Tulsa, OK

Tulsa, Oklahoma is a great place to be in October. There will be several great activities and events in and around the community this month. Today, October 1, 2008, starts the events off with the Night Ranger, an event that started with five hard-rocking youths from the San Francisco Bay area. The Night Ranger has epitomized the style and sound of the 80's metal pop. The Night Ranger will play at the Tulsa State Fair's Oklahoma Stage at 8 p.m. Just pay to enter the fair and you have a seat.

Thursday, you can catch Rodney Atkins, who has a string of #1 hits and a platinum record. Rodney will perform in the Expo Square Pavilion, at the fair, after the rodeo at 7 p.m. Tickets will be $16 and $23.

Jeff Dunham, the ventriloquist comic, will be at the BOK Center on Friday at 8 p.m. Jeff and his gang, the "Suitcase Posse," will make a stop in Tulsa. Jose Jalapeno, Grumpy Walter, Peanut and more of Dunham's suitcase posse will take the stage for a great show. The event is for all ages, and tickets will range from $40-$45. Tickets are available at the BOK Center box office.

On Saturday, the Tulsa Opera will open its season with a production of one of the most popular opera's in the world - "La Boheme," a Puccini tale of love among Paris' starving artists. A wonderful melding of tragedy and romance. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapman Music Hall of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, on 3^rd Street and Cincinnati Ave. Other shows can be seen on October 10^th and 12^th. Tickets range from $20-$95.

We hope you will be able to enjoy at least one of these great events to get your October started off with great fun.

The development of a mass transit system with light rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRTs) will help Tulsa attract and retain young adults.

At the today's PLANiTULSA session at the BOk Center a majority of the tables who presented their findings emphasized the importance of a mass transit system for attracting and retaining young adults, much needed for the growth and success of Tulsa's growth economy and quality lifestyle.

Each table was given a giant map of Tulsa and four packets of stickers. Each group could only open one packet of stickers to use on their map.

The four packets of sticker choices were:

1. Trend -- Do nothing. Just move where we've been going.
2. Economic Growth -- Empower emerging key industries
3. Empower Neighborhoods -- Make sure neighborhoods grow and prosper to empower entrepreneurial vitality
4. Attract and Retain Young Adults -- Give young people what they want and they will move to Tulsa (or come back to Tulsa) and help drive our economy

There were two 17-year old girls at my table, Claire and Hannah. Their input was both exciting and informative for the other five of us at our table. It was a privilege to have participated with them and to hear their input.

There were several hundred people attending this session and most of the participants were "middle aged," much older than Claire and Hannah. Actually there was a nice cross section among age groups. Nevertheless, most groups who presented their "stickered-up maps" chose to empower neighborhoods or to attract and retain young adults.

A big theme that emerged in how to attract and retain young adults was that emphasis has to be placed on developing a light rail system or a BRT (bus rapid transit). Mass transit emerged as being crucial to Tulsa's strategic planning.

The development of mass transit (light rail or BRT) with central hubs at both downtown Tulsa and at the intersection of I-44 and the Broken Arrow Expressway had many different permutations among the groups who presented. Destinations included: Claremore, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Sand Springs, Brookside, North Tulsa, the Airport, and the Promenade Mall. Most groups felt it was important to make use of existing rights-of-way along the Frisco line, the Union Pacific line, or the lines that no longer have tracks on them.

Along these mass transit routes participants developed a rich urban environment, including villages and high-density housing options mixed with light office and retail for entrepreneurial lifestyles.

One group emphasized the importance of developing a strong artery along the full length of Peoria from 71st Street straight up through North Tulsa. This would capture the heartbeat of Tulsa. My table thought this plan was very equitable and would encourage growth throughout the city.

What did you hear at the PLANiTULSA session you attended?

http://TulsaRealEstateWeb.com

http://NortheastOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://BixbyOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://dsolano.homesandland.com

The goal of PLANiTULSA is to develop a comprehensive plan for growth so that Tulsa can attract young skilled workers during the upcoming labor crisis. Tulsa will be in competition with other cities for educated skilled workers.

Tulsa's population is declining.

The City of Tulsa was first incorporated in 1898. It grew substantially with the oil boom that was kicked off by the discovery of the Glen Pool in 1905.

Since then Tulsa has had its ups and down in population growth.

According to John Fregonese, who has been hired to help Tulsa develop a new comprehensive plan, Tulsa lost six percent of its residents in the years between 2000 and 2005.

This period of flat or declining growth coincided with an increase in growth in the region. While Tulsa had 62% of the MSA in 1970, it now only has 42% of the MSA.

According to Mr. Fregonese, who spoke at the BOk Center this afternoon, half of Tulsa's growth will be natural growth; the other half will come from people moving in from elsewhere, from within the U.S. and from foreign countries.

OK, so big deal, who cares? We should care. Here's why:

By the year 2010 the country will be experiencing a labor crisis with fewer people entering the labor force. Cities will compete for workers.

So if Tulsa wants to attract more young people into its workforce, we will need to align our planning with the Emerging American Vision in which people want economic success, social equity, and environmental responsibility. This translates into walkability and entertainment districts among other things.

What did you get out of today's PLANiTULSA session?

http://TulsaRealEstateWeb.com

http://NortheastOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://BixbyOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://dsolano.homesandland.com

If you missed last night's PLANiTULSA session at the Greenwood Cultural Center, then drop everything today and hurry on down to the BOk Center and attend this afternoon's session of PLANiTULSA.

This is your chance to put your two cents in!

No more whining!

Bring your ideas to the BOk Center today between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

Parking is free at the Parking Garage of the Old City Hall building at 200 Civic Center. Enter from the west off of 6th Street.

Be there! We want to hear from you now -- not later when it's too late to add more concrete to add width to the walkways in the nosebleed section (oops, that should be a comment in one of my previous blogs).

I therefore repeat: I don't hear whining! So be there and be heard now!

http://TulsaRealEstateWeb.com

http://NortheastOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://BixbyOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://dsolano.homesandland.com

I went to the Get Motivated Seminar today with a bunch of friends from Coldwell Banker.

It was the first time I have had the privilege to visit our new convention center, the BOk Center and I have to say I was overall very impressed even though I would make a few changes if I were queen of the world.

I had to get over my first impression that it looked like the space ship from Lost in Space. Someone mentioned that it reminded her of a big roll of duck tape.

Nevertheless, it is a beautiful new facility and a tribute to our city for getting the thing built. Downtown Tulsa has needed something to get it jump started and this just might be what we needed.

OK, OK -- traffic was gridlocked at 6:30 am because 18,000 people converged on downtown Tulsa at the same time. What else?

I am full of my own opinions, I want to hear from you!

http://TulsaRealEstateWeb.com

http://NortheastOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://BixbyOklahomaRealEstate.com

http://dsolano.homesandland.com