Business Briefs (Week of July 8)
Monday, July 11, 2022
(0 Comments)
Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week of July 8) from The Journal Record.
In Okemah, Woody Guthrie Festival is more than just music
Once a year, about 10,000 people from all over the world travel to rural Oklahoma’s city of Okemah – population 3,078 – to celebrate the town’s favorite son, Woody Guthrie. In the heart of rural Oklahoma, the four-day festival highlights the songs and writings of Guthrie and shines a light on Oklahoma’s little-known history with the labor movement in the 20th century. The festival, now celebrating its 25th year, has undergone some changes in order to remain viable and continue serving as an economic boost for the city of Okemah. For one of the longest-running festivals in Oklahoma, this year’s silver jubilee will honor Guthrie’s 110th birthday July 13-17, 2022, featuring third and fourth generations of Woody Guthrie’s descendants and songwriters inspired by him.
Gorsuch dissent accuses Oklahoma of 'unlawful power grab'
Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta was an attempt by the state of Oklahoma to obtain a legal foothold for an “unlawful power grab” and undermine tribal sovereignty, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his dissenting opinion. Prior to his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017, Gorsuch served on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Oklahoma. Gorsuch’s dissent highlighted his expertise in the area of Indian law and familiarity with Oklahoma’s history with tribal governments. Gorsuch repeatedly noted that the majority opinion penned by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which granted the state jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses in Indian Country, completely ignored the issue of tribal sovereignty.
OKC metro students build the better neck brace
Four metro area students heading to college this fall to pursue engineering degrees have earned national recognition for a neck brace they conceived and developed. The ChinUp – designed to improve comfort and mobility for patients with drooping head syndrome – was awarded the gold medal in Career Pathways Industrial and Engineering Technology at the SkillsUSA national conference held June 20-24 in Atlanta. The students produced the device as their capstone project for the Engineering, Design and Development class at Francis Tuttle Technology Center.
Recreational marijuana question gains momentum
A group seeking to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Oklahoma gathered more than enough signatures required to put the measure on the ballot and well in advance of the statutory deadline. Oklahomans For Sensible Marijuana Laws needed to collect about 100,000 signatures before Aug. 1, 2022, in order for State Question 820 to make it onto the November 2022 ballot. On Tuesday, the group submitted more than 164,000 signatures to the Office of the Secretary of State at the Oklahoma Capitol.
OKC Council told many more evictions coming
The second round of federal assistance for Oklahoma City residents who can’t pay their rent won’t last much longer, Ginny Bass Carl told the Oklahoma City Council. In a few months, the application portal will close because the pool of applicants already is so large, said Carl, executive director of Community Cares Partners, the program that is distributing Emergency Rental Assistance, or ERA, funds to eligible renters and their landlords. In addition to Oklahoma City, CCP administers federal rental assistance programs for Oklahoma County, Cleveland County and the state of Oklahoma.
Picturesque, historic Oklahoma towns win ‘film friendly’ status
Four Oklahoma towns – Pawnee, Okmulgee, Davis and Muskogee – recently joined ranks of communities in Oklahoma designated as “film friendly.” The Oklahoma Film + Music Office first established criteria for the Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program in 2010. That year it also started hosting workshops around the state to raise awareness that even tiny towns can be attractive venues for film or TV productions, and of possibilities for substantial local economic benefits of productions. A goal has been to establish film-friendly communities in all 77 counties. Nearly two dozen so far have been designated, according to the OF+MO.
OU adds supply chain management, business analytics master’s programs
Two new master’s degree programs offered at the University of Oklahoma reflect effects of the pandemic on the rapidly evolving business world. According to a release from the Michael F. Price College of Business, the programs focused on supply chain management and business analytics were created in response to growing needs for trained professionals in those areas. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported a projected need for 25-30% more professionals trained in those areas in the coming decade, Price College Dean Corey Phelps said.
OKC June tax collections outpace June of 2021
Oklahoma City beat expectations for tax collections in June. According to a release from the city, sales and use tax collections in June amounted to 7.1% more than what was collected in June of last year. Sales tax is the largest single source of General Fund revenue. Use tax is the second largest. General Fund sales tax collections for June were around $26 million. That was $1.5 million, or about 6% more, than what was projected, and $1.7 million more than what was collected in the same month last year.
Oil, gas production fuel record state revenues
Oil and gas production, always critical to the Oklahoma economy, helped generate record high revenues for the state in the past fiscal year. While the national economy and economies in other states have shown signs of slowing as a result of soaring inflation, record-high tax collections generated by oil and gas production have helped drive Oklahoma’s general fund revenues to the highest they’ve ever been, according to latest data provided by state Treasurer Randy McDaniel. High inflation is cause for serious concern, especially as confidence in the national economy has waned, McDaniel said in comments released with the data, but as of this month Oklahoma remains on a growth trajectory.
Black Wall Street Chamber president found dead
The president of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce was found dead in her home in Bixby Wednesday. Police discovered Sherry Gamble Smith, 55, dead and her husband, Martin Everett Smith, 54, critically injured Wednesday morning. The community leader's husband died later at the hospital, police said. Bixby police have not released how the couple died, saying the investigation is ongoing. They described the incident as "domestic in nature" and are not searching for a suspect.
OSU research may lead to cattle ranches with ‘virtual’ fences
“Don’t fence me in” is a famous cowboy song lyric, but cowboys probably never thought to apply it to cattle – until now. As a result of advancements in technology blended with cowboy ingenuity, it seems that fenceless cattle ranches may be just over the horizon. In fact, according to a news release, researchers at Oklahoma State University are planning to take studies on “virtual fencing” technology to the next level this fall after they received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Construction projects planned at 85 airports in Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission recently approved $184 million in funding for 85 airport improvement projects in Oklahoma. An Airport Construction Program will invest in airports in 57 Sooner State communities in fiscal years 2023-2027, according to commission officials. More than $127 million in federal funds will cover a majority, while $22.2 million in state grants and $33.7 million in local matching funds will cover remaining costs.
|
Print Page
Email to a Friend