Oklahoma City News Bureau

Oklahoma City Ranks No. 6 on List of Job Growth Leaders

2011-09-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City has been ranked No. 6 on the list of Top 10 Job Growth Leaders, for cities with an average employment between 250,000 and 750,000, by Business Facilities magazine. Oklahoma City was placed on the list for having job-creating activities built around sure-growth industries. Other cities in the top 10 include Rochester, NY; Toledo, OH; and Charleston, SC.

“Job growth is one of our top priorities at the Chamber, so this ranking is especially satisfying,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “Our efforts are very intentional, so I’m glad others are taking notice of the work we are doing.”

This ranking comes on the heels of other impressive recognition that Oklahoma City has received this summer.

Oklahoma City has been in the spotlight as a great place for young adults, being named the No. 3 City for Recent Grads (Daily Beast), the No. 20 Fastest Growing Area for 5 – 17-year olds (New Geography) and the No. 7 Best Place for Young Adults to Get Started (Business Journals), all in the month of June.

Oklahoma City’s economy has also been consistently recognized this summer, ranking the 11th Best State for Business (Chief Executive Magazine), No. 6 City with the Strongest Economy (Parenting Magazine), One of the Top 20 Strongest Performing Metro Areas (Brookings Institute), the 2nd Highest GMP growth among 100 Largest Metros (Global Insight's 2011 US Metro Economies Report, 2009 – 2010), and continues to have the No. 1 lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

“Oklahoma City has not received these high rankings by luck,” said Williams. “Many of our leadership in both the public and private sector have worked tirelessly to create such a strong economic environment. We should all be proud of that.”

Sen. Inhofe Looks Toward Oklahomans to Help Protect Servicemen Overseas

2011-08-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) account for more than 60 percent of coalition casualties in Iraq and Iran. Senator James Inhofe is looking toward Oklahomans to help fight the loss of life IEDs are causing in the war effort. Sen. Inhofe and the Chamber are hosting the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) Technology Outreach Conference Tuesday, Aug. 30 at the Skirvin Hotel. Individual tickets are just $20 and include lunch.

“As Oklahomans, we have seen firsthand the devastation and tragedy IEDs cause for our soldiers and their families,” Sen. Inhofe said. “This has been an especially somber month for Oklahomans fighting overseas and it shows the impact of IEDs can be felt far away from the battlefield. Hopefully some ideas generated by Oklahoman ingenuity at this conference can help combat these devices.”

Members from JIEDDO will lead a discussion on the current counter-IED strategy and the need to develop future strategies and technologies to provide future counter-IED solutions. JIEDDO will also be available for one-on-one sessions starting at 3:30 p.m., for those who have an idea, technology or concept that might be of interest to the military.

Faced with the escalating use of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the office of the Army Chief of Staff established the Army IED Task Force in October 2003. In 2006, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) was officially established with an established mission to attack and defeat the IED threat.

“This is a chance for Oklahoma entrepreneurs or anyone who might have some insight on this issue to get one-on-one face time with military officials to have their ideas heard,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President & CEO Roy Williams said. “They are prepared to hand out grants at this conference if they hear ideas they like.”

All local military personnel, scientists, engineers, technicians, companies and academia are invited to take part in this important conference.

For more information on the event call the Chamber at (405) 297-8900 or click on the JIEDDO Technology Conference link. For more information on JIEDDO click here.

Oklahoma City Recognized as a Top 10 Place to Live by RelocateAmerica

2011-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

This week, RelocateAmerica announced its annual “Top 10 Places to Live for 2011” and Oklahoma City made the list at No. 10. This is the second consecutive year Oklahoma City has made the Top 10, making it one of only three cities to repeat.

“We received thousands of submissions and connected with leaders from all of the Top 100 communities that were vying for Top 10 distinction,” said Steve Nickerson, RelocateAmerica president and CEO. “Oklahoma City demonstrated the enthusiasm and attributes that make a community great.”

RelocateAmerica uses a variety of data from the local economy to real estate and recreation to compile their annual ranking. Feedback from local resident also played a key role in the ranking. Citizens were asked to visit RelocateAmerica’s website to tell them why their city was the best place to live in America.

Just in the last month, Oklahoma City has been named a “Top 20 Boom Town in the U.S” by Forbes and “Second Best City to Start a Small Business” by Fiscal Times.

The complete 2011 ‘Top 100 Places to Live’ List along with archives of previous years’ winners can be viewed by visiting http://top100.RelocateAmerica.com. You can read a full list of Oklahoma City’s latest accolades at http://www.okcchamber.com/page.asp?atomid=1789.

Oklahoma City Recognized as a Top 100 Place to Live by RelocateAmerica

2011-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

RelocateAmerica named Oklahoma City one of its “Top 100 Places to Live” in its 14th annual listing of the top communities in America. With help from area residents, it could also receive recognition as a Top 10 overall community.

“We are looking for a strong show of support among local residents, community and business leaders as the Top 10 breakout category winners are now determined through a special nomination process,” Steve Nickerson, President of RelocateAmerica said. “Community pride is a good indicator of great leadership and a mark of what makes it a great place to live, work and play.”

Voting for Overall Top 10 is new for 2011 and is part of a year-long initiative to give local residents and leaders direct input about how their community rates in various quality of life categories. There will be six different breakout categories released throughout the year, including the top areas for education, recreation, and places to retire as well as several others.

Area residents have until July 31 to visit http://top100.relocateamerica.com and cast their vote for Oklahoma City. The results will be released on August 2.

Headlines of the Week

2011-07-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Office market thriving in downtown Oklahoma City, observers say
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

After going through the scare of losing a major corporate anchor like Kerr-McGee Corp., downtown Oklahoma City is set to witness the biggest convergence of energy companies since the oil boom of the early 1980s.

Downtown observers, however, are predicting a different outcome this time around compared to the crash that ensued in 1983, which saw the collapse of hundreds of small petroleum firms and the emptying of one office building after another.

Larry Nichols, executive chairman of Devon Energy Corp., is enjoying witnessing a complete reversal of fortune for downtown now that his company's neighborhood has grown to include SandRidge Energy Inc., which took over the Kerr-McGee campus. They soon will be joined by Continental Resources Inc. and Enogex, an OGE Corp.

Read the full story.

ACM@UCO building purchase could put freeze on openings of new bars and clubs along Bricktown Canal
The University of Central Oklahoma's purchase of a building in Bricktown for the Academy of Contemporary Music will trigger a law that will prohibit the opening of new clubs and bars in the entertainment district.
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

Up to half of Bricktown could see a freeze on development of any new bars or clubs as the University of Central Oklahoma prepares to complete its purchase of the Oklahoma Hardware Building.

The warehouse along the Bricktown Canal is already home to the Academy of Contemporary Music, but the school becoming a landowner next month unintentionally triggered a law that prohibits issuing licenses to new bars or clubs that derive more than 50 percent of sales from liquor if they are within 300 feet of a church or school.

That law, if enforced, would prohibit the opening of any new bars or clubs on the Bricktown Canal between the Bricktown ballpark and the BNSF Railway viaduct. It also would affect properties between Sheridan and Reno Avenues.

John Maisch, counsel for the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission (ABLE), said questions also surrounded the ACM@UCO performance lab at 323 E Sheridan Ave. Enforcement around that location as well would extend the prohibition against new bars and clubs throughout most if not all of original Bricktown, which is the state's busiest urban entertainment district.

Read full story.

Mercy Health Center to open school for autistic children in Oklahoma City
BY SONYA COLBERG
Oklahoman

Children with autism and patients who need rehabilitation will find help in a new multimillion-dollar Mercy Health Center school and hospital.

The state's first school for autistic children, The Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy, initially will provide special services for 20 children when it opens Aug. 22 on the hospital campus.

The number of people with autism is estimated at 1 percent of the population. The numbers have been increasing nationally and statewide, with a state study showing Oklahoma's incidence more than tripled from 2003 to 2007, whether from increased prevalence, improved reporting or diagnoses.

“It's overwhelming, overwhelming,” said Mary Sweet-Darter, the director of the University of Central Oklahoma behavioral and learning clinic.

Read the full story.

Oklahoma City Arena to be renamed Chesapeake Energy Arena
Chesapeake Energy Arena will be the new name of Oklahoma City's downtown arena formerly known as the Ford Center under a new naming rights agreement jointly announced Thursday by the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association and Chesapeake Energy Corp.
BY RANDY ELLIS
Oklahoman

Chesapeake Energy Arena will be the new name of Oklahoma City's downtown arena formerly known as the Ford Center under a new naming rights agreement jointly announced Thursday by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Under the 12-year naming rights agreement, Chesapeake will pay the Thunder $3 million the first year, with a 3 percent annual escalation clause for each year, thereafter. The agreement includes Chesapeake branding throughout the building including on the basketball court, prominent premium placement on the high-definition scoreboard and new state-of-the-art interior and exterior digital signage.

Most of the signage is expected to be in place by the start of the Thunder's 2011-12 season.

“On behalf of the entire Thunder organization, we are extremely proud to enhance our already strong partnership with Chesapeake Energy,” said Clayton I. Bennett, Thunder chairman. “Besides being a leader in the national and international energy industry, Chesapeake is a dynamic business and community leader in Oklahoma. Together with the Thunder's commitment to the community, it makes the naming rights partnership a natural fit. The Thunder looks forward to many exciting years ahead playing in Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown Oklahoma City.”

Read the full story.

National Radio Features Oklahoma City

2011-07-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Michael Cross of KOSU reported on Oklahoma City’s unemployment rate and economy for Marketplace, a national radio program. The story also highlights the construction of the Outlet Shoppes. To listen to the story clink the link below.

Listen.

News Bureau Meeting: July 12

2011-06-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the second News Bureau Meeting of 2011!

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has launched a national image campaign aimed at changing misperceptions about Oklahoma City. Come learn about the campaign, how you can get involved, and help us spread the positive messages of our city.

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres at Matthew Kenney OKC (formerly 105 Degrees) at Classen Curve, followed by a presentation on the new Oklahoma City Image Campaign.

Tuesday, July 12
Matthew Kenney OKC at Classen Curve
5820 N. Classen Blvd., Suite 1
4 – 5:30 p.m.

Built from the ground up with sustainability and the preparation of raw cuisine in mind, Matthew Kenney OKC provides a warm and modern setting in which to savor the unique and innovative menu crafted by renowned Raw Food Chef and author Matthew Kenney.

RSVP to Marcus Elwell at melwell@okcchamber.com of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
if you plan to attend!

Chain Store Age Highlights OKC's Retail Prospects

2011-06-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

From the Chain Store Age Blog
Visit the full blog.

There’s no stealing Oklahoma City’s Thunder
Chain Store Age

I readily admit that I’m a sports-aholic. While football and basketball -- college and pro -- are my favorite sports, I’m also a die-hard LSU baseball fan and am even learning to appreciate a little NASCAR and professional golf now and then.

Lately, my focus has been, understandably, on the NBA basketball playoffs. Because I live just 60 miles from New Orleans, I’m a Hornets fan and thoroughly enjoyed the team’s short-lived run toward the championship. But I’ve also made no secret about my affinity for the Oklahoma City Thunder, which ignited Oklahoma City as it marched ever so close to a showdown for the big prize. In fact, at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual RECon real estate convention in Las Vegas May 22-25, Oklahoma City was thunderous in its support of the team. The City’s booth sported player posters and mascot cutouts, and the mayor made the team a focus in his on-site interviews.

“We are all so proud of our team and are praying for a win tonight against Dallas,” Mayor Mick Cornett told me on May 23 from his Las Vegas convention center booth. “The fact that we have filled the arena game after game has proven how vibrant a market Oklahoma City is.”

Cornett doesn’t have to sell me. I traveled to Oklahoma City last year to meet with the business development group and Chamber of Commerce about the city’s plans to attract more major retail. What I saw and heard that day convinced me that OK City has plenty to offer -- and retailers are listening. The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City, slated to open this summer, has brought in Saks Off 5th, Brooks Bros., Coach, Tommy Hilfiger and more. Word on the street is that Crate & Barrel has been sniffing around the market. And so has The Container Store. When I was in the booth, it was packed with retailers who appeared to be in some pretty serious discussions about what the city has to offer.

According to the mayor, destination retail is still absent, however. “I’m talking about retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom,” said Cornett. “That high-end retailer is missing from Oklahoma City, and we have a lot of respect for the draw of a destination retailer of that caliber.”

I had queried both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus last year about any potential interest in OK City. Neiman’s was a flat ‘no,’ as the retailer believes its Dallas offerings will pull shoppers from Oklahoma, which is likely true. Nordstrom, however, appeared to have a little more wiggle room. “We wouldn’t absolutely rule it out,” a spokesperson for the Seattle department store told me. I can’t help but wonder about Saks, as well. With Off 5th opening at the Outlet Shoppes in August, perhaps a strong showing from its off-price arm might get the full-price sister’s attention.

“Who knows? Maybe the outlet concepts could be followed by the full-price models,” mused the mayor. And the basketball team, which by the way lost its bid for a world title at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, has helped to draw more attention to Oklahoma City. “The Thunder has generated plenty of noise,” said Cornett.

I, for one, am listening. Are you?

-- Katherine Field Boccaccio

Oklahoma City Sees Major Tourism Upswing

2011-06-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City has added 2,500 jobs to the tourism industry since April 2008, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 60,000 people (59,700) are employed in leisure and hospitality jobs as of April 2011, compared with 57,200 in April 2008. This puts Oklahoma City in the No. 11 spot on the list for growth in tourism employment in the nation’s 100 major markets, ranking ahead of major metropolitan areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Charlotte.

“The Convention and Visitors Bureau aggressively promotes Oklahoma City as an ideal meeting and leisure destination, and the job growth in this industry reflects those efforts,” said Mike Carrier, president of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Thanks to the growth, a buzz has been created around our city. This is a place people want to visit for meetings, special events and fun.”

Between FY 2008 and 2010, the Convention and Visitors Bureau achieved a 16 percent increase in hotel rooms nights booked, and secured 895 groups to visit the city, up from 474 – an 89 percent increase. There has also been a 24 percent growth in available hotel rooms.

“Oklahoma City’s tourism industry is continuing to grow year after year, thanks in large part to the dedicated efforts of the CVB staff,” said Roy H. Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “The fact that we will soon have a new state-of-the-art convention center to support this industry is going to set us apart even further.”

Only one-third of the nation’s 100 major markets have more jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector today than before the onset of the recession, according to the study. The leisure and hospitality sector includes hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, casinos, museums, performing arts companies and professional sports teams. The sharpest three-year decline was seen in the Chicago area, which lost 15,900 jobs in this sector.

Two OKC Corporations Ranked in Top 10 as “Best Large Companies to Work for in America”

2011-06-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Two of Oklahoma City’s largest and fastest growing corporations, Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Devon Energy Corporation,were named to the top 10 list of “Best Large Companies to Work for in America,” which also included Google, Intel and Whole Foods. Published by the national employment website AOL Jobs, which partners with Careerbuilders.com, Chesapeake is ranked No. 7 and Devon is ranked No. 9.

In order to be named to this list, a company must rank in both the FORTUNE 500 “Largest Companies in America” and FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists. Devon and Chesapeake were among only 27 companies to claim a spot on both lists.

“This designation is further proof that Oklahoma City is a place where headquarter companies thrive,” said Roy H. Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “Our stable economy and quality workforce make this a great place to do business. Leaders such as Aubrey McClendon and Larry Nichols, who founded and grew their companies right here in Oklahoma City, and are committed to taking care of their employees, exemplify the success a company can have here.”

“We are honored to be included among a notable group of leading American companies recognized for their business success and workplace excellence,” said McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy. “Oklahoma City has grown significantly the past decade, led by a vibrant local energy industry. Our citizens have invested in a series of economic development initiatives, known as the Metropolitan Area Projects, or “MAPS”, which have sparked more than $5 billion in public and private investment over the past 15 years. The result is that Oklahoma City has become one of the most vibrant cities in America and one of the best in which to do business.”

“It is always an honor whenever our company is recognized for the way we do business and treat our employees,” said Nichols, executive chairman of Devon Energy. “Having two Oklahoma City corporations named to this list is a testament to how far our city has come. This is a place people want to live. The quality of life is high and the cost of living is low. Devon, along with Chesapeake and other national energy companies headquartered in Oklahoma City, are making sizable investments in our respective corporate headquarters because we are confident in the future of Oklahoma City as place where our companies can be successful.”

The top ten “Best Large Companies to Work for in America” as compiled by AOL Jobs and reported by CNNMoney.com, which is part of FORTUNE Digital, are as follows:

1. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), based in Mountain View, CA
2. USAA (not publicly traded), based in San Antonio, TX
3. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), based in San Jose, CA
4. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), based in New York, NY
5. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM), based in Austin, TX
6. NuStar Energy (NYSE:NS), based in San Antonio, TX
7. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), based in Oklahoma City, OK
8. Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), based in San Diego, CA
9. Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), based in Oklahoma City, OK
10. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), based in Santa Clara, CA

The ranking is based on a company’s presence and position on both the FORTUNE 500 “Largest Companies in America” and the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists. Devon ranks No. 231 and Chesapeake ranks No. 263 in this year’s FORTUNE 500. Chesapeake ranks No. 32 and Devon ranks No. 41 on this year’s FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work” in America.

Headlines of the Week

2011-05-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Kevin Durant gives Oklahoma City another reason to love him
Thunder fans may have been upset with Kevin Durant after Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. But when he says things like, “I let the city down,” how can you stay mad at him?
By Jenni Carlson
Oklahoman

DALLAS — He clanged one shot after another off the iron and dribbled the ball off his big, goofy feet and chucked the ball to the wrong team and tried to draw a foul on his rip move though it was obvious the refs weren't buying it, and you wanted to strangle Kevin Durant.

Admit it, Thunder fans. You were miffed at your superstar Monday night. You were peeved. You were hacked.

How could he play so poorly in so big a game?

Then Durant walked into the postgame interview room in the bowels of the Oklahoma City Arena looking like someone had stolen everything out of his signature backpack. He sat down, propped his head in his hand and told the world that he'd disappointed an entire population.

“I let the city down,” he said.

Read more.

Anthropologie clothing store coming to Classen Curve
Women's retailer Anthropologie will join Whole Foods in the Triangle at Classen Curve development in Oklahoma City.
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoman

Anthropologie is bringing its sophisticated, stylish clothing and accessories to Oklahoma City's Classen Curve.

The women's retailer will open its first metro-area store in February in the Triangle at Classen Curve, anchored by Whole Foods. The 60,000-square-foot shopping center at Western Avenue, NW Grand and N Classen Boulevard was developed by Chesapeake Energy Corp.

It is the first metro-area store for Anthropologie, owned by Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters. The retailer, known for its eclectic assortment of women's clothing and accessories, has 153 U.S. stores including one in Tulsa at Utica Square.

“When we toured Classen Curve and the Triangle at Classen Curve, we knew this was a special opportunity for Anthropologie to be part of a very unique and exciting retail development with tremendous architectural style and character,” said Lorraine Adney, director of Midwestern region for the McDevitt Company, international real estate consultants for the Urban Outfitters brands. “Our research confirmed that a vibrant and savvy local retail scene is expanding in Oklahoma City, propelled by a stable economy driven by the consistent creation of well-paying jobs the past three years.”

Read more.

Students concepts could help shape what lies ahead for Oklahoma City's Cox Convention Center
The debate over where to locate a new convention center in Oklahoma City isn't over yet, but that isn't stopping architectural students at the University of Oklahoma from proposing concepts for redevelopment of the current Cox Convention Center.
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

The debate over where to locate a new convention center isn't over yet, but that isn't stopping architectural students at the University of Oklahoma from proposing concepts for redevelopment of the current Cox Convention Center.

The ideas presented by students led by architecture professor Hans Butzer and Blair Humphreys, a fellow with the Institute for Quality Communities, all call for the existing convention center to be eliminated, though some suggest looking at maintaining the underground parking garage.

While construction of a new convention center is almost a certainty with residents having voted to provide $280 million for its construction as part of MAPS 3, city leaders have not determined the ultimate outcome for the Cox Convention Center.

Butzer noted that on previous studies on connections between downtown districts, students repeatedly encountered the Cox Center as the single biggest hindrance to bringing everything together.

Read more.

NBA team is OKC's big draw at retail convention in Las Vegas
City officials, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber representatives and others gather at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention this week.
BY JENNIFER PALMER
Oklahoman

Business was booming at the Oklahoma City's Thunder-themed booth at RECon, the International Council of Shopping Centers annual convention in Las Vegas.

Giant cutouts of basketball star Kevin Durant and the team mascot Rumble the Bison were attracting a lot of attention at the convention, which began Sunday and continues through Wednesday. Retailers, developers and investors were more receptive than ever to meeting with Oklahoma City, said Mayor Mick Cornett, who attended the convention Monday.

He said in years past, it was difficult to get a meeting with the type of developer they wanted. “Now, we struggle to fit everybody in that wants to talk to us,” Cornett said.

Read more.

Oklahoma City's economy will benefit as two major horse shows agree to stay
BY RANDY ELLIS
Oklahoman

Two major horse shows have extended agreements to keep their events in Oklahoma City, officials of State Fair Park and the city announced this week.

The National Reining Horse Association has agreed to keep the NRHA Futurity & Adequan North American Affiliate Championship Show at State Fair Park through 2013, while the American Quarter Horse Association has agreed to keep the Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show at State Fair Park through 2014.

The NRHA Futurity is the largest show in the sport of reining worldwide, with nearly $2 million in cash and prizes awarded annually.

'10 shows brought in $26.9M
Last year, the futurity featured about 1,500 horses, attracted more than 125,000 spectators and produced more than $16.9 million in direct spending into the Oklahoma City economy, officials said.

Read more.

The Better Life: Giving You the 411 on the 405

2011-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

In an effort to reach new residents and help them learn about their community, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber- “The Better Life: Giving you the 411 on the 405.” The Chamber is partnering with local businesses to gather e-mail addresses of new employees and helping these individuals become better acquainted with our city.

The program includes two components – weekly e-mails and a weekly blog. The Chamber gathered e-mail addresses from companies who have a large number of new employees from outside the Greater Oklahoma City region. These employees received an e-mail introducing them to the program and, if they choose to continue their subscription, will receive e-mails every Tuesday alerting featuring a tease of the week’s blog post.

The blog features an event or location in Greater Oklahoma City, as well as a calendar for upcoming events in the area. It is available on one of the Chamber’s new websites, www.abetterlifeokc.com. The website highlights aspects of Oklahoma City including housing, education, employment, activities and more to show new and potential residents the many advantages of living and working in Oklahoma City. A comment feature has been enabled to let readers discuss the topic of the post or other things to do and see around Greater Oklahoma City.

The website highlights aspects of Oklahoma City including housing, education, employment, activities and more to show new and potential residents the many advantages of living and working in Oklahoma City. A comment feature has been enabled to let readers discuss the topic of the post or other things to do and see around Greater Oklahoma City.

Sign up for the blog and be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Launches National Image Campaign

2011-05-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has launched a new image campaign aimed at changing misperceptions about Oklahoma City. Ongoing research completed by the Chamber shows that there is a serious disconnect between the impressive amenities Oklahoma City offers, and what the national audience perceives to be available. In many cases there is a complete lack of awareness of the city’s cultural, lifestyle and business amenities. The campaign features print advertisements, an online channel and digital magazine, along with additional online components, aimed at boosting the city’s national image.

“We consistently research and study Oklahoma City’s image among a national audience,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President & CEO Roy Williams said. “A large portion of our national audience either has misperceptions about what is available in Oklahoma City, or has never considered us as a place to live or work. We want to start tackling this image issue, because an improved image is a win for all of us.”

Print advertisements began running in the west coast edition of the Wall Street Journal in March. These ads highlight Oklahoma City’s biggest success stories, from the Thunder to Oklahoma City’s robust business climate to the high quality of life. The print aspects of the campaign are targeted to business publications like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Chief Executive.

The print and online ads will direct people to a new online channel, www.GreaterOKC.tv. This site features nearly 1,000 videos, provided by the Chickasaw Nation, about the region’s business community and cultural climate.

The new website will also feature Velocity- a 64-page digital magazine that brings the story of Oklahoma City to life. This interactive publication, which can be viewed at www.velocityokc.com, features in-depth content with embedded videos and links. It highlights the city’s diversity, accolades, recreation options, business climate, lifestyle amenities and more.

“Velocity and the website were designed so people could easily share these resources with their friends, family, coworkers and peers,” Williams said. “We are asking that people please share these links both inside and outside our community. We want to tell our story to as broad an audience as possible, and the more we work together, the more widely we can share the story of Oklahoma City’s renaissance.”

Headlines of the Week

2011-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Arts festival's thread weaves through Oklahoma City's history
The Oklahoman Editorial

The Festival of the Arts helped save downtown Oklahoma City. How it did so is a story worth retelling.

The arts fest is a bona fide institution. Its run is nearing 45 years, and its presence is as much of a rite of spring in Oklahoma City as anything. During its six-day run that began Tuesday, it will attract up to three-quarters of a million people, from all over the country. It's a signature event that helps define our city in the best possible way.

And the festival is the link — in some ways, the only link — to three eras of Oklahoma City.

Read the full story.

Dignitaries cheer Boeing's new operation in OKC
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

Officials with Boeing, accompanied by Gov. Mary Fallin, Rep. Tom Cole and City Councilman Pat Ryan, celebrated the start of construction Tuesday on a 320,000-square-foot, six-story building that will house the company's expanding local workforce.

The building at SE 59 and Air Depot is being designed and built by the Gardner Tanenbaum Group, a commercial real estate company based in Oklahoma City.
The building is expected to open in the second quarter of 2012.

Read the full story.

Thunder quickly becomes Oklahoma's team
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post

DURANT, Okla. — As thunder rattled the windows of Smokey Allen's BBQ, the friendly waitress cleared my basket of rib bones and cracked a joke about a new topic of conversation on the plains of Oklahoma: NBA basketball.

"That was clever Kevin Durant named himself after our little town. Pretty cool, don't you think?" said Norma Jean Hider, in a voice as sweet as the peach cobbler offered for dessert.

The state of Oklahoma has wrapped its arms around its fresh, young NBA franchise. Believe it or not, the love of Thunder might be a more crucial element in this first-round playoff series than a bushel of missed free throws clanked by the Nuggets.

Read the full story.

Thunder's loss in Game 4 of the NBA playoffs is a win for Oklahoma City
Playoff games bring in an added economic punch for the community estimated at $1.2 million each
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

No Oklahoma City booster would be likely to admit to having rooted for the Thunder to lose Game 4 of the NBA playoffs earlier this week — but some are quietly celebrating the team's return home.

Tom Anderson, special projects manager in the city manager's office, said each game played by the Thunder has an estimated $1.2 million direct economic impact on the city.

Consider Wednesday night's game to be a bonus $1.2 million.

Read the full story.

Jobless rate declines in all 77 Oklahoma counties
Oklahoma City jobless rate of 5.2 percent lowest among all large U.S. cities.
BY DON MECOY
Oklahoman

Unemployment rates fell in March in all 77 Oklahoma counties while the number of people employed grew in the state's three largest metropolitan areas, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Commission.

Read the full story.

April Meeting Links

2011-04-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of those who came out for last week’s News Bureau Meeting. It was a great group and we especially thank Elizabeth Laurent of the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation for giving us a tour of the new Devon Boathouse facility and more background on the Boathouse District. For more information on some of the topics visit the links below.

New Oklahoma City Marketing Campaign

Boathouse District

REMINDER: News Bureau Meeting this Week

2011-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres followed by an exclusive tour of the new Devon Boathouse. RSVP to Jill Harrison at jharrison@okchamber.com of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber if you plan to attend!

Thursday, April 7
Devon Boathouse
725 S. Lincoln Blvd.
4 – 5:30 p.m.

Headlines of the Week

2011-04-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

Arrival of Continental Resources expected to boost downtown housing, office market, restaurants and retail
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

When Joe Jungmann and his partners opened up the Whole Enchilada Cafe a year ago on the first floor of the Santa Fe Parking Garage, they knew they were taking a risk.

The retail space had seen one restaurant operator after another open and close in quick order. To make matters worse, more than half of the surrounding workforce was set to move further west along Sheridan Avenue upon completion of Devon Energy Center late next year.

Jungmann's manager at the restaurant, Melissa Dixon, estimates about 40 percent of their daily customer base consists of employees from the current Devon Energy Corp. headquarters across the street and in the neighboring Chase Tower.

“We were hoping that we would get them hooked with us before they move and they would still come back,” said Dixon, who added her restaurant also does occasional catering for Devon.

Jungmann and Dixon both are celebrating news that Devon's headquarters won't go empty for long with Enid-based Continental Resources Inc. set to make the 19-story building the company's home next year.

Read the full story.

Recent actions provide glimpse of downtown Oklahoma City, 2020
Steve Lackmeyer
Oklahoman

No decisions are finalized, but some key moves in recent weeks by various MAPS 3 and MAPS for Kids committees provide a hint on the future development of downtown.

Indeed, four sites are still in contention for a new convention center. But even those sites, when listed with the preferred route for a streetcar system and preliminary site for a downtown elementary school, show density may be winning out over sprawl.

One downtown observer, urban designer Blair Humphreys, commented early on in this latest version of OKC Sim City the choice was to either make downtown bigger or better.

Read the full story.

Oklahoma City monitoring company on track for growth
BY RICHARD MIZE
Oklahoman

US Fleet Tracking is on the move to an upgraded corporate headquarters five times bigger than its present location.

The company, which provides GPS-based tracking devices and services to trucking companies and for special events such as the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and Final Four, officially opened its new 18,000-square-foot residential-style office building Wednesday. Carriage Homes built the $2.3-million building. The company will move in next month.

Gov. Mary Fallin and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who was in Oklahoma to visit with lawmakers and business leaders on behalf of his Foundation for Excellence in Education, and numerous local and state dignitaries helped owners Jerry and Cindy Hunter unveil the new digs for their growing 5½-year-old business at 2912 NW 156 just west of May Avenue.

US Fleet Tracking is leaving some 4,500 square feet of leased space in Quail Creek North, an office building constructed at 11032 Quail Creek Road, northwest of Hefner Road and N May Avenue. Commercial Assets Inc. handles leasing for the 36,124-square-foot building, which was listed as 98 percent occupied counting US Fleet Tracking.

Cindy Hunter recalled working “back to back” with her husband making sales calls from their home office when they started the business. She told Mayor Mick Cornett before a ribbon-cutting ceremony that they moved to leased commercial space at first mainly to get access to commercial-grade fiber optics.

Read the full story.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art to feature ‘Passages,' an exhibit of rare biblical texts and artifacts
BY CHRIS CASTEEL
Oklahoman

WASHINGTON — The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will be the first stop for a worldwide traveling exhibition of historic biblical texts and artifacts collected by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green, who announced here Thursday that the exhibition, marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, would open May 16.

“It will have some of the most incredible rare biblical artifacts in private hands in the world,” Green said. “It will tell the story of the history of the English Bible.”

Green unveiled plans for the traveling exhibition at the Vatican Embassy, where business, government, academic and religious leaders gathered to view some of the items that will be in Oklahoma City next month.

The interactive exhibition, called “Passages,” will encompass 14,000 square feet and be the worldwide debut of the Green Collection, one of the world's largest privately held collections of biblical texts and artifacts.

Read the full story.

Next News Bureau Meeting Set

2011-03-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Please join us for the first News Bureau Meeting of 2011!

The Devon Boathouse is the newest structure to grace the banks of the Oklahoma River. The $10 million facility is home of the OCU Rowing and Canoe/Kayak, and headquarters for the OKC National High Performance Center.

Thursday, April 7
Devon Boathouse
725 S. Lincoln Blvd.
4 – 5:30 p.m.

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres followed by an exclusive tour of the new Devon Boathouse. RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber if you plan to attend!

Headlines of the Week

2011-03-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Cytovance to expand with $22.5M investment
By Brianna Bailey
Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – Local biotech company Cytovance Biologics plans to expand with the help of a $22.5 million investment from a Connecticut private equity firm.

The investment from Greenwich, Conn.-based Great Point Partners LLC will allow the company to keep pace with a growing demand for its clinical trial and pharmaceuticals manufacturing services.

Cytovance specializes in producing therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies from cell cultures. The company manufactures biologic products for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Cytovance will use the funding to expand its research and manufacturing operations at Oklahoma City’s Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park. Cytovance will move from its home at 840 Research Pkwy. to the former home of fellow biotech firm Genzyme. Genzyme closed the doors of its Oklahoma City offices in the PHF research park late last year and laid off 26 employees.

As part of a separate transaction, Cytovance has acquired Genzyme’s analytical and bioprocess equipment to outfit its newly expanded operations.

Great Point Managing Directors Dr. Jeffrey R. Jay and David Kroin and Senior Vice President Noah F. Rhodes III will join Cytovance’s board of directors as part of their investment in the company.

“This transaction marks a transition of the company from angel investors to professional investors,” said Dr. William Canfield, Cytovance chairman.

Canfield successfully raised $9 million to bring Cytovance back from the brink of bankruptcy in 2005. The recapitalization was partially funded by Chesapeake Energy Corp. co-founders Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward.

Canfield founded the company Novazyme, which Genzyme acquired in 2001. Novazyme gained acclaim for its groundbreaking research and treatment of the genetic disorder Pompe disease.

The Presbyterian Health Foundation also will become an equity investor in Cytovance as part of the transaction with Great Point Partners.

“Cytovance is a signature company and brings global prominence to the (Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park) and Oklahoma City’s biotech industry,” said Carl Edwards, chairman of the Presbyterian Health Foundation, in a written statement. “We are grateful to the local investors who have supported the company to date and we welcome today’s news, which validates that our biotech industry is gaining the attention of respected professional investment firms as a viable place to invest.”

Oklahoma City among nation's top performing cities
BY LAURIE WINSLOW
Tulsa World

Oklahoma City remained among the 20 strongest-performing metropolitan areas based on data from the beginning of the recession through 2010, and the Tulsa metro did well also, according to a report released Monday by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

The March MetroMonitor, which analyzed data through the fourth quarter, is the eighth in a series that tracks the recession and recovery in the nation's 100 largest metros. It looks at various indicators, including changes in employment, the unemployment rate, output and housing prices.

The latest report describes the nation's recovery since the recession began in December 2007 as “slow, uneven and inconsistent.” Technically, the recession ended in June 2009.

Boeing: Relocation from California on track
By April Wilkerson
Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – The second floor of the Oklahoma City Boeing facility is being transformed to welcome the first of several hundred new positions being relocated to the state.

Since Boeing moved into its building at 59th Street and Air Depot Boulevard in 2007, the second floor has remained empty. Now, workers are putting the finishing touches on its 50,000 square feet to house about 225 of the 550 jobs moving from Long Beach, Calif., to Oklahoma City. Those jobs center on upgrades being made to the C-130 Hercules and the B-1 Lancer aircraft.

Jennifer Hogan, spokeswoman for Boeing, said the first program, the C-130 work, will begin transitioning to Oklahoma City next month. About 150 positions are expected to be added this year. All 550 jobs for both programs should be in place by the end of 2012. Relocation offers have been made to existing employees in Long Beach, but the company doesn’t yet know how many will accept and how many positions will be filled locally, she said.

When Boeing built its facility, it didn’t know about the new positions, but it felt like the second floor would be put to use before too long, Hogan said.

“We just knew that this is a low-cost services business here in Oklahoma City, and we were fairly certain that low-cost services were going to grow,” she said. “The Department of Defense budget is not growing, so we’re trying to accommodate that by offering low-cost services for maintenance and defense and government-type services.”

The addition of 550 new positions also means Boeing will have to expand its presence. Hogan said the facility’s second floor will hold about 225 people.

Additional space also will be necessary to hold the full mock-ups of the cockpits that are being upgraded. Until that extra space is determined, personnel will be working with smaller models.

“We’ll have to do something within the next 18 to 24 months,” she said. “Boeing is looking at all its options,” although nothing has been announced.

Boeing’s work on the C-130 aircraft involves turning its old analog cockpit into a digital display with flat-panel, full-color monitors. Boeing also is adding a “head-up display” – a clear piece of glass that folds down in front of the pilot’s face with pertinent data on it. That panel allows the pilot to focus more fully on flying without having to look down at his instruments, Hogan said.

The B-1, which marked its 25th anniversary last year, continues its evolution from nuclear bomber to conventional weapon. The Oklahoma City work will help the B-1 become more proficient in that transformation, Hogan said. Its upgrades include flat-panel displays and a new Link 16 data communication system in the aft cockpit, which will allow officers to receive target coordinates electronically. Previously, coordinates were relayed over the phone, then verified repeatedly to ensure accuracy, Hogan said.

“That takes time, and sometimes the targets would be gone by the time they actually know they’re correct,” she said. “The Link 16 system should save a lot of time and will be very accurate.”

The B-1 also is receiving a new computerized system that monitors everything on the plane and sends alerts if something goes wrong. The planes are equipped with a similar system now, Hogan said, but with the other upgrades it is receiving, an updated version is needed.

Boeing is expanding its work in other ways. Last year, it won an SE2020 contract with the Federal Aviation Administration. That large umbrella contract allows Boeing, along with a handful of other companies, to compete for small orders the FAA needs, Hogan said.

“We’ll be constantly bidding on those proposals the FAA puts out,” she said. “One of the largest FAA facilities is right here in Oklahoma City, and Boeing is starting to look for business there. Our core business for so long has been maintaining the airplanes out here or modifying them like we are on the C-130 and B-1. We also do a lot of sustainment to keep them flying. So branching out into a defense or government service like the FAA is a little different.”

Dave Lopez, secretary of Oklahoma’s Department of Commerce, said the new Boeing positions in Oklahoma are a perfect example of the supplier chain focus that the governor has underscored for the state’s economy.

“With Tinker, we have contractors like Boeing and the quality jobs they bring,” Lopez said. “So it’s not only the number of Boeing jobs that is impressive, but the quality of individuals who will fill them. The education levels and payroll make it a home run, or in this case, it’s closer to a grand slam.”

Some of Boeing’s new hires will be entry level, meaning graduates from Oklahoma’s accredited engineering universities will be considered. Lopez said it’s important for the Commerce Department to continue working with higher and common education to bolster the state’s engineering work force pipeline.

“That will be critical,” Lopez said, “because it will be how we can have another arrow in our quiver when we ask companies that are here to expand or when we go out to recruit.”

Gradual recovery continues in Oklahoma, tax revenue report shows
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT
Oklahoman

State tax revenue continues to outpace expectations and the amount taken in the previous year, but still pales compared with three years ago before effects of the national recession were felt in Oklahoma, according to figures released Monday.

Sales tax revenue for February is up 10.9 percent compared with the same time period a year ago, and it's nearly 5 percent above the official estimate, according to figures released by the state finance office.

“We had double-digit growth again in sales tax receipts, compared with February a year ago, and it came when sales tax collections of other states trailed off,” state Finance Director Preston Doerflinger said.

Monthly state revenue collections have topped previous-year collections for 11 of the past 12 months.

Income tax collections were expected to dip in February, but Doerflinger said personal income tax collections rose by 141 percent in February compared with the previous year. Collections of personal and corporate income taxes brought in $27.7 million, or $16.2 million more than the same month a year ago.

“These numbers should be kept in context, understanding income tax collections are still 32 percent below collections in February of 2008 before the recession,” Doerflinger said.

“They do, however, indicate that we are experiencing a gradual recovery. The figures emphasize the importance of job creation to continued economic growth.”

‘A positive trend'
A report released last week by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission showed the state's unemployment rate fell to 6.6 percent in January, down from 6.8 percent the previous month.

Oklahoma's unemployment rate peaked at 7.3 percent during the recession.
Doerflinger said high oil prices continue to bring in money for the state's general fund, but the lag in natural gas prices is bringing down total gross production tax receipts.

The general fund, the principal funding source for state government, receives a larger percentage of natural gas taxes than oil taxes.

Collections of gross production taxes on oil produced $31.7 million, or 26.9 percent more than the same month last year; February gross production taxes on natural gas totaled $20.8 million, or 30.7 percent below last year.

“The best thing we can do in government is to be good stewards of taxpayers' money and make sure we do all we can to enact policies that grow our economy,” Gov. Mary Fallin said.

“It's great news that our state is slowly recovering from this recession, but we need to do everything we can to speed up our recovery by continuing to promote growth in Oklahoma.”

The report showed collections for the general fund were $247.1 million in February.

That was $25.7 million, or 11.6 percent above the same month last year, and $8.7 million, or 3.6 percent, above the estimate for the month.

“With yet another month of growth in general revenue collections over the prior year, we are seeing the continuation of a positive trend for Oklahoma's economy,” state Treasurer Ken Miller said.

Boeing starts new $40 million building in Oklahoma City
BY RICHARD MIZE
Oklahoman

Boeing Co. has started building a new place to land in Oklahoma City.

The company said Friday that it had started construction on a second office building at its location near SE 59 and Air Depot. Gardner-Tanenbaum Group is developing the six-story, 320,000-square-foot building, expected to cost nearly $40 million, as a build-to-suit project for Boeing, which will lease the space.

The new building, to open in the second quarter of 2012, is needed to house Boeing's Oklahoma City work force due to company growth and relocations, the company said. Boeing is bringing several hundred mostly high-paying jobs here.

Boeing announced plans last August to move its B-1 program and C-130 Avionics Modernization Program here from Long Beach, Calif. In addition, Boeing said a $1.7 billion Federal Aviation Administration research-and-development contract it was awarded early last year is being managed out of Oklahoma City.

“By moving B-1 and (the) C-130 (program) to Oklahoma City, we are able to lower our operating costs and extend an increased value to our customer,” said Mark Bass, Boeing vice president and general manager of maintenance, modifications and upgrades. “Boeing appreciates the positive business environment created by the state of Oklahoma and its county and city governments. This environment contributes to our affordability, and the well-trained aerospace work force already in place will be key to our success.”

Developer Richard Tanenbaum, who developed Boeing's existing facility here, declined to give details about Boeing's lease.

“It's a good lease. It's a very good lease. The lease terms are very favorable to a developer in these ... times,” he said.

Headlines of the Week

2011-03-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

OKC receives triple-A S&P rating
By Brian Brus
Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – The difference of a single letter A will likely mean a better interest rate for Oklahoma City and the difference of attracting about a dozen institutional investors for the upcoming issuance of bond debt instead of in the single digits, authorities at City Hall said.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services recently assigned its AAA long-term rating to Oklahoma City’s series 2011 general obligation bonds and affirmed the city’s triple-A long-term rating and underlying rating on the city’s outstanding general obligation debt with a stable outlook.

The municipal government received a similar triple-A bond rating from Moody’s Investor Service. Both ratings are the highest offered by the services, putting Oklahoma City in an elite group of the best municipal credits in the marketplace that include Austin, San Antonio, Denver, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Seattle. It also tops Tulsa’s double-A S&P rating.

About $43 million in general obligation bond debt will be put up for sale Tuesday, finance business manager Kenton Tsoodle said. When the city issued $64.4 million in G.O. bonds last year, it received an effective rate of 3.47 percent over 20 years.

The practical outcome of S&P’s highest rating means the city will be able to fund more capital projects such as streets, bridges, sidewalks and trails and park improvements, Tsoodle said. But it also affirms City Hall is treating its finances as efficiently as possible.

When S&P issued its latest review, the reporting service said Oklahoma City earned its rating because of an expanding regional economic base, ongoing downtown redevelopment and political stability. The service also cited “consistently strong financial performance and position that includes strategic business planning, multi-year forecasts, balanced budgets, long term capital plans and compliance with reserve policies.”

Tulsa has only two A’s according to S&P. In 2008, Tulsa voters approved the issuance of $285 million for street work, a total which has not yet been fully sold. The city has sold $140 million over three issues since then, with an interest rate of 3.8 percent for 20-year bonds and 1.93 percent and 2.26 percent for 10-year bonds. The public has authorized the city to issue bond debt of $145 million more before another election is necessary.

In S&P’s overviews of the two cities, similar strengths are noted for both – a deep and diverse economy that helps drive the state’s economy, for example, and strong financial reserves.

And also to Tulsa’s benefit, the analysts wrote, “Tulsa posted operating surpluses in three out of four fiscal years from 2004-2008, which increased the unreserved general fund balance to $37 million for fiscal 2008, or 13.6 percent of expenditures, a figure we consider very strong.”

Both cities’ financial management practices are also considered “strong” under S&P’s financial management assessment methodology, indicating practices are well-embedded and likely sustainable.

But differences between the cities’ assessments are subtle and difficult for city officials to gauge. For example, Tulsa is noted as having a debt management policy; “however, the policy is not comprehensive,” S&P analysts said.

Also noted as a mitigating factor in Tulsa’s overview is “a reliance on sales taxes for the majority of operating revenues, subject to economic cyclicality.” But Oklahoma City also relies heavily on sales tax revenues.

In Tulsa’s case, “Income levels remain adequate, with median household income at 96 percent of the state, but 81 percent of the nation,” S&P analysts wrote.
For Oklahoma City, “We consider median household effective buying income only adequate, at just 103 percent and 88 percent of state and national levels.”

“They don’t offer guidance on the subtle difference between one rating level and the next,” said Tulsa Treasury Analyst Matt Cooper. “So I don’t know exactly what they’re expecting us to do differently.”

The diversity of the municipal market defies easy generalization, S&P’s Credit Analyst Gabriel Petek wrote in January. And within that diversity, governments have been making difficult policy and budget choices in an effort to balance their budgets. Most public finance issuers were able to remain stable in 2010, and none of the defaulted bonds of the S&P/Investortools Municipal Bond Index in 2010 were of the type of traditional G.O. debts of states and municipalities.

“But because of the slow progress of recovery from the Great Recession, we believe that continued revenue decreases for state and local government may increase fiscal strain on budgets, and monitoring of liquidity will be especially important in 2011,” Petek wrote.

“We also believe, however, that fundamental credit performance throughout the market – as measured by default rates relative to debt outstanding in the market – will likely remain mostly stable with the possibility for a modest uptick,” he wrote.

Open Beta 6: Startup showcase seeks Southern exposure
By Brian Brus
Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – A dozen Oklahoma businesses are traveling to Texas for the annual South by Southwest entertainment and interactive conference that begins this weekend.

The companies are participating in Open Beta 6, a business startup showcase that normally is held in Oklahoma City and organized by some of the same people involved in the Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative environment, or OKC CoCo.

Open Beta has proven popular and successful in Oklahoma, organizer Derrick Parkhurst said recently while he was on a preparatory trip to Austin, where SXSW will be held.
And given the expanded emphasis on interactive technology at the conference in recent years, it made sense for Oklahoma’s interests to tap into resources in attendance for their own development goals.

“What we do in Oklahoma City is grow and strengthen our community, and Open Beta is about showcasing the excellence that we have in Oklahoma,” Parkhurst said. “South by Southwest is a huge conference expected to attract about 17,000 people just for the interactive portion. The music and film portions will draw about 25,000 for a two-week period. … So you can see there’s a lot of money there to invest in online startups and mobile companies.”

OKC CoCo, 723 N. Hudson Ave., is a work environment of about 7,500 square feet that provides co-working areas, conference rooms, a board room, a social area, office suites, a classroom and event space. It’s designed as an alternative for small company operators who don’t have an office of their own, such as freelancers, entrepreneurs and telecommuters.

Parkhurst first started organizing Open Beta with fellow entrepreneurs Chad Henderson and Tommy Yi before OKC CoCo was established. This year they’re partnering with other startup support groups such as i2E Inc. and the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

This will be the sixth Open Beta event, providing opportunities for so-called lightning talks or elevator pitches for businesses that include website designers, keynote presentation organizers, grocery coupon databases, and even a crime-solving social network.

“In Oklahoma City it’s been a good opportunity for these creative people to get together and show off what they’ve done. In one aspect it’s a pure networking event, but in another it’s an opportunity to present themselves by the work they’ve completed and ideas that they’re developing and getting ready to launch,” Parkhurst said.

“The state film and music commission has been going to South by Southwest for the last couple of years, and this year they reached out to the chamber, which contacted us to collaborate on the interactive aspect of the conference,” he said. “So we’ve got some excellent talent going down there to promote Oklahoma businesses and our Oklahoma brand to a national audience that might not normally associate technology strengths with our state.”

Transformation of downtown Oklahoma City lures many to live there
Public relations and marketing firm Saxum makes statement by moving into old Kirkpatrick Oil Building at NW 12 and Broadway Drive, and young professionals follow to live in heart of city.
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

I forgive Chad Previch. I forgive him for abandoning the pursuit of journalism and going over to what some in our industry jokingly call “the dark side” of public relations.

His recent move back to downtown, meanwhile, makes for a great case study at his expense of how even a small firm can make a splash on the neighborhood.

My friend Chad isn't a stranger to downtown. When he started at The Oklahoman eight years ago, he lived in Deep Deuce. He's one of those likable guys who seems to have a circle of friends always nearby — which might explain why he was lured away a few years ago by Saxum, a public relations and marketing firm.

By the time Chad switched to the dark side, he was living in one of the many cookie-cutter apartment complexes in north Oklahoma City. But when Saxum decided to move into the old Kirkpatrick Oil Building at NW 12 and Broadway Drive (last home to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation), Chad made a move of his own to the nearby Aberdeen Apartments across the street.

Now, let's extrapolate this a bit. Saxum founder Renzi Stone readily admits that when he opened his firm a few years ago, his choice of setting up his office at Waterford was quite deliberate. He was making a statement that his firm was for real — that he had big ambitions.

And indeed, the firm has grown and now has 22 full-time employees in Oklahoma City and Tulsa (most are in Oklahoma City). Eight of the employees are under 30 (Chad is an old guy — he's about to turn 31). And while the firm also employs people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, it is fair to say Saxum has a good representation of the young creative class.

Stone is making another statement. This time he's saying that if one wants to be in the heart of the community and the middle of the city's renaissance, it's not a bad time to be downtown.

The immediate impact of Saxum's recent move is easy to list; downtown sees another historic building renovated and life is brought to an area that has long been run down. But what influence will Chad's new “walk to work” lifestyle have on his friends?

Will co-workers soon decide they too will want to live nearby to not just walk to the office, but also to nearby restaurants, shops, clubs and entertainment venues?

And now that he's back living downtown, will friends making trips to hang out with Chad be attracted to the urban lifestyle and make a similar move? Will they begin to gravitate more toward patronizing downtown restaurants and shops?

Saxum isn't the only creative-class firm to move downtown. Ghost Advertising opened up this past year in a 91-year-old former dealership at NW 9 and Broadway that had been used as storage. deadCenter Film Festival, meanwhile, has called Steve Mason's 1015 N Broadway Building home for the past year.

The impact of this emerging creative class cluster can't be fully measured. But walk into nearby coffee shops like Coffee Slingers or Beatnix and you might just see some of these folks gathered around a small table, hatching the next great idea to transform downtown in the years to come.

Myriad Gardens won't be complete for Oklahoma City's spring arts festival but the show will go on
Delays caused by blizzards and late material shipments will present a “challenge” with reduced capacity for the spring Festival of the Arts, but Oklahoma City officials and festival organizers say the $36 million makeover will be worth any temporary pain.
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman

Delays caused by blizzards and late material shipments will present a “challenge” with reduced capacity for the upcoming Festival of the Arts, but Oklahoma City officials and festival organizers say the $36 million makeover will be worth any temporary pain., and City Manager Jim Couch acknowledged all parties will be challenged with the festival being restricted to the west half of the gardens. City council members, meanwhile, marveled at the progress to date during a soggy tour Tuesday morning.

Those being given an update on the work later Tuesday included Devon Energy Executive Chairman Larry Nichols, who made the gardens a priority in his company's tax increment financing agreement with the city that is funding Project 180.
‘Totally different'

Project 180 engineer Laura Story said that despite setbacks in the completion schedule, dramatic changes are being seen week to week.

“Last week the entire north side of the gardens was filled with plants,” Story said. “They are gone now — they're already planted. Each week it looks totally different.”

Likewise, the 40-foot band shell that will serve a new 2,500-seat amphitheater is almost complete after arriving two weeks ago. The entryway sidewalk along Sheridan, lined with trees on both sides, greeted council members at the start of their tour.
Story said the sidewalk is different from regular concrete and consists of a mix of “lithocrete” and “aggregate” (stones within the lithocrete).

The sidewalk is a light shade, Story said, that “takes a lot of professional judgment by landscape architects to get the mix right.”

Oklahoma materials
Crews on Tuesday also were completing construction of a new granite fountain just south of Sheridan Avenue. Nearby visitors could see the nearly completed rock waterfall built from materials brought in from northeast Oklahoma.

Much work remains inside the Crystal Bridge, which was achieving iconic status in the opinion of area architects before the work was started. Voters in 2007 approved a bond issue that included $12 million to replace the botanical tube's glass exterior skin. (The remainder of the $36 million gardens makeover is funded by the Devon tower tax increment financing district.)

Council members touring the Crystal Bridge saw familiar palm trees and other plantings, though vast empty spaces still awaited final plantings. A new south entry will not be ready for the public when the festival starts April 26, but festival visitors should be able to see the main botanical area, Story said.

Open and closed
New multicolored LED lighting in the Crystal Bridge's skin was successfully tested last week, but Story could not say when the first light show will be performed for the public.

Story said every effort is being made to ensure sidewalks surrounding the gardens will be open in time for the festival, set for April 26 through May 1, though Sheridan Avenue will remain closed.

Other areas that won't be ready next month include a restaurant facing Robinson Avenue. The restaurant is awaiting a delivery of glass. Nichols and others were shown photos of the view diners will enjoy of the Crystal Bridge and gardens when it opens later this year.

Most of the gardens remain an active work zone, with dozens of construction workers putting together the rebuilt Water Stage on Tuesday morning while other groups worked on a fountain near the new children's area near Hudson and Reno avenues.

Resuming concerts
Angela Cozby, Festival of the Arts director, told The Oklahoman she has communicated often with project coordinators and is confident a successful 2011 festival can be held in the part of the gardens that will be opened next month. With offices located in the McAlpine Center across the street from the gardens, Cozby has kept a close eye on the project's progress.

“They started last May, and I had things still in the park when they began tearing it down,” Cozby said. “The construction they've gotten done is remarkable.”
In addition to staging the festival in the gardens, Cozby said the Arts Council of Oklahoma also is looking forward to resuming summer concerts at the Water Stage and adding children's performances at the new band shell.

She also believes the gardens, when fully completed, will provide the Arts Council of Oklahoma City with greater opportunities to stage events throughout the year.
Nichols, meanwhile, is enjoying seeing the transformation of the gardens with the new Devon Energy Center rising into the air across the street.

“Having toured the gardens very recently, it's very exciting to see how those plans have materialized from mere dreams and aspirations to real trees, concrete and waterfalls,” Nichols said. “It lives up to my wildest dreams and expectations. I think all of Oklahoma City will be very excited to see it.”

Oklahoma City's Devon Energy celebrates 40th anniversary
Devon Energy Corp. celebrated its 40th anniversary with a luncheon for its Oklahoma City-based employees at the Cox Convention Center.
BY JAY F. MARKS
Oklahoman

Larry Nichols never expected the company he and his late father, John, established in 1971 to grow into one of the country's leading independent oil and natural gas companies.

“Forty years ago, we never dreamed that Devon would someday become the company it is today,” Nichols said. “It's great to pause and celebrate.”

Devon celebrated its 40th anniversary Thursday at Cox Convention Center, feting its 1,500 Oklahoma City-based employees with lunch and a performance by sand artist Ilana Yahav.

Yahav, the Israeli artist featured in many Devon television commercials, created a landscape dotted with pump jacks on a light table.

She used her hands to skillfully transform the image into a pair of birds, then two hands gripped in a handshake.

Yahav ended another performance with a picture of a three-tiered cake in honor of Devon's anniversary, earning a standing ovation from the company's employees.

Yahav, who was making her first visit to Oklahoma City, said she was impressed by the people of Devon.

Nichols, the company's executive chairman, said employees have worked hard to turn Devon into the company it is today.
Jeff Hall joined Devon in 1989 because he wanted to work in Oklahoma for an independent oil and gas company with growth potential.

Devon has been through 27 mergers and acquisitions in the last four decades, as the growing company became known for its innovations in coalbed methane production, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

“It's been a remarkable ride,” said Hall, a geologist who is vice president of exploration for the central division.
Nichols maintains the best is yet to come.

“While we are gratified with Devon's accomplishments of the last 40 years, we are even more excited about the possibilities ahead,” he said.

Nichols touted Devon's “fabulous assets” and plans to invest nearly $1 billion this year on production and drilling operations in Oklahoma.

He said Devon started the same year as coffee giant Starbucks.

“While they're better known than we are, we're a whole lot bigger,” he said.

USA Today Highlights OKC's Population Growth

2011-02-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City, suburbs see 'significant growth'
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY
Feb. 16, 2011

Oklahoma's big metropolitan areas — especially Oklahoma City, the state capital — are attracting new residents from across the nation and the rural areas of the state.

Census data released Tuesday showed that the state's biggest cities and counties enjoyed robust population growth nearly everywhere from 2000 to 2010.

The big winner was Oklahoma City. It added 73,867 residents over the decade — a 15% increase — to a population of 579,999. It remains the state's largest city. Suburban counties just outside the city grew enormously, too, pushing the metro area to 1,252,987.

"People are moving to the metro areas," says Steven Barker, a senior researcher with the Oklahoma Commerce Department. "We're looking at very significant growth."

Newcomers are being lured by the state's relatively strong economy, he says. College graduates are staying and arriving to work in the oil and gas business, aerospace and other industries.

The state's unemployment rate in December was 6.6%, far below the national average. It's even lower in the Oklahoma City area, thanks to government and university jobs.

All six of the fastest growing counties were located in the suburbs of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Barker says. The state's fastest growing big county, Canadian, grew 32% during the decade to 115,541 residents. It's located on Oklahoma City's west side.

Lawton — the center of the state's other official metropolitan area and home to the Army's Fort Sill — grew 8% during the decade. That reversed previous Census estimates that its population had been flat.

Eric Long, economic researcher at the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, says his area has prospered because it has 18 universities, including the University of Oklahoma. It also avoided the housing boom and the economic fallout from its collapse, he says.

The move to the cities left 23 of Oklahoma's 77 counties in population decline. Cimarron County — in cowboy country, the far west of the Oklahoma Panhandle — suffered the biggest drop among the rural counties. The county, home to the highest elevation in the state, saw its population decline 21% to 2,475.

Other Census findings:

•Hispanic population. The Hispanic population soared 85% during the decade to 332,007 in 2010. That increased the portion of Hispanics in this largely non-Hispanic white state from 5.2% of the population in 2000 to 8.9% in 2010.

• Diversity. Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton and Muskogee had the most ethnically diverse populations. The Asian population also grew swiftly, mostly in metro areas.

In a rare downward trend, Tulsa suffered a slight population drop during the decade. It lost 1,143 residents to post a population of 391,906 in 2010. Those losses were made up by big gains in the suburban counties of Rogers and Wagoner. The total Tulsa metro area grew by more than 75,000. Tulsa had a 7.4% unemployment rate in December, the most recent figure available, worse than the state and Oklahoma City's 6.1% rate.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2011-02-15-oklahoma-census_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Bioscience Industry Contributes More than $6.7 Billion to the Local Economy

2011-02-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber today released a study that analyzed the economic impact of the Bioscience Industry to the Greater Oklahoma City region. The study showed the Bioscience sector contributes $6.7 billion in economic activity to the region, supports 51,000 jobs earning $2.2 billion in employee compensation, and generates $227 million in state and local taxes.

“The economic impact this industry provides to our region is staggering,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Chairman Carl Edwards said. “The truth is we are still in the early stages of developing this important sector of our economic engine, and we are already generating a great return on our investments.”

The study, completed by Battelle Technology Partnerships Practice, was commissioned by the Chamber in combination with an update of the organization’s Bioscience Strategic plan. “We have a commitment to helping see the biosciences grow as a key driver of our economy,” Edwards continued. “Battelle is a leader in the field, both for strategy development and sector analysis. Their work has given us guidance, and the analysis shows that we are making progress -- the region has a vibrant and growing bioscience sector.”

Greater Oklahoma City’s bioscience sector showed estimated revenues of $4.1 billion and directly employed 27,800 workers, earning an estimated $1.5 billion in employee compensation in 2008. The 51,000 total jobs created or supported by the bioscience sector accounted for more than six percent of all employment in the region.

Direct jobs with the bioscience sector accounted for three percent of total jobs in the region. The total impact of the region’s non-hospital bioscience sector, i.e. private bioscience companies, was $1.9 billion. Academic Life Sciences R&D contributed $186.9 million in direct economic activity and $344 million in total activity.

“As the legislative session draws near, there has been talk about cutting programs, such as OCAST, EDGE and research institutions that are critical to this industry’s survival,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President & CEO Roy Williams said. “We are now starting to see what this industry means to our region, let alone our state and we think it would be foolish to impede this growth when we are starting to see real, quantitative results.”

Headlines of the Week

2011-02-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

OKC area builders build like it's 1996
BY RICHARD MIZE
Oklahoma
Published: January 29, 2011

Last year was like the mid-1990s for metro-area homebuilders.

Builders in Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Edmond, Moore and Norman took out construction permits for 3,466 single-family homes in 2010. That was 2.5 percent more than 2009 — a small increase. But it wasn't a decrease.

It was the first time since 2005 that permits didn't go down compared with the year before.

Construction last year in the five cities was comparable to the mid-1990s. In 1996, for example, the cities issued 3,413 permits.

Feeling for bottom
Was 2010 the bottom? Builders hope so — and so do the subcontractors, suppliers and others who have tightened their belts since 2005, the last year of the housing boom.
Builder Jim Schuff said subs and suppliers are asking his take on the coming year.

In addition to planning for staffing, it helps to have a handle on how much material they might need because they can get quantity discounts.

“I wish we had a crystal ball,” said Schuff, co-owner and president of Vesta Homes in Moore and 2010 president of the builders association.

Looking back, Schuff said he wished he'd been a little more aggressive in 2010.
Looking ahead, he said he has a little more confidence in the economy as 2011 proceeds.

Edmond rebounds
Recovery in Edmond was the main source of the increase in planned construction across the metro area — “planned” because builders typically have six months to start a house after obtaining a building permit. Edmond's 297 permits, while well less than one-half the city's peak of 695 permits in 2005, represented a 40 percent gain from 212 permits in 2009.

The number of permits doesn't tell the whole story, however. Permit numbers rose last year partly because builders responded to the rush of first-time buyers into homeownership by building more starter homes. But even with the incentives to first-timers long over — federal tax credits expired last April — the recession continues to make smaller homes attractive.

“There's still a hole in the market up top,” a lack of demand that has many large homes lingering on the market, said Mark Dale, who was Central Oklahoma Builders Association president last year.

Dale, owner of Oklahoma City's Carriage Homes, wondered if the recession has caused a generational paradigm shift.

Could be, but partly because of the green movement, which puts energy efficiency and the environment above prestige, said Edmond builder Caleb McCaleb, whose Arbor Creek addition of bungalow-size homes signaled the small-is-better trend here when he debuted it in summer 2009.

Frugal is ‘in'
“Every builder I know has moved to building a smaller home,” said McCaleb, noting that it's not just first-time buyers and young couples who are attracted to his smaller homes, although that's who he had in mind when he developed Arbor Creek.
Lots of older folks are through living so large, he said.

“When I'm working open houses, we're getting a ton of move-down buyers but still looking for the amenities,” he said. “It's ‘we've lived beyond our means.' It's the frugal-is-the-new-cool deal.”

McCaleb said the Millennial Generation, also called Generation Y — people born as early as the 1970s but mostly in the 1980s and 1990s — wants nothing to do with an overly large footprint, whether for a house or carbon.

“Millennials, they totally don't think it's cool to live in a big house. They're all about everything green,” he said.

Chamber forecasts job growth next two years
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Oklahoman
Published: January 29, 2011

The report was commissioned by the chamber and prepared by Russell Evans, director of the Center for Applied Economic Research at Oklahoma State University.

“This forecast is very positive for our region,” chamber President Roy Williams said. “Our economic stability and continued growth is vital to our local businesses and in continuing to attract jobs and investment.”

The report indicates the Oklahoma City metro will gain approximately 20,000 jobs from 2010 to 2012, accounting for an expected 3.8 percent job growth over the next two years.

The forecast also showed positive momentum for the city's retail market and sales tax collections. Retail sales growth is forecast to grow 2.5 percent in 2011 before aggressively growing to 5.7 percent in 2012.

“The retail sales data is great news,” Williams said. “It shows that while one-time factors like the hailstorm did have an impact, sales tax collection in Oklahoma City has bounced back and should continue to grow. The stability of our sales tax base is important to the economic health of our city government and the continued improvements in our infrastructure.”

Continued population growth also is expected through 2012. The Oklahoma City metro is forecast to add 175,000 individuals which should account for half the state's growth. The total population is projected to exceed 1.28 million.

The official forecast also looks for gross metro production to grow at just over 5 percent annually through 2012 with personal income expanding about 4.5 percent per year.

The report also looks at trends in economic development and highlights that over the past five years, Oklahoma has experienced the fourth-highest percentage gain of leisure and hospitality jobs in the nation at 9.6 percent.

The national shift in economic development strategy toward expansion of existing companies is expected to continue.

OCAST is good for Oklahoma
Oklahoman Editorial

No state agency has its vision firmly trained on the future quite like the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. The state is better off for it.

Michael Carolina, executive director of OCAST, recently reported that for every dollar of state investment, $19 is returned to the state through federal and private investments. That's a phenomenal record — one that's been the hallmark of the agency since its inception in the late 1980s.

Unfortunately, what's also been common since its creation has been OCAST's need to constantly educate policymakers amid a consistent fight for funding. That's not easy, especially at a time when many basic services have been cut or are struggling to maintain the status quo. But OCAST has a powerful testimony.

OCAST's opportunity to help diversify the state's economy is indeed critical to the state's future. Through its funding of promising research projects, OCAST not only draws more money to the state, it draws smart people, ideas and, of course, jobs.

The payoff often isn't immediate; research and development take precious time. But the agency's return on investment demonstrates the time is clearly worth the wait.

OCAST, the EDGE endowment and research efforts within the higher education system are key to Oklahoma prospering in a global economy eager for creativity and innovation. At such a critical time for our state's economy, policymakers face many tough decisions in funding state government for the coming year. But they can't afford to ignore the future, either.

Super assignment: OKC company to keep track for football extravaganza
By April Wilkerson
Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – Before the Packers and Steelers ever take the field or the first witty Super Bowl commercial airs on Sunday, the eyes of an Oklahoma company will be watching over the yearly extravaganza.

For the fifth year, Oklahoma City-based US Fleet Tracking is keeping a watchful eye on the people and equipment crucial to the Super Bowl. The company’s tracking and navigational devices have been placed on buses, limos and other vehicles that carry players, their families and the media, ensuring that each stays on course.

Jerry Hunter, chief executive officer of US Fleet Tracking, said his technology has changed significantly in five years’ time.

“When we started doing the Super Bowl, the equipment had to physically be installed in the vehicles with wiring hooked up,” Hunter said. “Things have evolved and now we have a battery device that we check out to the driver just like it was a cell phone. Installation is quick and easy – they plug it into a cigarette lighter in the limousines or buses. It’s gotten to the point where it’s very streamlined. Early on, because it took so long to install and uninstall equipment, we had maybe 25 or 30 units being tracked. At this point, we have about 320.”

US Fleet Tracking’s efforts at the Super Bowl and last weekend’s National Hockey League All-Star game represent its high-profile work, but not the majority of its customers. About 80 percent of the company’s business is with small business – delivery companies, tow trucks, medical trailers hauling expensive equipment – anyone who wants to track the whereabouts and efficiency of a fleet and the employees driving them, Hunter said. Another 10 percent of his business is with the government, such as U.S. marshals and the FBI, and emergency responders like ambulance, police and fire. The rest of his business is split between parents tracking teenage drivers and people tracking cheating spouses.

Because snow and ice are a problem across the nation right now, his technology is getting particularly high use.

“A lot of snow-removal companies are working right now using our equipment,” he said. “The equipment allows them to see which roads have been done and which haven’t. Small businesses are where the money is because they have to have a way to manage their mobile resources.”

US Fleet Tracking has continually improved its technology since Hunter launched the company about six years ago. His navigation-class devices not only let companies see where their employees are in real time, but they can be used to send messages to and from drivers, he said. The technology accomplishes that in a way that is more user-friendly than more traditional navigation services, he said.

“If you’ve got a fleet of plumbing trucks, you can send out a message to Jim and Bob and Ken that says, ‘Which one of you guys has three 90-degree plumbing elbows and a three-quarter-inch PVC pipe?’ Bob and Jim say no and Ken says yes, so you can dispatch him on that call,” Hunter said. “This allows you to dispatch that driver through your PC so it pops up on his screen and guides him all the way to his customer’s doorstep.”

US Fleet Tracking has flourished in a post-Sept. 11 world in which organizers of major events like the Olympics and Super Bowl want to ensure the right people get to the correct places and the wrong ones stay out. And in a troubled economic time, businesses are looking for ways to save money through efficiency, and tracking US Fleet Tracking provides that tool. Hunter said Ditch Witch is starting to place his devices on its equipment right after it is manufactured.

Bill Eichhorn, director of operations for US Fleet Tracking, has been in Dallas since Jan. 24 preparing for the company’s Super Bowl role. Nothing is left to chance for such events, he said, which is the reality of today’s world.

“It’s peace of mind,” he said. “The NFL wants to make sure that the buses going to the stadium are the buses that are supposed to be going there. Also, if the driver veers off course, we can correct him.”

US Fleet Tracking also worked last year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and it will track athletes again next year during the Summer Olympics in London, Eichhorn said.
All of that points to the company’s growth. Hunter said his staff has grown to about 30 people, twice what he had last year, and he’s shipping many more products.

He also is moving the company into a new building next month near 156th Street and May Avenue.

“It’s 18,000 square feet we need badly,” Hunter said. “The data center will be 24 feet by 36 feet, the walls are cinder block that are ‘rebarred’ into the concrete slab … it’s like a storm shelter inside the building, just for the computer room. It gives us a lot more space and room to grow.”

Employment Gains Predicted in 2011 Greater Oklahoma City Economic Forecast

2011-01-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber released its 2011 Greater Oklahoma City Economic Forecast today and the study predicted 1.8 percent job growth in 2011 with continued momentum in 2012 at 2 percent growth. The report was commissioned by the Chamber and prepared by Russell Evans, Director of the Center for Applied Economic Research at Oklahoma State University.

“This forecast is very positive for our region,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President & CEO Roy Williams said. “Our economic stability and continued growth is vital to our local businesses and in continuing to attract jobs and investment.”

According to the report the Oklahoma City MSA will gain approximately 20,000 jobs from 2010 to 2012. This accounts for the expected 3.8 percent job growth when you combine 2011 and 2012.

The forecast also showed positive momentum for the cities’ retail market and sales tax collection. Retail sales growth is forecasted to grow 2.5 percent in 2011 before aggressively growing to 5.7 percent in 2012. These numbers reflect Oklahoma City specifically and not the MSA.

“The retail sales data is great news,” Williams said. “It shows that while one-time factors like the hail storm did have an impact, sales tax collection in Oklahoma City has bounced back and should continue to grow. The stability of our sales tax base is important to the economic health of our city government and the continued improvements in our infrastructure.”

Continued population growth is also expected through 2012. The MSA is forecasted to add nearly 175,000 individuals which should account for half the state’s growth. The total population is project to exceed 1.28 million.

The official forecast also looks for gross metro production to grow at just over 5 percent annually through 2012 with personal income expanding at roughly 4.5 percent per year.

The report also looks at trends in economic development and highlights that over the past five years, Oklahoma has experienced the fourth-highest percentage gain of leisure and hospitality jobs in the nation at 9.6 percent.

The national shift in economic development strategy towards expansion of existing companies is also expected to continue. This emphasizes the importance of focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship as part of the region’s economic development strategy.

“The continued shift towards expanding our local companies and promoting entrepreneurship is especially important right now,” Williams said. “We cannot afford to cut programs like EDGE and OCAST and stay competitive with the way economic development is trending nationally.”

Read the full 2011 Greater Oklahoma City Economic Forecast.

Headlines of the Week

2011-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hotel changes reflecting new business plan
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman
January 18, 2011

When relationships change or end, it's not unusual for casual observers to speculate that something between two parties went sour.

But in the case of changes taking place with the Colcord Hotel, officials with its owner, Devon Energy Corp., are quick to insist that relations remain strong with the people who risked everything to make the hotel a reality four years ago.

It was Paul Coury, who had successfully renovated the Ambassador Hotel in Tulsa, who took the risk and renovated the Colcord from offices to a boutique hotel.

Coury, an unsuccessful bidder to redo the Skirvin Hotel, was persuaded by local civic leaders to redirect his efforts at the Colcord, which a few years ago barely qualified as Class C office space.

Local restaurant legends, brothers Alain and Michel Buthion, agreed to open an upscale restaurant on the Colcord's ground floor before wall studs went up for any of the future hotel rooms.

The first year of operations for the new Colcord Hotel overlapped with the opening of the Skirvin, and combined with miscues at marketing, it was a bit disappointing. But Coury and the Buthions quickly made changes resulting in the Colcord's qualifying as a respectable peer to the Skirvin.

Construction of the neighboring 50-story Devon Energy Center tower could have ruined all Coury and the Buthions had accomplished and jeopardized the hotel's operation.

But Devon Energy CEO Larry Nichols, who prides himself on his company's focus on oil and gas, did something quite un-Devon-like: he purchased the hotel.

In buying the hotel, Devon could assure the hotel's survival, avert hard feelings with Coury by not damaging his financial standing, and invest in improvements Coury was unable to tackle as part of the 2006 renovation. Coury Properties, meanwhile, was retained to operate the hotel with veteran city hotelier Jeff Erwin as general manager.

Fast forward a couple of years, and the arrangement was working well. But with two to three restaurants planned as part of Devon Energy Center, Klay Kimker, vice president of administration, realized a “new business model” was needed to streamline the various operations.

Looking down the street, Kimker observed John Williams, who had guided the Skirvin as general manager since it reopened in 1997. Williams had decades of experience overseeing restaurants and hotels, and Kimker saw in Williams the ideal person to oversee all of the company's needs in terms of its hotel and restaurant operations.

That move ended ties with Coury Properties, though Erwin remains as general manager.

Kimker said changes are in store for the Buthions' La Baguette restaurant as well, but he's quick to note that, as with Coury, he's very satisfied with the Buthions' work at the Colcord. The business model may be changing, he says, but no one is rushing the Buthions out the door.

Corpus Christi leaders see local potential after Oklahoma City visit
Group seeks direction in revitalization of downtown
By Jessica Savage
Corpus Christi Caller Times

CORPUS CHRISTI — Local business leaders recently visited Oklahoma City to learn how the city revitalized its downtown, and they say the same results are possible in Corpus Christi.

The missing links are a developed bayfront at the site of the demolished Memorial Coliseum and better public transportation to connect downtown with attractions on Corpus Christi Beach and around Whataburger Field.

A group of 15 members of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce met in October with Oklahoma City officials. The trip was part of the chamber’s annual field trip meant to educate city and business leaders about ideas that worked for other cities and how some of those could work here. On Tuesday, four of those who went on the trip gave a presentation to City Council.

“It showed us what is possible when you have a bold vision and the leadership of the entire community,” said Foster Edwards, chamber president and CEO. “It was so exciting to see what’s possible when that happens.”

In the early 1990s, Oklahoma City leaders were trying to revive an economy devastated by the oil bust of the 1980s. They came up with a public-private partnership that called for nine public development projects paid for with sales tax dollars.

The partnership has exceeded $3 billion in spending, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. Projects include renovations to the Civic Center Music Hall, building a mile-long Bricktown Canal similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk, a trolley system and opening Ford Center, a 20,000-seat arena home to the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team.

John Michael, a Naismith Engineering projects manager who visited Oklahoma City, said the trip helped him see Corpus Christi in a similar light. In the past decade, the city has seen the addition of Whataburger Field, the American Bank Center arena and Packery Channel.

“We’ve built a lot of things that they built,” Michael said. “What we haven’t done is packaged it quite like they have.”

Over the next several weeks the chamber will compile a list of local attractions and projects the city has financed to enhance local development.

“We’re going to use that list as a baseline to determine the things we’re doing right,” Edwards said. “Then that helps you decide what is next.”

Edwards pointed to the progress of Destination Bayfront, a grass-roots organization that has proposed a public-private partnership to develop the former site of the coliseum. The group raised $100,000 for a design that includes parks, an extended pier and sites for restaurants and shopping. The group is now estimating the project’s cost and looking at how it should be funded.

Oklahoma's EDGE endowment fund needs to be left whole
Oklahoman Editorial

ANOTHER challenging budget year awaits members of the Oklahoma Legislature, with a deficit as large as $600 million possible. It's no wonder, then, that there have been whispers about draining the $150 million that sits in a fund designated for the state's long-term economic development.

Lawmakers must resist the urge and leave the EDGE fund alone.

Formed in 2004 at the urging of former Gov. Brad Henry, who proposed the Economic Development Generating Excellence fund during the first year of his administration, EDGE is just beginning to make an impact in the research and technology fields — where Oklahoma needs to create more jobs.

“Oklahoma's EDGE ... parts company with the deluge of past studies aimed at economic development,” Henry wrote in The Oklahoman a few days after EDGE was launched. “This is a call to action, not a call for just another study.”

The original goal was to see the EDGE endowment grow to $1 billion, helping to make Oklahoma the “research capital of the Plains.” The Legislature initially seeded it with $90 million in 2005 but didn't protect it, and that money wound up getting used for something else. Legislators came back the following year and made a $150 million deposit, and nothing has been added since.

This is unfortunate but also understandable, as Oklahoma's budget picture has soured in recent years and resulted in large cuts to state agencies. That $150 million has been put to good use, though. Earnings from the endowment have been used to provide a total of $24 million to 13 innovators and startups in the past three years.

The $5.4 million awarded last year went to three technology companies. The first round of awards, in November 2008, went to assist biotechnology, weather science and aerospace interests. The 2009 recipients were involved in such fields as nanotechnology, science and health.

The appeal of the EDGE endowment is clear to those involved in these fields, here in Oklahoma and around the country. Consider that the EDGE policy board, which approves the annual awards, culled the 13 winners from 221 applications.

Pulling all or even part of the money out of the EDGE fund would be a real setback. Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said he hopes such ideas would get scuttled, but that there may be a need to educate newer members of the Legislature about EDGE and its benefit to the state. Raiding the endowment, Bingman said, “would be a one-time, stopgap measure, and that's what we need to get away from in Oklahoma.”

It's worth noting that Henry proposed EDGE as the state was pulling itself out from under a large budget deficit. That focus on the future made sense then, and still does.

Four Oklahoma firms make ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list
Chesapeake Energy Corp., QuikTrip, American Fidelity Assurance Co. and Devon Energy Corp. returned to 2011’s list of “Best Companies to Work For” from Fortune magazine.
BY PAULA BURKES
Oklahoman

The 1,495 employees of American Fidelity Assurance Co. were treated to a taco lunch Thursday and were awarded an extra paid day off to use this year.

The bonus perks came in celebration of Thursday’s announcement that AFA had made Fortune magazine’s 14th annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” — for the eighth straight year.

The full list is available online at www.fortune.com/bestcompanies.

AFA, which ranked No. 39, was joined by three other Oklahoma companies — Chesapeake Energy Corp. at No. 32, Tulsa-based QuikTrip at No. 34 and Devon Energy Corp. at No. 41.

Fortune’s list carries weight in the marketplace, said Sandy Pratt, deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

“It speaks not only to the commitment of our Oklahoma companies to their employees, but also to the quality of the state’s work force,” Pratt said. “By creating this culture of success, it makes Oklahoma a desirable place to live and develop a career.”

American Fidelity
American Fidelity CEO Bill Cameron is anything but passe about his company’s consecutive listings.

“We’re excited,” Cameron said. “The competition gets tougher every year as more and more people want to be on the list.”

His company ranked 35th on last year’s list; its highest rank was 24 in 2008.
Cameron said executives of the 51-year-old family-owned insurance and financial services company run the business conservatively to maintain employee counts and benefits despite the tough economy. He said the company’s spring bonuses — which average about $7,000 per employee — help create a positive work environment.

“With the profit-sharing, everybody realizes they’re on the same team, which has a powerful impact on our culture and company’s performance,” Cameron said.

San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute produces the Fortune list each January. Rankings are based on extensive surveys of hundreds of employees, which account for two-thirds of each company’s score. The other third is based on the companies’ responses to detailed questions about pay, benefit programs, hiring practices, recognition programs, diversity efforts and more.

This year, 311 companies were evaluated during the process.

QuikTrip
It’s the ninth year for QuikTrip to make the Fortune list. The company, which employs 10,936 at convenience stores across the Midwest, moved up seven notches from last year. Its highest ranking was 19 in 2005.

Said President and CEO Chet Cadieux: “As our country continues to experience turbulent economic conditions, QuikTrip has stayed true to our culture and core values. The end result,” he said, “has produced tremendous store growth which has allowed us to hire hundreds of new employees as well as give existing employees the opportunity to move up with the company.”

QuikTrip averages about 10 percent turnover, compared with an industry average of 110percent, spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said. “When it’s time for new opportunities and advancements, QuikTrip hires from within.”

Chesapeake
This is the fourth year for Chesapeake and Devon to make the Fortune list. Chesapeake has climbed every year, moving up two notches from 2010.

“We have long recognized that our employees are our most valuable asset, and we continue to look for innovative ways to enhance their professional and personal experience at our company,” said CEO Aubrey K. McClendon. “Chesapeake’s unique corporate culture of achievement and innovation, along with cutting-edge benefits, have enabled us to attract and retain what we believe is the best talent in the industry.”

Chesapeake has three on-site restaurants for employees at its Oklahoma City headquarters, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center.

The company pays a $1,500 bonus to employees who practice healthy lifestyles.
Chesapeake increased its full-time work force by 10 percent over the past year and continues to hire in every facet of its business.

The company currently has more than 500 open positions.

Devon Energy
Fortune praised Devon, among other things, for its recruiting strategies, compensation practices and low turnover rate. Devon’s voluntary turnover rate was 3 percent, among the lowest of any company on Fortune’s list.

Fortune’s survey found Devon employees take pride in their work and appreciate the corporate culture, which includes an atmosphere of mutual respect and a commitment to community service.

“This tribute recognizes our employees and the positive spirit they bring to their jobs each day. The remarkable corporate culture that has evolved through their work, camaraderie and commitment is at the foundation of our success,” said John Richels, president and chief executive.

Employees at Devon’s three largest U.S. offices will celebrate the company’s place on the list Monday at a quarterly social. Smaller field offices will have a catered breakfast.

Citizens of Oklahoma City Named Southern Business and Development Person of the Year

2011-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

In their January cover story, Southern Business & Development magazine named the citizens of Oklahoma City their “2011 Person of the Year.” The annual award is usually reserved for an individual who has contributed greatly to development of a city or state. The publication made the unorthodox selection of Oklahoma City after recognizing the citizens’ commitment to improving the city over the last 20 years.

“Oklahoma City has been recognized across the country for our dramatic reinvention,” Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said. “I cannot think of any award more deserving than to recognize the people who have made that transformation possible. The work and cooperation of the citizens of Oklahoma City in every good thing happening in our city is truly unparalleled. This is a tremendous honor.”

Author Mike Randle explains how the selection committee came to make this choice: “We realize that the citizens of Oklahoma City are not a “person” to recognize in our annual “Person of the Year” cover story. But when we asked several in-the-know economic developers and politicos in Oklahoma City which “person” is most responsible for the success the city has earned over the years, none of them could identify a single “person” behind Oklahoma City’s transformation. They all had the same answer: the citizens of Oklahoma City are responsible for the city’s remarkable resurgence as one of the best economic development stories in the South and the nation over the last two decades.”

The story traces Oklahoma City’s failed bid to lure a United Airlines Center through the originals MAPS in 1993 and MAPS for Kids in 2001 to the General Obligation Bond issue in 2008 to MAPS 3 in 2009. The article takes a brief look at each of the eight multi-million dollar initiatives Oklahoma City citizens passed in order to improve their city.

Another strong theme of the article is the level of cooperation that exists between the citizens of Oklahoma City and their elected officials.

“In an age of marked skepticism of government in general, Oklahoma City stands out like no place in the country,” Randle said. “It is a city that has continued to invest in itself over and over again and the results are nothing less than extraordinary. In fact, there is no place – country, state, county or city -- that we know of where trust among the people and their leaders in government is stronger.”

Starting with the passage of MAPs in 1993, Oklahoma City citizens have voted to invest nearly $3 billion into various capital improvement projects and major bond issues. Those investments have led the private and public sectors to invest an additional $5 billion into the city.

“There are a lot of talented professionals who, over the years have worked to make sure our city thrives and prospers,” President & CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Roy Williams said. “None of it would be possible without the continued support and trust of the citizens of Oklahoma City. At the Chamber we work with some of the most talented developers across the country and you would have a hard time finding many who have gotten a better return on their investment than the people of Oklahoma City.”

The publication was also impressed with the margin of victory in most local sales tax and bond elections, routinely by more than 55 percent, and the level of pride the citizens of Oklahoma City take in their city during both good and bad times.

“Oklahoma City Citizens are proud to call this city home” Randle said. “They are willing to invest their time, money and talents to make it a better place to live. Whether a time of crisis, such as the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building, or a time of economic uncertainty, such as the recent recession, Oklahoma City Citizens do not shy away from doing what is best for their hometown. They have a proven history of joining together and saying YES to their city’s future. I’m not sure there are many other cities who can say the same. “

To read the full story visit www.sb-d.com.

Bioscience Sector Continues to Pay Big Dividends for Region

2010-12-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

The Bioscience industry has grown significantly in the Greater Oklahoma City region this decade and has developed into a key sector of the region’s economic engine. Between 2001 and 2008, the region’s employment in this area grew 17.8 percent, outpacing the national average. A new study, commissioned by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, will help to not only maintain the burgeoning sector’s momentum but continue to transform Oklahoma City into a national and international player in Biosciences.

“The Bioscience industry is a key component of the Chamber’s economic development strategy,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President & CEO Roy Williams said. “This sector pays about $12,000 more annually then the average private sector wage in our area. As national and international trends in this field continue to evolve we recognized it was essential to update our strategy so we can continue to grow this vital part of our economy.”

In 2004, the Chamber partnered with Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, one of the world’s largest research and development organizations, and a Steering Committee of key bioscience leaders to develop a long-term strategic plan for the 11-county region’s Bioscience industry. The initial study and resulting strategic plan resulted in:

• Successful launch of the Oklahoma Bioscience Association
• Creation of the Oklahoma Seed Fund
• Launch of the Oklahoma Life Science Fund
• Creation of the Bioenergy Research Center
• Significant investments in bioscience research infrastructure
• Creation and first installment for $1 billion EDGE Endowment fund

As other states and regions continue to advance bold initiatives that encompass both the economic and social benefits of new bioscience discoveries, the Chamber decided to once again partner with Battelle to make sure

Oklahoma City continued to put itself in the best possible position to capitalize on this growing economic driver.

The new study outlines four strategies (with 15 supporting recommendations) to achieve the region’s bioscience vision:

• Continue to grow the region’s bioscience research and development base and accelerate the commercialization of research findings
• Ensure Oklahoma City grows, attracts and retains bioscience talent
• Grow the region’s bioscience industry cluster by supporting the expansion of existing firms, the creation of new firms and the attraction of firms to the state
• Build a comprehensive venture capital infrastructure that develops local resources and attracts additional national and international resources to Oklahoma.

The study also found that while the region has made great strides in building its bioscience industry cluster, significant work still remains in vital areas such as full funding for EDGE, funding for additional research faculty at the state’s universities and research institutions and all stages of capital investment.

“The research shows the investments we are making in Biosciences are clearly paying off for the Oklahoma economy,” Williams said. “Some of our local legislators have suggested cutting or eliminating funding for programs like EDGE. This would be catastrophic for this sector of our economy. In categories like capital investments we still lag greatly behind regional competitors like Denver, Birmingham, Tuscon and Louisville. These are the types of issues our strategy will focus on going forward.”

In addition to the strategies, recommendations and regional industry update, the plan also identifies existing, key scientific core competencies in the bio-medical and bio-agriculture spheres that hold valuable research strengths and growing market opportunities.

To see a copy of the Bioscience Strategic Plan, please go to http://www.okcchamber.com/bio/OKCityBioscienceUpdate2010.pdf

Congrats to Mayor Cornett!

2010-12-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

The World Mayor Project named Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett the second best Mayor in the world Tuesday. The London-based group commended Mayor Cornett for his work in the passage of the latest MAPs initiative and the metro area’s economic successes.

“Described by one of his peers as a giant among American mayors, Mayor Cornett has turned the city, psychologically devastated by the terrorist bombing of April 1995, into one of the most vibrant and economically booming cities in the U.S.,” World Mayor Project said. “Thanks to good jobs and low living costs, Forbes magazine ranked Oklahoma City as America's most affordable of cities.”

The group also highlighted the Mayor’s ‘This City is Going on a Diet’ initiative and his overall service to the city. Mayor Cornett was runner up to Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and was the top placing U.S. Mayor. The only other U.S. Mayor to finish in the top 10 was Newark’s Cory Booker.

Headlines of the Week

2010-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Williams: OKC’s image improvingThe Journal Record
By Brian Brus
December 1, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – A snapshot of Oklahoma City’s image as perceived by business site hunters elsewhere in the country suggests that the area has improved dramatically in the last three years, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce President Roy Williams said Tuesday.

The chamber focused on three targets in its recent survey: corporate site location consultants, chief executives and other top officers in Fortune 1,000 companies and employees of those companies.

“We have had a profound improvement in their minds,” Williams told the Oklahoma City Council. “In fact, we have leapfrogged every one of our peers, and we are virtually at the top of list of corporate site location consultants.

“We’re not that great with CEOs in the executive offices,” he said. “Part of the reason, though, is because our marketing strategy over the years has been directed toward site location consultants. So we have moved that needle exactly as we wanted to do. Now we’re focusing on corporate executive officers and beginning to mount campaigns.”

Williams said it helps when the area gets positive recognition, such as placing first among Forbes’ recent rankings of affordable cities. Hosting high-profile conferences here such as the World Creativity Forum and the Small Business Innovation Research National Conference also provides a big boost.

Williams also said aeronautics giant Boeing Co. is starting to post information about Oklahoma City job openings on its corporate website as positions are defined for a move expected in the first quarter of the new year. More than 500 engineering jobs are expected in Oklahoma, company officials said. Boeing announced plans in August to move its C-130 Avionics Modernization program and its B-1 program to Oklahoma City from California during the next two years.

“We hope after the first of the year, we’ll be able to make some pretty positive announcements about additional Boeing opportunities in Oklahoma City,” Williams said.
Williams also said the chamber is pleased with recent biological science business investment and developments, adding that local employment in the nonhospital biological sciences sector is up nearly 18 percent.

The chamber surveyed 282 companies in the metropolitan area over the last 12 months and found that 34 percent of them have specific expansion plans, down about 7 percent from a year earlier. Respondents also said the metro area is conducive to business because of low costs and high quality of life, aspects that help attract other companies to the area, he said.

Challenges that remain include a lack of skilled labor in the area, low educational attainment for residents, few quality business sites available, low venture capital resources and a lack of nonstop airline flights to key cities.

The chamber’s Forward Oklahoma City program, a five-year economic development program, is now raising funds for use through 2015. The chamber has raised about $16.5 million so far, he said.

Sharing a vision: Developer to present plans for riverfrontThe Journal Record
November 30th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to facilitate development along the Oklahoma River, Developer Grant Humphreys said.

“One of big challenges downtown and along the riverfront is infrastructure that is either nonexistent or antiquated and needs to be replaced and how might the city approach that infrastructure,” he said.

Humphreys will give a group of riverfront stakeholders an update on Wednesday on his Waterfront development planned for the site of the old Downtown Airpark at a meeting facilitated by the Oklahoma Riverfront Development Authority.

Humphreys hopes to facilitate a dialogue between other groups that have a vested interest in the future of the Oklahoma River.

“What we are looking to do is not just cast a vision for what our waterfront project should look like, but talking about a shared vision for the Oklahoma River and discussing with stakeholders a possible framework for an action plan that would help the river reach its full potential,” Humphreys said.

The riverfront stakeholders group includes representatives of the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum, Devon Energy, and the Stockyards City area, which all have an interest in development along the river, said Pat Downes, director of development for the Riverfront Development Authority. The stakeholders have been meeting regularly each quarter to communicate about various development projects along the river.

Humphrey’s 86-acre Waterfront development site on the south bank of the Oklahoma River on S. Western Avenue has just been accepted into the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality’s federally funded Brownfields Program, making it eligible for grant money for environmental cleanup from the Environmental Protection Agency. The area was once the site of an oil field and commercial airstrip. Humphreys said he has already spent about $300,000 of Environmental Protection Agency grant money and private funding doing preliminary environmental work on the site.

The Waterfront is planned as an “urban village” on the airpark site along S. Western Avenue south of downtown. The Waterfront development would include office and retail components as well as up to 950 housing units. The first phase of the project is slated to begin in 2012, but the entire development could take up to 10 to 12 years to build.

Humphreys and a group of investors bought the old airpark for $7.2 million in 2006, but sat on plans to develop the area when the economy took a nosedive.

“We always knew it would be a long-term play,” Humphreys said.

Oklahoma City was a global player during recession, report finds The Oklahoman
BY SUSAN SIMPSON ssimpson@opubco.com
December 1, 2010

Oklahoma City's economy improved during the recession compared to many other cities worldwide, but it is seeing a mixed recovery, according to a report released Tuesday by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and London School of Economics and Political Science.

The Global MetroMonitor report compared 50 U.S. cities with 50 in Europe and 50 in Asia and Latin America.

Of the 150 metro areas globally, Oklahoma City ranked No. 132 before the recession and No. 46 during the recession. Oklahoma City is ranked No. 76 post recession.

“You are a major U.S. economy,” report author Alan Berube said of Oklahoma City. “People may not call you a global city, but you are.”

Still, Oklahoma City is showing a mixed recovery. While employment fell 1 percent in 2009, income grew by 2.4 percent.

“You are experiencing gains in output and per capita income but not really growing employment yet,” said Berube, a senior fellow with Brookings. “You are doing more with the same number of workers.”

In the post recession ranking, none of the top 25 cities were in the United States, which shows an accelerated shift of economic power to Latin America and Asian cities. Austin, Texas, was ranked No. 26.

“The U.S. and other developed regions of the world have been at the short-end of the stick in regards to growth in recent years, said Robert Dauffenbach, director of the Center for Economic and Management Research at the University of Oklahoma. “Thus, in world rankings, any U.S. metro area is likely to not show all that well.”

Metropolitan areas are the drivers of global growth, Dauffenbach said.

So, “it is important that Oklahoma City is being considered a region of significant size to even be included in such analysis,” he said. “From January 1993 to September 2010, nonagricultural employment in the Oklahoma City region expanded by 27 percent while for the U.S., growth was 18.9 percent. Relative to the U.S., we are doing pretty well.”

Oklahoma City was the only Oklahoma area ranked in the report. Regionally, cities ranked were Kansas City, No. 122 in economic recovery; Dallas, ranked 39th; and Denver, ranked No. 84.

ARINC plans to add hangarThe Oklahoman
BY JAY F. MARKS
December 2, 2010

Maryland-based ARINC Engineering Services LLC has announced plans to double the size of its operations in Oklahoma City, bringing as many as 200 new jobs to the area.

ARINC Engineering Services LLC is poised to double the size of its operations near Will Rogers World Airport, an expansion that could add up to 200 jobs.

ARINC Engineering Services LLC is poised to double the size of its operations near Will Rogers World Airport, an expansion that could add up to 200 jobs.

The Maryland-based company Wednesday announced plans to build a 62,000-square-foot hangar to increase capacity for aircraft servicing at its Aircraft Modification and Operations Center in Oklahoma City.

ARINC plans to break ground in January.

The company has been faced with growing demand for avionics upgrades and scheduled depot maintenance, especially on large government and military aircraft, a spokesman said.

“We have been very aggressive in developing more business from both our existing domestic and international customers, as well as launching a dedicated effort to develop new customers, especially in the international marketplace,” said Mike Young, ARINC's vice president for aerospace engineering systems and support. “Our success in capturing that work has driven us to expand the facility.”

The company's current facility includes a 50,000-square-foot commercial hangar that opened in April 2007. It also has 30,000 square feet of shops and administrative offices.

The new hangar will double the capacity of the Aircraft Modification and Operations Center.

“When ARINC's new hangar is operational by June 2011, our site capacity will be nine large aircraft, including space for four aircraft on the ramps,” Young said. “We clearly need the additional capacity to remain competitive in this active marketplace.

“The work that will be accomplished at our expanded aircraft modification facility will create between 150 and 200 new high-paying jobs in the Oklahoma City area over the next couple of years.”

ARINC recently secured contracts for avionics upgrades on two Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and two U.S. government OC-135 Open Skies aircraft. The company also has contracts for programmed depot maintenance on a C-130 Hercules transport and modifications to four more large military transport-category aircraft.
ARINC's existing hangar can house three such planes, while the new hangar will be capable of handling three to four more.

Oklahoma City riverfront development set to start The Oklahoma
Steve Lackymeyer
December 3, 2010

Kirk and Grant Humphreys say they are preparing to start development of “The Waterfront” at the former Downtown Airpark, but advised fellow stakeholders along the river to seek public/private partnerships to draw more interest.

Kirk and Grant Humphreys say they're gearing up to start development next year on the former Downtown Airpark along the Oklahoma River.

The father and son developers, however, told a group of riverfront stakeholders their help is needed in approaching the city about creating public/private partnerships that will ensure other developers will follow their lead.

Grant Humphreys said he wants to complete an initial wave of multifamily housing, offices and a hotel by the time the new alignment of Interstate 40 opens in late 2012. The master plan for “The Waterfront” also includes retail and a park anchored by a Ferris wheel Grant Humphreys bought over eBay from the Santa Monica Pier.

At a presentation this week, Humphreys said current conditions along the Oklahoma River, despite progress with MAPS and Boathouse Row, discourage developers from taking a chance along the waterfront.

“If you are looking to do something along the riverfront today, it's parceled out in smaller pieces,” Humphreys said. “People are reluctant to put their money down without knowing what's going to happen next door.”

Humphreys added his company was fortunate it was able to acquire the 87-acre airpark — one of the largest continuous pieces of riverfront property — and that it's located across the street from another large parcel owned by Chesapeake Energy Corp.

“We bought the Downtown Airpark because it's 87 acres along the river,” Humphreys said. “We wouldn't have bought it if it were smaller ... because of the fear of the unknown.”

Humphreys said the amount of land along the river that is either classified as being in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain require potential developers to pay for significant dirt infill — a cost not associated with development in suburban “green space.”

Humphreys also provided photos from the 1930s and 1940s showing the riverfront littered with oil well and disposal ponds.

Humphreys said he spent $300,000 working on remediation plans for the airpark and recently received approval from the Department of Environmental Quality.

Humphreys praised the efforts of city, state and federal entities trying to help address polluted properties, but added it's another hurdle many developers would just prefer to avoid.

“We are losing deals to Moore and Norman,” Humphreys said. “Without addressing these issues, a developer is going to go to Moore.”

Kirk Humphreys noted the renovation and reopening of the Skirvin Hilton Hotel couldn't have taken place without the city first buying the property and eliminating “unknowns” for potential developers. Likewise, Kirk Humphreys suggested that stakeholders seek public input and draw up potential solutions that will make the riverfront more attractive for development.

Pat Downes, economic development director for the Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, said the discussion sought by Kirk and Grant Humphreys began with the presentation Wednesday to the stakeholders' group, which included city council members Gary Marrs and Larry McAttee.

“The stakeholder group, all of whom have a vested interest in the present and future of the Oklahoma River, is a well qualified group to weigh in on this issue,” Downes said. “The city has a number of processes in place to address those kinds of proposals. We'll do our best to work through the right channels to bring those ideas to the surface.”

National Press Takes Notice of OKC

2010-11-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Over the past decade, Oklahoma City has been no stranger to positive accolades and rankings. November is off to a great start as the metro has received much praise from the national press.

Forbes recently named Oklahoma City the nation’s most affordable city. Their ranking highlighted Oklahoma City’s value to businesses and citizens. That was followed up with data from the U.S. Department of Labor that showed Oklahoma City had the second-highest percentage growth of private sector jobs in the nation. This reinforced our city’s healthy economy was more than the presence of a large government sector.

Last week, Newsweek named Oklahoma City of the “Top Ten Places Poised for Recovery”. The story highlighted energy and aerospace sectors as well as the great opportunities for young adults.

It was also announced Oklahoma led the nation in GDP growth in 2008-09 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Oklahoma saw a 6.64 percent increase while overall 38 states showed a decline in GDP.

These rankings help reaffirm to the rest of the country what we already know: Oklahoma City is the best place to work, live and play. To get more info on these rankings and to check out out other accolades follow the link.

News Bureau Meeting this Week

2010-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is your final reminder that the last News Bureau meeting of 2010 is this Thursday! RSVP and join us at Café do Brasil. You will hear the results of a recent attitudinal study that reveals how people in other cities view OKC. The presentation will be followed by discussion and brainstorming about how we can use this information to proactively improve our image.

Thursday, November 11
Café Do Brazil
440 NW 11th St, Ste. 100
4 – 5:30 p.m.

As always, there will be free drinks, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and great networking for those who attend! Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber if you plan to attend!

Forbes Ranks Oklahoma City America’s No. 1 Most Affordable

2010-11-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City’s resilient economy and affordability continues to attract the national spotlight as today Forbes ranked Oklahoma City as the nation’s No. 1 Most Affordable City.

To compile their list, Forbes searched for cities that balanced affordable living with economic prosperity and solid job markets. Factors like unemployment rate, housing costs and costs of goods and services were studied.

“It's got good schools and universities, friendly residents and an unemployment rate well below the national average--6.3% compared with the nationwide 9.5%,” the article stated. “Thanks to good jobs and low cost of living, the Oklahoma City metro area ranks as America's Most Affordable City.”

“In times like these, value is key to everything we do as a chamber,” President and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Roy Williams said. “From attracting new business, retaining and fostering growth with our current companies to attracting conventions and visitors, the number one factor on everyone’s mind is value. Affordability isn’t always about being the cheapest, it is also about the quality you get for your dollar.”

Oklahoma City’s low unemployment rate, housing costs and overall cost of living gained the metro area the top designation. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester and Nashville rounded out the top 5, respectively.

This continues a strong stretch of praise for Oklahoma City in the national press. In October alone, Oklahoma City was named a Top 25 Performing City (Milken), No. 7 best City for Income Growth (Portfolio.com), Top 5 Fastest Growing City (Forbes) and a Top 10 State for Doing Business (Area Development Magazine).

Follow the link for the full story. Also visit the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s website for a full list of Oklahoma City accolades.

Final News Bureau Meeting of 2010 Set!

2010-10-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

Mark Your Calendars for the final News Bureau Meeting of 2010!

At this meeting, we are going to do something a little bit different. Attendees will hear the results of a recent study commissioned by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber that reveals what people in other cities really think about OKC. This attitudinal study reveals things such as, what are some of the stereotypes we are facing? Why do people choose to move here- or not move here? How do people compare us to other cities of similar size?

Thursday, November 11
Café Do Brazil
440 NW 11th St, Ste. 100
4 – 5:30 p.m.

The presentation will be followed with discussion and brainstorming about how we can use this information, and what stories we can be proactively sharing to continue to improve our image. We know everyone has great ideas, and this is your chance to share them!

As always, there will be free drinks, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and great networking for those who attend! Please join us for this important presentation and brainstorming session while checking out the event space at Café Do Brazil, which just opened last year.

Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
if you plan to attend!

More Californians reverse course and head to Oklahoma

2010-10-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY

OKLAHOMA CITY — Former Hollywood producer Neal Nordlinger, raising funds for a technology venture a couple of years ago, was stunned when a partner suggested locating the start-up here in Oklahoma's capital and leaving Los Angeles behind: "I said: 'Are you blankety-blank crazy? Oklahoma City? It's a cow town.' "
That was then. Now Nordlinger is running a software firm here and preaching the virtues of the heartland — low costs, unclogged streets, friendly people. "It's a dream here," he says. "The selling price of a house here would not be the down payment on a house in L.A. ... People in L.A. do something for you because there's something in it for them. Here, they genuinely want to help you succeed."

Nordlinger, who co-produced the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies Last Action Hero and Junior, is part of a mini-exodus: Since 1999, the number of Californians departing the Golden State for Oklahoma has outnumbered those going the opposite direction by more than 21,000, a reversal of the Depression-era migration west that John Steinbeck described in The Grapes of Wrath. In August, Boeing announced plans to shift 550 jobs from Long Beach to its complex next to Tinker Air Force Base outside Oklahoma City.

The influx of Californians is a sign of Oklahoma's growing economic prowess. The state was spared the worst of the nation's deepest economic downturn since Steinbeck wrote his classic novel of Okies and their desperate journey from the Dust Bowl to the orchards of California.

"We are outperforming the rest of the country," says Mickey Hepner, an economist at the University of Central Oklahoma. "Our personal income is growing a little faster than elsewhere. ... We didn't suffer the depths of recession like the rest of the country, so we could bounce back a little more quickly."

Poised for growth

Oklahoma's unemployment rate was tied for 10th lowest in the country in August at 7%. Aaron Smith, senior economist for Moody's Analytics, recently upgraded his forecast for the state, writing, "Oklahoma should be among the first to make the leap from recovery to expansion."

The state has been shielded from the economic tempest by high energy prices and by a stable housing market that didn't go boom — or bust. But Oklahoma's relative economic success and ability to attract jobs from California and elsewhere also reflect deliberate policy decisions to:

•Tempt employers to come to Oklahoma or expand in the state — as long as they offer decent jobs with benefits. The state Commerce Department, for example, offers cash payments worth up to 5% of the new payroll when a company adds workers if the jobs pay the average county wage or $29,409 a year (whichever is lower) and come with basic health insurance.

•Launch a state marketing campaign — Project Boomerang — to bring back skilled Oklahomans who left to seek out the bright lights of bigger cities.

Oklahomans who departed after college or high school often feel homesick — and open to the sales pitch — as they get older and start thinking about buying a house or starting a family. "Oklahoma is one of those places you have to come from to think it's beautiful," says Jamey Jacob, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University.

Rod Whitson was lured back three years ago to run an Oklahoma City bank after working in Los Angeles for 10 years. "After a while you kind of burn out on the traffic, you burn out on all the people, you burn out on the cost of everything," he says.

•Exploit the state's competitive advantage in aerospace and defense technology. Oklahoma already has two of the world's largest aircraft maintenance facilities in Tinker Air Force Base and American Airlines' maintenance hub in Tulsa.

Oklahoma State University is emerging as a leader in unmanned aircraft, important to the U.S. military hunting terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The school last month announced a program in unmanned aviation: "We've been inundated with applications," professor Jacob says. "We don't know what we're going to do."

Oklahoma State students have won seven first-place awards the past 11 years in a national unmanned aircraft competition.

Oklahoma State also has set up a research-and-development arm, called University Multispectral Laboratories, in Ponca City to bring jobs to the state. The labs help government agencies and private contractors test and develop technology, mostly related to national security — unmanned aircraft, sensors that detect radiation, communications systems. Private companies pay fees but get to keep any patents the labs help them develop. The labs themselves — paying scientists more than $90,000 a year — provide a boost to the local economy.

"We try to pay coastal salaries for living in the heartland," says lab director D. Webster Keogh. "I'm trying to make Oklahoma a fly-to state instead of a fly-over state."

•Transform Oklahoma City, "a ghost town" when Whitson left in 1997, into a lively city where new downtown hotels are packed, young professionals crowd bars and restaurants in the restored Bricktown district and sports fans enjoy a hometown NBA franchise, a 12,000-seat minor-league baseball stadium and a world-class rowing and kayaking venue on a long-neglected stretch of riverfront.

Oklahoma City's makeover began with civic humiliation. The state capital went all out to win a huge United Airlines' maintenance facility in 1991; voters even approved a 1-cent sales tax to finance a building for United. But the airline rejected Oklahoma City's bid and picked Indianapolis instead. City elders asked United why they'd come up short. The answer, current Mayor Mick Cornett says, was hard to hear: United executives couldn't imagine forcing their people to live in such a dull, run-down city.

From that humbling experience Oklahoma City officials learned two things: Residents were willing to absorb tax increases to improve their city and attract employers, and Oklahoma City needed an overhaul — quick.

Starting in 1993, voters OK'd a series of targeted sales taxes that raised hundreds of millions of dollars for civic improvements, including the construction of what is now the $34 million AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Before the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS), "We didn't have a city that was worth coming to visit," says Cornett, who was a local television reporter when the makeover began. "The ballpark — that was undeniably cool. We had raised the level of what was expected" in a city that hadn't contended for world-class status.

MAPS money also turned a 7-mile stretch of river from little more than a weed-lined drainage ditch through downtown into an official U.S. Olympic training site for rowing, canoeing and kayaking. "The joke is, we used to mow it, and now we row it," says Fritz Kiersch, a former Hollywood director (the 1984 horror film Children of the Corn) who now teaches film at Oklahoma City University. The city's status as a water sports mecca has lured people such as Jen Burke, a sprint kayaker who came from San Diego to train for international competition, including the 2012 Olympics. "It's a perfect place to be," she says.

For years, Cornett had unsuccessfully lobbied the NBA for an Oklahoma City basketball franchise. When Hurricane Katrina tore up the Gulf Coast in 2005, the NBA's New Orleans Hornets needed a temporary home. Oklahoma City took them in for two seasons, proved it could be a big league city and won the Seattle Supersonics franchise — renamed the Thunder — with star forward Kevin Durant.

For all its efforts, Oklahoma still has work to do. In a ranking of state business climates this year, CNBC put Oklahoma at No. 1 for lowest cost of living but 25th overall, 41st for quality of life and 40th for education. Few Oklahomans would challenge the verdict on their schools. "The public school system needs help," says Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr.

Lifestyle pluses

But Oklahoma boosters, including those who have relocated from California and other states, defend the quality of life here. "I've spent my career traveling the financial capitals of the world, and this state can really hold its own," says Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley, formerly a mutual fund industry lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Mike Emmelhainz, who directs Boeing operations in Oklahoma City, says his neighbors welcomed his family with a fried-chicken dinner when they moved here last year. What's more, he says, "I'm not spending what little free time I have in traffic."

Christine Berney, who grew up in California and Oregon and now oversees community relations for the NBA's Thunder, says her West Coast friends used to tease her and her screenwriter husband about moving to the heartland. "They thought we were insane," she says. "Then we sent them the flier of the house we bought. They pretty much didn't say anything after that."

No wonder: The median sales price of an existing single-family home in Oklahoma City was $150,000 last quarter — and $340,000 in Los Angeles, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"People are very friendly. People are not guarded," Berney says. "Nobody honks. In L.A., if you stayed at a stoplight more than two seconds, people would be out on the street banging on your car."

Newcomers say ambitious people can make a bigger impact faster in Oklahoma than they could in bigger, busier places. JD Merryweather's photography studio struggled in Santa Fe but took off in Oklahoma City. Now he's running Coop Ale Works, a microbrewery that was profitable three months after opening last year and is expecting to double its revenue this year.

Christy Counts returned to Oklahoma City from California six years ago, determined to start a Humane Society branch and head back to the West Coast. She's still here. "You can spend 15 years (elsewhere) trying to make a name for yourself," she says, "or you can spend two years (in Oklahoma City), work your a— off and make a difference."

Sometimes the newcomers still miss the West Coast. Kayaker Burke longs for the beach. Former producer Nordlinger, whose Search and Clear firm makes software that lets people share documents, says he can't find a top-notch Italian restaurant or a decent Jewish deli. And as much as he loves Oklahoma and admires the Thunder, he can't help himself: He still roots for the Lakers.

US News and World Report Names OKC Best Place to Launch Second Career

2010-09-29T09:08:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE STORY

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Population: 563,196

Median home price: $121,500

Among U.S. metro areas with a population of at least 1 million, this state capital has the lowest business costs
, in part because of tax incentives, according to KPMG's 2010 "Competitive Alternatives" analysis of 112 cities in 10 countries. It also has an unemployment rate of just 5.6 percent. "People can find jobs here, period," crows Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.

Energy companies
are big employers, and Tinker Air Force Base provides a steady stream of consulting work for retirees, particularly military folks. Plus, the University of Oklahoma Medical Center is spawning growth in healthcare jobs as well as bioscience start-ups.

Among workers in the country's 52 largest cities, Oklahoma City residents deal with the third-shortest commutes, according to the Census Bureau's most recent American Community Survey. Drivers spend an average of 21.35 minutes behind the wheel on their way to work, with only drivers in Rochester, N.Y., (20.37 minutes) and Buffalo-Niagara Falls (20.78) arriving quicker.

Joel Martin, 55, a retired Air Force colonel and now a senior staff fellow at the University of Oklahoma, moved from Denver with his wife Elizabeth, a book editor, six years ago after a 26-year military career in which he served as a meteorologist, hurricane hunter, and Air Force officer recruiter. Thanks to differences in the price of housing, fuel, and utilities, he says, "our estimates at the time were that the cost of living in the Oklahoma City area would be about 10 to 15 percent less than the Denver area. That has proven to be true, if not a bit conservative."

Martin's personal motivation was to return to his home state. "What I've found in OKC is not only a lower cost
of living, but an increasing sophistication in what the community offers in return. I'm an avid Apple fan and was encouraged to find a new Apple store—and plenty of Starbucks."

News Bureau Announcements: Week of Sept. 28

2010-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

-Schnake Turnbo Frank | PR has been named one of nine finalists nationwide for Small Agency of the Year by industry publication PR News. The winner will be announced Oct. 5 in New York.

-Oklahoma City recently won the bid to host the SBIR National Conference. This conference will take place Nov. 8 – 10 at Cox Convention Center, and is designed to help researchers and small businesses secure development capital from a long-standing federal program. More than 500 attendees from around the nation are expected to attend. To learn more about the conference, go to www.SBIROK.org.

-You are invited to attend the ELC Roundtable, a peer to peer organization of Entrepreneurs, Leaders, and CEO's. They meet every Wednesday morning from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. at 9430 N May Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73120. Register online at: http://www.elcroundtable.com/meetings/signup-sheet/.

August 26 Meeting: OKC Barons

2010-09-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

On August 26, the OKC News Bureau met at the Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theatre. Our guests speakers came from OKC's new hockey team, the OKC Barons.

Twenty-five News Bureau members attended the meeting. Attendees had the opportunity to hear not only from OKC Barons Director of Communications Josh Evans, but also had the chance to meet OKC Barons Head Coach Todd Nelson. Attendees also enjoyed a new venue, the Tasting Room at Will Roger's Theatre.

Thanks to everyone who came!

Click on these links for more information!
OKC Barons: www.okcbarons.com
The Tasting Room: www.thetastingroomokc.com

Next News Bureau Meeting Set

2010-08-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars for the next News Bureau meeting of 2010!

Oklahoma City is home to the new Barons hockey team. With its first season kicking off in October of this year, this American Hockey League affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers is sure to make an incredible impact on Oklahoma City.

Come hear about the new team and the upcoming season from Josh Evans, Barons Director of Communications and Chris Dashney, Hockey Operations Manager. Enjoy the presentation while checking out the new Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theatre.

Thursday, August 26
The Tasting Room at Will Rogers Theatre
4322 N. Western
4 – 5:30 p.m.

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres followed by a presentation on the OKC Barons.

Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at jharrison@okcchamber.com if you plan to attend!

Headlines of the Week

2010-07-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

Strategic investment key to continued science, tech gains
The Oklahoman
BY MICHAEL CAROLINA
July 26, 2010

It is easy to lose sight of what's working for Oklahoma while dealing with a down economy. Perhaps now is a good time to reflect and refocus on our science and technology journey.

Oklahomans must have watched with wonder as Sylvan Goldman rolled out his innovative shopping cart in 1937. Similarly, Carl Magee unveiled the first parking meter in 1935at Robinson and Park Avenue in Oklahoma City. Wiley Post, Oklahoma aviator and inventor, made headlines in 1934 when he went aloft in the world's first-ever pressurized suit. These examples are a prelude to the innovation climate that we continue to build today.

Today, Oklahoma researchers and firms are involved in developing robots to save lives and gather intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles that keep our soldiers safe in Afghanistan and cutting-edge proton therapy that's making a difference in the lives of cancer patients. Research teams at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have captured the attention of researchers and physicians around the world with their extensive catalog of autoimmune disorders and, most importantly, with innovative ways to treat these disorders.

In 1986, visionary state leaders established the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Since then, OCAST has supported Oklahoma's research community to develop and commercialize new technologies that result in high-paying jobs, new businesses and enterprises that put us on a sustainable growth trajectory to compete globally.

OCAST focuses on technology sectors that — when added to our staples of energy and agriculture — provide us with the best opportunities to grow and diversify our economy. At the core of our programs are applied and health research but our full suite includes small-business support mechanisms, research and development internships, advanced manufacturing, commercialization services and seed capital for startup businesses.

We leverage the state's investment in OCAST by increasing the flow of federal dollars to Oklahoma researchers. Our model is based on strong governance, stewardship, expert advisers and outside peer review to ensure project awards are based on merit and offer the best return on investment for Oklahoma taxpayers.

We're hitting our stride in advancing science and technology and promoting public/private collaborations to create value for the citizens of Oklahoma. Over the past 23 years, OCAST has awarded $193 million to 2,230 Oklahoma research projects that have, in turn, attracted $3.5 billion from the federal and private sectors in areas such as bioscience, aerospace, high-productivity agriculture, nanotechnology applications and renewable energy.

OCAST has received many national and international calls asking how Oklahoma put together its model for technology-based economic development and how it helped leverage the state's research capacity at its research institutions, foundations and small businesses. And therein lies the challenge — how to keep the momentum and position Oklahoma for continued growth and excellence. I believe we know how to continue to build the state's science and technology agenda and chronology — our real challenge is continued commitment to strategic investment.

Carolina is executive director of OCAST.

MidTown draws unique mix of businesses to revived Oklahoma City area
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
July 24, 2010
July 24--As a longtime Mesta Park resident and owner of the Sieber Hotel Apartments, Marva Ellard has seen MidTown transformed this past decade from a blighted area to a thriving mixed-use downtown community.

"I've seen great changes," Ellard said. "The number and quality of the restaurants here have dramatically improved. It's safer and cleaner. And there is a huge interest to live in this part of town."

Ellard's own restored Sieber Hotel is full and she fields calls daily. She boasts the neighborhood has the best mix in all of the city's urban core -- a walkable area that is home to St. Anthony Hospital, offices, a fitness center, schools, restaurants and housing.

But what Ellard and others say is needed most in MidTown is what it is largely missing -- retail.

MidTown Renaissance developer Mickey Clagg couldn't agree more, and is opening up a contest for the best retail pitch for the area's landmark Plaza Court building. The prize will be one year of free rent for a 1,500-square-foot store front (as part of a three-year lease) and one year free membership to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

Clagg said an optometrist is joining the mix at Plaza Court, which is already home to a YMCA fitness center, Irma's Burgers, Subway and James E. McNellie's Public House.

It has only been a couple of years since Clagg, along with partners Bob Howard, took over development of the project from former developer Greg Banta. The pair has overseen the openings of restaurants including the MidTown Deli and Stella, and the introduction of new housing.

"Everyone loves Stella and what they doing," Clagg said. "I think all the restaurants in MidTown are doing well. I think if we had six more buildings like the one with Stella, we could rent them today."

But Clagg doesn't have any more buildings like Stella (a converted old gas station), and the strip along Walker is fully leased. He now is turning his attention to the Packard Building at NW 10 and Robinson, which after some monthslong failed negotiations with potential office tenants, is about to undergo the remainder of renovations.

Work also is starting up again on the conversion of Hadden Hall into apartments, with the Cline Hotel and the 1212 Building on Walker to follow in the future.
"People are coming to MidTown for a different reason: it's historic, there are a lot of cool restaurants you can walk to," Clagg said. "And with Oklahoma City we have an advantage in that downtown is in the middle -- there are over 600,000 people within 15-20 minutes of downtown. We have the third-shortest commute time in the country."

Courting the perfect tenant: Plaza contest seeks creative retailer
The Journal Record
by Brianna Bailey
July 26th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – Plaza Court has come a long way since 2006, when the only remaining tenant in the building was a Subway restaurant. Today, the landmark, 83-year-old, irregular-shaped building is the heart of the thriving Midtown district and houses an artisan bakery and a hip burger joint, among other businesses.

One thing the area has always lacked is retail space and services, said Midtown Renaissance developer Mickey Clagg, who is redeveloping about 30 properties in the Midtown area.

There have been three vacant commercial spaces at Plaza Court for a while, because Midtown Renaissance has been looking for just the right tenants to make the area a shopping and dining destination, Clagg said. The developer just leased one space to an optometrist and hopes to fill more slots with boutique retailers.

“We just decided we couldn’t do any more restaurants,” Clagg said. “We want to have a good tenant mix, so we’ve been holding out for retail.”

Midtown Renaissance is holding a contest to find a new tenant for Plaza Court. The winning business will get a year of free rent in a 1,501-square-foot property – the first year of a three-year lease on the space – as well as one-year, free membership to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

The competition is open to locally owned businesses. Midtown Renaissance will consider a new business that has not been established yet, but the contest is closed to restaurants, franchises and chain retailers. The developer is looking for a creative retail concept or service to fill the space, Clagg said.

“We want something that is unique, something you don’t see at the suburban shopping center or mall,” he said.

Business owners and managers at Plaza Court said they would like to see retailers come into the area to draw more shoppers there.

“Shopping would be nice if you had some time to kill,” said Tracy Gleese, manager of the Plaza Court pub and restaurant James E. McNellie’s Public House.

John McBryde, owner of Prairie Thunder Baking Co., which has been at Plaza Court since 2008, said he is open-minded about what kind of business he would like to have as a neighbor.

The Plaza Court has been completely revitalized since McBryde signed a lease to open his bakery there four years ago, he said.

“It’s been a whole lot of fun to be a part of, and I think we’ve achieved critical mass,” he said.

The deadline to enter the new Plaza Court business contest is 5 p.m. Aug. 16.
Application materials can be downloaded at www.midtownR.com. Finalists will be notified on Sept. 3 and a winner will be chosen by Sept. 14.

Will Rogers opens new terminal
The Journal Record
Brian Brus
July 26th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – Business travelers and sports teams have a new entryway to Oklahoma City, Will Rogers World Airport officials revealed Monday.

The new corporate and general aviation terminal is northwest of the much larger commercial complex with which most travelers are familiar. At 6,000 square feet, the so-called fixed-base operation, or FBO, facility is geared more toward smaller, private and corporate aircraft.

The opening of the $1.8 million building is the culmination of several years of discussions between AAR Corp. and the Oklahoma City municipal government’s airports trust, Director Mark Kranenburg said.

“After the expansion/renovation of the commercial terminal in 2006, it was evident that the airport needed a complementary general aviation and corporate terminal,” Kranenburg said. “Our longtime relationship with AAR enabled us to collaborate on this project. The result is a facility that reflects the progressive nature of our community.”

Kranenburg estimated the building will handle more than 10,000 flights annually. It was designed by Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates engineering firm and built by Silvercliffe Construction, both of Oklahoma City.

The FBO is often a destination for U.S. Air Force jets engaged in training exercises from nearby Vance Air Force Base. And AAR has the fueling contract for the airlines that serve Oklahoma City. Illinois-based AAR serves aviation and government defense clients nationwide through its aviation supply chain, maintenance and general systems segments.

Mayor Mick Cornett attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the airport Monday with several other government officials and civic leaders.

“We believe the modernization of the FBO facility shows what can be accomplished when the public and private sectors join forces for the greater good of the community,” Cornett said. “We can now offer visitors a first-class aviation facility that reflects Oklahoma City’s efforts to stimulate and support our local economy.
“AAR and other companies have a lot of opportunities to invest in communities and airports around the world, and that they would choose Oklahoma City as a wise investment speaks loudly to Oklahoma City’s progression,” he said.

AAR established operations in Oklahoma City in 1971, Chief Executive David Storch said, and now has 615 local employees with an annual payroll of $30 million. The city has one of the best FBOs in the United States, he said.

“I know a few years back that people in Oklahoma City got a little nervous when we announced an expansion in Indianapolis. But I’m proud to say today, as I was back then, that this Oklahoma City base is a very critical part of the AAR business empire,” Storch said.

Into the sky: Devon tower to begin rising at rapid pace
The Journal Record
by Brianna Bailey
July 28th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – Workers have finished the skeleton of the sixth floor of Devon Energy’s new corporate headquarters downtown and will soon begin adding height to the structure at a rate of one floor every eight days.

Devon expects the new tower on Sheridan Avenue between Hudson and Robinson avenues to top 500 feet by spring, making it the tallest structure in the city, company Chairman Larry Nichols said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The company expects the 50-story, 1.8-million-square-foot tower to reach its full height of 850 feet in August of 2011.

Workers are expected to begin installing glass into the first three floors of the tower in September.

Nichols said he has been in communication with several companies about taking over some of the roughly 800,000 square feet of office space downtown that Devon will vacate once it moves into its new headquarters in 2012.

At least one company has expressed interest in taking over Devon’s current headquarters at 20 N. Broadway Ave., but Nichols would not reveal if it was another energy company or whether the firm was based in Oklahoma, saying any such announcement would be premature.

The project is on schedule and within its projected $750 million budget, Nichols said.

“It’s a hard time to be doing something like this in a recession, it takes a little intestinal fortitude to look into the future,” Nichols said.

One upside to building in a down market, Nichols said, is that all of the bids on the project have come in at or under budget.

The fact that there is so much new construction taking place in Oklahoma City is something the city should be proud of, said Gavin Kalley, project director for construction of the new Devon headquarters, which is a joint venture between

Oklahoma City-based Flintco Constructive Solutions and Atlanta-based Holder Construction.

“Not many major metro areas can say that right now,” Kalley said.

Headlines of the Week

2010-07-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Fair park shows off upgrades
The Journal Record
Brian Brus
July 9th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – The latest horse show at the Oklahoma State Fair Park was a little different from the usual events held there throughout the year.

Instead of merely serving as host or landlord, the park had an event of its own last week, the Battle in the Saddle backed by $300,000 in prize money.

President and General Manager Tim O’Toole said park management wanted a full calendar of activities to take advantage of barn upgrades. Since no one else stepped forward with an event, they decided to do it themselves.

“It’s a little bit of a different model,” he said. “The city of Oklahoma City is not really the owner of any events. We have a wonderful relationship with the equine world and all the horse breed associations. But we thought it might be nice to put together an event for a change.

“This idea surfaced about three years ago, coinciding with the fruition of various property improvements. We’d been able to successfully retain and enter into long-term agreements with all of our fall horse shows after the State Fair. So we started looking for an opportunity to fill early to mid summer dates,” O’Toole said.

The result was a variety event, with a smattering of competitions that overlapped but did not directly compete against any of the park’s long-standing clients. One of the features, for example, was a face-off between champion ropers Fred Whitfield of Texas and Hunter Herrin of Oklahoma. Other events focused on working cow horses, reining, cutting, heading and healing.

Officials said visitors who attended the event with 800 to 1,000 horses had an impact of about $10 million on the Oklahoma City economy.

The prize money came from entry fees and the park management company, Oklahoma State Fair spokesman Scott Munz said. The 430-acre property is owned by the city of Oklahoma City and managed by the nonprofit Oklahoma State Fair Inc., which operates under its own funds. None of the prize money came from taxpayers, he said.

O’Toole called the Battle in the Saddle a success, but said it is unlikely that the park will expand to a slate of its own and threaten other operators. In fact, the American Quarter Horse Association supported the event as a management partner, he said.

“We didn’t want to get into competition or step on anybody’s toes,” O’Toole said. “The AQHA actually put together an industrywide meeting for us, using their affiliate relationships with organizations like the National Cutting Horse Association and American Cattle Horse Association. … We had some organizational meetings in Oklahoma City and hashed it out. We’re very satisfied with the result.”

Construction to begin on Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma site in Oklahoma City
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Oklahoman
July 14, 2010

Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma will start construction on a new 70,000-square-foot clinic and administration building Thursday at 325 NE 97, near Broadway Extension and Britton Road.

Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma will start construction on a new 70,000-square-foot clinic and administration building Thursday at 325 NE 97, near Broadway Extension and Britton Road.

A groundbreaking ceremony, which was announced late last year, will be at 11 a.m.
Nearly 300 of the company's 780 Oklahoma employees will work at the location, which is expected to open in August 2011. Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma, a business unit of Quest Diagnostics, provides laboratory services and laboratory management to more than 2,200 physicians, hospitals and clinics in across Oklahoma.

"This new facility is not only an asset for DLO, but it's an asset for Oklahoma patients, physicians and all health care professionals," said Bill Mosteller, managing director.

"It provides us with room for continued growth and gives us the ability to deliver more cutting-edge technology. And by having our clinical and administrative operations under one roof, it will improve operational efficiencies," he said.
The property is being developed by Turner & Co. Architecture services are provided by Bockus Payne Associates Architects.

Rawhide Joins Other Shops Thriving in Automobile Alley
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
The Oklahoman
July 14, 2010

Automobile Alley's newest retailer, Rawhide, opened Monday at 1007 N Broadway in Oklahoma City. The building was the last old property along the once depressed stretch of Broadway between NW 9 and NW 10 waiting to be renovated.

From the moment Steve Mason began redeveloping the 1000 block of N Broadway, he envisioned recasting Automobile Alley as a thriving downtown retail corridor.

The 1007 N Broadway building, built in 1918 and originally operated as Cadillac dealership, marks the sixth building built before 1950 renovated by developer Steve Mason and the second project completed under the guidelines set by the National Park Service to qualify for historic tax credits.

Just a few years ago Mason was a newcomer to downtown development. The 1007 N Broadway building, like the century-old 1015 N Broadway building next door, was in bad shape with a roof falling in and a facade that had been dramatically altered.

The restoration brought back the original facade shown in old photos obtained by Mason. The wide windows are used by the newly opened Rawhide in the same fashion storefronts displayed goods a half-century ago. Rawhide owner Angie Bailey kept the unfinished interior walls exposed, and added a rustic feel to the rear of the store by covering the wall with 30-year-old unpainted wood siding removed from a house her family owns in Purcell.

"One hundred years later, these buildings are returning to what they once were," Mason said.

To date his efforts have included a coffee shop, bicycle store and cellular phone store complemented by a mix of restaurants and shops across the street along NW 9.
Mason didn't have to seek out his newest tenant. Instead, Angie Bailey, the owner of Rawhide, sought out Mason and in some ways she brings his initial vision full circle.
Rawhide comes with a mix of upscale furniture, clothing, jewelry and gifts that have drawn a national customer base since Bailey started the company three years ago in Norman. And a partnership with the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum adds to her store's status as a destination retailer.

"It has a good feeling here; it has a good vibe," Bailey said. "I wanted more space for displaying furniture and for my design work. And I've always wanted a store in Automobile Alley. I love what they did with the street, with the brick and the tree lines."

The location is within five minutes of the junction of Interstates 35 and 40, which allows the relocated store to be more accessible to Bailey's national customers. And she believes the revival of Automobile Alley, the proximity of downtown's historic neighborhoods and the popular restaurants along NW 9 will create more walk-in traffic.

The store itself is 5,300 square feet, far larger than the 2,600-square-foot shop it replaced.

Bailey spent much of her career as a furniture representative, and operated a wholesale shop for designers for three years.

It was when Bailey found herself traveling out of state for "ranch style" clothing and furniture she describes as "rustic, yet refined" and made in the United States, that she sought to create the sort of store she believed was missing locally.
More than a decade ago she eyed opening such a shop in the Stockyards, but determined it wasn't ready.

Bailey said the shop she opened in Norman — one that also featured handmade Western boots, turquoise jewelry, men's and women's clothing — was instantly a hit with shoppers who discovered her offerings online. She runs the store with her daughter Dakota Rowenhorst.

The 1007 N Broadway building was the last of what was a depressed set of properties waiting to be renovated when Bailey approached Mason. He had a "for lease" sign in the building's window for months, and despite some inquiries he had yet to find the right fit for the block.

"Everything I'm leasing, I've used toward the goal that we see a few more cups of coffee sold in the coffee shop (his tenant Coffee Slingers)," Mason said. "Allied Arts is here, and they have a lot of people who wander through, and there are a lot of people who want to enjoy a cup of coffee. And what's great about Rawhide is it will bring new people who have not been to this part of town before."

Alison Oshel, a retail specialist with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, sees Rawhide as a good step forward in Automobile Alley's transition.

"It is something that tourists and visitors expect to see when they visit Oklahoma City, and it's a nice upscale way to do that," Oshel said. "Automobile Alley is where it's at now for boutique retail opportunities that we're going to see pop up downtown. These buildings have tall first stories, clear glass storefronts, and a walkable area that doesn't really exist elsewhere downtown. And there is on-street parking and extremely easy ingress and egress."

Rawhide, meanwhile, is the seventh business opened downtown in the past three years as a result of Mason's efforts to redevelop NW 9 and Broadway.

"The seventh was easier than the first," Mason said. "And the eighth, I think, will be easier than the second. It's like a strip shopping center, and it's filling up. The last bay is easier to fill than the first bay."

Mason credits city leaders with helping make Broadway a success.

"If you look at the sales taxes (being collected) for this part of town, it's incredibly higher than it was five years ago," Mason said. "The city's investment is being paid by these businesses that are relocating back to downtown."

Headlines of the Week

2010-07-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

New OMRF scientists receive grants
The Journal Record
July 7, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – Two years ago, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation launched a recruiting campaign with the goal of bringing in a new generation of scientists to lead the foundation as it expands.

Since that time, OMRF has recruited eight new principal investigators for its new 186,000-square-foot research tower, which is expected to open next year.

The eight new scientists have already secured $11.57 million in grants since coming to OMRF. The money, the majority of which is awards from the National Institutes of Health, supports research on obesity, cancer, heart disease, lupus and other illnesses.

“These are out-of-state dollars that flow into Oklahoma and create jobs for laboratory technicians, graduate students and assisting scientists,” said Stephen Prescott, OMRF president. “And the research they’re doing has already opened new windows into a number of life-threatening and debilitating conditions.”

OMRF’s new investigators include Marta Alarcon, who joined OMRF in 2009 from Uppsala University in Sweden; Jana Barlic, who joined OMRF in 2008 from the Imperial College of Medicine in London; Hong Chen, who joined OMRF in 2008 from Yale University; Courtney Griffin, who joined OMRF in 2008 from the University of North Carolina; Tim Griffin, who joined OMRF in 2008 from Duke University; Mike Kinter, who joined OMRF in 2008 from the Cleveland Clinic; Courtney Montgomery, who joined OMRF in 2008 from Case Western Reserve University; and Roberto Pezza, who joined OMRF in 2009 from the National Institutes of Health. The eight new researchers represent the first wave of an effort that will add 30 principal scientists to OMRF’s faculty. Recruitment efforts are ongoing, with at least two new scientists expected to join OMRF before the end of the year. – Staff report

ESPN ranks Thunder fan satisfaction
The Journal Record
July 7, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – ESPN The Magazine has ranked the Oklahoma City Thunder 25th among the four top major-league sports in its annual Ultimate Standings that measure how much MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises give back to their fans.

The Thunder jumped from 57th a year earlier.

The overall ranking was based on how each team fares in eight categories – fan relations, ownership, players, coaching, affordability, stadium experience, title track and “bang for the buck” – wins during the past three years per revenues directly from fans.

The Thunder’s ranking for fan satisfaction was fifth best in the NBA and places it ahead of 97 other professional sports teams.

“The Thunder organization is truly humbled by the loyalty of our fans, and it is a tremendous honor to have that depth of support recognized by ESPN The Magazine,” said Brian Byrnes, Thunder senior vice president.

The Thunder’s ranking by category was Affordability ninth, first in the NBA; Fan Relations 12th, second in the NBA; Players ninth, second in the NBA; Coaching, 35th, ninth in the NBA; Title Track, 51st, 10th in the NBA; Ownership 43rd, 11th in the NBA; Bang for the Buck 53rd, 13th in the NBA; and Stadium Experience 66th, 14th in the NBA.

“The Thunder bolted up the rankings in part because of their first playoff appearance in just their second year in OK City,” Charles Curtis wrote in ESPN The Magazine.

Curtis added that player appearances in the community and other initiatives have strengthened the relationship between the team and its fans.
– Staff report

At Oklahoma City show, riders saddle up to be best
BY LEIGH ANNE C. MANWARREN
The
July 7, 2010
More than 800 horses were registered to compete at the Battle in the Saddle show at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.

Reining, roping and other events are being featured this week during the inaugural Battle in the Saddle horse show at State Fair Park.

More than 800 horses will be competing for more than $300,000 in Western disciplines reining, working cow horse, roping, cutting and ranch horse events, said Jim Bret Campbell, spokesman for the American Quarter Horse Association.

A rider lines up at the gate waiting for the previous rider to exit the arena. The Battle in the Saddle took place at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. Photo by Mitchell Alcala, The Oklahoman

Billed as the first of its kind, the event continues through Saturday in various State Fair Park buildings.

"We thought it would be a good idea for us to feature those Western disciplines that are so familiar to a lot of people here in Oklahoma, because a lot of those disciplines are taking place throughout the ranches here in the state, creating local interest,” said J. Scott Munz, Oklahoma State Fair spokesman.

Rather than having one show for one event and for one particular breed, Campbell said Battle in the Saddle is an opportunity to the best of the best in some of the "most exciting of equestrian sports.”

Some trainers already are pleased with the large show and park facilities.
"Even though this is just the first year, I would love to come back,” said Aubrey, Texas, trainer Terry Thompson.

"The facilities are the best in the country, and they treat all the horses and the riders well. I just hope that it will be able to make it financially.”

ProCure celebrates one year of proton therapy in Oklahoma
BY SUSAN SIMPSON
Oklahoman
Published: July 7, 2010

When patients complete cancer treatment at ProCure Proton Therapy Center, they get a new title: graduate.

A small celebration is held to congratulate patients who graduate from proton therapy, a treatment that first became available in Oklahoma in July 2009.
Dick Marshall is graduate No. 30.

"I have eliminated prostate cancer," Marshall said. "It's a great thing."
Marshall was among the center's first patients and now one of its biggest advocates. He chose the therapy over other forms of radiation after seeing how a friend responded to proton treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Close to home
The Oklahoma City man said he was glad to find treatment closer to home so he could continue his work as a Realtor. The ProCure center is at 5901 W Memorial Road.

"This sounds strange, but I almost looked forward to going to treatment," Marshall said. "They have the most caring, compassionate staff I have ever encountered."

About 150 patients from 15 states have been treated at ProCure, including 109 for prostate cancer, 26 for brain tumors and 14 children. The center also has developed new treatment protocols for gastrointestinal cancers that will be used by centers across the country, Medical Director Dr. Sameer Keole said.

Now fully operational with four treatment rooms, the center can accommodate 1,500 patients a year and employs about 65 people.

Patients have come from across the country, Keole said, and about 90 percent of cases are covered by Medicare or health insurance plans.

"If something can be treated with X-rays, it can be treated with protons," he said. "We've done a very good job of getting most things approved."

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation cancer treatment that precisely targets tumors. This precision reduces damage to healthy tissue so patients experience fewer short- and long-term side effects than with standard X-ray radiation.

The OU Cancer Institute also will have a proton therapy unit. That center is expected to open in 2011.

Keole said he welcomes the additional center because it will raise awareness of the benefits of proton therapy. He estimates that 3,500 Oklahomans each year would benefit from proton therapy.

"Between our two centers, we couldn't even treat 50 percent of patients from Oklahoma, much less surrounding areas."

Three companies pledge 114 jobs
They'll benefit from state's Quality Jobs Program
The Oklahoman
BY SUSAN SIMPSON
July 9, 2010

Three companies joined the Oklahoma Quality Jobs program last month, pledging to create 114 jobs in coming years in exchange for wage rebates.

AGIO
AGIO Technology, a global information technology company, plans 74 jobs in Norman, for a maximum payroll rebate of $3.3 million over 10 years.

AGIO serves hedge fund companies and opened this year at Three Partners Place on the University of Oklahoma south research campus.

"Sitting strategically on the OU campus allows AGIO to pull from the fantastic talent OU provides," said Suzy Hurt, chief administrative officer for the company.

Bart McDonough, CEO and founder of AGIO, is a former OU student who served as managing director at SAC Capital, a hedge fund. Hurt said McDonough saw an opportunity to design IT services specifically for that industry.

The company now has 43 employees in Norman.

TRECE
Trece Inc., an Adair-based company that makes pheromone and kairomone-based insect monitoring and control systems, plans 15 more jobs, for a potential payroll rebate of $164,192 over seven years.

The company is expanding product lines, said Donna Lingren, who co-owns the company with her husband, Bill Lingren, an Oklahoma State University entomology graduate.

At recent count, the company has 22 employees and manufactures product lines Pherocon, Storgard and Cidetract.

AGIO, which is hiring workers for the Adair plant, is looking for chemists, research and development and sales personnel.

Bill Lingren was working in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1983, when he purchased product lines from Zoecon Corporation. He renamed the company Trece (Spanish for 13) for his lucky number and the 13th column, or profit column, in a typical spreadsheet.

The Lingrens moved Trece's corporate headquarters from Salinas, Calif., to Adair in 2002. Donna Lingren said the cost of doing business is less in Oklahoma and they wanted to retire here.

Trece's products are based on natural chemicals produced by insects.

"Our mantra is 'Don't spray unless you have to.'"

SESACO
California-based Sesaco Corp. plans 25 jobs at its Hobart plant, qualifying for a $221,947 wage rebate over seven years.

The processing plant, leased from the city of Hobart, cleans sesame seeds grown by farmers in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. About 15 are employed there, including equipment operators and managers, said company administrator Tina Smith.

Sesaco has worked in all phases of sesame, including plant research, variety development, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, receiving, cleaning, exporting, importing, product development and bulk sales.

Despite National Economic woes, Entrepreneurship Alive and Well in Oklahoma

2010-05-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

Despite a struggling national economy, entrepreneurship continues to thrive in Oklahoma as the Kauffman Foundation reports Oklahoma had the highest entrepreneurial activity rate in the United States in 2009. Montana, Arizona, Texas and Idaho rounded out the top five, respectively.

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity showed 470 new businesses were created for every 100,000 adults living in Oklahoma each month. This represents a 57-percent increase compared to 2008. The national average was 340 new businesses, a four-percent increase over the past year.

“These things don’t happen overnight,” Tom Walker, president and CEO of i2E Inc., said. “For nearly a decade this state, through the public and private sector, has been developing programs that have allowed innovation to flourish. In Oklahoma, entrepreneurship and innovation have been made a priority and that will continue.” i2E is a private, not-for-profit corporation that works to grow the technology-based entrepreneurial economy in Oklahoma.

Last year, Fortune Magazine named Oklahoma City the No. 1 large metro in the nation for starting a small business.

“Entrepreneurship is the backbone to any healthy economy or business climate,” Greater Oklahoma City Chamber President Roy Williams said. “Recruiting existing companies to your region is great but nothing can take the place of home-grown entrepreneurs and the investment they put back in their community.”

Capturing new business owners in their first month of significant business activity, the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity provides the earliest documentation of new-business development across the country. The percentage of the adult, non-business-owner population that starts a business each month is measured using data from the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS), conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More data can be found at www.kauffman.org/kiea.

About the Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo., and has approximately $2 billion in assets.

Thanks!

2010-05-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Sage yesterday for a great (and informative) News Bureau Meeting. The people at Sage were great to work with and the food was amazing. We would definitely recommend them for your catering needs. Below are some links for the conference discussed at the meeting.

U.S. Conference of Mayor

Oklahoma Aerospace Summit & Expo

IEDC 2010 How you Build it Conference

Creativity World Forum

Next News Bureau Meeting Around the Corner

2010-05-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Don’t forget to RSVP for the next News Bureau meeting, taking place one week from today, Thursday, May 13. Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the new event space at SAGE Gourmet Café & Market and learn about four important upcoming conferences.

SAGE Gourmet Café & Market- Event Space
217 N. Central Ave.
4 – 5:30 p.m.
(Please note: The event space is next door to the restaurant.
Look for the chalkboard sign on the sidewalk.)

Due to the schedule of the speakers, the meeting will begin promptly at 4 p.m.

Speakers and Topics: :
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett: US Conference of Mayors

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s Robin Roberts Krieger: Aerospace Summit and the International Economic Development Council annual conference

Susan McCalmont, board member for Creativity Oklahoma: World Creativity Forum

Please RSVP to Marcus Elwell of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
if you plan to attend!

2010-04-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

OU to launch transplant center
MEDICAL CENTER IS ALREADY WORKING WITH KIDNEYS, WILL NOW ADD LIVER, PANCREAS surgeries
BY SUSAN SIMPSON
Oklahoman
April 30, 2010

OU Medical Center announced Thursday it is starting a comprehensive transplant center, with several surgeons coming from the rival transplant program at Integris Baptist Medical Center.

The teaching hospital already is doing adult and pediatric kidney transplants, but now can expand into liver and pancreas transplants.

The Oklahoma Transplant Center at OU Medical Center will be led by Dr. Anthony Sebastian. He came from Integris’ Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Center, along with Dr. Harlan Wright, who will direct liver transplantation, and liver transplant surgeon Dr. Rajesh Kanagala and surgeon Shi-Feng Li.

The OU team also includes kidney surgeon Dr. Puneet Sindhwani and nephrologists Dr. Ben Cowley and Dr. Martin Turman.

OU Medical Center will spend $7 million in equipment and remodel costs to locate the new transplant center at 940 NE 13, which is near Children’s Hospital.

Sebastian said he was attracted to OU Medical Center because of the hospital’s many children’s specialists and OU’s investment in research centers for diabetes and cancer.

He said the OU transplant center will focus first on abdominal organ transplants but could one day compete with Integris on heart and lung transplants as well.

"Competition is always good. Patients get the best in that scenario.”

Wright said he, too, was attracted at research opportunities available at OU, not only in transplants, but in disease management and treatment innovations as well.

While most transplant centers in the nation are affiliated with a university, Integris Baptist Medical Center has been the Oklahoma leader for 25 years, performing the state’s first heart transplant in 1985.

Dr. Nicolas Jabbour, medical director of the Integris center, said the loss of four doctors won’t affect operations there. The Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute has about 20 transplant physicians and is recruiting several more.

But, starting a competing program in a small market will not be beneficial to Oklahomans, Jabbour said.

"In a small state, where you already have an established program, this is putting resources at the detriment of Oklahomans,” he said.

He said the Integris center has performed more than 2,500 heart, kidney, liver, lung and pancreas transplants since 1985.

"When you have a history and knowledge base accumulated over the years, it seems hard to duplicate,” Jabbour said. "The best way for the community is a partnership or complement, not a competitor.”

OU and Integris competed to be the first to open a proton therapy center in Oklahoma.

The Integris site, ProCure, opened last year. OU’s facility is under construction as part of the OU Cancer Institute.

Tommy Hughes, a Norman man who underwent a liver transplant at Integris in 2004, said he’s loyal to Sebastian no matter where he works.

"He’s got a great big heart,” Hughes said. "He’s the true meaning of doctor in my opinion.”

State delegates to attend biotechnology conference
The Journal Record
April 29, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – Nearly 70 delegates from Oklahoma’s bioscience industry will attend the BIO 2010 International Convention Monday through May 6 in Chicago.

The delegation of scientists, business leaders, educators and economic development officers will promote the accomplishments of Oklahoma’s bioscience sector. The Oklahoma bioscience industry has more than 44,000 employees, according to a regional bioscience plan completed by Battelle Technology Partnership Practice.

The BIO International Convention is expecting 15,000 participants.

The Oklahoma delegation will include representatives from Oklahoma City, Stillwater, Ponca City, Edmond, Ardmore, Tulsa and Norman. They will help staff a 1,200-square-foot Oklahoma Bioscience Pavilion.

“Oklahoma’s bioscience industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Roy H. Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, which is organizing the trip. “We have more than a dozen new facilities under construction, and thanks to our commitment to fostering entrepreneurship, we have new companies developing every year. The BIO International Convention is our chance to get these new developments in front of key players in the industry.”

All of the delegates’ efforts will be marketed under the banner of the Oklahoma Bioscience Association, an organization formed in 2008 to promote the growth of the Oklahoma bioscience industry through partnerships between Oklahoma’s bioscience companies, research institutions, scientists, economic development organizations and the larger business community. – Staff report

Project 180 starts in Myriad Gardens
The Oklahoman
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
April 29, 2010

Allan Storjohann’s office is about to disappear. Things are being torn up all around him. And he’s happy.

Oklahoma City, get ready — Project 180 has officially gotten under way. And Storjohann, manager at the Myriad Gardens, is only the first of thousands of downtown workers who will find themselves inconvenienced during the ensuing three-year-long downtown makeover. After hosting the Festival of the Arts last week, the gardens and the Crystal Bridge were shut down for a $38 million makeover.

"We accept change in gardening,” Storjohann said Wednesday. "We’re all about change. We have seasonal changes every year. To have a major change like this in the garden is something we welcome. We embrace it.”

In just the past three days, workers with Downey Construction have started removing the panels from the landmark Botanical bridge for a complete replacement of the acrylic panels.

Inside the Crystal Bridge, one can see the pirate ship where children once played has disappeared. Several large trees are missing, and it won’t be long before much of the tube-shaped botanical garden is removed altogether.

Crews with Lippert Brothers, meanwhile, have started tagging trees that will be saved, those that will be transplanted and those that will be removed as part of a first phase of demolition that must be complete by July 12.

More work will start up in July once bids are received for the second phase. Assistant City Engineer Laura Story acknowledges the turnaround time for awarding bids and starting work is "extremely tight,” but adds that contractors are working well with the city on moving forward.

Much of the Myriad Gardens makeover is being funded by Project 180 — a $141 million transformation of downtown parks, streets and sidewalks funded through a tax increment finance district established as part of the construction of the $750 million Devon tower.

As work starts up at the Myriad Gardens, bids are set to go out this summer on several street reconstruction packages that will alter workers’ driving routines and make gaining access to some businesses challenging.

Story said the first bid will be for Reno Avenue between E.K. Gaylord Boulevard and Walker Avenue. Others to follow will include stretches of Robinson Avenue and Main Street.

Story said engineers will be watching closely to see what can be learned from the first street reconstruction package.

Project 180, scheduled to be complete by 2014, calls for the addition of bike lanes, street furniture, lighting, landscaping and public art throughout the district.

Headlines of the Week

2010-04-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Much-anticipated specialty grocery store opens on Western Avenue
Okcbiz.com
Pamela Grady
April 9, 2010

Cheese lovers need not wait any longer. Suzy Thompson and Steve Reynolds opened their new Forward Foods specialty grocery store this afternoon at 5123 N Western Ave.

Taking 3,000 square feet of space, the couple completely renovated and expanded the former CoCo Flow Chocolate Café retail space to open their second shop. They opened their first store at 123 E Main in Norman four years ago. When business began to thrive, they decided it was time to open a second location in the Western Avenue District to cater to their NW Oklahoma City and Nichols Hills customers.

“I credit our architect Brian Fitzsimmons; he really made this space work,” Thompson says. “The floor space is only a little bit bigger than our Norman store, but it’s just so much more carefully used. Hiring Fitzsimmons was very beneficial to us. They were enthusiastic about the project and worked well with our needs and what we needed to have to function properly.”

Thompson says Forward Foods’ second location offers many of the same foods as its Norman shop, including an array of specialty spices, baking ingredients, oils and vinaigrettes, pasta and noodles, Italian sauces, dried beans in bulk, teas, fresh fruits and vegetables, baguettes, honeys, butters and more.

And during its soft opening this afternoon, more than 200 types of cheese will be available for purchase.

“We currently have about 200 varieties of cheese and are about to pick up another 40 at the airport later today,” Thompson says, adding that the cheese types will continuously be rotated in and out. “We’ve had about 500 different cheeses at one time or another.”

Also, the new store will carry a larger variety of cured meats than its Norman site. Roast beef, turkey, chicken and other quality deli meats will be offered. A self-service olive bar has been added where patrons will also find numerous varieties of antipastas.

In the frozen food section, additional food brands have been added, including 15 new pasta items.

“Nuovo specialty pastas are a really good brand. They’re easy dinner-for-two, ready-in-eight minute entrees,” Thompson says. “And we’re also offering Happy Baby. It’s freshly-made and frozen baby food.”
Moving forward, Thompson says the store will feature a lunch menu, possibly in early summer.

“We’re just getting the grocery store up and running and working out all of the kinks as far as that goes, and then we’ll open up the kitchen,” she says.
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Revamping the Renaissance
The Journal Record
by Brian Brus
April 12th, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Renaissance Hotel will unveil its new catering menu and ballroom decor Tuesday as part of the company’s efforts to boost its client base, Catering Director Trent Alcott said.

“We hope to engender some new business. We hope to excite the clients that we already have, give them something new to choose from,” Alcott said. “We’re very fortunate that a lot of our clients have been with us for years and years, so it’s to give them something new to choose from.
“Our business has been very strong; we’ve been very pleased this year. … We have lost some accounts that did not have it in their budgets to host meetings, but we’ve been fortunate to replace them with new accounts,” he said.

In the meantime, downtown neighbor Skirvin Hilton Hotel’s numbers have been on the rise, Skirvin General Manager John Williams said, due in some part to capturing Renaissance clients.
“When we came to town, we did not put any organization, hotel or country club in the crosshairs,” Williams said. “We didn’t want to come in and steal business; we wanted to earn it.

“But I think that some of the things we have under contract now were previously going to the (Cox) convention center, so by default they were catered by the Renaissance. So, yes, we have taken business from them because those events went to a different venue and they asked us to come along.”

The Renaissance’s “Evolution of Events” Tuesday is a private presentation with a guest list expected to include officials from the City Council, the city convention and visitors bureau, and local businesses. According to early promotional material, the convention center ballroom will be transformed into “an amazing display of lights, entertainment, decor and food with lots of action.”

“We’re mostly rolling out our menu,” Alcott said. “Our chefs have put together a fabulous, new banquet and catering menu that, quite frankly, for Oklahoma City is pretty cutting edge. They’ve incorporated a lot of packaged receptions that we have not had before.”

For example, an a la carte menu will now be offered for banquet events, allowing for up to 2,000 guests at a time to design their meals instead of just one or two pre-selected entrées. The plates themselves are bento-style, dividing the space into clearly defined sections. Early feedback has been strongly positive, Alcott said.

The event will also highlight the catering unit’s decorating services with new lighting systems and settings set to change throughout the night. Alcott said it was “a fairly expensive program,” but would not discuss financial details.

While the Renaissance has been working on its upgrades, in the last year the Skirvin’s catering unit has been developing business at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

“Obviously, you need to learn to crawl before walking and running, which we did,” Williams said. “We established a good reputation within our four walls, and customers started talking to us about helping them in larger venues. It’s our staff, our food and our kitchen; we just take it on the road now, and it’s working very well for us.”

A good example of a big account the Skirvin landed is the Murrah Building bombing memorial annual banquet, which will spotlight former President Bill Clinton this month.

Williams said the economic rebound will probably help all event catering in the metro area because there will be plenty of business to go around.

“Certainly from last April through this January we saw a downturn, but we started to see signs of life in February when it seemed as though there was some pent-up demand that was released,” Williams said.

“You can only not travel for so long; you can only not go out for business or a conference or to see a client, for so long,” he said. “Eventually you’ve got to get out and do it. And that’s what we saw in February, March and April.”

European Wind Show Provides Chance to Grow OK Wind Industry
April 14, 2010
States News Service

The following information was released by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce:
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce and a delegation of state partners will attend the 2010 European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC) April 20-23 in Warsaw, Poland to talk with leading wind companies about opening or expanding operations in Oklahoma.

By attending one of the world’s largest gatherings for the international wind industry, Commerce, the state’s lead economic development agency, and community leaders can market Oklahoma as the place to do business for wind generation, tower and blade production, turbine component manufacturing, repair and maintenance operations, and industry research and development.

"According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), companies around the world are prepared to invest billions in the U.S. wind market as the capital crunch eases and demand surges. That is why we recruit in Europe and participate in international and national tradeshows. We are positioning Oklahoma to become a hub of wind activity, focused on all aspects of the industry – production, manufacturing, research, and training and education,” said Sandy Pratt, Commerce Deputy Director for Business Services. “Continued growth in this renewable energy arena is a top priority of the state’s overall economic development strategy.”

Joining Commerce at the 2010 EWEC are the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce, and OGandE Electric Services.

Pratt said Oklahoma must continue to look for investments from European nations and businesses. The agency has created a targeted strategy to recruit international companies looking to expand, relocate or develop their American presence.

"Oklahoma is very appealing to international investors because of our location in the heart of the wind corridor. To drive investment in Oklahoma, we must aggressively attract renewable energy sector companies that will continue developing the state’s wind energy supply chain," Pratt said.

Oklahoma has 12 completed wind projects with more than 600 turbines that produce approximately 1,130 megawatts of power – all of which are west of I-35. Three current projects are under development to be completed this year. Oklahoma has the potential to generate nearly 10 percent of the nation’s wind-generated electricity by 2030.

Thunder, like the city they call home, show resiliency

2010-04-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

NBA.com
April 5, 2010

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/04/05/thunder/

All that hate, and now this.

The Ford Center is 15 minutes and 15 years away, a short walk through downtown and a long journey through hell. A couple Fridays ago, the Lakers came to town on a seven-game winning streak and left toes up as the Thunder again turned the joint into Party Central. As part of halftime, about 40 locals were sworn into the military near midcourt with roughly 75 percent of the capacity crowd milling around the seats, waiting to finish clobbering the defending champions the final two quarters. Fourteen thousand people or so. They gave a standing ovation as the inductees walked to the stage and snapped to attention, then kept standing as the oath was read and repeated. Kevin Durant was among the earliest players out to warm up and made it 14,001 witnesses cheering as the recruits exited.

This Thunder season has become higher-power stuff. God and basketball -- that's what it has come to. They went from a promising team with a chance to challenge for a playoff berth to a genuine factor in the Western Conference, on a 52-win pace as small forward Durant turns into a superstar at age 21, Scott Brooks becomes the leading contender for Coach of the Year and Sam Presti a top candidate for Executive of the Year. They may charge all the way to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

That's nothing. Try: They may charge all the way to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs when the first round of the playoffs opens the week of the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building, with President Clinton scheduled to be in town for ceremonies. The Thunder, by making up the 1 1/2-game deficit to finish in the top four in the conference, could even host a game April 19, the date a guy with a grudge against the government for Waco and Ruby Ridge parked a Ryder truck with 4,800 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil in front of the nine-story structure, put in ear plugs to protect himself from what would come next, set a timer and jogged to a getaway car parked in a nearby alley.

If there is a Thunder love fest that night, said Kari Watkins, the executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, "you've got to wonder if it's someone bigger than us telling us, 'You've done it. You've come full circle. Now keep going.' "

The bombing. Of course the bombing. Enough glass blown into the air that shards rained down for 10 minutes, 323 buildings damaged or destroyed, investigators searching through 450 tons of debris for clues, one of the axle housings from the rented truck found 575 feet away (and that close only because it collided with a car), 168 killed in the blast and another during the rescue. So much death that 30 children were orphaned, another 219 lost at least one parent, that people had to decide which overlapping funerals for friends and co-workers to attend and which to miss, that it was estimated that one-third of the population of 387,000 knew someone who perished or was among the 850 injured.

A few people did the unthinkable and a few hundred thousand did the impossible. Anyone who has been to the Memorial knows that. Somehow, some way, the city that rallied together like a small community transformed the former site of the Murrah building into a touching, graceful setting that honors the dead and celebrates life. In the face of senseless, there is serene.

Some city. The night of the bombing, news anchors announced workers were running short of D batteries, and so many people descended on the site that the TV people had to go back on the air after 30 minutes to withdraw the request. One man drove hours to set up a barbecue station to feed emergency crews. An Italian restaurant served pizzas day after day. Rescue crews bivouacking after 12-hour shifts found candies on their pillows and letters of thanks on their cots from the children of Oklahoma.

The Andersons were home in Midwest City, 30 miles away, when they felt the blast. They drove to help. Fred set up a snack wagon to support the first responders. His wife, a 37-year-old nurse, went into the jagged remains of the building and was apparently struck by falling debris. Rebecca declined medical attention, soon collapsed and died four days later from a head injury, the 169th victim.

When the Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder before last season, the team organized a trip to the Memorial to make sure players and staffers understood the impact. New acquisitions get a similar tour. And part of the pre-game introductions at the Ford Center, the same light-and-noise show that goes on in most every arena, are words like humility, committed and community. Resiliency is the first word. That is no coincidence.

In less than two seasons, the Thunder went from relocating franchise to part of the healing process, whether the group of young players wanted the role or not. It was probably less than one season, actually. There was a statement in just the arrival: The NBA had come to town!

"Now that I think about it, that's what it really is," Durant said. "A lot of people would say Oklahoma City is for the guy that bombed the building downtown. That's the only time, really, national media got a hold of Oklahoma City, and that's unfortunate. But God does everything for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. I'm glad He brought us here to be a part of something special. I'm excited. Words can't explain how excited I am. Hopefully sooner rather than later we bring a championship back here and really let the world know that Oklahoma City is something other than the guy that came in and bombed the building."

The embrace has been just as strong in return. In football country, with Oklahoma about 20 miles to the south, Oklahoma State some 65 miles to the north and the Dallas Cowboys very popular 200 miles away, the Thunder are averaging 17,978 fans in a building with a listed capacity of 18,203. Loud City, people here have nicknamed the Ford Center.

"It's huge," mayor Mick Cornett said of the image impact. "The team is starting to play well, we have a bonafide superstar who's been on the cover of ESPN Magazine, who's been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Especially that ESPN Magazine. It says 'Oklahoma City' right on the front. Beating the Lakers on [March 26], that story's resonating through Southern California. People on the East and West coast didn't wake up thinking about Oklahoma City. If we didn't do something proactive to get our name out there and associated with something positive, we were going to allow the tragedies of the past, the tornadoes and the bombing, to brand us going forward."

"I get that all the time," Brooks said. "I get that all the time with the fans coming up to me. There's so much community pride and they love the fact that our guys play the way they play. It's a scrappy group. It's a defensive group. It's a team that's going to get on the floor, get on the loose balls. They're really going to have a team atmosphere. And they love that because they feel that's what this city is about. The city since the bombing, they've rallied around each other and supported each through the tough times. It moved the city forward. Our ownership group, it's so rare. All of our owners are from this area and they have so much pride in making this team something that everybody can be proud to be a part of, proud to support and proud to cheer for the Thunder."

It's strange how everything played out. Cornett tried to get an NBA franchise, was diplomatically ushered to the door by commissioner David Stern, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and Oklahoma City won temporary custody of the Hornets. That organization raved about the support, and the Hornets were just passing through. Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett bought the SuperSonics, and everyone in Seattle knew what that meant. Presti came to town to scout the McDonald's high school game in 2004 while in the Spurs front office and was struck by the Memorial, never imagining the city would have a team and that he would be running basketball operations. The first six months here, after the relocation, he lived a few blocks from the grounds and would visit regularly.

The Ford Center is a short walk, about 15 minutes away, the unwanted past and the unexpected present connecting across the years. That Friday night against the Lakers, that night of Thunder domination and halftime inductions, Watkins was walking out of the building with some family members in the post-game celebration when she saw someone with a T-shirt passed out at the first game, with "Living the Dream" inscribed. She couldn't help but think the city really is.

All that hate, and now this.

Tulsa rides out recession: New report ranks Tulsa and OKC among the top cities performing in bad economy.

2010-03-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

By LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
March 18, 2010

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=48&articleid=20100317_48_0_Tulsaa305527

Mar. 18--Tulsa and Oklahoma City are ranked among the top 20 strongest-performing metro areas in the recession, according to a report released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

The MetroMonitor, an interactive barometer of the health of America's metropolitan economies, tracks the economic recession and recovery in the nation's 100 largest metro areas.
It looks at various indicators, including changes in employment, the unemployment rate, gross metropolitan product and housing prices.

"Tulsa and Oklahoma City have done relatively well on all the indicators that we track. They've lost a lot fewer jobs than most other places," said Howard Wial, a fellow and economist with the Metropolitan Policy Program. "Their unemployment rates are relatively lower and have gone up less than other places.

"Their housing markets are relatively strong. Even though every place we looked at saw house prices go down between the end of 2008 and the end of 2009, Tulsa and Oklahoma City were among places where house prices went down the least."

Both Oklahoma metro areas took about a year longer than the nation to start their downturns, Wial observed. Whereas the country as a whole went into a recession the end of 2007, Tulsa and Oklahoma City didn't enter a recession until the last quarter of 2008.

Places that have a concentration of energy jobs such as Tulsa and Oklahoma City have done "pretty well" during this recession and been hit less hard than other places, Wial said. Oklahoma City also has benefited from having state government jobs, which have been stable.

According to the report, only 20 of the top 100 metros experienced job growth in the fourth quarter. All 100, however, saw gains in output during the quarter.

Also, employment is recovering far slower in the current recession than in the three other most recent U.S. downturns. Over the past decade, the nation gained almost no jobs in large part because of the latest recession, according to the report.

"The nation as a whole is still in a very modest, very tentative, very uncertain economic recovery, which in most places is still a jobless recovery," Wial said. "Job growth at the metro level has occurred only in a minority of the top 100 areas, and even where it has occurred, it's been spotty and inconsistent."

In some cases, a metro area might log job growth for one quarter but not the next.

"So, the fragility of the recovery is really important at this point, and it's not clear whether that will turn into a more robust recovery or turn into a double-dip recession," Wial said.

Over the last 10 years, Tulsa and Oklahoma City -- like most areas in the South and West -- gained jobs. Because of the current recession, Oklahoma City has lost about three years of job growth, while Tulsa has lost about 2 3/4 years of job growth, which is modest compared with many places, Wial said.

At the end of 2009, employment in Oklahoma City was about the same as it was at the end of 2006, while in Tulsa employment was comparable to what it was at the beginning of 2007, Wial said.

According to the report, Tulsa ranked No. 1 for its zero percent one-year change in housing prices, compared with a U.S. average of minus 6.5 percent.

The Tulsa area ranked No. 13 for its -2.4 percent change in employment from its peak in the 2008 fourth quarter through the 2009 fourth quarter. It ranked No. 37 for its -0.2 percent fourth-quarter change in employment.

Also, the Tulsa area ranked No. 18 for its fourth-quarter unemployment rate of 7.1 percent, while Oklahoma City ranked No. 5 for its 6 percent rate.

Oklahoma City also ranked No. 12 for its change in employment from the 2008 fourth quarter and No. 59 for its fourth-quarter change in employment.

Top 20 strongest areas Top 20 strongest-performing metro areas during the recession in alphabetical order, according to the MetroMonitor.

Albany, N.Y. Augusta, Ga.-S.C. Austin, Texas Baton Rouge, La. Buffalo, N.Y. Dallas El Paso, Texas Jackson, Miss. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. Little Rock, Ark. Madison, Wis. McAllen, Texas Oklahoma City Omaha, Neb.-Iowa Rochester, N.Y. San Antonio, Texas Syracuse, N.Y. TULSA Virginia Beach, Va.- N.C. Washington, D.C., Va.- Md.- W.V.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=48&articleid=20100317_48_0_Tulsaa305527

Oklahoma City Ranks as One of the Best Metros for Young Adults

2010-03-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

While a national recession has made life harder for recent college graduates, today Portfolio.com recently recognized Oklahoma City as one of the best metro areas in the United States for young adults. Oklahoma City comes in at No. 6 in their rankings just ahead of cities like Dallas, Seattle and Tulsa.

“Over the past 20 years, Oklahoma City has evolved into an outstanding location for young adults,” Roy Williams President and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber said. “Through initiatives like our Greater Grads program, we have made a real effort to connect our recent graduates and young professionals with the business community of Oklahoma City. Add that to the low unemployment rate, vast entertainment options and low cost of living, and this is a highly desirable place for a young person to live.”

A multitude of factors went into the rankings including annual population growth, jobless rate for young adults, young adults with a bachelor’s degree and homeowners younger than 45 with household incomes of $100,000 or less.

Oklahoma City scored highest in jobless rate, coming in at third, for 18 to 34-year olds. The metro area’s annual rate of employment growth and share of total population for the 18 to 34 age range also helped Oklahoma City’s ranking.

“The unemployment rate for young adults is lower here than anywhere but Salt Lake City and Tulsa. Oklahoma City also enjoys the nation’s third-best pace for annual income growth, a rapid 7.2 percent,” Portfolio.com said.

Overall, the southwest region dominated the ranking with five of the Web site’s top-10 coming from this part of the country. Austin came in at first followed by Washington, Raleigh, Boston and Houston, respectively.

For the full story visit http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/us-uncovered/2010/03/15/austin-washington-raleigh-and-boston-top-2010-rank-of-best-cities-for-young-americans/?ana=e_pft.

Headlines of the Week

2010-03-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

State of imagination: Creative Oklahoma gears up to host world forum
The Journal Record
March 8

OKLAHOMA CITY – Throughout the state’s history, Oklahomans have been called free-spirited, gutsy, determined.

Now add creative to the list.

Creative Oklahoma is an organization that was started in 2006 to foster creativity in culture, commerce and education. Its board, comprised of thought leaders from every area of society, envisioned harnessing Oklahoma’s creative spirit and cultivating it in a way that changed the state’s future.

“The seeds of this project have been planted in Oklahoma for a hundred years or more,” said John McCarroll, Creative Oklahoma board member and executive director of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority. “This is a creative place to be, and folks in Oklahoma sometimes don’t give themselves enough credit for how creative they really are in solving problems.

“This project has planted a flag in the ground to celebrate our creativity, but also to encourage others to say, ‘I’ve got an idea. I can contribute,’” he said.

Since its inception, Creative Oklahoma board members have been making strategies, raising money and rewarding those who are doing innovative things. But now the group has thrust Oklahoma into the world spotlight. In 2007, Oklahoma was named one of 12 “districts of creativity” around the world – the only U.S. representative – which connected the state with others on the same creative journey. Then Creative Oklahoma made a bid to host the World Creativity Forum – and won.

From Nov. 15-17, delegates from around the globe will visit Oklahoma City to connect with each other and to see what Oklahoma is all about. Susan McCalmont, Creative Oklahoma board member and executive director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, said New York and Los Angeles have been the only exposure to America that many of the international delegates have. Many of them are curious about what Oklahoma has to offer.

McCalmont, too, was once one of those outsiders, having moved to Oklahoma 20 years ago from Washington, D.C.

“You see Oklahoma as a young state, but it’s a diverse mix of cultures and has a strong frontier entrepreneurial spirit,” McCalmont said. “It’s one of the last places in America where you can live the American dream. The branding of the conference is ‘Creative Frontiers,’ and we see Oklahoma as a true creative frontier. Look at any discipline, and we are producing global entrepreneurs and leaders. There’s something very special about this place.”

Creative Oklahoma is unique because it seeks to leverage creativity in all areas of life, McCarroll said. Creativity traditionally has been associated with arts and culture, but it extends beyond that to education and commerce, he said. Creativity means things like discovering the newest way to generate energy, a novel way to battle disease and an original approach to teaching young people.

And, like the state’s entrepreneurial spirit, Creative Oklahoma isn’t a mandate but a cause shared by many types of people.

“No one in government or someone from a major industry is saying, ‘We’re going to do this,’” McCarroll said. “It’s really a grass-roots effort.”

Senate passes bill on workers’ comp
The Journal Record
March 10

OKLAHOMA CITY – A proposal that makes major changes in the state’s workers’ compensation system passed the Oklahoma Senate this week on a 28-18 vote.
The measure, Senate Bill 1973, now moves on to the House of Representatives.

Under the measure, the number of the state’s workers’ compensation court judges would be reduced from 10 to eight. The bill also increases the judge terms from six to eight years and limits each judge to one term.

The measure’s sponsor, Senate Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said the changes would aid the state’s business community.

“These reforms are vital to ensuring the economic viability of Oklahoma business – both large and small,” Coffee said. “With the reforms outlined in this legislation, Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system will be more fair, equitable and efficient.”
Coffee said the bill also would allow the system’s current judges to be reappointed to one eight-year term and defines the position of the court’s medical director.

“This bill is the product of hours of discussions with all stakeholders in this issue, from business to the medical and legal communities,” he said. “Business owners are reluctant to open new businesses or expand existing in our state, due to the costs of doing business.”

Coffee said the measure would exempt employers from liability for injuries arising outside the course of employment and take a big step toward making Oklahoma more business-friendly, while protecting the rights of injured workers.”

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen claims reduced statewide, but awards have increased exponentially, causing unreasonable hardships on employers and workers both,” he said.

Manager of MAPS for Kids tapped to oversee MAPS 3
Brian Brus
March 11

OKLAHOMA CITY – The manager of Oklahoma City’s MAPS for Kids tax-supported school capital improvements program will also oversee $777 million in MAPS 3 projects, City Manager Jim Couch announced this week.

Eric Wenger said the two programs will be run with separate employee teams, but out of the same office. In 2001, Wenger was appointed program manager for MAPS for Kids, which is slated for completion in the next two years.

The MAPS 3 package of projects is the third in a series of temporary sales tax issues to support metropolitan area projects, the basis for the acronym. MAPS for Kids was the second package. MAPS 3 was passed by about 54 percent of city voters in December. The 1-cent sales tax is set to expire after about seven years. By then, several projects will be well under way. The list includes a 70-acre downtown park, streetcars, a convention center and hiking and biking trails. The money will also pay for a whitewater kayaking site on the Oklahoma River, sidewalks, neighborhood senior health centers with aquatic facilities and improvements to State Fair Park.
As part of the administrative process, a public advisory board will be established to ensure transparency. Board members will be named by the end of this month, Wenger said.

Wenger and his staff will be responsible for daily management of tasks such as hiring architects and engineers, placing competitive bids and scheduling advisory board meetings.

The most challenging aspect of the job that Wenger is expecting, based on his past MAPS experience, will be the changing market for a long-term program.

“It’s going to be the economy,” he said. “Since this is a sales tax project, collections will be variable and not totally foreseeable. We can make some projections, but there will be change throughout.

“So the biggest thing we’ve learned is to always maintain adequate contingency funds. Never budget 100 percent of a project’s value,” Wenger said. “Most people do that for things occurring in the construction phase, but you really have to do those things much, much earlier in the process.”

Wenger worked for the city’s Public Works Department from 1994 to 1998, and served as project manager for the design and construction of the Bricktown Ballpark and downtown Arena. He left for a private firm shortly before returning as associate civil engineer in 1999.

“Eric has earned the confidence of everyone who has worked with him,” Couch said. “He is a proven leader with experience in delivering MAPS and MAPS for Kids projects in budget and on time.”

Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology created jobs in Oklahoma in 2009
OKCBiz
March 11

Last year, 2,815 jobs were created or retained in 2009, with help from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. The firm recently released the figure as part of its 2010 Impact Report.

Among other reported findings:
• Employees of OCAST-funded companies were paid 19 percent more than Oklahoma’s average per-capita income.
• OCAST funded 82 projects in 2009, and award recipients filed a total of 207 patents in the year.
• During the organization’s 22-year history, OCAST has invested $178,034,917 in Oklahoma companies and researchers, and funded a total of 2918 projects.

Companies and researchers use OCAST's awards as a basis to attract national grants and private funding to grow their businesses, resulting in more than a $3.5 billion return to Oklahoma.

Thank you!

2010-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the News Bureau meeting last night at the American Banjo Museum! What a great turnout! We ended the night with about 22 attendees.

I would encourage anyone who has never been to the American Banjo Museum to check it out - it is truly unique!

FINAL REMINDER: News Bureau Meeting This Thursday

2010-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is your final reminder that the first News Bureau meeting of 2010 is this Thursday!

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres catered by Nonna’s, followed by an exclusive tour of this new facility.

Thursday, March 4
American Banjo Museum
9 E. Sheridan Avenue
4:00-5:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to jharrison@okcchamber.com if you plan to attend.

Headlines of the Week

2010-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City to host Aerospace Summit
The Oklahoman
Feb. 20
http://tinyurl.com/yauoqms

Edmond, OU hospitals to merge
The Oklahoman
Feb. 25
http://tinyurl.com/y86bb8x

OSU announces $1 billion fundraising campaign; T.Boone Pickens to give $100 million more
The Oklahoman
Feb. 26
http://tinyurl.com/ybc3vg3

Reminder: News Bureau Meeting Next Week

2010-02-22T11:15:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to RSPV for the first News Bureau meeting of 2010!

Thursday, March 4
American Banjo Museum
9 E. Sheridan Avenue
4:00-5:30 p.m.

Please join us for networking, drinks, and hors d'oeuvres catered by Nonna’s, followed by an exclusive tour of this new facility. Meeting attendees will get the chance to go back in time while networking in a replica of a vintage Shakey’s Pizza Parlor.

Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at jharrison@okcchamber.com if you plan to attend.

Headlines of the Week

2010-02-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Progress may be ugly, but consider the results
The Oklahoman
Feb. 16
http://tinyurl.com/yfa7acu

First indoor rowing competition, kayak championship set for city
The Oklahoman
Feb. 17
http://tinyurl.com/ycgtxl6

Tissue maker has Oklahoma City plans
The Oklahoman
Feb. 18
http://tinyurl.com/yel2y77

Changing silhouette
The Journal Record
Feb. 15

OKLAHOMA CITY – The new Devon skyscraper, a $100 million renovation of the Braniff Building and 50 blocks of streetscaping all have a common theme, officials said Monday: more open, public spaces in downtown Oklahoma City.

But while the end result will be a massive change in the city’s appearance, it won’t be an easy adjustment, especially in the case of the latter Project 180, Assistant City Manager Cathy O’Connor said.

“There are going to be challenges,” O’Connor told a crowded auditorium at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s Breaking Through luncheon. “We plan to reconstruct the streets from building face to building face, and we will disrupt traffic. You can’t make those kinds of improvements without disrupting traffic to some extent.”

O’Connor said that for the next four years, some streets in downtown will be narrowed for construction, much like the number of lanes has been reduced on Sheridan Avenue while Devon Energy Corp.’s corporate headquarters is built. But by then the skyline will have changed, too, with more than 50 stories of new office space. Other buildings will be upgraded as well.

O’Connor was joined by Devon Chief Executive Larry Nichols and SandRidge Energy Chief Executive Tom Ward, who outlined their companies’ contributions to the downtown makeover. The Devon project is directly responsible for the streetscaping of Project 180, because when the energy company announced its intention to build, executives asked that a tax increment finance, or TIF, district be created to fund public improvements in the so-called Core to Shore redevelopment between downtown and the relocated Interstate 40 Crosstown at the Oklahoma River’s edge.

Project 180 is expected to cost about $140 million, funded primary through the TIF. Devon’s nearly 1-million-square-foot skyscraper is projected to cost more than $750 million.

Nichols said the intention to enhance downtown’s overall appearance has proven successful, as shown by businesses such as SandRidge moving into the district and making improvements of their own.

The Devon building is still on target for completion in the second half of 2012, he said. When it’s done, the building will include a large reflecting pool, garden landscaping and a rotunda at ground level. That circular, six-story-tall building will have 25,000 square feet by itself, entirely surrounded by windows. It will connect to another office building of about 400,000 square feet that Nichols referred to as the Podium.

“It will be a major focal center for the building, a large town hall,” he said. “There are rings of walkways around each of the top floors to allow people … to go from the tower to the Podium, and yet have it appear as though they’re outside, on an outside sidewalk. So it will create life and activity, and yet still be within the security area of the building.”

Nichols also praised Ward and SandRidge for taking an entire downtown block and turning it around. Ward said the company looked for a campus site in north Oklahoma City, but found that renovating the Braniff building on Robinson Avenue, formerly held by Kerr-McGee, was more attractive overall.

“We wanted to have a place in Oklahoma City where people could use the space, not only our employees,” Ward said. “We didn’t want to build a campus that had walls; that you couldn’t be a part of. We want visitors to be able to come across our space and use our space … a common area.”

The company also plans to build an activity center across the street and to remove some construction that blocks the Braniff. Extensive landscaping is expected.

And from SandRidge to Devon and beyond, every inch of downtown streets and sidewalks will be renovated to provide a more cohesive appearance, O’Connor said. Every bench, grate and light post will be replaced with a new design, one-way streets will be converted to two-way, and bicycle lanes will be added.

Rescheduled News Bureau Meeting

2010-02-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

The first News Bureau meeting of 2010 has been rescheduled for March 4! Be sure to join us at the one-of-a-kind American Banjo Museum in Bricktown!

Thursday, March 4
American Banjo Museum
9 E. Sheridan Avenue
4:00-5:30 p.m.

Please join us for networking, drinks, and hors d'oeuvres catered by Nonna’s, followed by an exclusive tour of this new facility. Meeting attendees will get the chance to go back in time while networking in a replica of a vintage Shakey’s Pizza Parlor.

As the only museum of its type, the Museum opened in Bricktown in September of 2009 and has the largest banjo collection on public display in the world with more than 300 banjos. Visitors can learn about the instrument through an extensive interactive banjo history exhibit.

Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at jharrison@okcchamber.com if you plan to attend.

Headlines of the Week

2010-02-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

OKC Get a Hockey Team
The Oklahoman
Feb. 10
http://tinyurl.com/y9z7x4z

Oklahoma Schools to Provide DNA Kits to Parents
The Oklahoman
Feb. 12
http://tinyurl.com/yey3vsb

Developers making headway in Midtown
The Journal Record
Feb. 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – Saving buildings is hard work these days, but that doesn’t mean Midtown revivalists have given up their quest.

Developers Bob Howard and Mickey Clagg, two of Midtown’s most ardent disciples, hit the streets early Tuesday to preview three newly renovated residential properties at NW 12th and Francis Avenue and address lingering questions about the future of Midtown.

Unlike four years ago when Midtown’s recovery roared out of the gate, this time they didn’t bother to shoot off fireworks when a trial balloon seems to be more the order of the day given the uncertainty of the real estate market and the economy.
“We will use these three to gauge what demand is like in the market,” said Clagg, president of Midtown Renaissance properties.

Most everyone with a major stake in Midtown agrees that the market has changed. What’s harder to predict is when or if Midtown will fulfill Howard’s vision of it as a place that feels like a township where “people can live, work, eat and walk … like they did 50 years ago.”

Apart from the economy, Midtown’s future could be influenced most heavily by St. Anthony Hospital’s expansion plans and by the amount of interest the former home of the American Red Cross at 323 NW 10th generates among developers along the 10th Street Medical Corridor District.

The original catalyst for Midtown’s resurgence, St. Anthony’s is developing plans for a new building on the east side of the hospital in 2013 that will house a new emergency department and critical care and inpatient units.

“It’s still in the planning stage,” hospital spokeswoman Sandra Payne said Tuesday. “That’s all we can tell you right now. But we like being in Midtown and part of its growth.”

Payne also said there is a possibility that a physicians’ group could invest in a new dialysis building near the hospital.

“It’s too early to provide any specifics,” Payne said.

Midtown also could profit from development of the 10th Street Medical Corridor District.

Russell Claus, Oklahoma City planning director, said a Request for Proposal for the development of the block that housed the Red Cross building has generated a number of inquiries and he expects bids will be submitted for the project this spring.
That might help break the financial logjam that is holding back Midtown, developers say.

Large projects, in particular, are the toughest to sell right now, said developer Chuck Wiggin, which partly explains why the area has trended to smaller commercial and retail space and rental units, rather than condominiums.

One result has been that Wiggin’s Overholser Green project at the former site of Mercy Hospital remains on hold with the Urban Renewal Authority and will have to be scaled back to be more compatible with financial market conditions.

“The project as originally designed and proposed is not feasible, but we are still looking for other ways to do a project that is as close as possible to the original project,” Wiggin said.

As originally approved, it called for 109 units, spread out among four buildings, starting at about $350,000 per unit.

While the condo sales market has caved in, Wiggin said he is encouraged by Midtown’s ability to attract more businesses and the success of those already in operation.
Developer R.D. Smith said he doesn’t know what comes next for Midtown, either, although he said the natural barriers provided by St. Anthony’s, downtown and Heritage Hills remain major selling points.

Smith, along with his brother, Scott, started buying up Midtown property in the late 1980s when it was what R.D. Smith called a disaster zone.

“It’s beginning to mature but there’s a lot of development to be done because the economy has put some things on hold,” R.D. Smith said.

The Smiths, who operate the Corsair Cattle Co., sold about half of their property to Midtown Renaissance, including Plaza Court, which Smith said has become an important destination point in Midtown.

Today, they are concentrating on developing office space at Midtown Village on NW Seventh and Hudson, where about 50,000 square feet of mixed-use space has been leased.

“We are past the pioneering point,” R.D. Smith said of Midtown’s comeback. “What will ultimately revive Midtown is that people will want to be around a vibrant core.”
The three residential properties Midtown Renaissance will soon have available for lease fit different subsets of the urban experience, from the more traditional style two-bedroom concept at 905 NW 12th to the more open, transitional one-bedroom look at 900 NW 12th, to the edginess of the modern one-bedroom apartments at 1217 N. Francis Ave.

While the units will serve as a test case for how and when Midtown Renaissance develops its other properties, Clagg said work will continue in Midtown in 2010.
Clagg said plans for the Packard building at 10th and Robinson are under review by the National Park Service and administrators of the historic preservation program.
Clagg said Hadden Hall, just west of the Packard, recently received National Park Service approval for rehabilitation as an 18-unit apartment building and that construction should begin this spring on the project. He also said the Osler and the Cline building are in various stages of historic preservation process, while construction plans for 12112 N. Walker are under development.

The Midtown Plaza is about 95 percent occupied, Clagg said, and discussions are under way with other potential tenants.

“We have other properties around the city and the only ones that we get calls on a regular basis are in Midtown,” Clagg said. “We’ve signed several leases in the past few days.”

Tonight's News Bureau Meeting CANCELLED

2010-02-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

Watch your inbox for the rescheduled date!

1st News Bureau Meeting of the Year is Tomorrow!

2010-02-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Don’t miss the first News Bureau meeting of 2010 as we kick off an exciting year at the one-of-a-kind American Banjo Museum in Bricktown!

Tuesday, February 9
American Banjo Museum
9 E. Sheridan Avenue
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Please join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres, followed by an exclusive tour of this new facility. Meeting attendees will get the chance to go back in time while networking in a replica of a vintage Shakey’s Pizza Parlor.

As the only museum of its type, the Museum opened in Bricktown in September of 2009 and has the largest banjo collection on public display in the world with more than 300 banjos. Visitors can learn about the instrument through an extensive interactive banjo history exhibit.

Please RSVP to jharrison@okcchamber.com of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
if you plan to attend.

Headlines of the Week

2010-02-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

Devon, Chesapeake Join Best Pay List
The Oklahoman
Feb. 5
http://tinyurl.com/yc69too

US Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.7% in January
Associated Press
Feb. 5
http://tinyurl.com/ycstpbv

Bricktown Chocolatier Rolls Along with 'Flow'
The Oklahoman
Feb. 3
http://tinyurl.com/yjx34xm

SandRidge announces its plan for downtown

2010-02-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

The Oklahoman
January 29

SandRidge Energy Corp. intends to spend up to $100 million on a makeover of its downtown campus.

Plans unveiled Thursday call for demolishing four surrounding buildings and the addition of a new landscaped plaza, a sixstory mid-rise and reconstruction of Kerr Park.

The two-block campus surrounds a 30-story tower that was once home to Kerr-McGee Corp., and the entire complex is being christened as “SandRidge Commons.”

“We are excited to be a part of downtown Oklahoma City,” said Tom Ward, chief executive officer of SandRidge Energy. “This city is undergoing a rejuvenation unseen anywhere else in the country, which was initiated by the MAPS projects and is now continuing with the arrival of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team and corporate participation, including SandRidge Commons.”

The 30-story tower, renamed the SandRidge Building, is an awardwinning modernist landmark designed by renowned architect Pietro Belluschi, best known for New York’s legendary Pan Am Building.

Rob Rogers, founder of New York City-based Rogers Marvel Architects, said he hopes to create a new vibe for the campus with the creation of a new sixstory building that at a height of 110 feet will be almost one-third as tall as the SandRidge Building.

The new building at 120 Robert S. Kerr Ave. will include a ground-floor restaurant that will face Kerr Park and a day care center that will open up on the elevated street-level entrance along Robert S. Kerr. Upper floors will include an assembly hall and fitness center.

The building is designed with protruding floors that will allow for a sundeck and outdoor play area adjacent to the day care, an outdoor climbing wall outside the fitness center and a rooftop basketball court.

“The intent is for the building to be vibrant and active in appearance,” Rogers said. “It is really this kind of beacon of energy and motion adjacent to the park and the commons.”

Rogers said the exterior design is still evolving, but designs currently call for a seethrough glass façade. A similar appearance is proposed for what is now the alley-side east façade of the former Braniff Building — the one old structure on the campus not targeted for demolition.

That improvement, as well as others on the campus are intended to create a common design theme throughout SandRidge Commons, Rogers said.

Some downtown observers have questioned plans to tear down the older buildings. Architect Anthony McDermid, who was once engaged in an unsuccessful plan to convert some of the structures into housing, said one building, the former Kermac Building at the southwest corner of Robert S. Kerr and Robinson, is worth salvaging.

Rogers said his firm considered concerns about tearing down the four buildings — the largest scale clearance downtown since the heyday of Urban Renewal in the 1970s.

“We’ve engaged in sessions with Bob Blackburn (director of the Oklahoma Historical Society) and we’ve been reasonably assured that none of the buildings we are considering tearing down are eligible for historic registry designation,” Rogers said.

The buildings being targeted, he said, are not economically viable due to small floor plates and are structurally unstable.

“There are an array of troubles in trying to find a use for them that come out on the positive side,” Rogers said.

Ward said renovation of the buildings wouldn’t make sense.

“There is no other use we could do,” Ward said. “If we were to leave the buildings standing, they would sit as they are today.”

Rogers said removal of the buildings, along with elimination of part of the parking garage that faces Dean A. McGee Avenue, will create a view of the tower and surrounding campus that will make it more inviting to visitors and will promote more street life.

“The goal is to bring people back to the streets,” Ward said. “The reason for the commons is for it to be a coalition of public and private space. We want our people to be out on the street. We want people visiting the Memorial and the Skirvin, people from downtown, to be using this space, and not just our employees.”

OKC Featured in New York Times

2010-01-27T08:30:00.001-08:00

January 26, 2010
A Downtown Becomes Full of Life Again
By KRISTINA SHEVORY

Most companies have shelved expansion plans until the economy recovers — but not the Devon Energy Corporation, one of the country’s biggest independent energy companies.
Flush with cash from the energy boom, Devon broke ground in October for a 50-story tower in Oklahoma City that is among the tallest buildings under construction nationwide. The company’s new headquarters building will be the state’s tallest when it opens in 2012.

Despite the building’s $750 million price, Devon is betting the new tower will save money and make the company more efficient. All of its 1,500 employees in Oklahoma City, who are now scattered in five buildings around downtown, will be in a single location.

The building, designed by Pickard Chilton, will have 80,000 square feet of ground floor space with retail and food, open to the public. “It’s a great time to build a building. We can get it done faster and cheaper than during the boom,” said Larry Nichols, Devon’s chief executive. “We’re ahead of schedule and under budget.”
Devon’s building, however, is not the only construction project in Oklahoma City. In December, residents approved a $777 million tax package for a 70-acre central park, convention center, streetcar system, aquatic centers, boating facilities and trails that will be built over the next nine years.

A $140 million makeover of downtown, including new sidewalks, bicycle lanes and two-way streets, also starts in May courtesy of Devon.

“We’re assured of a 10-year economic stimulus plan,” said Roy H. Williams, chief executive of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

While Devon’s tower is the only office building under construction, Oklahoma City’s commercial real estate market has been less affected than some markets by the downturn unfolding across the country. Rents and vacancy rates have not shown the wild swings that characterize other markets, although the vacancy rate was up to 20 percent at the end of the year, from 16.5 percent at the end of 2008, according to CB Richard Ellis, a commercial brokerage firm.

“We are still strongly dominated by the oil and natural gas industry. As long as it performs, we’re O.K.,” said Jim Austin, a vice president at CB Richard Ellis in Oklahoma City. “When everyone was tanking, we were doing well.”

Natural gas prices have skyrocketed over the last few years, bolstered by high energy demand and technological advances that opened up previously tapped fields, and climbed to more than $14 a thousand cubic feet in July 2008. Although the recession has depressed prices, they have started to recover as energy companies close wells and reduce drilling.

While Devon is making a contribution, much of the revival of downtown is being financed by taxpayers, who have a history of approving taxes to improve the city. In 1993, city voters approved a temporary one-cent increase in the sales tax to redevelop the riverfront, renovate the fairgrounds and build a ballpark, sports arena, library, trolley system, and a mile-long canal. For the next 15 years, residents have voted to continue paying for renovations on all the city’s public schools and the river.

“It’s pay as you go,” said Ronald J. Norick, who was Oklahoma City’s mayor from 1987 to 1998. “People can see where their money goes and what their money bought.”
After the collapse of the energy boom in the early 1980s, Oklahoma City struggled for well over a decade. Unemployment was around 10 percent, the only hotel downtown was on the verge of closing and the convention center’s roof leaked.

“Our city was dying. You could shoot a cannon at 5 p.m. and you wouldn’t hit anybody,” Mr. Norick said.

When Oklahoma City lost bids, in quick succession, for the maintenance hubs for United and American Airlines more than a decade ago, it decided to do something about it. When Mr. Norick visited Indianapolis, he saw a lively downtown full of hotels, restaurants, cafes and people on the streets and realized that companies were going elsewhere because Oklahoma City had “a dead downtown.”

Over the next year, Mr. Norick worked with a small group of people to come up with what would eventually become the city’s first taxpayer-financed project, or MAPS for Metropolitan Area Projects.

All the projects were placed downtown to attract new hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

“Initially, we took a city that was a nice place to live and raise a family, but was not a great place to visit,” said the current Oklahoma City mayor, Mick Cornett.

“We’ve now created a city that we want to show off and we’re proud of.”

The projects have infused the city with a sense of enthusiasm and attracted more businesses downtown.

After a nationwide search, the American Automobile Association picked Oklahoma City for the site of its new customer service center because of its low business costs and vibrant economy, said Paula Downey, president of AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah.

“What was most impressive about Oklahoma City was how well its various city departments worked together and followed through with us,” she said. “They’re a role model for other cities.”

Oklahoma City University is moving its law school downtown to be closer to the courthouse, legal agencies and law firms. When its $30 million renovation of a former Ford Motor factory is completed in two to three years, it will have doubled its space.

“We just want to be part of the downtown renaissance,” said Tom J. McDaniel, Oklahoma City University’s president.

Oklahoma City Ranks in "100 Best Places to Work" with Three High-Ranking Businesses

2010-01-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

The Oklahoman

Fortune magazine’s latest "100 Best Places to Work” list provides more evidence that Oklahoma City has joined the ranks of big-league cities.

Repeat appearances on the list by local businesses Devon Energy Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and American Fidelity Assurance Co. put Oklahoma City in line with major headquarters homes such as Houston, where four ranked companies are based, Seattle with three and Dallas’ two.

Devon ranked 20th. Chesapeake was 34th, one spot ahead of American Fidelity. Oklahoma City was the only metro area that serves as headquarters for three companies ranked in the top 35.

"Oklahoma City has always been committed to developing and maintaining a strong work force, and this is further proof,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

New York City led all cities as home to nine companies selected to the Fortune rankings. Oklahoma, home to four listed companies as Tulsa-based QuikTrip was ranked 41st, had the largest per-capita representation in the Fortune list.

Fortune compiles the list through a survey sent to random employees seeking feedback on their attitudes towards the management’s credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie. The rankings also consider corporate responses to detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring, communication, and diversity.

More hiring is icing on cake
Devon earned high marks from its employees for its top leaders, CEO Larry Nichols and President John Richels. Nichols, while handing out cupcakes to employees during the Thursday lunch hour, said it was especially gratifying to make the list during tough economic times, and noted that Devon again was the top-ranked energy company.

Environmental remediation specialist Chris Biagi, a six-year Devon employee, said the company’s dedication to integrity and willingness to empower workers to make their own decisions make it a great place to work.

"The term ‘family’ is overused — this is a business,” Biagi said. "But you feel valued here.”

Chesapeake’s generous benefits, including liberal retirement fund matching, regular stock grants and on-site medical and dental care, helped the energy company jump 39 spots in the rankings.

"We place a very high priority on creating a work environment and culture in which our employees deliver extraordinary performance while achieving professional and personal growth,” Chesapeake CEO Aubrey K. McClendon said.

American Fidelity made the list for the seventh consecutive year, earning accolades for creating an environment that makes employees want to stay. One-fourth of the insurance company’s staff has worked for the business for 15 years or more.

American Fidelity President David Carpenter, still wiping Silly String from his glasses after Thursday’s celebration, referred to the widespread longevity as "swallowing the American Fidelity pill.”

Monica Clayton, a seven-year American Fidelity disability adjuster, said she enjoys the company’s diverse work force.

"They’re going to have to drag me out of here,” she said. "That’s the way it is with everybody here.”

American Fidelity served a free lunch to employees Thursday and awarded an extra paid day off to every worker as part of its celebration for again making the "Best Places” rankings.

Fortune Deputy Managing Editor Hank Gilman said hiring and the way companies are helping employees weather the recession were the top considerations in compiling this year’s list.

"All 100 companies on our list are currently hiring, many of them aggressively, leading to more than 96,000 open job positions expected in the next year,” Gilman said.

Headlines of the Week

2010-01-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Air Force contract adds Oklahoma City jobs, services
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/yd7shaz

Oklahoma City Ranks in "100 Best Places to Work" with three high-ranking businesses
The Oklahoman
January 22
http://tinyurl.com/ydc4gwg

Not named in 'Extraordinary Measures' film, Oklahomans' efforts still are gaining attention
January 22
http://tinyurl.com/yc28njt

First lady commends OKC diet initiative
The Journal Record
January 22
WASHINGTON, D.C. – First lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday highlighted Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett’s “This City Is Going on a Diet” initiative in a speech to a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington.

She urged the nation’s mayors to join her in a campaign to reduce childhood obesity. She said locally elected leaders are among the first to see what’s happening to the people in their communities.

A formal rollout of her program is planned for next month. Obama has said she will look to businesses and nonprofits, community and health centers, educators, religious leaders and government to help.

She cited Cornett’s “This City Is Going On A Diet” initiative and the program’s Web site as an American anti-obesity success story.

“Mayor Mick Cornett challenged the people of Oklahoma City to lose a million pounds, and he created a Web site – thiscityisgoingonadiet.com – where people can learn how to lose weight and track their weight loss, and can share personal stories and tips with others,” the first lady said. “So far, 40,000 people have signed up – and together, they’ve lost more than half a million pounds.”

Obama commended Cornett for using his “bully pulpit.”

“That’s what Mayor Cornett did, when he started talking about the problem of obesity and lost 40 pounds himself to get down to his target weight,” she said. “And the people of his city took notice. When he goes to restaurants now, everyone watches what he orders.”

Cornett launched his program on Dec. 31, 2007.

“We are honored to continue receiving attention for this initiative and I think these remarks by the first lady are further validation that we have successfully opened up a serious community dialogue about obesity,” Cornett said. “We still have a lot of work to do in Oklahoma City, but the statement we’re making about our personal health has captured the attention of the first lady, and that’s a great compliment to our citizens.”

In June, the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors will be in Oklahoma City for the first time.

State of the City Address Contains National Media Stories

2010-01-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City boasted some major accomplishments in 2009, many of which Mayor Cornett addressed in his annual State of the City speech last Wednesday. These accomplishments can be used as angles in your national pitching efforts.

- The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the City will complete the massive relocation of Interstate 40 five blocks to the south, accompanied by a new boulevard and pedestrian bridge to take its place

-Soon we will complete the total of 73 school projects that represent MAPS for Kids

– We are working on a new downtown elementary school, five high schools, and the work for the 2007 school bond issue

- There will be upgrades to the sports arena, including the completion of the NBA practice facility

- We will begin Project 180 – A three-year redesign of Myriad Botanical Gardens and nearby downtown streets

- We will continue with the 2007 Bond issue – improve City streets, parks, build libraries, and renovate the police station

- This summer, Oklahoma City will host the 2010 Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which will bring in important leaders from across the nation, to Oklahoma City.

- We will address public safety issues including the county jail and mental health issues

- We will work regionally with other cities to comply to changing federal water and air standards, as well as securing water rights

-Just six years ago, in 2004, per capita income for Oklahoma City was lagging behind at only 92 percent of the national average. Today, it is approaching 104 percent of the U.S. average.

-The Gross Metropolitan Product, which is the sum of all goods and services in the metro area, has risen 33 percent since 2004, and we’ve moved into the top 20 percent of all metro areas in terms of GDP growth.

-Since 2004, our City’s population growth of seven percent has far outpaced that of both the nation, which is 4.8 percent, and the state, which is 4.6 percent. This speaks strongly to job and income growth, as well as quality of life improvements that have inspired people to move to Oklahoma City.

Finally, Mayor Cornett highlighted Oklahoma City’s outstanding economic position, named the most recession-proof city in the nation by Forbes Magazine. With a continuation of this remodeling and rebuilding, Oklahoma City will remain in this strong position and create “A change that will impact this entire region”.

Headlines of the Week

2010-01-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

ONEOK Partners Named Fastest Growing Energy Company in the World
OK Biz
January 8
http://tinyurl.com/yektpmn

Clean Energy Brings Oklahoma $13.5M from Stimulus
Oklahoman
January 12
http://tinyurl.com/ydn3zcw

Toll Free Calling Could Spread Across Oklahoma
Oklahoman
January 13
http://tinyurl.com/yc4wmuy

Best Cities for Business: #24

2010-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

OK cities among top 25 best cities for business
Tulsa Business Staff
1/5/2010

MarketWatch names Oklahoma City and Tulsa 24th and 25th, respectively, on its third listing of best U.S. cities for business.

The Web site, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dow Jones, took into account population, job growth and myriad other factors in cities with populations over 500,000, including suburbs.

Des Moines, Iowa, population 556,230, was ranked number first. Second through fifth places, respectively, were: Washington, D.C., Omaha, Neb., Minneapolis-St. Paul and Boston.

Headlines of the Week

2010-01-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City Hotels Faring Better than Expected
January 6
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/y8njhyy

Oklahoma's Regional Economy Positioned to Thrive
January 8
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/ydht4rb

US Economy Loses 85K Jobs, Unemployment Rate Steady
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/ycqxgrk

2009 a Great Year for the Newly Re-Launched News Bureau

2010-01-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

After remaining inactive for several years, the News Bureau was successfully relaunched in 2009. And what a great year it was! The group has accomplished so much and continues to work toward the goal of positive media exposure for Oklahoma City, both. Here are some of the great things the group accomplished in 2009:

-Grew membership by 52%
-Held three meetings: The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and the Academy of Contemporary Music.
-Placed multiple stories about Oklahoma City in the local and national media using the Weekly Story Leads.
-Made invaluable connections with fellow PR and Communications colleagues.

In 2010 there will be more great meetings, more opportunities to collaborate, and more chances to show the world what our great city has to offer. Here's to a wonderful 2010! Stay tuned!

OKC is 11th Best for Job Search Ease

2010-01-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Juju.com Releases Job Search Difficulty Index for Major Cities (December 2009)

New York, NY--December 2009 -- Juju.com, a leading job search engine, has released the updated Job Search Difficulty Index, which measures the difficulty of finding employment in major cities around the country. The Index was calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers in each metro area, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), by the number of jobs in Juju's comprehensive index of millions of online jobs in the United States, which is compiled and updated continuously from thousands of employer career portals, recruiter websites, and job boards all over the Internet.

Job Search Difficulty
(Least -> Most) Metro Change Since Last
Ranking Unemployed Individuals Per Advertised Job
1 Washington, DC
2 San Jose, CA
3 Baltimore, MD
4 Boston, MA
5 New York, NY
6 Salt Lake City, UT
7 Hartford, CT
8 Denver, CO
9 San Antonio, TX
10 Austin, TX
11 Oklahoma City, OK (went up two spots)
12 Virginia Beach, VA
13 Indianapolis, IN
14 Pittsburgh, PA
15 Richmond, VA
16 Milwaukee, WI
17 Dallas, TX
18 Seattle, WA
19 Philadelphia, PA
20 San Francisco, CA
21 Cleveland, OH
22 St. Paul, MN
23 Atlanta, GA
24 Houston, TX
25 Kansas City, MO
26 Nashville, TN
27 Columbus, OH
28 Phoenix, AZ
29 New Orleans, LA
30 Charlotte, NC
31 Rochester, NY
32 Tampa, FL
33 Louisville, KY
34 Buffalo, NY
35 San Diego, CA
36 Chicago, IL
37 Cincinnati, OH
38 Jacksonville, FL
39 Memphis, TN
40 Portland, OR
41 Orlando, FL
42 Providence, RI
43 Birmingham, AL
44 Los Angeles, CA
45 Sacramento, CA
46 Las Vegas, NV
47 Riverside, CA
48 Miami, FL
49 St. Louis, MO
50 Detroit, MI

The Job Search Difficulty Index provides a useful guide to the relative difficulties faced by job seekers in particular geographies, but should be considered in the context of the well known challenges of measuring and analyzing unemployment data.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all OKC News Bureau Members! We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Headlines of the Week

2009-12-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City, Tulsa Top Realty List
The Oklahoman
December 12
http://tinyurl.com/y8tx8hj

OKC Seeks Quick Turnaround
The Oklahoman
December 18
http://tinyurl.com/yebee5n

Devon Touts Oil Discovery Off Coast of Brazil
The Oklahoman
December 18
http://tinyurl.com/y9crzb4

OKC Recognized as Home Market with Best Expected Performance

2009-12-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

Local Market Monitor Press Release

Local Market Monitor Announces Release of Fourth Quarter Home Price Forecast for Largest US Markets

CARY, NC – December 10, 2009 – Local Market Monitor, the premier real estate forecasting solution, today released its fourth quarter Home Price Forecast, which predicts local market behavior for well over 300 US local markets over the next 12 months. The forecast identifies markets where home prices will continue to drop as well as stable markets with opportunities for growth.

According to the forecast, among the largest US markets—identified as those with populations greater than 600,000—the markets* with the best expected performance in home price are:

Baton Rouge, LA
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Columbia, SC
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Knoxville, TN
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
Pittsburgh, PA
Rochester, NY
San Antonio, TX
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA
Syracuse, NY
Tulsa, OK
Wichita, KS

These top markets include some, such as those in Texas, where good home prices increases are likely once the economy improves, and others, notably in New York, where poor economic prospects make future price gains less likely.

"Even our 'top' markets don't yet show price increases; rather, they're markets where prices will be steady," said Ingo Winzer, president and founder of Local Market Monitor. "Significantly, we now see Santa Ana-Anaheim among those markets, with Los Angeles not very far behind, as demand for housing from population growth absorbs excess inventory in Southern California."

The largest markets with the worst expected performance in home price are:

Bakersfield, CA
Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, FL
Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL
Fresno, CA
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Stockton, CA
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL

"Although an actual turnaround in home prices won't happen until after the economy achieves better growth, further large decreases will mainly be confined to markets in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada," said Winzer. "These markets represent where massive overbuilding took place."

To see the top and bottom markets for the 215 smaller MSAs covered by Local Market Monitor, click here.

Local Market Monitor also recently released its latest National Economic Outlook, which comments on the overall predicted behavior of the US economy and national housing industry. According to the summary:

Delinquency rates on credit cards have now been flat for three quarters at 6.5 percent. With commercial real estate loans souring rapidly, banks will expand credit card lending as their best bet for profits.
The employment situation has stabilized at 132 million jobs, down 7 million since 2007. This is a turning point that will encourage renewed, albeit cautious, spending.
A recovery in the housing markets and a pick-up in home prices is still a long way off. Overall, national home prices in the third quarter of 2009 were down 5 percent from a year ago. Expect to see a further 5 percent decrease in home prices during the next 12 months, with double-digit decreases in some markets.
To read the full report, click <"http://www.localmarketmonitor.com/index.cfm?event=pressRelease&id=17">here.

About Local Market Monitor

Local Market Monitor, the premier real estate forecasting solution, offers investors in homes and home mortgages the local market risk intelligence they need to make better decisions. Using a proprietary formula called the Equilibrium Home Price, Local Market Monitor determines if markets are currently over or under valued, equipping users with a long-term risk and investment perspective. Covering over 300 local markets, Local Market Monitor also presents key investors with a 12-month home price forecast. The solution includes sorting capabilities allowing subscribers to view and compare real estate markets along various metrics. Local Market Monitor is based in Cary, NC and has provided expertise in evaluating residential property values since 1990. To learn more, visit www.localmarketmonitor.com.

Headlines of the Week

2009-12-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Judge Robert Henry to lead OCU
The Oklahoman
December 11, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ycwyaxa

Triumph: MAPS supporters overcame the odds
The Oklahoman
December 11, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yae3hto

Q&A with Jane Jenkins
The Oklahoman
December 11, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yc5mpej

MAPS 3 turnout could be record for Oklahoma City election, Mayor Mick Cornett
says
The Oklahoman
December 10, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y8ugcal

Result says much about voters, those who serve
The Oklahoman
December 10, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ydujgxj

Oklahoma’s smoking prevention program is 11th in U. S.
The Oklahoman
December 10, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y99zrld

MAPS 3 sweeps OKC vote
OKC Friday
December 10, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y9a8dcd

Oklahoma City voters say ‘yes’ to MAPS 3 proposal
The Oklahoman
December 9, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yestbfx

Oklahoma City voters decide to extend one-cent sales tax for $777 million MAPS 3 proposal
Minneapolis-St Paul Tribune
December 9, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y9nbkyy

Why Vote YES for MAPS?

2009-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

We are in a unique position as a city -- and one in which many others would be thrilled to be. Around the country, other cities are putting their plans on hold and lowering their expectations. But in Oklahoma City we have weathered the recession well and are in the top 20 for economic performance. We have a booming downtown core and our tourism economy is thriving. Our citizens are proud to call Oklahoma City home. Momentum from the previous MAPS initiatives has launched us into a renaissance.
This momentum is not easily earned, or something that we can get back. The new MAPS proposal is our chance to keep moving OKC forward. It will bring in new jobs, private investment throughout the city and improve our quality of life. We have a choice to make: halt the progress we have made, or continue moving forward with this momentum.

Since 1993, Oklahoma City has been transformed. With the $363 million that was collected from MAPS 1, a series of nine public projects changed the face of Oklahoma City. Building on that incredible momentum, MAPS for Kids has positively affected every child in Oklahoma City.

We don’t live in the same city we lived in 15 years ago. Now is not the time to stop the momentum if we want to continue to enjoy the quality of life we have come to expect. Vote YES for MAPS on December 8!

With the vote nearing, the opposition continues to make claims that shed bad light on MAPS 3 and confuse voters.

Some believe MAPS 3 may prevent hiring more officers and fire fighters, when the fact is this use tax revenue could be used to fund 27 new police officers and 10 new firefighters, in addition to making sure there are no layoffs of public safety officers. Both Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, a former police officer, and Oklahoma City Councilman Gary Marrs, a former Oklahoma City Fire Chief, cite this pledge and its potential impact on public safety spending as a significant factor in their support of this MAPS proposal.

Second, some believe we are moving deeper into a recession with a slowing economy, and this is the wrong time for MAPS 3. Fact is, Our economy is doing well here – especially when compared to the nation. Top economists from both OU and OSU have publicly said that now is the perfect time to invest in our city - with low construction costs our dollars will stretch further, and we will be in a great position when the economy bounces back. According to a study by BusinessWeek, Oklahoma City has the third strongest economy in the nation. Oklahoma City has had the Lowest Unemployment Rate in Large Metro Cities in the US eight of the 11 months between September 2008 and October 2009 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The other five months it was a close second.

Third of all, some believe the MAPS 3 ordinance “contains no content”. The fact is that this MAPS ballot is structured the same as MAPS for Kids was in 2001 and for good reason. It is now illegal to list the projects on the ballot as was done in 1993for MAPS 1, per the 2009 Oklahoma Supreme Court case, Fent v. State. The Council adopted a resolution detailing the eight projects included in MAPS 3. The entire City budget is also passed by resolution.

Finally, some believe MAPS 3 is a slush fund for the City Council (blank check), in result the smaller projects will be cut first. Contrary to Gil Hensley’s assertion that the projects might not be funded, the city would be required by law to apply tax revenue toward their completion if voters approve the issue. And just like the first two MAPS initiatives, this MAPS initiative also includes the added supervision of a Citizens Oversight Board (officially Citizens Capital Improvements Sales Tax Advisory Board). Since 1993, the City has on every occasion done exactly what it said it would do regarding MAPS. It is nothing but a baseless accusation to claim the City might not follow the resolution already adopted by the City Council.

Please vote YES for the future of Oklahoma City by voting YES for MAPS tomorrow!

Headlines of the Week

2009-12-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Say yes to a vision MAPS 3 is incredible opportunity
The Oklahoman
November 30, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ydx3gmb

Q & A with Kim Searls: Downtown in December events continue to grow in popularity
The Oklahoman
December 1, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ykx97ja

Voters to Decide on $777 Million Projects: wellness Centers, Sidewalks, Trials All part of the plan
The Black Chronicle
December 1, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yj9f8xe

Most Livable Bargain Markets: #3

2009-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

MSN recently named Oklahoma City the No. 3 most livable bargain markets.

For the full story: http://tinyurl.com/yz3lunc

"This Great Plains city has everything someone just starting out in his or her career needs: a large number of oil, gas and agricultural jobs, a low cost of living and short commute times. Its economy is so robust that Forbes called it America’s most recession-proof city last year. Because graduates can find a job here, a higher share of the population is under 35 — great news for singles.

There’s not a lot of breathtaking landscape in this table-flat land, nor is it a cultural mecca, but there are a number of large colleges and universities in this state capital, including the University of Oklahoma, to provide sports action and live entertainment.

And, according to commenter “Once a Soldier,” posting on Sperling’s Best Places Web site, there are some good local places to eat, and an easy-to-navigate highway system that makes getting from one part of town to another fairly easy.

Population
1,192,502

Affordability index
2.89

Unemployment
5.9

Job growth
-0.44%

Median home price
$128,300

Home price appreciation
-0.34%

Cost of living index
80.6

Median household income
$44,449

Commute time (mins.)
24.1

% commutes greater than an hour
3.89%

Headlines of the Week

2009-11-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Let’s keep Oklahoma City’s momentum going
The Oklahoman
November 20, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/y92ymnz

OCU officials plan to move law school downtown to Fred Jones Plant
The Oklahoman
November 18, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ykdgfkn

Oklahoma City-based company signs up to create 90 quality jobs
The Oklahoman
November 18, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yaylf8k

Mayor Pat Hays touts MAPS 3’s senior sites
The Oklahoman
November 17, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yb2rrkk

Oklahoma City leaders tout MAPS proposal, even in recession
Tulsa World
November 16, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yb6q7g9

AT A GLANCE: MAPS 3 election
The Oklahoman
November 17, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/6bor2y

MAPS 3 foes focused on leverage, not merits:
The Oklahoman
November 17, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/6bor2y

Headlines of the Week

2009-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Mayor speaks out about MAPS 3 opposition info
The Journal Record
November 13, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yjpn9t2

Frontier Airlines added nonstop flights between Florida and Oklahoma City
The Oklahoman
November 3, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yh5gt53

OU Cancer Institute nears opening
The Oklahoman
November 4, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yz6d5lc

Oklahoma metro areas see growth in ’09 ranking
The Oklahoman
November 12, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ye7rxcn

First Patients Complete Treatment at ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City
BusinessWire
November 12, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yedexke

Headlines of the Week

2009-11-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

State ranked in top 25
The Oklahoman
November 3, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yakb8v3

Frontier Airlines adds nonstop flights between Florida and Oklahoma City
The Oklahoman
November 3, 2009-11-06
http://tinyurl.com/yzmuv77

Urban group honors leaders
The Oklahoman
November 4, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ygkez4b

New garage at Will Rogers World Airport drives up price
The Oklahoman
November 4, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ylncj35

OU Cancer Institute nears opening
The Oklahoman
November 4, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yjkzmw4

Help Spread the Word about MAPS

2009-11-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

On December 14, 1993, Oklahoma City embarked on a new era with the passage of the original MAPS. This wildly-successful program was revolutionary to the city and has since been considered one of the most successful public-private partnerships ever embarked upon in the U.S.

Now, Oklahoma City citizens are seeing that their investments have paid off. A recent study found that while the ultimate cost of the projects totaled $365 million, the total impact of new investment projects connected to MAPS totals more than $5 billion. This means that Oklahoma City citizens have gotten their MAPS investment back 10-fold.

The study also showed that MAPS has had a profound impact on the population in the city’s central core, due to the $238 million of investments in housing and mixed-use structures that occurred between 1995 and 2008. The population in the area also grew substantially- people are indeed moving into the central core of Oklahoma City.

Additionally, there has been an astonishing $200 million worth of capital investment in the hotel sector. When MAPS was initially created there was only one hotel in downtown Oklahoma City, by 2008 there are now seven. This finding suggests that tourism has increased since MAPS, which in turn increases economic growth, productivity, and job creation.

One of the most noticeable effects of the MAPS projects is the extraordinary improvement to Oklahoma City’s downtown area. Since the implementation of the original MAPS, Oklahoma residents have been able to enjoy a variety of exciting entertainment destinations such as Brictown Ballpark, Cox Convention Center, Civic Center Music Hall, Ford Center, Ronald J. Norick Library, and the Oklahoma River. The study also shows that without MAPS, we also would most likely not have an NBA basketball team, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the millions of investment in Oklahoma Health Center, many of the eating and drinking establishments in Bricktown…and many, many other locations that we all enjoy.

This is why we cannot ignore the opportunity to VOTE YES for Oklahoma City by voting YES for MAPS and continuing the momentum we have worked so hard to gain.

MAPS will go to the voters of Oklahoma City on December 8. The proposal includes eight incredible projects all of which will create jobs, promote economic growth and private investment, raise our quality of life, and make Oklahoma City a better, healthier, more sustainable place for us and for our children .The package totals $777 million and will not raise taxes.

Projects include a 70-acre world class Downtown Park and a new downtown Convention Center that will increase tourism and create thousands of new jobs; a new rail-based streetcar system will be one of the most extensive of its types in the US; improvements to the Oklahoma River including a public whitewater kayaking facility and upgrades intended to achieve the finest rowing racecourse in the world; state-of-the-art health and wellness aquatic centers throughout the City designed for senior citizens; new sidewalks near highly-utilized public facilities such as parks; 57 miles of trails throughout the city; and improvements to facilities at State Fair Park, which we all use at some point or another during the year.

The Yes for MAPs campaign is depending on you to get the word out to your friends about why they should vote yes on December 8th.

If you would like to learn more or get involved in keeping the momentum of Oklahoma City visit www.yesformaps.com or text YESMAPS 41411.

Ways to be active in the coalition include:
· Donate to the campaign
· Sign up for email alerts
· Volunteer
· Request yard signs/stickers/speaker for your club.
· Become our friend on social media sites and “YESforMAPS-ify” your profile.

Third Meeting a Success!

2009-10-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our third News Bureau meeting of the year at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma. We had a great turnout!

Thanks to ACM@UCO, specifically Susan and Kelsi, for hosting us and giving us a tour of the facilities. We all really enjoyed it!

Headlines of the Week

2009-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Make List of Strong Cities
The Oklahoman
October 24
http://tinyurl.com/yfb9x2z

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center named best place to work by The Scientist magazine
The Oklahoman
October 27
http://tinyurl.com/yzju4k8

McGrath: Oklahoma City, You Have My Apologies
I, Washington
October 26
http://tinyurl.com/yldx7z8

Oklahoma City Area's Jobless Rate Lowest Among Cities
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/yjw9hxm

What Makes Oklahoma City Recession Proof
NPR
October 24

Forbes.com has touted Oklahoma City as recession-proof. Other headlines from this year read "Oklahoma City Wins in Jobless Figures," "Economists Say State Could Dodge Downturn," "Economic Climate Leaves Clear Skies Ahead for Oklahoma." NPR's Scott Simon travels to Oklahoma City to discover why this town is considered to have such a stable economy.

SCOTT SIMON, host:
Is Oklahoma smarter or just a little luckier than every other state right now? The recession is bad everywhere, but it's a little less bad in Oklahoma. The unemployment rate in Oklahoma City is still below 7 percent - eighth-lowest in the nation - housing values are actually up. Oklahoma City has the second-lowest foreclosure rate in the country.

Over in New York City, well-known financial institutions went broke. Just one bank closed in Oklahoma. Now, it's tempting to give credit to the recent boon in oil prices, and indeed Oklahoma City is still a place where you can see an occasional oil derrick in a parking lot.

SIMON: The sound of Oklahoma City's future could be more like this…

SIMON: …and that silence may be golden. It's a vacuum pump - the Edson(ph) Vacuum System, to be exact - made by an Oklahoma City company called Orthocare that develops new tech prosthetic devices. Silence is one of their signatures, says their national sales manager, Jim Lagerstrom.

Mr. JIM LAGERSTROM (National Sales Manager, Orthocare): That's one thing as an amputee. If there's any moving parts, any noise, any clunking, any sound, you know, it can be disturbing. You know, you definitely don't want to be that person in a quiet room making noise and not being able to shut it off.

SIMON: Mr. Lagerstrom tests new products for his company too. He lost a leg 39 years ago in a snowmobile accident, but has won medals in downhill skiing in three Paralympic Games and competed in five.

Mr. LAGERSTROM: I also play hockey. I'm an accomplished hockey player too. And I played in the 2004 World Championship Hockey Team Tournament.

SIMON: Orthocare also has offices in Seattle and Washington, D.C., but it's moving all of its production to Oklahoma City. They say it helps to have their designers close to the production line. And the market for their technology is not restricted to amputees. Some of the technology they develop can be applied to robotic devices to be used in environments like fires, toxic zones or bomb disposal work that would be dangerous for human beings.

Oklahoma City keeps a kind of Old West identity. It's still a city where a nice dinner usually means a steak and people go to work in cowboy boots - even if they work at a keyboard. Just this month, ForbesSmallBusinessMagazine.com pronounced Oklahoma City the top spot in the country for entrepreneurs to try to start a new business.

What makes Oklahoma such congenial territory? Well, a 5.5 percent state income tax rate may be one reason. But Paul Risser, who runs a state endowment designed to encourage cutting-edge businesses and gave one of its first grants to Orthocare also cites the state's historic spirit.

Mr. PAUL RISSER: There's sort of a willingness in the state of Oklahoma to try and make things happen. And I think it's in part because of this frontier spirit still in Oklahoma. We think about frontier maybe in the old sense, but the frontier today is really innovation and technology.

SIMON: There's some other more traditional reasons too that keep Oklahoma's unemployment rate relatively low. No business is immune to recession but Oklahoma City is fortunate to have industries that are often the last to be affected. It's the state capital, so it brims with state employees who are hard to fire without political consequences.

And the state's largest employer, Tinker Air Force Base, is in town. After a General Motors plant closed down a few years ago, the county bought the plant so that Tinker could expand. Regardless of the domestic economy, international events keep the U.S. military a growth industry.

Oklahoma also has a history that may have deterred local business leaders from some of the rash enthusiasms that attracted other lenders during the last generation.
The Dust Bowl Depression of the 1930s - a disaster of drought and overgrazing the turned prairie into powdery soil and sent Oklahomans out of state like ants scurrying for work, for food, wrote John Steinbeck in "The Grapes of Wrath." Few people alive today can remember the dust bowl, but no one growing up in Oklahoma doesn't feel a personal stake in that history.

Larkin Warner is a professor emeritus of economics at Oklahoma State University.
Professor LARKIN WARNER (Economics, Oklahoma State University): That image that resulted particularly from Steinbeck's book has continued to haunt us. The whole nation was full of poor, rural Oklahomans that got the heck out during the Great Depression. Surprise. I mean, the image of Oklahoma, it just didn't rise out of nowhere.

SIMON: In the 1980s, the collapse of the Penn Square Bank, a small Oklahoma City bank that made high-risk loans to energy companies, set off a national banking crisis. Tom Hoenig was vice president of bank supervision of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City then.

Mr. TOM HOENIG (President, Bank Supervision, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City): In that period, banks failed, businesses failed. There wasn't this too big to fail environment there; investors did lose things. It's a hard lesson, but it is a lesson that people remember and maybe they will weather this cycle more successfully than they did the cycle in the '80s, because of those hard and somewhat harsh lessons.
SIMON: Mr. Hoenig says that harsh lesson Oklahoma banks learned 25 years ago was: Don't make risky loans, which is what so many other banks did to foment the collapse of the housing industry across the country last year. And Oklahoma banks no longer invest all their assets in oil and natural gas, even when they promise the greatest return.

So we asked Tom Hoenig: I've heard talk about a bumper sticker that was once popular in Oklahoma.

Mr. HOENIG: Give me a second chance and I won't blow it.

SIMON: Please, God, give us another oil boom?

Mr. HOENIG: Yes. And I won't...

SIMON: Well, if I could get you to say it.

Mr. HOENIG: I can't remember it exactly...

SIMON: What I'm told is it was: Please, God, give us another oil boom and we promise not to piss it away.

Mr. HOENIG: I do remember that bumper sticker and I wouldn't call this an oil boom. They didn't plunge into oil when it got to $140 a barrel. They didn't go and begin to speculate that it would go to 200. They were much wiser in this instance than they were in that earlier one.

SIMON: Fifteen years ago, oil and natural gas contributed 25 percent of the state's revenue. Now, it's down to just 12 or 13 percent, according to Steve Agee, an oil company executive who's also a professor of economics at Oklahoma City University.

Professor STEVE AGEE (Director, Economic Research and Policy Institute, Oklahoma City University): We have diversified quite a bit since the last contraction we've had, which is good for our state obviously.

SIMON: Of course, you are still president and COO of Agee Energy, aren't you?
Professor AGEE: Yes.

SIMON: And past chairman of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board.

Professor AGEE: That's correct.

SIMON: And I believe, board member of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and all of that?

Professor AGEE: Right.

SIMON: Yes?

Professor AGEE: Right.

SIMON: Well, which is a way of asking, it's interesting that you would be talking about greater diversification of the Oklahoma City economy. It would seem that you would benefit by reliance on energy.

Professor AGEE: Well, I'm not saying that the energy industry has shrunk. I'm just saying that the Oklahoma economy has grown, so the energy industry benefits from our state growth and from the, you know, national growth and from worldwide demand for both oil and natural gas. So as we diversify our economy, that helps our energy sector as well.

SIMON: So while Oklahoma City may statistically seem so much better off than the rest of the country right now, Oklahomans know that their present economic good fortune may be as fragile as sunny skies over an Oklahoma prairie. Clouds can roll in at any moment. Larkin Warner says…

Prof. WARNER: I was talking with somebody the other day who said, you know, if we have a warm winter and that price of natural gas stays very, very low, you know, hold on. So, we're hoping for a cold winter.

SIMON: And there may be some reason for hope in Oklahoma. The "Farmer's Almanac" says temperatures this winter will be below normal, with higher than usual snowfall for most of the United States.

Next week, we'll examine the local pastime in Oklahoma: weather. One man who predicts storms.

Unidentified Man #1: We have floods. We have droughts. We have ice storms. We have hail storms. On an average year, we have about 50 tornadoes. Back in '99, we had over 60 in one day.

SIMON: And another who runs after them.

Unidentified Man #2: In Oklahoma, the storms usually go from southwest to northeast, so we have to go east to north, east to north to stay up with the storms. If there's a road going the direction we want to go, we'll take it, regardless if it's a dirt road or what. If it goes through, we're going to take it.

SIMON: You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

BusinessWeek Names Oklahoma City One of Strongest Economies in US

2009-10-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma has received a vast amount of positive attention in the past year for its recession-proof atmosphere, strong economic climate, and low unemployment rates. Fortunately, the spotlight has yet to fade, with BusinessWeek naming Oklahoma City the third strongest US metro of the country's 40 top metros.

The article reports that the factor that unites America’s strongest economies is the fact that the home prices in the mentioned areas never got too high or too low.

The report accredits Oklahoma City’s success to steady home prices in addition to obtaining a number of successful oil and gas industries. The article cites companies such as Devon Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp., as being accountable in large part for the booming oil and gas industry in Oklahoma.

Additionally, the report makes note of Oklahoma’s strong consumer spending, rising home prices, Gross metropolitan product, and unemployment rates.

http://tinyurl.com/yjme7y4

Headlines of the Week

2009-10-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Luncheons Map out Oklahoma City's tax plan details
The Oklahoman
October 22
http://tinyurl.com/yguunaa

Picasso's on the Paseo fills empty space left by Galileo
The Oklahoman
October 23
http://tinyurl.com/ykte7b6

Federal Grants Enable Wind Farms to Grow
The Oklahoman
October 23
http://tinyurl.com/ylb9r5e

Oklahoma City No. 1 Place to Launch a Business

2009-10-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fortune Magazine and CNNMoney.com are the latest publications to spotlight Oklahoma City’s positive momentum and resiliency through the economic downturn, as they recently named Oklahoma City the No. 1 Place to Launch a Business.

The article cites Oklahoma City’s stable and affordable housing market as a big part of the ranking. Oklahoma City’s per capita income growth, the fastest of any metro area in the U.S., also contributes to the top ranking.

Oklahoma City is also recognized for its entrepreneurial-friendly climate. Oklahoma City businesses that demonstrate this friendly climate include the bioscience cluster and the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park.

InterGentics Co-Founder Craig Shimasaki is featured in the Fortune story and recalls how having his start-up business located in Oklahoma City probably kept the company from going under during a rough patch. In the article, he says he now anticipates $1.1 million in revenues in the coming fiscal year.

Fortune Magazine and CNNMoney.com partnered with Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to find the 50 most business-friendly communities in America. The factors included in the rankings were population, per-capita income, GDP, median monthly rent, house price-to-income ratio, average hourly wage, business tax climate, crime rates and college educated workers.

Headlines of the Week

2009-10-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City is the #1 Best Place to Launch a Small Business
CNN and Forbes
http://tinyurl.com/yjpgdvv

Oklahoma’s startup deal pipeline is flowing
The Oklahoman
Oct. 13
http://tinyurl.com/yzftk9c

Robinson to be First Devon Project
The Oklahoman
Oct. 15
http://tinyurl.com/yk4t4c2

Mark Your Calendars for the Next News Bureau Meeting!

2009-10-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 29
Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma
(ACM@UCO)
25 S. Oklahoma, Suite 400 (in Bricktown)
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Join us for networking, drinks and hors d'oeuvres, followed by a tour of
Oklahoma City’s very own “School of Rock”!

Only the second such school in the world (its counterpart is the Academy of Contemporary Music in London), ACM@UCO just opened to students this Fall and already has 160 students enrolled.

ACM@UCO is all about the music. The school creates a “real world” educational experience for students by connecting them with musicians who have lived it. Students are introduced to the music industry through auditions, performances, and networking opportunities. They learn every side of the business.

For more information on ACM@UCO, visit www.acm.uco.edu.

*Meeting attendees should enter through the door on the east side of the building and take the elevator to the 4th floor*

Please RSVP to Jill Harrison of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber (jharrison@okcchamber.com)if you plan to attend.

Headlines of the Week

2009-10-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Construction Begins on $750M Devon Tower in OKC
The Oklahoman
October 6, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yjhwfry

Oklahoma Whiz Kids to Honor Volunteers
The Oklahoman
October 8, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yf8yxg7

Three Oklahoma Non Profits Receive Grants
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/yf7y68a

OKC Named America's #6 Best Place to Find a Job

2009-10-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

The October issue of US News and World Report named Oklahoma City as the 6th best place to find a job in the country.

"In the midst of the worst recession in decades, it wasn't easy to pinpoint the Best Places to Find a Job for 2009, as absolutely no American city was immune to the economic downturn. And there have been, no doubt, job seekers as frustrated in these 10 cities as in others. But 2009 was an unusual year. To pick the, perhaps, "better" places to find a job, we started with our database of 2,000 cities in all parts of the country. We then narrowed the list to cities that have weathered the recessionary job market and posted job growth since 2000 as well as below-average unemployment rates since June. We also focused on cities that were large enough to offer job seekers opportunities in a broad sweet of industries."

http://www.usnews.com/

Headlines of the Week

2009-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City Council to vote on MAPS ballot
The Oklahoman
September 29, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ybnc7ph

AARP names Oklahoma City University to Best Employers List
Oklahoma Business
September 25, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ybxm22q

MAPS 3 spells JOBS!
Oklahoma City Friday
September 25, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yd3cote

Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson gets her ‘Way’ in Bricktown
The Oklahoman
October 1, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ydu676y

Oklahoma City Ranked Among Top Visitors Destinations

2009-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) was recently honored with a Successful Meetings’ Pinnacle Award. For 25 years, the Pinnacle Awards have recognized convention and visitors bureaus, hotels and conference centers for their commitment to hospitality excellence. Winners are chosen by the readers of Successful Meetings magazine.

The CVB received its first Pinnacle Award in the Southwest division. Other convention and visitors bureaus receiving awards in this division included the Austin; Greater Houston; Greater Phoenix; San Antonio as well as others CVBs.

“It is clear that Oklahoma City is becoming a world-class visitor destination,” said Rhonda Hooper, Chair, Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This was our first time to make this list, but I’m certain that Oklahoma City will remain among the winners for many years to come.”

Headlines of the Week

2009-09-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ford Center to be a lot glitzier, Thunder to see revenue increase
September 21
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/ye4ysb5

Dream team is in place for downtown makeover
September 22
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/yas6qj6

Oklahoma City Council calls for MAPS 3 election
September 23
The Oklahoman
http://tinyurl.com/ya7hp8s

Oklahoma River Wins Award

2009-09-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

International Downtown Association Selects Oklahoma City as Winner

Washington, D.C. – The City of Oklahoma City received the Pinnacle Award Sunday for its strategic plan and related accomplishments along the Oklahoma River corridor from the International Downtown Association (IDA). The award is the IDA’s highest honor.

The River Corridor project was one of 77 award submissions IDA received this year as part of its Downtown Achievement Awards. “The number and breadth of entries made judging a difficult task,” said Jane Jenkins, chairman of IDA and the awards program. “The awards jury was impressed with the accomplishments of the winners and are pleased to honor the City of Oklahoma City among them.”

The North Canadian River Corridor Strategic Action and Development Plan is Oklahoma City’s 10-year plan to transform the North Canadian River from a floodplain to a sustainable urban waterfront. The plan demonstrates innovation in funding and an ability to focus on revitalizing the downtown core and the Oklahoma River.

Job creation has exceeded 2,500 in the plan corridor. Beautification and conservation efforts include the planting of over 8,000 trees and the development of five wetland areas. To date, the plan has stimulated hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment commitments along the corridor.

“We are thrilled that the Oklahoma River development program has received such a high honor from the IDA,” said Pat Downes, who serves as the River Authority’s economic development director. “The award validates the confidence our citizens have placed in the leadership of this community, all of whom have worked tirelessly to reclaim the river as a valued community asset.

The 2009 Downtown Achievement Award winners were recognized during IDA’s 55th Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin September 11-15, 2009.

Founded in 1954, the International Downtown Association has more than 650 member organizations worldwide including: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Through our network of committed individuals, rich body of knowledge and unique capacity to nurture community-building partnerships, IDA is a guiding force in creating healthy and dynamic centers that anchor the well being of towns, cities and regions of the world.

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