City of Tulsa

Our guest is Karen Dills, the executive director of RSVP of Tulsa. The acronym officially stands for "Retired Senior Volunteer Program" -- and as noted at the website for this long-running non-profit: "RSVP serves as a one-stop clearinghouse to connect volunteers, age 55 and over, with meaningful community service. There is an RSVP match for everyone who wants to remain active in their local community.

The Blue Zones Project will present a series of events here in Tulsa this week, and so, on this edition of ST Medical Monday, we listen back to a Blue Zones-related interview from our archives. In 2016, we spoke with one Tony Buettner. Several years ago, Tony's brother Dan executed the original Blue Zones study, and then wrote a bestselling book about same.

On this edition of our show, we learn all about Kendall Whittier, Incorporated, or KWI, which is a neighborhood-minded and long-running nonprofit now marking its 50th Anniversary. KWI is, per its website, "a home-grown organization incorporating self-sufficiency for our neighbors through food security, nutritional health, and well-being." KWI -- the only food pantry in the Tulsa area that actually delivers to its participants' doorsteps -- will host an event tonight (Thursday the 7th) in celebartion of its Golden Anniversary.

On this broadcast of ST, we learn about a new book called "Art Deco Tulsa" -- and our guests are the two people who created it: Suzanne Fitzgerald Wallis wrote the text, and Sam Joyner made the photographs. As is noted of this book at its publisher's website: "Transformed from a cattle depot into the Oil Capital of the World, Tulsa emerged as an iconic Jazz Age metropolis. The Magic City attracted some of the nation's most talented architects, including Bruce Goff, Francis Barry Byrne, Frank Lloyd Wright, Joseph R.

The Arena District in downtown Tulsa can seem, at times, like the heart of the city -- like when there's a big show at the BOK Center, or a large convention at the Cox Convention Center. At other times...it's pretty quiet. So, one key question is how best to turn a limited-use area into a thriving year-round destination. This matter is now being explored by the City of Tulsa's Master Planning Process; it's a process that's being underway for months now.

On this installment of StudioTulsa, we chat with the noted photographer Don Thompson, who's been documenting the people and places of north Tulsa for more than 40 years now. His photos have been shown at local galleries, are on permanent display at OSU-Tulsa, and were recently added to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Our guest on ST is Ren Barger, the founder and CEO of Tulsa Hub, which is, as noted at its website, "a syndicate of volunteers on a mission to change lives through cycling. It is the only nonprofit in Oklahoma providing certified bicycling-for-transportation education, refurbished bicycles, safety gear, and follow-up support to people in poverty, people with physical and mental disabilities, and people who are otherwise disenfranchised in our community.

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, which is part of the National Park Service, will soon host a three-day symposium here in Tulsa regarding the preservation of roadside architecture and attractions. It happens April 10th through the 12th, and it will include 20+ invited as well as solicited papers, an evening neon-sign tour, and a half-day field session exploring local roadside attractions and issues related to their preservation.

Oklahoma -- sadly, and perhaps unsurprisingly -- is number two in the United States when it comes to teen pregnancy. On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we learn about an organization working to address our state's high teen-birth rate. Our guest is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Take Control Initiative (or TCI). Per its website, the TCI "is a program aimed at reducing the high rate of unplanned and teen pregnancies in the Tulsa area.

On this installment of ST, our guest is Cameron Walker, the Executive Director of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity (or THFH). This crucial nonprofit recently received a $6.7 million grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, and therefore, as we learn on today's program, THFH is transitioning from building 25 to 30 houses per year (which is what it does in the Tulsa area currently) to building 150 houses per year (which is what it aims to be doing four years from now).

"Bobby BlueJacket: The Tribe, The Joint, The Tulsa Underworld" is a just-published book exploring little-known aspects of American crime, Native American identity, and smalltown politics in the 20th century. It's also a biography of a real and remarkable person: Bobby BlueJacket, born in 1930, who grew up amid teenage rumbles, mean streets, dangerous pool halls, and Midwest safecracker crews -- and who actually went from being a career thief to a prison journalist to a Eastern Shawnee Indian activist. Our guests on ST today are Michael P. Daley, the author of this new book, and Mr.

For every six Oklahomans, one is hungry, according to the latest data. And as the U.S. Congress looks to potentially address a $1.5 trillion projected deficit, many domestic programs face an uncertain if not bleak future -- including food-assistance and hunger-relief programs -- both here in the Sooner State and nationwide. On this edition of ST, we are discussing these matters with Effie Craven, who is the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for both of the Oklahoma Food Banks (i.e., the Regional Food Bank in OKC as well as the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in Tulsa).

On this edition of ST, we speak with the locally based poet, poetry teacher, and literary activist, Victoria McArtor. She tells us about her new book, "Reverse Selfie," which is a collection of poems written in response to -- or in conversation with, or in tribute to -- various Tulsa landmarks. This book, which actually began as a write-one-poem-every-day-for-a-month project back in 2015, also features striking photographs by Matthew Phipps, thereby capturing in both words and images the vitality, beauty, wonder, and strangeness of the City of Tulsa.

On this edition of ST, we learn about the Unity Heritage Neighborhoods Design Workshop, a program to create designs, plans, and visions for future development in neighborhoods immediately north of downtown Tulsa. These include the Brady Heights Historic District, Emerson Elementary, Greenwood, and the Evans-Fintube site. Throughout the fall, the Notre Dame University Graduate Design Studio has been viewing the landscape and speaking with community stakeholders on how they want the neighborhood to look and feel as they develop their design ideas.

On this installment of ST, we hear about how people living and working here in Tulsa would be affected by the cancellation of DACA, which President Trump proposed earlier this year. The DACA (or "Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival") Program is an Obama-era federal statue allowing some children who entered the U.S. illegally to stay here as long as they meet certain criteria; there are now about 800,000 DACA recipients in this country. Our guests today are two young people based in Tulsa who are both DACA recipients, and who both came to the U.S. at a young age.

Our guest on this edition of ST is Sophia Pappas, who formerly led the pioneering initiative to bring "universal pre-K" to the New York City Public Schools. Pappas now resides in Tulsa, as she was recently hired by the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation, the nonprofit social-justice and civic-enhancement organization funded by local billionaire and philanthropist George Kaiser. Pappas will now be in charge of introducing and implementing the GKFF's Birth through Eight Strategy, which was ten years in the making (and planning).

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we speak once again with Scott Stulen, the President and Director of the Philbrook Museum of Art. At a press conference earlier today, Stulen announced a number of exciting changes in store for Philbrook, which will take effect very soon.

On this edition of ST, we welcome the Tulsa-based author Jennifer Latham back to our show. Her recently published YA novel, "Dreamland Burning," is a suspenseful narrative about the Tulsa Race Riot. As was noted of this book in an appreciative review from School Library Journal: "Latham follows up 'Scarlett Undercover' with a rich work that links past and present in a tale that explores racial prejudice. After the remains of a skeleton are found in her Tulsa, OK, backyard, 17-year-old Rowan Chase becomes consumed with finding out the story behind the death.

On this edition of ST, after the tornado activity we saw here in Tulsa earlier this month, we're talking about what local small businesses can do to protect themselves from damage caused by flooding, storms, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. Our guest is Dave Hall, Chair of the Disaster Resistant Business Council, which is a part of the Disaster Resilience Network (formerly known as Tulsa Partners).

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we learn about the forthcoming Mother Road Market. As was reported last week by KWGS News, when the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation announced that it would fund this market (to be housed in a empty warehouse at 11th and Lewis in Tulsa): "The Mother Road Market will be a community food destination, allowing Tulsans and tourists alike to eat, sip, shop, and enjoy Tulsa's favorite neighborhood restaurants and brand new food concepts -- all under one roof.

On this edition of ST, we learn about the Tulsa Police Department's ongoing efforts to implement recommendations submitted earlier this year by the Tulsa Commission on Community Policing. In particular, we focus on the Department's implementation of a Community Response Team (or CRT) program; this is an initiative still in its "pilot" stage. As we learn today from our guest, Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks, the three-person CRT team includes an officer from the Police Department, a paramedic from the Tulsa Fire Department, and a mental health professional.

Living Arts of Tulsa -- a vital part of the arts scene here in town, and a long-running locally-based nonprofit that seems to be increasingly popular -- now has, for the first time in decades, a new artistic director. Our guest on ST is that individual: Jessica Borusky, who's been on the job for only two or three weeks at this point.

On this edition of ST, an interesting chat with Tulsa Transit Interim General Manager Debbie Ruggles. In a joint appearance, City of Tulsa and Tulsa Transit officials recently announced a new bus rapid transit line for our community, which will run mainly along Peoria Avenue. It will be known as the Aero system. Service on the Aero -- which will run in rotation from Peoria and 36th Street North to 81st and Lewis -- is expected to start in Spring 2019.

On this edition of ST, we speak with Corey Williams, the executive director of the nonprofit Sustainable Tulsa, which is driven by (as noted at its website) these core principles: "A thriving society, responsible economic growth, and environmental stewardship...[which] are the mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainability." Ms. Williams tells us about Sustainable Tulsa's next First Thursday presentation, which is a free event happening tomorrow (the 6th) at the TCC Center for Creativity (near 10th and Boston in downtown Tulsa).

Our guest is Todd Cunningham, the Executive Director of Arts Alliance Tulsa, which is, per its website, "a United Arts Fund that strengthens and supports the arts for a greater Tulsa through fundraising, support services, audience development, and responsible investment and allocation of resources." Comprised of dozens of outstanding nonprofit arts groups from throughout the Tulsa area, Arts Alliance Tulsa has only been around for a couple of years now -- but its very presence highlights the important role that the arts play in our community'

Last night, a jury here in Tulsa acquitted one Betty Shelby -- a white Tulsa Police officer -- who had been charged with first-degree manslaughter after she shot and killed an unarmed black man named Terence Crutcher last September. Some people in this community feel that justice has been served, while others feel, as was stated by Rev. Joey Crutcher, the victim's father, after the verdict came down: "I believe in my heart that Betty Shelby got away with murder." Where does Tulsa go from here?

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we learn about the nonprofit Family Safety Center, which is located in the basement of the downtown Tulsa Police Station.

Our guest on ST today is Eileen Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The Food Bank, as it's commonly known, is the largest private hunger-relief organization in eastern Oklahoma; it's been around since 1981. As is noted at this special nonprofit's website: "Our vision is food security, with dignity, for all eastern Oklahomans.... With locations in Tulsa and McAlester, we provide food and other donated goods to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma.

How "walkable" is downtown Tulsa? And how could it be made more so? Our guest is Tom Baker, the executive director of Tulsa's Downtown Coordinating Council (or DCC). The DCC is an advisory board made up of downtown property owners, government officials, and business owners, and last month -- in cooperation with various local businesses, organizations, and individuals -- it welcomed the noted urbanist and walkability expert Jeff Speck for a presentation of his recently-completed Walkable Tulsa Study.

Our guest on ST is Chuck Marohn, an engineer based in Minnesota and member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He's also the founder and president of Strong Towns, a nationwide media nonprofit that, per its website, supports "a model of development that allows America's cities, towns, and neighborhoods to become financially strong and resilient. For the United States to be a prosperous country, it must have strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods.