Oklahoma roundup 2009/07/16

Local links of interest:

A bunch of new posts up on Choice Remarks, the blog of the Oklahoma school choice movement, including a story about a left-leaning civil rights organization labeling teachers' unions "implacable foes of reform" and a survey of 1200 likely Oklahoma voters, 83% of whom say they'd rather not put their kids in a standard public school.

Mike Easterling has a profile of Tulsa mayoral candidate Chris Medlock in the current issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly. Over on his blog, Medlock writes:

Many thanks to UTW writer Mike Easterling, who very faithfully and accurately recreated our hour long conversation. I think it does a very good job of capturing why I am running and I hope you'll take a few minutes to read it.

Also in UTW, coverage of the demolition of the old Page Glencliff Dairy (Fields Downs Randolph more recently) on the north side of 6th Street between Kenosha and the Midland Valley right-of-way. It once was a landmark at a gateway to downtown. Back when the east leg of the IDL stopped at 7th/8th Street, that was my dad's route to his office in the Cities Service Building. The Page building had a billboard on top, advertising Page Quality Chekd products, and if I recall correctly, the billboard had a clock, letting downtown workers know how late they were going to be. The story is accompanied by a photograph, by Erin Fore, of an ironic juxtaposition. The story also has info on the block between 4th and 5th, Elgin and Frankfort, a block which includes the old Bill White Chevrolet dealership.

Jeff Shaw honors the Tulsa area's 36 National Merit Scholars.

Tasha has her weekly roundup of fun stuff to do in Tulsa this weekend. And her UTW column this week offers you some cost-conscious alternatives to cable TV.

Mike McCarville remembers watching the launch of Apollo 11 from the VIP bleachers at Kennedy Space Center.

If you want to relive the first moon landing the way most Americans experienced it, someone has posted about two hours worth of video from ABC and NBC coverage of Apollo 11, complete with Jules Bergman and cheesy animations and a news story about a moment of silent prayer for the astronauts at "Cominskey Field" (Pres. Obama's favorite ballpark).

Irritated Tulsan offered up his latest ten examples of Awesomely Bad Tulsa Architecture (including Sister Bertrille Stillwater National Bank) and made the Mid-Century Modern folks angry. Also, he's given all the mayoral candidates their mafia names.

Michael Mason and Jeff Martin have launched a weekly podcast called Goodbye Tulsa:

Goodbye Tulsa is a weekly program that tells the story of Tulsa through the lives of our friends and neighbors. A form of audio obituaries (and sometimes video obituaries), Goodbye Tulsa creates a lasting tribute to Tulsans who have passed away.

Each week, we invite friends and family of the deceased to share their stories about their loved one, and in doing so, they illumine the community around us in a way that enriches our experience and appreciation of life in Oklahoma.

The Goodbye Tulsa FAQ explains what to do if you have a story to tell and how to subscribe to the podcast.

Trait Thompson, an ORU alum, wrote earlier this month of a new day at Oral Roberts University, under new president Mark Rutland:

It is truly an exciting moment for all ORU graduates and former students. Our university has finally been completely transitioned from the overbearing hands of the Roberts family to a president whose chief goals are for ORU to be "warm, inviting, and transparent."...

For those of you who didn't attend ORU, it's hard to describe the atmosphere that was continually cultivated on campus by the Roberts family. Students were often told that attendance at ORU was a privilege and not a right. We were told that the rules kept us holy. We were told that the leadership of the school was beyond reproach or question....

In our 4 years there, we met kindred spirits and lifelong friends. We were influenced by professors who genuinely wanted to see us learn and succeed. They invested in us and considered themselves successful when we were successful. We put up with all the administrative crap because it was the cost of doing business, so to speak.

Now for a trip down the turnpike (before the tolls go up):

Charles G. Hill of dustbury.com has written a couple of interesting pieces recently on urban design issues. Back in June, Charles responded to a Joel Kotkin column about cities focused on attracting the young, unattached, and wealthy. In his latest Vent, he considers the woonerf and where it might fit in Oklahoma City's future. (The proposed 6th Street canal in Tulsa's Pearl District is a sort of woonerf or shared street.)

Doug Loudenback had an interesting piece a while back with both historical and present-day photos of Oklahoma City's Union Station, the railyard of which is due to be demolished for a rerouting of I-40. (The station building itself will remain, but it will no longer be capable of serving as the hub of a rail system. Back in April, I took a few pictures of the exterior of Oklahoma City Union Station, the yard, the platforms, and a nearby viaduct.

Nick Roberts has been posting up a storm at Downtown on the Range:

His alternative vision for Core to Shore, the redevelopment plan for the area between the present I-40 alignment and the North Canadian River. His proposal puts the new convention center just south of Bricktown. He would name the boulevard to replace the current I-40 alignment in honor of author Ralph Ellison.

Nick also has posted his thoughts on riverfront and canal-front developments around the country.

And he's posted a selection of porkulus projects from Sen. Tom Coburn's selection of 100 egregious wastes of money. Here's one:

Residents in Perkins, OK are actually paying a 60% increase in utility fees due to the city getting Stimulus funds for a wastewater treatment facility that the State was going to pay the full $5 million for until the city got Stimulus funds for it. Because of the stipulations attached to the funds, the cost for the project went up to $8 million while the Stimulus funds were only $1 million, leaving the small town of Perkins to pick up another $2 million.

And finally: Bob Burch of Boodachitaville says anime is all Edwards Deming's fault.