Author Archives: Admin

OSU-Tulsa Presidential Candidates prepare for forums

Monday, 17 August 2009
TULSA, Okla.–Oklahoma State University-Tulsa has issued the following news release:

The OSU-Tulsa presidential candidates will conduct three campus forums for students, faculty and staff next week.

Tulsa business executive Howard Barnett and University of Kansas leader Robert Clark will visit OSU-Tulsa on Aug. 18.

The staff forum for Barnett will take place from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Clark will meet with staff members from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The faculty forums are planned with Barnett from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. and with Clark from 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Student forums will take place from 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. for Barnett and from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. for Clark. OSU-Tulsa faculty and staff members who are unable to attend the earlier forums are welcome to attend the student forums.

Each candidate will remain in the same location for their respective forums. Barnett’s forums will take place in North Hall 140, while Clark’s forums will be located in North Hall 253.

The finalists for OSU-Tulsa’s new president were announced on Wednesday. Barnett is the managing director of TSF Capital in Tulsa and Clark is vice chancellor and dean of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kan.

Visit www.osu-tulsa.okstate.edu/faculty/search.asp to learn more about each presidential candidate.
Last Updated ( Monday, 17 August 2009 )

Professor wins Jazz honors

Monday, 17 August 2009
TULSA, Okla.– The University of Tulsa has issued the following news release:

Professor Vernon Howard has been voted the Outstanding College Jazz Instructor by the Oklahoma Jazz Educators.

Professor Howard will be presented with a plaque at the 2010 OMEA ALL State Jazz Concert the Saturday morning of the OMEA convention in January.
Last Updated ( Friday, 21 August 2009 )

Wyndham opens new hotel in Oklahoma

PARSIPPANY, N.J.–Wyndham Hotel Group has issued the following news release:

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (http://www.wyndham.com/) today announced its continued expansion in North America with the opening of its first hotel in Oklahoma: the 244-room Wyndham Garden Hotel Oklahoma City Airport. (www.wyndham.com/hotels/OKCAP/main.wnt)

"Oklahoma’s capital continues to be one of the Midwest’s most dynamic travel hubs," said Jeff Wagoner, president of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

"With the addition of Wyndham Garden Hotel Oklahoma City Airport to our growing portfolio, we are now able to provide visitors with the personalized service and style that has become a hallmark of the Wyndham brand."

Owned and operated by Fianna Oklahoma, LLC, the newly renovated hotel underwent a multi-million dollar renovation before joining the Wyndham system.

Guest rooms feature complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access, 32-inch flat-screen televisions, Wyndham signature BeWellTM bedding and granite bathroom countertops.

The property also features a 24-hour airport shuttle, state-of-the-art business and fitness centers, heated indoor pool, game room, laundry service, shoe-shine service, express check-out and more than 7,000 square feet of meeting space, with the largest room capable of accommodating up to 500 guests.

Dining options include an Eat. Refresh. Live.SM Wyndham Cafe offering causal American fare for breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails as well as Juniper’s, the hotel’s full-service restaurant, featuring classic American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Room service is also available.

The Wyndham Garden Hotel Oklahoma City Airport at 2101 South Meridian Ave. is just three miles north of Will Rogers World Airport, less than five miles from the Bricktown Entertainment District, Cox Business Services Convention Center, Ford Center and the Oklahoma City Memorial.

The Wyndham brand’s guest recognition program, Wyndham ByRequest www.wyndhambyrequest.com/, offers complimentary benefits including free high-speed Internet access, a choice of welcome snack and beverage, preferred pillow type, express check-in, guaranteed late check-out, local and long-distance calls, best available room upon arrival, photocopies, faxes and online receipts.

Members also earn Wyndham Rewards� points, which can be redeemed for free hotel stays, airline tickets, name-brand merchandise and dining and shopping gift cards, among other options. In lieu of points, members may elect to earn airline or rail miles with a variety of partners. More information is available at www.wyndhamrewards.com.

Additional information and reservations for all Wyndham hotels are available by calling (800) WYNDHAM– (800) 996-3426–or visiting www.wyndham.com.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC and its affiliates, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), offers upscale hotel and resort accommodations throughout the United States, Europe, China, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. All hotels are either franchised or managed by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, LLC or an affiliate. For additional information or to make a reservation, go to www.wyndham.com

Exxon-Mobil pleads guilty to killing birds

WASHINGTON–Exxon-Mobil Corporation, the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, pleaded guilty in U.S. Court in Denver to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in five states during the past five years, the Justice Department announced today.

The company has agreed to pay fines and community service payments totaling $600,000 and will implement an environmental compliance plan over the next three years aimed at preventing bird deaths on the company’s facilities in the affected states.

According to papers filed in court, the company has already spent over $2.5 million to begin implementation of the plan.

The charges stem from the deaths of approximately 85 protected birds, including waterfowl, hawks and owls, at Exxon-Mobil drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas between 2004 and 2009. According to the charges and other information presented in court, most of the birds died after exposure to hydrocarbons in uncovered natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities at Exxon-Mobil sites in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The company has entered into a plea agreement with the government, calling for guilty pleas to the five charges and a sentence of $400,000 in fines and $200,000 in community service payments.
The fines will be deposited into the federally-administered North American Wetlands Conservation Fund.

The community service payments will be made to a non-profit waterfowl rehabilitation foundation in Colorado and the congressionally-chartered National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, designated for waterfowl preservation work in each of the affected states.

During a three-year probationary period, Exxon-Mobil must also implement an "environmental compliance plan" designed to keep birds from coming into contact with oily waters at its facilities in the five affected states.

"The environmental compliance plan that Exxon-Mobil has agreed to in this multi-district plea agreement is an important step in protecting migratory birds in these five states," said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "We are all responsible for protecting our wildlife, even the largest of corporations," said Colorado U.S. Attorney David M. Gaouette. "An important part of this case is the implementation of an environmental compliance plan that will help prevent future migratory bird deaths."The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, enacted in 1918, implements this country’s commitments under avian protection treaties with Great Britain (for Canada), Mexico, Japan and Russia.

The Act creates a misdemeanor criminal sanction for the unpermitted taking of listed species by any means and in any manner regardless of fault.

The maximum penalty for a corporate taking under the MBTA is $15,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, and five years probation.

The birds killed in the five cases include ducks, grebes, ibis, passerines, shorebirds, owls, martin and a hawk. None of these species is listed as endangered or threatened under federal law.

Migratory birds often land on open wastewater ponds at oil and gas facilities and become coated with, or ingest, fatal amounts of hydrocarbons discharged into the water during drilling or production operations.

Such killings can be prevented by scrubbing the water of contaminants before discharge, removing the ponds, placing an obstruction such as netting or plastic "bird balls" over the water to prevent contact, or installing commercially-manufactured electronic hazing devices which detect incoming flights of migratory birds and deploy noise and lights to scare them away from the area.

Exxon-Mobil’s environmental compliance plan will employ these techniques, tailored to each facility, to prevent future mortality.

The cases were investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Robert S. Anderson of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carey of the District of Colorado.

Rising gas prices cause vulnerability

WASHINGTON–Rising gas prices, combined with the economic downturn are making people more vulnerable to changes in oil prices, according to new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The report also shows that many states are taking significant steps to reduce oil dependence through smart clean-transportation policies.

Especially with today’s economic challenges, Americans face a growing threat from our nation’s dangerous addiction to oil," said Deron Lovaas, NRDC’s transportation policy director.

"This report shows how important it is for states to promote clean energy policies that will reduce our dependence on oil, while also reducing global warming pollution.
The report, "Fighting Oil Addiction: Ranking States’ Oil Vulnerability and Solutions for Change," provides a detailed look at how oil prices impact consumers and ways in which smart policies can help break states’ addiction to oil.
According to the report, the top 10 states most vulnerable to oil price increases are: #1 Mississippi; #2 Montana; #3 South Carolina; #4 Oklahoma; #5 Louisiana; #6 Kentucky, #7 Texas; #8 New Mexico; #9 Georgia; and #10 Arkansas. The top 10 states that are doing the most to promote clean energy technologies and reduce their dependence on oil are: #1California; #2 Massachusetts; #3 Washington; #4 New Mexico; #5 Connecticut; #6 New York; #7 New Jersey; #8 Pennsylvania; #9 Oregon; and #10 Florida.

The report focuses on two important factors that relate to the nation’s addiction to oil. First, it calculates oil vulnerability– how heavily each state’s drivers are affected by increases in oil prices. Second, it ranks states on their adoption of solutions to reduce their oil dependence– measures they are taking to lessen their vulnerability and to bolster America’s security.

The report also shows that by promoting clean vehicle and fuel technologies as well as transportation alternatives states can reduce oil dependence. These measures can, in turn, create clean energy jobs, reduce vulnerability to fuel price hikes, and lessen air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Lovaas added, "The Federal government can step in to help states break their addiction to oil by implementing comprehensive clean energy and climate policies and by reforming our national transportation system through an overhauled, performance-driven transportation policy.

The full report, with state-by-state rankings, can be accessed at: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/states/