lucrative job offer?
It possibly appears as though Frank Keating was "paid back" by helping with the sell when Frank Keating was Governor of Oklahoma of the $18 million in Oklahoma state tax credits which just happened to be sold to two insurance companies for $15 million. Anybody know the names of those two insurance companies?
Frank Keating had already been described as having conflicts of interest with his deal making with a man when he was given $250,000 for toting his influence on a drug (yeah lots of possible money to be made in pharmaceutical sales but the personal business deal between Frank Keating and the man that gave Frank and Cathy Keating $250,000 was highly eye-brow raising!) When there was going to be an ethics
investigation, somehow Frank Keating just whipped out $250,000 and paid the man back? With whose money this time?
Tulsa City Councilors and the Mayor should be careful about any decision on the South Tulsa bridge project. IVI is working with the Oklahoma Transportation Authority to allow the use of Pike Passes on the bridge. Can you imagine all the possibilities of lawsuits? Check the lawsuit that was in your Pike Pass statement a couple of months ago. That's just a possible starter on how lawsuits could make the price of crossing this privately funded toll bridge sky rocket. Is there a cap on price that will be charged for each car. Can walkers/ people on bicycles cross for free with a safety lane provided? The bridge project hoped construction on the bridge would begin January 2006 (very soon) and be finished January 2007.
The Tulsa City Council and the Mayor should wise up to all the problems on this project. As I have said before, each Tulsa City Councilor should ALWAYS pull their own weight on every project and not put most of the report preparation to Chris Medlock.