Catherine Roberts

Tulsa Regional Chamber, City of Tulsa, Tulsa County and other regional officials announce support for the American Airlines and U.S. Airways merger.

One community that is particularly pleased is Owasso.

The American Airlines and US Airways merger is good news for the City of Owasso.

“We have over 800 families in Owasso that work out at American Airlines,” said Mayor Doug Bonebrake. “This is going to probably give them a little bit of hope that things are going to be stable.”

American and US Airways’ CEOs say the companies’ merger won’t result in many layoffs.

“We have only 12 overlapping routes out of some 900 or some that we fly together,” said American’s CEO Thomas Horton. “We expect very little redundancy in the operations.

He says most layoffs that do occur will likely be in management, as the two companies consolidate leadership.

US Airways’ CEO, Doug Parker, will assume the role of CEO of the new company. Horton will stay on as chairman of the new joint Board of Directors, but only until the merger is complete.

The proposed form based code for the Pearl District is several years in the making. Last year, the Tulsa Metro Area Planning Commission rejected enacting a version of it.

The code, which focuses on the design, or form, of buildings rather than their use, was back under the microscope during three recent workshops for area residents and business owners. 

Prospects for New Business

Julian Morgan and Josh Ritchey are looking to join the growing number of new business owners in the Pearl District.

Two new deaths due to the flu last week in Tulsa County bring the total for our area up to six. There have been 23 statewide so far this year.

Across the state, the number of new hospitalizations was lower last week than in previous weeks, with just 42 new hospitalizations or deaths reported.

“It’s not to say that we’re not still seeing a lot of flu activity across the state, and certainly in Tulsa County,” said the Tulsa Health Department’s Kaitlin Snyder. “But we’re not seeing it spiking as much as we had when the flu season really started to kick off.”

Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. and District 4 City Councilor Blake Ewing celebrated with the Brady Arts District and many others from downtown the opening of the new Boulder Avenue bridge today. The bridge spans the downtown railroad tracks and connects First Street and Archer Street.

Two new reports are out this week about Oklahomans and their money: one (read it here) is about how many people save their money and to what extent, and the other (read it here) is about who pays the biggest percentage of their money in taxes.

Forty-four percent is one of the striking statistics included in the 2013 Assets & Opportunity Score Card. That is, 44 percent of Oklahoma residents have little to no emergency savings.

Medicaid expansion, education, and workers compensation reform are at the top of the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s list of 2013 legislative priorities, known as the One Voice Agenda.

Oklahoma Representative Doug Cox, an emergency room physician, explains that the federal government will help pay for the Medicaid expansion by cutting back on Medicare funding.

He says he hopes either the decision not to expand Medicaid is reversed, or that an alternative plan addresses the problem of the large numbers of uninsured Oklahomans and those without access to care.

The proposed Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture will include a major collection of items featuring Leon Russell and his work. Russell spoke positively about Tulsa at the announcement of the collection.

The Oklahoma Historical Society hopes that a bond issue will be approved by the state legislature in the upcoming session to fund the construction of the museum.

EMSA board members begin to respond to the state’s audit of the emergency medical service.

Board of Trustees Chair Lillian Perryman recommended creating committees to address the audit’s individual concerns.

“We need questions answered, and to move forward,” she said. “I think we can rehash this over and over and over again, but unless we start moving forward and show our citizens that we are going to have some changes, then we aren’t making progress.”

The Tulsa Regional Chamber inaugurates a new chair. Jake Henry Jr. is President and CEO of the Saint Francis Health System.

In his remarks, he focused on what he views as the mistake of turning down Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

He says he hopes an alternative plan created by the governor’s office will help to address the problem of 18 percent of Oklahomans living without health insurance.

Listen here to his remarks on healthcare in Oklahoma.