Principles are guidelines that can help us determine the best way to think and act in both our personal and professional lives. They should instruct us but not control us. We should be dedicated to the ideals attached to a principle, not the words that describe it. Principles are never accurate all the time, including the one I just stated. Absolutes should always be avoided, including my statement about absolutes.

For many years, I have offered the following two principles in my speeches, books, and weekly columns: “Never make a decision until you have to” and “Not making a decision is a decision.”

One principle encourages us to delay all decisions, while the other encourages us to decide now. Principles are truths that have been given to us by wise people. They have to be used with judgment and discretion. With respect to when we should make a decision, we can embrace the principle that we will not make a final decision until we are forced to do so, as we are constantly gaining more information and perspective. On the other hand, we cannot delay the decision beyond the point and time when our options begin to diminish or even disappear.

This coming school year marks our final year to pay college expenses for our five kids. My greatest achievement as a Tulsa based financial planner is getting our kids through college without school loans!

Yet for multitudes of families, college has become more and more out of reach because of skyrocketing costs. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the nation’s best-known public universities have been on a massive spending spree the past two decades and have passed the bill along to students and their families.

Unfortunately, the Journal reports that the University of Oklahoma “hit students with some of the biggest tuition increases, while spending millions on projects including acquiring and renovating a 32,000 square foot Italian monastery for its study-abroad program.”

As the University of Oklahoma prepares to enter its final football season in the Big 12 Conference, it has announced changes to its tailgating policies.

Tailgating Areas

The university is adding a public tailgating location designated along the south side of Lindsey Street between Asp and Jenkins Avenues. In this location, tailgating may only take place on the grassy area between the Lindsey Street curb and the north side of the sidewalk. Other campus areas designated for private and public tailgating will remain the same as the 2022 season.

In a public notice, neighbors have been advised that an application for a Transitional Living Facility to house 40 to 50 convicted individuals at 5707 South Memorial has been filed. A special meeting has been schedulefd for 1:00 pm on August 22, at the Tulsa City Hall, Council Chambers. Written comments are also welcomed by email to planning@cityoftulsa.org, Case Number BOA-23549.

Melissa Ethridge-Jack posted publicly Monday the following letter to the Tulsa Planning Commission:

I am a home-bound individual that is unable to attend the meeting regarding a proposed [Department of Corrections] DOC halfway house located at 57th & Memorial.

I worked in the mental health and substance abuse field for about ten years.  The facility where I worked maintained contractual obligations with Oklahoma State Probation & Parole and US Federal Probation & Parole.  Depending on the parolees’ status determined which facility they were allowed to be housed in and yes, we had parolees that broke the terms of their contractual obligations and were taken back to prison.  As an individual whose life has been affected personally by substance abuse and worked in the field;  I am able to give a realistic viewpoint on this issue.

In an update from Gays Against Groomers, founder Jaimee Michell is asks for support to fund a “growing need for security to ensure the safety and well-being of all our members and attendees.”

Gays Against Groomers mission is described as “dedication to stand against those who wish to harm innocent children.”

As published by the UCLA Williams Institute, Tulsa’s population of LGBT is 4.1 % of the population of the city with a gender ration of 44% male and 56% female. The race of the community in Tulsa is noted as 59% while and 41% all other races. Of those in Tulsa 34% are raising children and 66% are not.