Tulsa County GOP Straw Poll

On Sat Feb 6th, the Tulsa County GOP held a rally at the Tulsa Technology Center.  A straw poll was conducted, the following question was asked concerning the below listed races:

"If the election were held today, who would you vote for...."

U.S. Congress District 1

John Sullivan             52.9%

Nathan Dahm            26.6

Fran Moghaddam        1.5

Undecided                 13.3

Not My District            5.7

Governor

Randy Brodgon         68.4%

Mary Fallin                23.6

Robert Hubbard          0.8

Undecided                 7.2

Lt Governor

John Wright              35.7%

Todd Lamb                22.4

Undecided                 41.8

Attorney General

Ryan Leonard            25.9%

Clark Jolley                 7.6

Undecided                 66.5

State Treasurer

Owen Laughlin           18.3%

Ken Miller                  15.6

Undecided                  66.2

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Janet Barresi             36.9%

Shawn Hime                6.1

Undecided                  57.0

Commissioner of Labor

Tad Jones               18.6%

Jason Reese           11.4

Mark Costello           9.5

Mark Mullin              0.4

Undecided              60.1

State Senate District 34

Tim Coager             16.0%

Rick Brinkley           13.3

Undecided               17.1

Not My District         53.6

State Representative District 68

Howard Pidcock      11.4%

Glen Mulready           8.7

Undecided               20.5

Not My District         59.3

State Representative District 75

Dan Kirby                 9.1%

Dennis Adkins          3.0

Undecided              20.9

Not My District        66.9

Tulsa Co. Commissioner District 3

Fred Perry              17.9%

Michael Masters     10.6

Undecided              24.3

Not My District       47.1

Union Bond Vote Tomorrow

If you live in the Union Public School District, you need to vote on whether or not to pass the latest bond issue. This year it is a 22.5 million dollar bond, a bit more than last year...(I see a re-occurring theme)...

Here are the last several bond amounts.
2009: $20,000,000
2008: $19,400,000
2007: $17,000,000
2006: $15,200,000
2005: $13,000,000*
2004: $17,000,000*
2003: $16,000,000*
*Remember that Union school bonds are on a 5 year cycle. The new one coming on with the oldest one dropping off.


Here is the list of things the money is being used for this year.

UCA High School Wing - Phase 1**	12,000,000
Grove Remodel - Phase 2**	4,500,000
Textbooks/Media Books**	810,000
Site Allocations**	730,000
8th Grade Cooling Tower**	150,000
Tuttle Field - Remove Crown $ Returf**	1,200,000
Fine Arts Instruments/Equipment**	180,000
Athletics/Epirit Equipment/Uniforms/Pool Upgrade**	200,000
Technology Hardware/Software/Cameras**	820,000
Maintenance/Operations Equipment**	165,000
Buses/Transportation Equipment ***	945,000
Contingency and Fees**	800,000
Total	$22,500,000

**Proposition 1
***Proposition 2

The only thing in this list that gave me pause is the $1.2 mill for the football field. It seemed a little exsisve to me so I called Superintendent Dr. Cathy Burden to get more information.

She told me that Tuttle Field had two problems that they were looking to solve with this item.

1. The turf is in bad shape. I asked why it couldn't just be repaired to which she replied that it had been in fact repaired, many times. Dr Burden told me that there were over 300 "holes" in the field where there the turf had been patched. It is Union's opinion that the field has been repaired as much as it can be and that it's time for it to be replaced entirely.

2. The field has a crown or dome...aka it is not a flat field. When the field was built the district was talked into the crown on the promise that it would ease draining problems. Unfortunately, according to Dr. Burden, the crown actually causes draining problems. Also I'm told that the field cannot be used for soccer.  I guess you need a flat field for soccer. Trying to kick the ball in a straight line on a field with a crown is difficult I guess.

The idea behind this item is to kill two birds with one stone. Dr. Burden also pointed out that Tuttle Field is in use at least 300 days out of the year, and with this change it could get even more use(I'm guessing that means they will be able to play soccer after this?)

I have to admit that I still think $1.2 million seems excessive, but at least I understand the reason behind the item.  I would have preferred that the returf be placed in it's own proposition, nevertheless tomorrow I'll be voting yes on both proposition. 

I should have pointed out somewhere in this post but never did...until just now...that the passage of this bond will not cause a net change in any one persons taxes.  As it is a sunset tax that is being renewed, technically this is an increase in tax but that is only if you are being really strict.  If this passes no one's property tax will be higher as a result. 

Democrat Kathy Taylor 4 Anna America

I was just forwarded this interesting note from the Tulsa Chamber. If you read it without any subtext it seems harmless enough...
"Hey, Tulsa Chamber here...if you haven't donated to the candidate for your choice for TPS school board, now is the time."

But if you read it the way I read it it's a little more interesting...
"Hey Tulsa Chamber here. We don't like to endorse candidates but...Kathy Taylor is backing Anna America for TPS school board. You should to, in fact why don't you go ahead and donate to her so that we can get Anna on the board so she can do KT's good work....ohh yeah, you can donate to Bobbie Gray too...I guess."

I know some of you have written checks to the candidates for the Tulsa School Board. But if you have just forgotten to do so, there is still time. We got a call this morning from former Mayor Kathy Taylor, who is trying to secure final funds for Anna America. I know they are trying to get their last direct mail piece out. The election is Tuesday, February 9, so haste is important.

Budget and Workforce Update From Mayor Bartlett

I was forwarded this note from one of my sources who is a City Of Tulsa Employee.

Dear City of Tulsa employees,

Members of the AFSCME union polled Wednesday chose workforce reductions as opposed to across the board pay reductions of five percent for all non-sworn employees.

We will honor that decision. It will apply to all departments, except sworn police and fire personnel.

We also gave the police and fire unions a choice between workforce reductions and salary/incentive reductions. The original proposed plans from the departments included layoffs. I did not believe the numbers of layoffs proposed for the front lines of the departments were acceptable, and I asked the police and fire chiefs to present plans that included reorganizations that would help them save money and save jobs on the front lines.

I also offered an alternative proposal to the fire and police unions that included a salary reduction and other cuts to incentive pay and benefits. I left the decision to them. The fire and police union leaders have not submitted the salary reduction proposal to their membership for a vote, nor have they reached an agreement on any of the concession items on the table.

The police and fire unions are still in discussions with my management team regarding any and all alternative expense reduction proposals made to date, whether from my office, the unions or the department leadership. We have informed the departments and union leadership that they must reach an agreement to either accept the proposed plan for salary reductions or an alternative by noon Friday, January 22, in order to avoid layoffs in those departments. We will keep you informed via e-mail and management if there are any new developments.

Today, Fire Chief LaCroix and Police Chief Palmer are scheduling meetings with employees that would be affected by the workforce reductions in order to prepare for layoffs and initiate the seven-day notification period.

Department directors are beginning to schedule meetings with affected employees. Human Resources will provide all the information needed to make decisions with respect to other positions in the department and applications for openings within the City of Tulsa, bumping processes and severance pay. The workforce reductions will be effective Feb. 1. Eligible, non-probationary employees will receive two weeks of compensation.

Employees with seniority who are eligible to take other positions in their department will be given the right to “bump” employees with less seniority.

This e-mail should be considered as a seven-day notification to employees who could be affected by the bumping process.

Please contact your manager, or department head with your questions so they may forward them to the appropriate Human Resources representative; or submit your questions to Human Resources at 596-7427 or jobs@cityoftulsa.org to be forwarded to a Human Resources representative.

Regards,

Mayor Dewey Bartlett

Be Prepared for Broken Water Lines

This is from the City of Tulsa E-news. I thought there was some good info in here so I yanked the whole thing for a blog post.

Single-digit temperatures are forecast for Tulsa within the next few days.

That means home and business owners should be prepared to deal with frozen water pipes in and around their structures and with interruptions in water service.

Expansion and contraction of soils as the earth freezes and thaws often breaks water lines. The City has waterline repair crews on duty and on call around-the-clock. The repair crews try to restore service as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience to customers, but some interruptions are unavoidable.

Residents can fill clean containers to store water for a few days when extremely cold temperatures are expected locally.

In some homes, especially older homes and those built on raised foundations instead of slabs it may be wise to take measures to protect pipes from freezing. Caution should also be used with additional heat sources used for warming pipes. Fires are caused each winter by improperly used electrical space heaters or open-flame heating devices.

Anyone noticing water bubbling up from the ground or running down the streets in spots that are not normally wet can report suspected water line breaks by calling the City of Tulsa's Water Emergency Line at 596-9488. You can also complete an online form to alert the Mayor's Action Center about the location of the water line break.

Switching to Windstream Fail

I tried and failed o switch to Windstream for my telephone/internet service on Saturday. I twittered my frustrations and was surprised to find that Windstream was monitoring Twitter. We have a few back and forth tweets which ultimately culminated into an email from me to Windstream.

Here is some more info regarding our Twitter conversation.

http://twitter.com/sroemerm/status/7314219216
http://twitter.com/windstream/status/7368056213
http://twitter.com/sroemerm/status/7369485082
http://twitter.com/sroemerm/status/7369521208
http://twitter.com/windstream/status/7370192612

I live at 74** S ***th East Ave Tulsa Ok, 74133. ph # 918-***-****
(This address is about 2 blocks from Broken Arrow.)

When I called I was told that Windstream does not service Tulsa...twice.

Exhibit 1.  I know for a fact that there are Windstream cables in my yard because I called to have my back yard marked before I planted a tree.
Exhibit 2. You guys have been sending me ad mailers for well over a year.
Exhibit 3.  When I go to your website, it recognizes my number as one that is in the Windstream service area, although it thinks it is a Broken Arrow phone number.  I suspect that Windstream has a fundamental misunderstanding regarding the boundaries of Tulsa vs. Broken Arrow.

Your sales agent actually suggested that I  find a neighbor that has Windstream so that I could prove I was in the service area and/or call customer service business hours.

Conclusion 1.  Windstream is not competent to handle my telephony needs.
Conclusion 2.  You do not have 24/7 customer service.
Conclusion 3.  I have learned that the beginning of a business relationship is a good indicator for how the rest of the relationship will function.  My very first interaction with Windstream has been so disappointing that  I will probably not be chaining my service.

Regards,
Steven H Roemerman Sr

I'd ask if anyone else in Tulsa has had a good or bad experience with Windstream but since according to Windstream no one in Tulsa has Windstream service, I'll ask my Broken Arrow neighbors how they feel about Windstream. What say you BA? Should I give them another chance?

[UPDATE]

Mr. Roemerman -

I was able to confirm we do service your area. If you would like to give us a 2nd chance I can have someone from our Install group call you to place the Installation order. Just let me know the best number and time of day to reach you.

Thank you again for letting me know what happened.

Mollie

Cables Cables Cables and More

I hope this posts isn't too late. I meant to get this posted before Christmas. For those of you who have received gifts that require cables, and especially for those of you who received a new HDTV from Santa, for the love of God, please don’t buy those cables from Best Buy or Radio Shack!!

Be it HDMI, USB, firewire, component, s-video, whatever, you can get really great deals from Monoprice.com. I’ve purchased 6 foot HDMI cables from Monoprice for less that 5 bucks;  I also purchased  a digital coax to optical converter for less than 10 bucks(looks like the price has gone up a buck). Just the other day I needed a car charger for my phone. I could have spent $45 bucks, but instead I got a 6 foot USB cable, and a USB car charger, with priority shipping for less than 8 bucks.

When I shop at Monoprice I know I’m getting the best deal possible coupled with quality and service I can trust. So, whenever I need any kind of cable, I always think Monoprice first. I’ve also heard that Blue Jeans Cables is also good…I can’t vouch for them, but they have to be better than Best Buy or Radio Shack, and their ridiculously priced Monster Cable.

So I hope this post reaches you in time, if not, maybe Best Buy will give you store credit? Good luck!

Ohh yea, Monoprice sells a lot more than just cables, they sell all kinds of switches, adaptors, converters, etc….seriously, check them out…

Time to turn on the Net Nanny

A couple of years ago my oldest (the seven-year-old) started using the computer to view baby web sites and stuff for the simplest of children.  At that time, even though I wasn't really worried about needing content filtering; I knew that someday I would be interested, so I started trying to find a comprehensive web filtering solution that was: easy to set up, difficult to bypass, and cheep.  I found all three in K9 Web Protection. It is very easy to set up, I still cant figure out how to turn it off with out the password, and it's free....and it works! 

I locked that knowledge away, recommending it to friends when they complained of needing it, but mostly I was watching my children and waiting for when I'd need to install it on my own computers.  Well, the time has come.  A few days I go I caught the seven-year-old using Google to find a website she learned about at school, something called fun brain.  She was searching "funbrain" and clicking on the first result without reading what it was!!!! AHHHHHH!  Fortunately this was exactly what she wanted.  The first hit was Funbrain, an approved web site; but it could have just as easily been something much worse.

All I could think was, "When did she learn how to use Google?"  Until now she had only known how to use the shortcuts I had set up so she could use the pre-approved websites I had chosen.  (she is my daughter, I guess what I should have been thinking before now is,  "Why cant she figure out how to use Google?") Regardless, it was time to install K9 web protection and so I did.


I'll point out that we do not have a computer in the kid's room.  The family computer is out in the open so we can see what they are doing.  This is how I knew I needed to take action....If you let your children have their own computer it's something to think about.

Cutting the Cable

One of the things I’ve been doing instead of blogging is learning how to live without cable television. It occurred to me that every show I watch can be found online on Netflix, Hulu, or on the website of a major network. I decided that the 80 or so bucks a month I spent on cable Television was an unnecessary expense so about 4 weeks ago, I canceled it.


I went to the store and purchased an expensive indoor/outdoor amplified antenna, plugged it in and turned on my TV. Unfortunately I only got 6-7 channels.  No matter what I did or under what configuration I placed the antenna (indoor or outdoors), I still only received just a handful of the available channel.

One of the things I’ve learned in my years of working with computers is that sometimes it’s easier to find a problem by eliminating the suspected causes one-by-one. I grabbed my daughter’s $9 antenna and automatically got over 20 channels. The reception wasn’t great on some of the channels, but it certainly performed better than the fancy antenna I purchased. So I took it back and bought another. I found that it performed about as well as the $9 antenna I already had. I could receive almost every channel that is available in the Tulsa area but the reception wasn’t that great.

What I figured I needed was more antenna surface area, but I really did not want a larger antenna. It occurred to me that I had two cheap antennas and a cable splitter, so I connected the two antennas to the “output” side of the splitter, and the TV to the “input” side. In a sense I used the splitter and a combiner. And voilà, perfect, crystal-clear, free HD reception! Apparently this is not an original idea, what I had stumbled upon is something called antenna diversity.

I’ve discovered a few things after ditching cable.
1. There are a lot of great channels that are available over the air. (24 hour children’s programming, weather, movies, religious, educational, documentaries, network programming, etc)
2. I have not missed a single show that I want to watch. (see Hulu, Netflix, etc)
3. I spend a lot less time watching TV surfing several hundred channels trying to find something on. As a result I spend a lot less time watching TV. (it doesn’t take long to surf 20-30 channels)

I must say I do not regret cutting the cable, if you think you can live without it, I recommend giving it a try.

Inappropriate and Obscene Content on KJRH

Mr. Vrabac,

Parks and Recreation, Season 2 ep. 11, which aired on the third of December and was rated TV-PG, contained a scene that I thought was completely inappropriate for the standards of Tulsa Oklahoma, especially with the rating of TV-PG and at 7:30 pm.

There was a scene where the characters were in a strip club, there were actual topless women in the background whose breasts were blurred out. My kids were not yet in bed and the parental control, which I do have setup, would not have blocked this show. I’m deeply offended and very upset. I have filed a complaint with the FCC.

Steven H Roemerman Sr.

[UPDATE]
Mr. Vrabac's response.

Mr. Roemerman, appreciate your response. I will pass it along to NBC affiliate relations.

Mike Vrabac

My response to Mr. Vrabac.

Mr Vrabac,

With respect, in exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station using the public airwaves, KJRH is required by law to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” This means that KJRH, not NBC, must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.

I expect that NBC will, more often than not, violate the contemporary community standards of Tulsa Oklahoma. I look to you to ensure that those standards are not violated.

While I certainly appreciate your forwarding this matter onto NBC, I expect more from KJRH. I expect the slogan "Channel 2 works for you" to mean more than hard hitting local journalism. I expect that it also means that Channel 2 will strive to meet its responsibility to the community by protecting the standards that make Tulsa such a great place to raise a family.

Regards,

Steven H Roemerman Sr.