Business Briefs (Week of July 14)
Monday, July 17, 2023
(0 Comments)
Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week ending July 14) from The Journal Record.
OKC Arts Council to shorten festival, end Opening Night
Festival of the Arts – Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s signature event since 1967 – will get a fresh start in 2024 with some major changes. Chief among them is shifting to a four-day festival to better accommodate and attract visual and performing artists, said Angela Cozby, ACOKC executive director. The new four-day format is one of two major changes recently approved by the ACOKC board, which also voted to end Opening Night, the New Year’s Eve event.
Accelerator helps Latino businesses unlock potential
Latino business owners in the metro area looking to grow their company are encouraged to apply for a local accelerator’s fall cohort. StitchCrew, an organization founded with a mission to increase equitability in the economy through entrepreneurship, is looking for candidates for the second cohort of its accelerator program to assist Latino-owned businesses in Oklahoma City in their growth and unlock their potential. Participants receive a $15,000 grant, business development coaching and access to working space at Thunder Launchpad, sponsored by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Study: Energy bills in Oklahoma among highest in US
Oklahomans pay an average $583 each month in total energy bills – the sixth highest in the nation – according to a new study. Only residents of Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, Connecticut and Massachusetts pay more, according to the personal-finance website WalletHub. For a better understanding of energy costs relative to location and consumption habits, the study looked at residential use of electricity, natural gas, motor fuel and home heating oil in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Rapid transit project gains momentum
Construction is underway on all passenger platforms for Oklahoma City’s first bus rapid transit, or BRT, line with completion expected in the fall, spokesman Cody Boyd said. Bus operators are being trained on the 40-foot natural gas-powered vehicles that will serve riders along the 9.5-mile route in northwest Oklahoma City, said Boyd, community engagement officer for Embark, the city’s public transit system. Six of nine buses purchased have been delivered, with the remaining three scheduled for delivery by early fall.
Military shows interest in Canoo battery packs, EV architecture
Canoo, the electric vehicle company with plans for plants in Oklahoma City and Pryor, has expanded the scope of a previously announced partnership with the Department of Defense, the company said. The DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit, or DIU, has shown particular interest in Canoo’s potential for delivering a technologically advanced battery pack scalable for use on various platforms for use by the Navy. In a release, the company said it has leveraged its advanced commercial battery and integration expertise to deliver a battery pack that will “set the stage for standardization” of energy-dense lithium batteries. Canoo also recently delivered three crew transportation vehicles to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicles, delivered in accordance with a NASA contract, were built to transport astronauts to the launchpad for Artemis lunar missions.
Lobbyists detail legislative wins, outline challenges ahead
An Oklahoma City Council-led committee heard from lobbyists on the state and federal level who discussed legislation with an effect on city residents, including funding for emergency water service and an affordable housing incentive program. The Council Legislative Committee approved recommendations to renew legislative consultant contracts with The Taylor Group and Potomac Strategic Development Co. to lobby for Oklahoma City issues on the state and federal level, respectively, following analysis from both groups.
OKC opens $17.5M Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center
A new $17.5 million recreation center, billed as “multigenerational” as it was planned to appeal to a wide range of Oklahoma City residents young and old, was ready for a big reveal on Saturday. A grand opening celebration was set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center at 909 Frederick Douglass Ave. The state-of-the-art facility was the first planned in the city in more than 40 years. Named after former Ward 7 Councilwoman Willa D. Johnson, the 38,000-square-foot center features an indoor swimming complex with a beach entry to a pool, lap lanes, a “current channel” and a water playground, among other features; a sizable gym; two multipurpose rooms; and a teaching kitchen, among other amenities.
Shop-local initiative vital to small businesses in Oklahoma
Oklahoma merchants were bolstering their inventory ahead of an annual celebration of shopping local. The Weekend of Local, which began Friday, is a statewide initiative led by the Independent Shopkeepers Association with more than 300 participating local shops and restaurants. To encourage patronage, businesses will offer in-store events, sidewalk sales and other promotions. The ISA, partnering Main Street organizations and chambers across the state hope shopping and eating local will help small businesses as they continue to recover from the pandemic and withstand inflation.
Protecting young workers focus of new partnership
Workplace safety for Oklahoma’s youngest employees is the focus of a new partnership between Metro Technology Centers and the Oklahoma Department of Labor. Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn and Metro Tech Superintendent Aaron Collins unveiled a free online safety training program in a ceremony. The Youth Employment Safety (YES) program will be presented in three modules to educate young workers, their employers and community advocates about youth employment laws and related workplace standards. Osborn has asked House Speaker Charles McCall to approve an interim study on the topic. Osborn’s goal is to educate legislators through the interim study that loosening child labor laws is not only unconstitutional, but it also encourages students to drop out of high school to help provide for their families.
Experts from 23 nations attend symposium at OSU
A goal to improve lives around the world by integrating aspects of human medicine and veterinary and environmental sciences drew research scientists and other experts from dozens of countries to a symposium held at Oklahoma State University. The Institute for Translational and Emerging Research in Advanced Comparative Therapy’s symposium, hosted by OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, featured more than 40 speakers from around the globe and drew attendees from no fewer than 23 nations.
Chickasaw Nation invests in newly formed private investment firm
The Chickasaw Nation has made an “anchor investment” in a newly formed private investment firm, Good Springs Capital. Goals are to invest in “founder and entrepreneur-led” companies with high potential for growth, the Chickasaw Nation said in a release. Good Springs Capital, based in New York, focuses on majority-control investments in middle-market companies in the industrial, services, and consumer sectors, it said.
|
Print Page
Email to a Friend