Will Oklahoma continue to be a leader when it comes to energy?  The answer to that question is key to our state’s future.  For nearly 100 years Oklahoma has set the standard when it comes to domestic energy production and regulation.  During the very first oil boom it was Oklahoma that developed  regulatory standards still used today by producing states to ensure that on-shore production is done in a manner that prevents waste of a precious resource while protecting the rights of all stakeholders.  Oklahoma worked to bring all the producing states together to collaborate cooperatively on issues pertaining to oil and gas production by creating the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, still based in Oklahoma City and this year chaired by Governor Fallin.

The question, "What does Oklahoma do?" is still commonly asked by states grappling with questions regarding energy production.  2010 saw the Corporation Commission’s Oil and Gas Division, as well as individual Commissioners, again in leadership roles nationally and internationally, as policy makers, lawmakers and regulators  in the U.S., Europe, and Asia looked to Oklahoma for guidance.

As Commission chair, I am committed not just to maintaining, but to advancing Oklahoma’s leadership position, both for the sake of the state’s economy and to meet America’s energy needs.  In order to do that we must be sure our state laws, rules, and policies keep pace with the revolutionary changes occurring in the domestic energy industry, as well as ensure proper funding is available for oil and gas regulation in Oklahoma.

Technological advances have raised new questions and concerns even as they enabled on-shore domestic oil and gas production thought impossible only a few years ago. How we address those questions and concerns now and in the future will determine whether Oklahoma will still be considered a place where producers are willing to invest millions of dollars, where regulators, producers and mineral owners can collaborate on important issues  and where residents can be confident their health and safety are not jeopardized.

Since taking office, I’ve logged thousands of miles across the state meeting with Oklahomans from all walks of life on these and other issues. From town hall horizontal drilling meetings to civic and professional group meetings and speaking engagements, these efforts have produced successful results and reinforced my belief that effective policy is built one step at a time starting on the local level, and with openness, communication and common sense. It also requires we keep an open mind to the challenges change can bring.   As I’ve said before, we need to embrace change as an opportunity to innovate.  

So it is with the huge changes in the field of energy and Oklahoma’s place as an energy leader. The bottom line:  Innovation and creativity are essential not only for technological advances, but also to develop public policy that ensures the potential of such advances is realized for all stakeholders.  

Vern Yip, star of HGTV’s popular shows “Deserving Design with Vern Yip” and “Design Star,” will meet and greet residents at I.O. Metro’s Tulsa store on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Yip will make appearances from 6:30-8 p.m. at the I.O. Metro furniture store located at 6516 E. 51st Street.  Yip will be available for autographs, pictures and design therapy.  Attendees will receive 10 percent off one item during the event.

As part of the new partnership with I.O. Metro, Yip will be seen in
upcoming advertising campaigns for the furniture retailer and will be
featured in “Vern’s Picks” throughout the store – items Yip has
personally chosen as design must-haves. 

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with I.O. Metro on helping spread the word about this truly unique furniture shopping experience,” Yip said.  “One thing I really love about I.O. Metro is the fact that every single store is stocked with experienced design consultants who will give you free design advice.  In fact, if you want them in your home, they’ll come there too. I.O. Metro gives customers three important things: great design, excellent quality and an outstanding price.”

“Throughout the store, we’ll now be featuring ‘Vern’s Picks,’ which are items that Vern has chosen as key design elements in putting together a room. And you’ll hear more from Vern as part of our popular Hello Metro blog, where Vern will guest blog for us twice a month,” and through our weekly e-blasts,” said Jay Howard, chief executive officer of I.O. Metro.

As part of this week’s appearances, Yip will also offer a 30-minute design class to I.O. Metro VIP customers starting at 6 p.m. prior to the general public event. Media are invited to attend and cover the class.

Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., I.O. Metro is a specialty lifestyle furniture retailer that sells eclectic import furniture and accessories in 21 locations across the Midwest. Through its innovative in-house development team and network of sourcing options in 14 countries, I.O. Metro is able to differentiate itself from monotonous furniture choices so common in the furniture industry. Each I.O. Metro store offers a wide range of custom options with free design service.

One room at a time, Vern Yip is designing his way across America, having knocked down walls and made over countless homes and restaurants during his four seasons on TLC’s “Trading Spaces,” on NBC’s “Home Intervention” and through his private practice. Vern’s most recent projects include his own show on HGTV, “Deserving Design with Vern Yip,” airing every week, and the recently concluded fifth season of the exciting prime-time series, “HGTV Design Star,” where every season he helps to discover America’s next great design talent. Design fans can also catch Yip on HGTV in episodes of “HGTV Showdown,” “Bang for Your Buck” and a new series called “First Time Designer.” When not on TV, Yip runs his own design company in Atlanta where he is known for his attention to detail married with precise, clean-lined interiors balanced with a sense of warmth.

Learn more about Yip at www.vernyip.com and I.O. Metro at www.io-metro.com.

Tulsa Today is under attack by those who wish to steal from Internet users.  The effort is entertaining as they accomplish nothing for themselves, are removed quickly and, we highly suspect, their attempt at fraud comes as they themselves are defrauded.  Yes, someone is selling the name of this domain to those who want to spam blast others, but the purchasers register here before they check to discover we no longer host a forum they can misuse.  Spammers profit not.  Funny thing, the vast majority are based in Russia.

Online since 1996 owning this domain and professionally engaged within the industry years before Al Gore even invented the Internet, I know some very talented hackers.  Most are honorable and enjoy code cracking for their own reasons.  I do not support theft in any format (including taxes) for any reason, but I will talk to anyone regardless of station.  This story, however, is not about skilled code warriors, but the stupid, inane, greedy fools that think no one is paying attention as they attempt to steal.

Tulsa Today is the oldest independent online news service in the world.  We do not and have never captured e-mail addresses without permission (knew how to do that for decades, but don’t).  We only keep e-mail from those who willingly provide it during registration.  Registration is free and enables readers to comment on individual stories.  We have over 4,000 registered users, but we delete those of questionable address.  

Welcome International Law Enforcement

The majority of those we delete are based in Russia.  Tulsa Today will make a complete list of such spammers available to law enforcement at any level at any time, but just for fun, here is the list of those within the first ten pages (of 204 pages) of registered users that we removed today.  We hope our friends who may be code warriors find some use for these want-a-be frauds, but for the rest of us, it is simply good to remember that if these individuals would put the same amount of effort into legitimate enterprise, they might actually be productive within their individual lives.

Russia e-mail ends with .ru
Poland e-mail ends with .pl
Ukraine e-mail ends with .ua

While Tulsa Today welcomes foreign readers, we write here for Tulsa, Oklahoma, and America.  International readers are welcome to comment, but if your comments are spam, they will be deleted.  Readers who notice such posts our staff may have missed are welcome to use the contact form at the top of the page to let us know, but we regularly check and remove stupid spam posts as a function of maintaining the site – even in the older pages.

So with tongue planted firmly in cheek, we are a business that can sound the cry, “The Russians Are Coming” in regular fact not for alarm, but in ridicule of those silly stupid spammers.  The e-mail listed on this page is NOT protected from spambots.  Have a nice day.

Employment fell in both of Oklahoma’s large counties from June 2008 to June 2009 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Tulsa County experienced the larger drop, down 5.0 percent, while Oklahoma County fell at a slower rate, 3.6 percent. 

Employment nationwide fell 5.1 percent during the 12-month period as 324 of the 334 largest U.S. counties registered declines. Elkhart County, Ind., recorded the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment in the country, down 21.9 percent. Yakima County, Wash., registered the fastest growth, up 1.5 percent, and was one of only three large counties nationwide to experience a gain.

Oklahoma’s two large counties accounted for nearly half (49.7 percent) of the State’s total employment with 410,400 employed in Oklahoma County and 333,800 in Tulsa in June 2009. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.2 percent of U.S. total employment.

From the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, average weekly wages fell 0.5 percent in Tulsa County and 1.5 percent in Oklahoma County. (See table 1.) Average weekly wages were nearly identical in these two counties at $765 in Oklahoma and $763 in Tulsa. Nationally, average weekly wages fell 0.1 percent over the year to $840.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 75 counties in Oklahoma with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in all of these counties were below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes
The percentage declines in average weekly wages in Oklahoma’s large counties placed both in the bottom third of the national ranking among the 334 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2009.  The 0.5-percent wage decline in Tulsa County ranked 226th and the 1.5-percent decrease in Oklahoma County ranked 274th.

As noted, the average weekly wage for the nation was down 0.1 percent during the period. This was the second consecutive over-the-year decline in average weekly wages and one of only four declines dating back to 1978. Average weekly wages are affected by changes in total wages, as well as employment changes in high- and low-paying industries. Large employment and wage losses in the high-paying industries of financial activities and manufacturing contributed significantly to the overall decline in the U.S. average weekly wages this quarter.

Among the 334 largest counties in the nation, 140 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages in the second quarter.  The largest wage loss occurred in Weld, Colo., with a decline of 9.0 percent from the second quarter of 2008. Trumbull, Ohio, had the second largest decline (-7.6 percent), followed by the counties of Douglas, Colo. (-6.1 percent), Brazoria, Texas (-5.3 percent), and Santa Clara, Calif. (-5.2 percent).

Among the 175 large counties where average weekly wages rose, Olmsted, Minn. led with an increase of 10.8 percent from the second quarter of 2008. Saginaw, Mich., and Kitsap, Wash., ranked second with a gain of 5.1 percent each, followed by the counties of Madison, Ala. (5.0 percent) and Newport News City, Va. (4.9 percent).

Large county average weekly wages
Although average weekly wages in the State’s two large counties declined over the year, their wages were still sufficiently high to place both in the middle third of the national ranking in the second quarter of 2009.  Oklahoma County’s average wage of $765 ranked 188th and Tulsa County’s wage of $763 ranked 193rd.

More than two-thirds of the largest U.S. counties (225) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2009. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($520), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas, and Hidalgo, Texas ($544 each), Webb, Texas ($558), and Yakima, Wash. ($589). Wages in these lowest-ranked counties were less than 40 percent of the average weekly wage reported for the highest-ranked county, New York.

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 109 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. New York, N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,520. Santa Clara, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,449, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,423), Washington, D.C. ($1,421), and Fairfax, Va. ($1,348).

Average weekly wages in Oklahoma’s smaller counties
For smaller counties in Oklahoma – those with employment below 75,000 – all 75 reported weekly wages below the national average ($840) in the second quarter of 2009. Among the smallest counties, Washington ($759) and Latimer ($703) posted the highest average wages in the second quarter of 2009. Cimarron reported the lowest average weekly wage at $462. 

When all 77 counties in Oklahoma were considered, 24 reported average wages under $550 per week, 49 registered wages from $550 to $699, and 4 had wages of $700 or more.  The higher-paying counties were generally concentrated around the larger metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, while the lower-paying counties, those with weekly wages under $550, were generally located along the southern and eastern borders of the State. 

 

For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Dallas Information Office at 972-850-4800 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

The Haskell Company has completed a new $23 million Armed Forces Reserve Center in Muskogee, Okla., that will be designated a LEED® Silver Certified project by the U.S. Green Building Council. The 97,000-square-foot reserve center includes training areas, a drill floor, arms vaults, administrative areas, a kitchen and classrooms, all of which has been designed to house more than 450 National Guard members and Army Reserve soldiers. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Feb. 4, 2011.

“It has been an honor to work with the State of Oklahoma to design and build such a state-of-the-art, efficient facility for our country’s servicemen and women,” said Paul Tyler, president of Haskell’s Commercial Group. “The Armed Forces Reserve Center also represents many firsts for Haskell. This is the first LEED® Silver Certified project for our Commercial Group and it is the first of our projects to be completely designed using Revit, our building information modeling technology that allows designs to be created in 3D. We are very proud of this technology, this reserve center and the team who made it possible.”

The Armed Forces Reserve Center was designed by Haskell’s team to be reminiscent of both the historical armories of the early 1800s and the Oklahoma armories built in the 1930s. The impressive 7,500-square-foot drill hall, which features a 22-foot eave height and barrel-vault roof, serves as the focal point of the facility. To meet LEED® certification, the design team oriented the facility’s windows on the north and south sides of the building. Haskell also completed the center’s furniture, fixtures and equipment.

The Haskell team used Revit technology to design the facility, which allows the client to view a 3D representation of the completed project and allows the design team to identify modification needs early. The technology was particularly helpful on this project as it allowed Haskell to incorporate the mechanical and electrical aspects of the job in addition to the architectural design and structural engineering.

“The Muskogee Armed Forces Reserve Center represents many of the capabilities Haskell can bring to a project and it highlights our continuing advances in technology and sustainability,” Tyler said.              

Haskell was awarded the contract to serve as the design/build firm for the Armed Forces Reserve Center in early 2009 after responding to a proposal from the State of Oklahoma, Department of Central Services, Construction and Properties Division, and the Oklahoma Military Department. More information about Haskell and its design/build services is available online at www.haskell.com.

Haskell is one of America’s leading integrated design-build firms practicing in the general building and civil infrastructure markets. The company has 2009 revenues of approximately $500 million with offices in the United States and Mexico.