OTA's ACCESS Plan Moves Forward
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s ACCESS Oklahoma plan is moving forward again after The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the authority’s bond process.
OTA Director Tim Gatz spoke to reporters in the lobby of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation a few hours after the ruling was issued.
He says the OTA is thankful for the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Decision and the 15-year-long-range plan for ACCESS Oklahoma is now able to move forward.
“To be clear, we are at the very beginning stage of this long range plan. Construction in the Norman area specifically likely will be several years away from today," said Gatz.
This is especially pertinent to communities around Norman who fought the OTA about the project and its transparency. People who oppose the turnpike project also spoke to reporters, panning the OTA for not allowing public comment during their meetings.
Gatz says the long range plan will provide the state’s southern i-35 with reliever routes as the corridor continues to to face growing congestion.
It is unclear what is next for groups who oppose the ruling.
Oklahoma City Council Approves Three Law Enforcement Reforms
At least three police reform initiatives will be implemented in Oklahoma City.
The recommendations are among dozens that were under consideration for the past three years. City Council voted 6 to 3 Tuesday to approve three recommendations.
The City will develop a mental health crisis response team, establish a Community Public Safety Advisory Board, and update Oklahoma City Public Schools resource officer contracts.
A few council members questioned the school resource officer contract.
It reduces the law enforcement role of officers centering on mentorship instead.
“If this is really what the role is supposed to be and it's not about enforcing laws, we don't really need the presence of a uniformed police officer in a school. These sorts of goals can be accomplished by other types of community resources,” said Council member JoBeth Hamon who represents Ward 6.
The OKCPS Board passed the contract agreement in July.
OKC Public Safety Partnership plans to continue implementing reform recommendations. It will keep residents updated via a website that is set to go live at the end of the week.
Initiative Aims To Bring More Black Tech Professionals To Tulsa
Black Tech Street announced a partnership with Microsoft to bring more Black tech professionals to Tulsa.
Black Tech Street is an organization dedicated to reviving Black Wall Street through technology.
Founder of the group, Tyrance Billingsly II says this new partnership will be all-encompassing.
“This alliance between Black Tech Street and Microsoft is 20 months in the making. One thing to get down at the beginning is: it’s not one specific program or one specific offering. This is Microsoft coming to the table and saying ‘we believe in this vision, in this mission, and we’re gonna provide a suite of different supports," said Billingsly.
Billingsly says only 6% of Tulsa’s tech workforce is Black—below the national average of 14%.
The new partnership is expected to bring 1,000 Black cyber professionals to Tulsa by the year 2030.
OKC Heat Island Mapping Project
A community science project in Oklahoma City is hoping to measure the effects heat islands have on the city. The data collected could be used to cool off certain neighborhoods.
The city is looking for volunteers to help with a mapping project on Saturday August 12. Volunteers will drive around the city with equipment on their cars that will measure air temperature and relative humidity as well as air quality.
The information gathered will be analyzed and turned into maps to show the hottest areas in Oklahoma City.
Sarah Terry Cobo is an associate planner for the city’s Office of Sustainability. She says the maps will help determine best solutions to combat extreme heat, particularly managing the city’s tree canopy.
“Managing the tree canopy is huge. Tree folk say that the best tree is the one that was planted 20 years ago, and the next best tree is the one that you plant today," said Cobo.
Cobo says other potential solutions include building permanent and temporary cooling centers where people can hydrate and learn about best ways to keep cool and building shelters at bus stops that aren’t covered.
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