Business Briefs (Week of March 31)
Monday, April 3, 2023
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Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week ending March 31) from The Journal Record.
‘Boomtown Trail’ to lure mountain bikers
The largest downhill mountain bike trail in Oklahoma, likely to lure local and regional fans, opened recently in Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. The “Boomtown Trail” should be an exceptional draw for visitors to Turkey Mountain, which comprises more than 600 acres along the Arkansas River, not far from downtown Tulsa.
Lawmakers favor bills strengthening medical marijuana regulation
A bill focusing on education and registration of physicians who make recommendations for medical marijuana use has cleared the Oklahoma Senate and advanced to the House of Representatives. The measure, Senate Bill 437, also addresses education and registration requirements of people employed by medical marijuana businesses. The bill was among several to advance recently addressing issues ranging from product potency to youth access of medical marijuana.
Norman technology company filling cashless retail void
As the number of retailers that are going cashless continues to climb, what about the unbanked and underbanked who are caught in the void? Norman-based M3 Technology Solutions, or M3t, was early to recognize that problem and has developed a system that levels the playing field, said M3t Chief Operating Officer Dylan Waddle. The financial technology company has developed a cash-to-prepaid-card kiosk system that allows direct access to the payment method they need. Patrons just feed in their cash, and the kiosks spit out the cards.
OKC coffee-shop chain brews up inspiration
Not Your Average Joe has opened its sixth location in downtown Oklahoma City and anticipates launching an Edmond location by the end of the year. The coffee-shop chain was named the 2022 Employer of the Year by the Oklahoma City Mayor's Committee on Disability Concerns for bringing people with various disabilities into the workforce. The new NYAJ location is at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, where the staff began serving customers a few weeks ago.
Energy Transfer acquires Lotus Midstream pipeline to Cushing
A major acquisition of one Texas energy company’s assets by another for $1.45 billion involves about 3,000 miles of crude gathering and transportation pipelines extending from southeast New Mexico to Cushing, Oklahoma. The acquisition of Lotus Midstream by Dallas-based Energy Transfer was announced on March 27. Lotus, based in Sugar Land, Texas, owns and operates the Centurion Pipeline, a crude pipeline and terminal system stretching across much of the prolific Permian Basin.
Pratt & Whitney plans $255M investment in OKC Sustainment Center
Plans announced by Pratt & Whitney to invest $255 million over the next five years in a new 845,000-square-foot facility in Oklahoma City will strengthen the state’s position as a global hub for aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul, officials say. The planned Oklahoma City Sustainment Center, to be a primary operations site for military engines including those for the F-35, C-17, F-22, F-15, F-16, B-52 and E-3 AWACS, also will be key to sustaining the security of the United States and its allies around the world.
OCHA to lead MAPS 4 affordable housing projects
The Oklahoma City Council named the Oklahoma City Housing Authority the partner responsible for developing and operating affordable housing under the MAPS 4 homelessness project. The operating agreement directs the OCHA to construct, develop, rehabilitate and manage affordable housing projects with a focus on households at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness.
Oklahoma House, Senate at odds over education legislation
Oklahoma lawmakers seem intent on raising pay for teachers, offering financial support for families of students in private school or home-school settings, and providing additional funding for education, but substantial differences in bills that have emerged from the House and Senate will have to be worked out if they’re destined to pass into law. House Speaker Charles McCall has said that he would not consider education proposals from the Senate if they come with amendments to House Bills 1935 or 2775.
Oklahoma State to launch four-year nursing degree program
A new four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program set to launch at Oklahoma State University should help address a critical shortage of nurses in the state, the university said. According to the Oklahoma Nurses Association, Oklahoma is ranked 46th among all states for the number of registered nurses per capita. In 2021, the national average was 1,100 per 100,000 people; in Oklahoma, there were only about 700 per 100,000.
Enid affected by housing shortage, study shows
Enid is experiencing the housing shortage that is affecting communities across Oklahoma and the nation, said Charlene Flanery, executive director of the Enid Regional Development Alliance. Because housing is critical to the quality of life for current and future residents and for businesses seeking to recruit and retain employees, the ERDA undertook a citywide housing study last fall with Des Moines, Iowa-based RDG Planning & Design. The results, released in February, show that Enid needs more housing units overall to keep up with projected population growth and more diverse housing options for people in all stages of life.
In Edmond, a mixed-use development moves forward
A first-of-its-kind mixed-use development in Edmond is moving ahead following the rezoning of agricultural land by the Edmond City Council. Liberty Park will incorporate a variety of housing types along with supporting development including commercial, office, live-work units and recreational areas on an 86-acre tract in the northeast part of the city.
Wings Special Needs Community breaks ground on new facilities
Wings Special Needs Community, Oklahoma’s first privately funded nonprofit community for adults with developmental disabilities, broke ground on a new residential community that leaders say will create lots of possibilities for enhanced and expanded services. About 250 Wings members, parents, community leaders, volunteers and “Thriving Together” campaign supporters gathered for a celebration on land at 1315 E. Wilshire Blvd. in Oklahoma City. The community eventually will comprise some 75 acres, to be developed in phases.
Oklahoma adds jobs; unemployment rate among nation’s lowest
Oklahoma added more than 45,000 people to the ranks of the employed between February of 2022 and February of this year and continued to post an impressively low percentage of unemployed people in its workforce, even as the country’s unemployment rate remained at historically low levels. According to latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, some 1,728,200 people were employed in the Sooner State in February, as compared to 1,682,800 employed in February 2022 – an increase of 45,400. The BLS said 57,500 people included in Oklahoma’s workforce were unemployed in February, giving the state an unemployment rate of 3.0%.
Tulsa event teaches female teens about STEM careers
Graphic design, project management, software sales – the career opportunities in technology are both obvious and sometimes obscure. Oklahoma Women in Tech offered a free retreat on March 24 in Tulsa to help female students explore the wide variety of occupations out there. The annual spring retreat was hosted at the BOK Financial technology center with about 75 teenage girls participating. OKWIT also offers a fall retreat each year in Oklahoma City.
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