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Pearl District, Crosbie Heights still waiting for answers on eminent domain

Tonight at 5:30 pm, Tulsa District 4 City Councilor Kara Joy McKee is hosting a"2020 Priorities Visioning and Pie Party" at Will Rogers High School. This is an opportunity to support the preservation of the Pearl District and oppose eminent domain abuse, not only in the Central Park Place subdivision,...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 27, 2020 12:25 PM

Save the Pearl Coalition launched

A press release issued on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, announced the organization of a group to rescue Paul Harvey's childhood neighborhood from demolition for redevelopment under the guise of stormwater management. Save the Pearl: New Group Formed to Oppose Tulsa Development Authority's Eminent Domain Plans A community in Tulsa joins...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 13, 2019 7:50 PM

Institute for Justice warns of Tulsa eminent domain abuse with Elm Creek West Pond takings

Prior to yesterday's meeting concerning the Elm Creek West Pond in Paul Harvey's old neighborhood, the Institute for Justice issued a media advisory: HEARING: Tulsa Residents Protest City's Attempt To Take Their Homes Using Eminent Domain For Redevelopment Project Today, the city of Tulsa has scheduled a public meeting with...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 15, 2019 5:17 PM

Elm Creek West Pond meeting: after-action review

This will be brief, as I'm worn out. Over 100 people turned out for tonight's meeting between city officials and contractors and neighborhood residents to discuss the Elm Creek West Pond, a stormwater detention facility which would wipe out Paul Harvey's childhood home and his neighborhood, using eminent domain to...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 14, 2019 11:02 PM

Paul Harvey remembers Tulsa and his neighborhood

In March 1994, national radio commentator Paul Harvey, whose thrice-daily broadcasts were carried on over 1400 stations nationwide on the ABC radio network, reaching an audience in the tens of millions, returned to Tulsa to speak at a Salvation Army benefit. After his visit, he spoke on the air about...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 13, 2019 9:50 PM

Pearl District detention pond public meeting, Monday, October 14, 2019

Tulsa District 4 City Councilor Kara Joy McKee is hosting a public meeting on Monday, October 14, 2019, at the Central Center at Centennial Park, 1028 E 6th St, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74120, from 6 pm to 8 pm, to discuss the planned Elm Creek West stormwater detention pond. The City...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 7, 2019 11:12 PM

Saving Paul Harvey's neighborhood: Next steps

I had to be downtown last night, and I decided to go for a walk. On a whim, I walked under the east leg of the IDL to Paul Harvey's old neighborhood, which the City of Tulsa is acquiring, lot by lot, house by house, to convert to a...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 27, 2019 12:29 PM

Tulsa detention pond threatens Paul Harvey's neighborhood

A stormwater detention pond planned by the City of Tulsa is displacing owners of historic homes, affecting Paul Harvey's childhood neighborhood.

Posted by Michael Bates on September 24, 2019 10:46 PM

Kathy Taylor's runoff problem

Runoff was one of the topics mentioned in Tulsa mayoral candidate Bill Christiansen's press conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, about the questionable ethics of his principal opponents, former mayor Kathy Taylor and incumbent mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. The runoff under discussion isn't the election that will be held in...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 3, 2013 11:16 PM

QuikTrip's attempted street-snatching: Will it be stopped?

UPDATE 2012/05/04: The answer is no, by a 5-4 vote to approve the PUD "amendment" and close the street. Thanks to Councilors Blake Ewing, Karen Gilbert, Skip Steele, and G. T. Bynum for upholding the plan and the notion of public infrastructure for public use over the demands of a...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 3, 2012 12:18 PM