sept 12, 2012

THE JOURNAL RECORDWednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 www.journalrecord.com $1.00 • Vol. 117, No. 179 • Two Sections

What’s News

JFK residents opposerezoning effort The JohnF. Kennedy neighborhood innortheast Oklahoma City isfilled with blocks of tidybrick homes mostly built inthe 1970s and 1980s as partof an Oklahoma City UrbanRenewal Authority effort toclean up what was once oneof the city’s worst slums.Now Oklahoma City isrequesting a zoning changeto a small portion of the areasouth of the OklahomaHealth Center that some res-idents said will diminishtheir property values. p2

Bellaire poised for rede-velopment Daniel L.Guterman’s MapleoakInvestments paid $3 millionfor the Bellaire ShoppingCenter, a 54-year-old Tulsacomplex at a key Interstate44 intersection. p7

Officials: Park projecton schedule BicentennialPark east of the Civic CenterMusic Hall will be complet-ed on schedule and withinits $3.6 million budget by theend of the month in time forthe center’s 75th anniver-sary, city officials said. p15

Formula for productivepartnerships Cornell CrossII is learning how a goodreputation can precede him.Cross, associate director ofprograms for the OklahomaCenter for the Advancementof Science and Technology’sTulsa office, said the center’ssuccess placing collegeinterns with companies isattracting attention in north-east Oklahoma. p23

Follow the news all day atwww.JournalRecord.com.

CONTENTSBriefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4AAround Town Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4AOpinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6AHealth Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10AWall Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18A

Business Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18AOil Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19ABusiness to Business Directory . . . . . . . . .19AClassified Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20ABeing Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1BPublic Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2B

Smoke signals

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VICKY O. MISA

BY M. SCOTT CARTERTHE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – For state Sen.Connie Johnson, the medicinal use ofmarijuana is a good idea. So much so thatJohnson, D-Oklahoma City, has tried foryears to get legislation passed that wouldauthorize the use of medical marijuana inOklahoma.

She hasn’t been successful.Facing opponents who range from her

fellow lawmakers to officials with thestate’s narcotics bureau, Johnson’s fight is

all uphill.“I think it’s

an importantissue,” she said.“And I thinkthat, eventual-ly, it will hap-pen.”

Jo h n s o n ’sopponents maynot believe that, but in other parts of thecountry, the medical use of marijuana has

New cashcrop forAmerica?

BY M. SCOTT CARTERTHE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma couldgenerate between $93 million and $138million in new tax revenue if marijuanawere legalized, according to a studyposted on Justsaynow.com.

Using estimations from California($37 generated per person) and thestate of Washington ($26 per person),the analysis uses criteria similar tothose of state alcohol laws.

That study is similar to one pro-duced by Jon Gettman, former directorof the National Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws. Gettmanestimates that the legalization of mari-juana could generate $35 billion inadditional revenue for the entire coun-try.

“Marijuana could be America’s No. 1cash crop – raking in more money thancorn, wheat and soy – and could bringin billions in tax revenue,” Gettmansaid in the study.

However, two other studies showthat the economic effects would bemuch smaller.

In an analysis by a team ofresearchers from Carnegie MellonUniversity, Pepperdine University andUCLA, marijuana’s worth is estimatedbetween $2.1 and $4.3 billion for thecountry.

“No one can know the actual valueof the domestic marijuana crop withany certainty, as most cultivation is hid-den in the shadows, all the more sincefederal prosecutors began crackingdown in states that have legalized med-ical marijuana,” Carnegie Mellon studyauthors wrote. “The authors’ best guessis that it’s worth about $2.1 billion to$4.3 billion.”

That report echoes a 2005 study byHarvard professor Jeffrey Miron.

Miron’s report estimated that thelegalization of marijuana would gener-ate about $2.4 billion per year andwould save another $7.7 billion in lawenforcement costs in the United States.

So far, 15 states have legalized themedical use of marijuana, but no statehas made general use of it legal.See SMOKE, PAGE 22

Oklahoma proponents of medical marijuana face uphill battle

2A Sept. 12, 2012 ■ The Journal Record ■ www.journalrecord.com

JFK residents oppose rezoning effortCity seeks commercial

status for area near OklahomaHealth Center

BY BRIANNA BAILEYTHE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – The John F.Kennedy neighborhood in northeastOklahoma City is filled with blocks oftidy brick homes mostly built in the1970s and 1980s as part of an OklahomaCity Urban Renewal Authority effort toclean up what was once one of the city’sworst slums.

Now Oklahoma City is requesting azoning change to a small portion of thearea south of the Oklahoma HealthCenter that some residents said willdiminish their property values. Theresidents also said the zoning change isdiscriminatory against homeowners inthe predominantly black neighbor-hood.

The action would change the zoningof about 20 blocks of the JFK neighbor-hood directly to the south of the grow-ing Oklahoma Health Center betweenNE Eighth Street and NE Fourth Streetfrom residential to commercial.

The change is a part of the city’s gen-eral plan, as well as the OklahomaHealth Center’s Master Plan, which issupposed to guide campus expansionfor the Health Center through the year2022.

Longtime JFK resident DianneMcDaniel has lived in the area since1985 in a brick ranch-style house a blocksouth of the vacant Page-WoodsonSchool, which was once Douglass HighSchool, the city’s only black high school.

“I feel what the city is trying to do isbuy my property for little or nothingand send us somewhere else,” saidMcDaniel, a retired social worker.

McDaniel has organized some of her

neighbors to fight the zoning change,which she claims will bring down prop-erty values in the area.

Although the Oklahoma HealthCenter hosted a meeting for residents inJuly to alert them to the proposed zon-ing change, McDaniel said she and herneighbors were left out of the planningdiscussions.

“If I went it to your house and start-ed rearranging the furniture, shouldn’t Iask you first what you want?” McDanielsaid.

McDaniel drafted a form letter thatabout 30 of her neighbors have signed,accusing the city of trying to intimidatehomeowners by limiting the future resi-

dential uses of their homes and also dis-criminating against homeowners on thebasis of race.

The residents are taking a churchbus to the Oklahoma City PlanningCommission meeting on Thursday atOklahoma City Hall to protest the zon-ing change.

Terry Taylor, planning and opera-tions director of the Oklahoma HealthCenter Foundation, said the foundationhas done outreach efforts to notify resi-dents about the change. About 90 peo-ple attended a neighborhood meeting inJuly, he said.

“We had a very healthy discussion,”Taylor said. “They were aware that the

zoning case was coming. We let themknow about the process.”

The rezoning is only to ready forfuture expansion of the Health Center,and there are no active efforts to buy uphomes in the JFK area, he said.

Oklahoma City Planning DirectorRussell Claus called any claims ofracism by JFK residents patently false.

Rezoning the area for commercialuses will merely keep new homes frombeing built in the area, Claus said.

“(The rezoning) doesn’t require thatpeople move out or anything,” Claussaid. “It prevents new construction, butdoesn’t prevent existing activities fromcontinuing.”

John F. Kennedy neighborhood resident Dianne McDaniel sits on her back patio. PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) – Less thana year after going public, the digitalproduction company founded by direc-tor James Cameron has filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection andagreed to sell the core of its business toa private investment firm for $15 mil-lion.

Digital Domain Media Group Inc.,best known for its work on Cameron’sTitanic, has produced visual effects formore than 90 movies, including Piratesof the Caribbean: At World’s End andthe Transformers series. And in April,its Tupac Shakur hologram made asplash when it took the stage at theCoachella Valley Music and ArtsFestival and appeared to performalongside Snoop Dogg.

But the company was “running out

of cash,” Chief Restructuring OfficerMichael Katzenstein said in court fil-ings, and had violated cash and debtrequirements set forth by its lenders. Ittried to find additional outside sourcesof capital, but wasn’t able get enough torestructure its debt and pay its operat-ing expenses, he said.

The downward spiral was swift.The company went public just 10months ago, selling nearly 5 millionshares at $8.50 each, below the expect-ed $10 to $12 range. Drifting to the $5range by spring, the stock then spikedas high as $9.20 following huge reac-tion to the Shakur hologram, with theperformance garnering 15 millionYouTube hits within 48 hours and win-ning a top award at the creative market-ing gathering Cannes Lions.

Building on the buzz, DigitalDomain got the green light to create anElvis Presley hologram for shows, film,TV and other projects worldwide,including appearances.

But by August the struggling com-pany said it would review its options,suggesting a possible sale. Shares havefallen as low as 44 cents in recent days.

One of the biggest shareholders inthe company is former Miami Dolphinsquarterback Dan Marino, who is listedin bankruptcy filings as owning 1.6 mil-lion shares. From the high to Tuesday’sclosing price of 55 cents, his holdingshave lost $13.6 million in value.

Digital Domain, based in Port St.Lucie, Fla., has studios in Californiaand Canada that create digital visualeffects, animation and digital produc-

tion for the entertainment and adver-tising industries. The company hadspent the past few years building a newanimation studio in Port St. Lucie,using millions in incentives from thecity and the state.

But it defaulted on a series of loansand just days ago said it would lay offabout 280 workers and close its Floridafacility. CEO John Textor, also the com-pany’s second-largest shareholder,resigned, protesting the decision.

The downfall was so quick the com-pany was still hiring up until last week,said Jack Raisner, a lawyer with NewYork-based Outten & Golden who issuing the company on behalf ofemployees, saying they weren’t given60 days’ notice of the mass layoff asrequired by federal law.

Titanic effects maker files for Chapter 11

www.journalrecord.com ■ The Journal Record ■ Sept. 12, 2012 3A

OG&E presentation draws coal questionsBY SARAH TERRY-COBO

THE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Gasand Electric Co. faced complimentsand criticism Tuesday for its futureplans for electricity generation.Representatives from the utility pre-sented its integrated resource plan tothe Oklahoma CorporationCommission and solicited feedbackfrom stakeholders from the Sierra Cluband other natural gas and wind energycompanies.

OG&E plans to increase natural gasgeneration to nearly half of its portfo-lio by 2027, up from 35 percent in 2011.This strategy would reduce coal-firedpower plants from 59 percent of itstotal energy mix to 43 percent by 2027.However, retiring coal-power plantsearlier than scheduled would not becost-effective, the company said. Thecompany doesn’t plan to add more gen-eration until at least 2020.

Cheryl Vaught, an attorney repre-senting Shermac Wind and natural gaspower plant Dogwood Energy Facility,told The Journal Record that OG&Ecould be more aggressive at imple-menting renewables.

Similar states like Texas, NewMexico and Colorado have been moreaggressive in implementing renew-ables, she said. Public ServiceCompany of Oklahoma, or PSO, hasmade a significant step by agreeing toretire two coal-fired power plants, as aresult of settling an air pollution law-suit with the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, she said.

However, it’s not a fair comparisonto look at what PSO has done, saidLeon Howell, director of resourceplanning with OG&E.

“AEP (PSO’s parent company) has amuch different portfolio, and they arein many states,” Howell said during themeeting.

In part of its analysis, OG&E com-missioned a study by Burns andMcDonnell to show the costs and ben-efits of retiring coal-fired power plantsand replacing them with new, naturalgas-powered turbines or adding what

is known as scrubbers to remove airpollution from the existing coal plants,said Zac Hager, with the company’sresource planning committee.

“The results show the best optionfor customers is to continue using (thecoal-fired power plants) until the endof their useful life,” Hager said.“Comparing the cost of a new combus-tion turbine compared to new units, itis still more cost-effective to run oldunits.”

The various scenarios OG&E pre-sented Tuesday were based on cus-

tomer costs as the ultimate concern,Vaught said.

“The division is clear today, theyare showing only costs that are known(rather than) mitigating costs goingforward,” she said.

Elena Saxonhouse, staff attorneyfor the Sierra Club, said during thepublic comment portion of the hearingthat it would be better to transitionaway from coal in order to saveratepayers money.

Howell said that reduced prices ofnatural gas changes the economics ofwind power. When the price of renew-ables decreases, the utility will consid-er adding more to the mix, Howell said.

Sierra Club Oklahoma chapterorganizer Whitney Pearson, who man-ages the organization’s state BeyondCoal Campaign, said she would likeOG&E to include more analyses ofzero-emission energy resources in itsfinal plan.

State Secretary of Energy MichaelMing also attended the meeting. Hetold The Journal Record that like anyutility, OG&E is by nature conservativein estimates of renewable power.Though the company has chosen totake a different approach than PSO indetermining its electricity generation,the decision OG&E has made to deferadding additional generation until2020 is admirable, Ming said.

“Their demand-reduction strate-gies and demand-side managementprograms have helped the smart grid,what I call increasing the IQ of the sys-tem,” Ming said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – FacebookCEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t enjoyedseeing his company’s stock get pum-meled on Wall Street this summer, buthe is relishing the opportunity to provehis critics wrong.

“I would rather be in a cycle wherepeople underestimate us because I’drather be underestimated,” Zuckerbergsaid Tuesday. “I think it gives us the lat-itude to go out and make some big bets.”

Zuckerberg, 28, made his remarksbefore a standing-room-only audienceat a tech conference in San Francisco inhis first interview since Facebook Inc.’srocky initial public offering in May.

The social networking leader’s stockhas lost nearly half its value since theIPO. More than $50 billion has beenlopped off Facebook’s market value asthe company’s shares have fallen from$38 to Tuesday’s closing price of $19.43.

No one has lost as much asZuckerberg, who has seen the value ofhis Facebook holdings fall about morethan $9 billion. That while hearingmore skeptics second-guess his abilityto lead the company that he foundedeight years ago in his HarvardUniversity dorm room.

Since speaking during Facebook’s

first earnings conference call as a publiccompany nearly seven weeks ago,Zuckerberg has remained largely out ofthe spotlight.

Wearing a gray T-shirt, jeans andsneakers, Zuckerberg looked at easethrough his half-hour appearance. Hesmiled frequently and even chuckled afew times before a San Francisco audi-ence composed largely of fellow geekswho, like him, tend to enjoy talkingabout computer coding and buildingcool products instead of discussingrevenue growth and business strate-gies.

Yet Zuckerberg clearly was aimingmany of his remarks at investors. Heemphasized that Facebook cared aboutmaking money as well as pursuing hismission to make the world a “more openand connected place.” He also repeatedhis belief that the company would fig-ure out numerous ways to profit fromthe growing number of its 955 millionworldwide users who visit is onlinehangout through mobile applicationsinstead of Web browsers on desktopcomputers.

Zuckerberg said the performance ofFacebook’s stock “has obviously beendisappointing,” but he said it’s a great

time to “double down” on the compa-ny’s future.

“I think it is really easy to for folks tounderestimate how really fundamental-ly good mobile is for us,” Zuckerbergtold his interviewer, former bloggerturned venture capitalist MichalArrington, at the TechCrunch Disruptconference.

Zuckerberg shouldered some of theblame for the misperceptions aboutFacebook’s mobile prospects, saying hemade a mistake by initially relying on acomputer coding called HTML 5 so thecompany’s applications could run on amultitude of different mobile operatingsystems without making a lot ofchanges. That resulted in sub-par expe-riences for many users, Zuckerbergacknowledged, prompting Facebook touse more customization tools toaccount for the differences in the soft-ware that run different devices such asthe iPhone and Android phones.

Some investors evidently liked whatZuckerberg had to say. Facebook sharesgained 66 cents, or 3.4 percent inTuesday’s extended trading after hetook the stage.

The ubiquity of smartphones hascreated problems for Facebook and

other advertising-dependent Internetcompanies because the smaller screenson those devices have less space to showcommercial messages around the maincontent.

One way Facebook will address thatchallenge is by inserting more ads intothe mobile news feeds that highlightstatus updates and photos shared byusers’ friends and families, according toZuckerberg. He once again tried toshoot down recurring speculation thatFacebook is developing its own smart-phone like Apple and Google Inc.

“It is so clearly the wrong strategyfor us,” Zuckerberg said. “It doesn’tmove the needle for us.”

But that doesn’t mean Zuckerbergdoesn’t appreciate the power and allureof a sleek smartphone. He said he evenused one to write a lengthy manifestoabout his vision for Facebook that wasincluded in the company’s IPO docu-ments.

Zuckerberg indicated Facebook islikely to intensify its rivalry with GoogleInc. by developing more ways to searchon its website. As it is, Facebook alreadyprocesses about 1 billion searchrequests a day, Zuckerberg said, “and webasically are not even trying.”

Zuckerberg: Time to ‘double down’ on Facebook

Leon Howell, left, director of resource planning with Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.,responds to stakeholder questions at an integrated resource planning meeting held at theCorporation Commission on Tuesday. At right is Zac Hager, senior resource planner withOG&E. PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS

Helmerich & Paynechooses presidentTULSA – Oiland gas well-drilling con-tractorHelmerich &Payne hasnamed ChiefOperatingOfficer John Lindsay as presidentand a board member.

Lindsay, 51, has served as executivevice president and COO since 2010,the company said Tuesday.

Lindsay has worked at Helmerich& Payne Inc. since 1987 and held var-ious roles since that time, includingoperations manager for the compa-ny’s mid-continent region and vicepresident of U.S. land operations, forHelmerich & Payne InternationalDrilling Co.

Helmerich & Payne, which is basedin Tulsa, has 286 land rigs in the U.S.,29 international land rigs and nineoffshore platform rigs.

– Associated Press

FERC approvespower line ratesHOUSTON – Plains and EasternClean Line has received regulatoryapproval from the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to startnegotiating transmission serviceagreements with potential customersof a transmission line project.

Plains & Eastern Clean Line hasproposed building a 750-mile over-head high-voltage direct-currenttransmission line from westernOklahoma, northern Texas andsouthwestern Kansas with utilitiesand customers in Tennessee,Arkansas, and other markets in theMid-South and the Southeast. Planscall for the project to deliver 3,500megawatts from wind energy proj-ects.

The FERC order was issued inresponse to the application filed byHouston-based Clean Line in June.Receiving this authority will allowClean Line to negotiate rates withpotential customers of the project,likely utilities and other load serving


THE JOURNAL RECORDCorporate Tower

101 N. Robinson, Suite 101Oklahoma City, OK 73102

405.235.3100 • www.journalrecord.com

Tulsa Bureau401 S. Boston Ave., Ste. 105, Tulsa, OK 74103

918.295.0098 Office • 918.295.0031 Fax

Capitol Bureau2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 431, OKC, OK 73105

405.524.7777

Mail subscription prices are $189 per year. Newsstand price is $1per copy. To subscribe, call (800) 451-9998. Published daily except for Saturday, Sunday and major holidays byThe Journal Record, 101 N. Robinson, Suite 101, Oklahoma City, OK73102-9020 with an extra issue in December. Periodicals postagepaid at Oklahoma City, OK with additional entry in Tulsa, OK.POSTMASTER – Send address changes to: Subscription Services, 10Milk Street Ste 1000, Boston, MA 02108.

The Journal Record (ISSN 0737-5468) takes great care to publish all suits,judgments, documents of record and other information. These are not publishedto affect the credit or standing of the parties named. The publisher shall not beliable for errors in an advertisement including public notices. If there is an error forwhich the publisher assumes responsibility, that responsibility shall be limited to asingle republishing of the advertisement or public notice, or for a suitable adjust-ment on the billing not to exceed the cost of more than one insertion.

The Journal Record is a member of City Business Journals Network and

USPS 143-700 © The Journal Record Publishing Co.

AROUNDTOWN

JoanGILMORE

Briefs

Letters to the EditorThe Journal Record welcomes original, signedletters of up to 200 words on any publicissue. Longer submissions focusing on busi-ness topics may be considered for a guest col-umn. Letters may be edited for length, styleand content. Submissions must be addressedto The Journal Record and include your name,address and daytime telephone number forverification. Letters submitted become theproperty of The Journal Record, which retainsall rights on if, when or how a submission ispublished. Submit letters by one of three ways.E-mail: [email protected]. Fax:(405) 278-2890. U.S. mail: Perspectives, c/oThe Journal Record, 26370, Oklahoma City,OK 73126-0370.

At what Terry Neese described as ahistoric event, she introduced formerfirst lady Laura Bush, wife of formerPresident George W. Bush, and AnnRomney, wife of Republican presiden-tial candidate Mitt Romney. The recep-tion was at the home of civic leadersTom and Judy Love.

In the introduction, Neese, a nationalboard member of the Women forRomney Campaign, said the Loves hadestablished nearly 300 Love’s CountryStores in 28 states and “they built thestores themselves.”

The limited audience of some 30guests (at $25,000 a ticket) cheered andclapped. In this privileged audiencewere Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, whospoke at the Republican NationalConvention, and her husband, “firstgentleman” Wade Christensen.

The women posed for pictures withthe VIP crowd as well as the much morenumerous next group (at $2,500 a tick-et) in a quite long line. Then they movedoutdoors to the swimming pool area,where the above groups were joined bythe final group, even larger, at $1,000 aticket. Rumors had it that more than$700,000 was raised at this event. Thewomen will make only one moreappearance together in the UnitedStates, so Neese is right that this eventcould be called historic.

The women are very similar. They areboth pleasant, listen well, talk well,dress nicely and welcomed all comers.For fashionistas, Bush wore a cowl-neckline dress in a warm wine color andRomney chose a casual dress of blacklace over pink, with a slightly flaredskirt.

Though Neese introduced the ladiesat the first reception of the evening, atthe final session, Fallin introducedLaura Bush, who then introduced AnnRomney. The mostly Republican audi-ence filling the spacious home and out-door area cheered and clapped.Fortunately, no one fell in the swimmingpool.

Among those attending includedHarold Hamm, energy adviser for theRomney-Ryan campaign; Dan Little,father of native Oklahoman JannaLittle Ryan, who is wife of vice presi-dential candidate Paul Ryan; JoseFreede; Earl Neese; Tom Price; Carrieand Ryan Leonard; Lew Ward; LeeAllan Smith; James Pickel; Carol andRobert Hefner IV; Terri Cooper;Linda Garrett; Christy and JimEverest; John and Charlotte Richels;Tom and Brenda McDaniel; DonKarchmer; and state Rep. T.W.Shannon, R-Lawton, soon-to-be speak-er of the House.

Ann, Laura visit OKC

See BRIEFS, PAGE 5

Oklahoma City native Vince Gill, shown at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York,will be among the performers at a gala at 2 p.m. Sunday at Northwest ClassenHigh School in Oklahoma City. AP PHOTO

Gill to perform at Northwest Classen galaOKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Citynative Vince Gill will be among theperformers at a gala at 2 p.m. Sundayat Northwest Classen High School inOklahoma City.

The gala will celebrate the open-ing of the Hudson Performance Hallat the high school. Gill is a graduateof Northwest Classen. Tickets areavailable from $50 to $100. Ticketsare available atwww.NWCFriends.org.

The Mojo Men, Bill Maxwell andRick White, are also scheduled toperform.

A renovation transformed the1,413-seat auditorium into a perform-ance hall. Originally built in 1954when Northwest Classen opened, therenovation of the auditorium wasfinanced in part by the MAPS forKids initiative.

A $500,000 private donation from1973 graduates Cliff and LeslieHudson provided money to upgradefeatures and amenities, including theinstallation of sound technology andengineering innovations to achieve ahigh level of acoustical quality.

“The grand opening of theHudson Performance Hall at NWCrepresents a big milestone for us,”said Lynne Hardin, a Northwest

Classen graduate who now repre-sents the Friends of NorthwestClassen Foundation, which raisesfunds to support teaching and learn-ing programs at NWC. “We are sograteful for Cliff and Leslie’s gen-erosity. Their lead gift has put uswell on our way to raising another$1.5 million to support the new per-formance hall and a number of edu-cational programs benefiting boththe students at NWC and our com-munity.”

Money generated from the galaand benefit concert will fund anendowment and additional ameni-ties.”

“We have had a lot of talentedpeople attend NWC who have goneon to enjoy successful careers in anumber of fields, including theentertainment business,” said CliffHudson. “Many discovered their tal-ents and began pursuing theirdreams while performing on thisvery stage as students at NWC. Leslieand I were inspired to make the giftnot only to provide our communitywith a first-class performance venueof this size, but also to give futuregenerations a wonderful place tolearn and experience the arts.”

– Staff report

1987The year JohnLindsay joined

Helmerich & PayneInc.

entities or clean-energy generators. The FERC granted Clean Line the

authority to subscribe up to 75 percentof the line’s transmission capacity withanchor tenants. The remainder of thetransmission capacity will be offeredthrough an open season process underthe same terms and conditions agreedto by anchor customers.

“This approval from FERC is a greatstep towards developing Oklahoma’slow-cost clean-energy resources,” saidOklahoma Energy Secretary MichaelMing. “The Plains & Eastern CleanLine will create jobs, while enablingbillions of dollars of investments inOklahoma’s clean-energy industry.”

Pelco Structural of Claremore has anagreement with Plains & Eastern CleanLine to manufacture tubular steelstructures for the project. – Staff report

RedHawks, Astrosextend contractOKLAHOMA CITY – The OklahomaCity RedHawks and Houston Astroshave extended their player develop-ment contract through 2014, keepingthe Astros’ Triple-A affiliate inOklahoma City for at least two moreseasons.

The RedHawks became an Astrosaffiliate before the 2011 season. After a68-75 record in the inaugural season,

the RedHawks improved to 78-65 in2012.

“The facility is first-rate and theenvironment is excellent for the high-est level of minor league baseball,” saidAstros General Manager Jeff Luhnow.“Our prospects benefit from playingthere.”

The RedHawks finished in secondplace in the PCL’s American SouthernDivision by just 1.5 games, and it wasthe best record for a non-playoff teamin franchise history.

Among the current active players onthe Astros roster, 18 logged time withthe RedHawks in 2012 – not includingrehab assignments. TonyDeFrancesco served as RedHawksmanager for the better part of two sea-sons before being named Astros inter-im manager in August.

The RedHawks will open the 2013season on April 4 in Memphis. Thehome opener is April 12, also againstMemphis. – Staff report

GMX extendsexchange offerOKLAHOMA CITY – GMX Resourceshas extended the expiration date for anexchange offer for notes to 5 p.m.Monday.

GMX on Tuesday said it receivedtenders from the holders of $24.9 mil-lion, or 48 percent, of its outstanding 5-percent senior convertible notes due2013 and $36.9 million, or 43 percent,

of its outstanding 4.5-percent seniorconvertible notes due 2015. – Staff report

Tourism AmbassadorProgram startedOKLAHOMA CITY – The OklahomaCity Convention & Visitors Bureau, inpartnership with the Edmond andNorman CVBs, is offering a certifica-tion program for area hospitalityemployees.

“We are very excited to launch theGreater Oklahoma City Area TourismAmbassador program and begin edu-cating members of the tourism andhospitality industry on the ins and outsof the entire Oklahoma City metroarea,” said Mike Carrier, president ofthe Oklahoma City Convention &Visitors Bureau. “In conjunction withEdmond and Norman, I believe we canbuild a strong base of informed tourismand hospitality partners to ensure ourmetro-area visitors enjoy the bestexperience possible.”

The Certified TourismAmbassador Program is a nationwidecertification program designed toincrease tourism by training andinspiring front-line hospitalityemployees and volunteers.

“We are implementing a programthat provides the tools and knowledgenecessary to create a more memorablevisitor experience,” said StephenKoranda, executive director of theNorman CVB. “By engaging employees

at all levels of leadership within thehospitality industry, we are demon-strating our dedication to promotingour destination as one of the best witha high level of commitment to our visi-tors.”

A series of half-day classroom ses-sions are planned. The first session wason Tuesday at the Bricktown PoliceSubstation in downtown OklahomaCity. A session in Norman is scheduledOct. 4. – Staff report

Funeral Board OKslicensing onlineOKLAHOMA CITY – The OklahomaFuneral Board has released an applica-tion allowing licensed funeral directorsand embalmers to renew licensesonline at www.okfuneral.com begin-ning Nov. 1.

“Implementing this system shouldprovide a way to expedite the processfor funeral directors and embalmers torenew their licenses with the state,”said Jim Parks, Oklahoma FuneralBoard past president. “The new onlinelicense renewal process greatlyreduces the amount of time requiredto administer the license renewalprocess.”

During the next license renewalcycle, the Oklahoma Funeral Boardexpects most funeral board andembalmer licensees to renew online. Atypical online renewal takes about fiveminutes to complete. – Staff report


BRIEFSfrom page 4

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, shown performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, will open the Distinguished Artists Series at Oklahoma City University with aconcert at 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10. The concert by the band from New Orleans will be in the Petree Recital Hall in the Bass Music Center at OCU. Ticket information isavailable by calling (405) 208-5227. The band began touring in 1963. COURTESY PHOTO

Preservation Hall opens music series

Briefs


For a university founded 376 years agoto train leaders of integrity, Harvard stillstruggles to find the best way to do justthat. Last month, it announced an investi-gation into whether more than 100 stu-dents in a class last spring may haveworked together on answers for a take-home exam.

The rules for the exam barred collabo-ration with other students, but allowedstudents to use the textbook and theInternet and consult with teaching assis-tants. Students were also encouraged tostudy together. Many of the accused saythey did nothing wrong.

Harvard also responded by asking pro-fessors to be clear with students aboutrules regarding collaboration. Grades aregiven for individual performance even ifworking with others is encouraged. One’sown work must be judged and the workof others credited.

Intellectual honesty remains thebedrock of academia, not to mention anessential in business and citizenship.Students who cheat may have plenty ofpressures and excuses to do so, but anysuccess they enjoy will be undercut asothers detect a lack of integrity.

Cheating often takes place in collabo-rative settings, which is why so manyscandals have involved large numbers ofpeople. Last year, Georgia discovered that178 educators had facilitated Atlanta pub-lic school students to cheat.

Teaching integrity is often left to par-ents and religious institutions, althoughschools keep coming up with new waysto shape ethical behavior in students.Honor codes have had a mixed record.Many colleges offer courses on ethics,especially for business majors. Harvarditself has had prominent theorists ofmoral reasoning, such as the lateLawrence Kohlberg, whose work is usedin classrooms and elsewhere.

People generally seek to be honest, butthey need reminders to act that way.Character development, however, reliesforemost on an understanding of one’sidentity, which influences relationshipsand conduct. While strict rules and themonitoring of behavior can shape charac-ter, at least temporarily, they are notenough. Character counts most of all.

Institutions like Harvard have longsought to instill the principles of honesty,but that often takes a back seat to a com-petition for grades and a drive for suc-cess. The university will not only try yetagain to come up new reminders aboutexpected student conduct, but must alsokeep searching for how best to traintomorrow’s leaders of integrity. Vigilanceis as needed as much as the Harvardmotto of veritas – truth.

Perspectives

After the close of another vaca-tion season, America’s office work-ers have migrated back to theirnative habitat – the hive of cubiclesand corporate suites that, for thosewho are gainfully employed in thisshaky economy, constitute a homeaway from home.

This doesn’t seem like a sceneworthy of Norman Rockwell, whowould have been hard-pressed tofind much pastoral charm in banksof desks bathed in fluorescent light.But what seems striking these daysis the degree to which office culture,so long derided for its conventionsand constraint, has become a sourceof national nostalgia.

That sentiment is evident in TheReceptionist, Janet Groth’s memoirrecounting her two decades answer-ing the telephone at The New Yorker.Groth’s lovely book reads like onemore addition to the considerableshelf of books taking us insideAmerica’s most famous literary mag-azine.

She depicts a typical day at TheNew Yorker as a kind of perpetualblock party, with the staff dividedbetween unbounded eccentrics andthe managers who try, with varyingsuccess, to keep them grounded.Name-dropping gives these historiesa glamorous appeal; not every work-place can boast James Thurber in

the hallway or A.J. Liebling in theelevator.

Yet what impresses me about TheNew Yorker’s office politics isn’t itssingularity, but the universal chordit often strikes with workplaceseverywhere. The figures here –office libertine, prim grammarian,shy secretary, and reticent boss –often seem like stock charactersfrom the 9-to-5 landscape of white-collar employment.

It’s the proximity of so many per-sonalities within the narrow geogra-phy of an office building that givesworkplace culture its strange andsometimes comic energy. An ineffa-ble quality of corporate life thriveswhen a critical mass of brains andbodies works at the same address,and it’s that density of social interac-tion that can get lost in the wake ofbusiness downsizing, clerical out-sourcing, teleconferencing andtelecommuting.

Perhaps no one sensed this moreacutely than the late E.B. White, acelebrated New Yorker writer andchildren’s author who should also beremembered as one of America’spioneering work-from-homeemployees.

In 1938, hankering to live full timeon a farm, White traded New Yorkfor rural Maine, a move requiringthat he and his wife, New Yorker edi-

tor Katharine White, do their maga-zine work through the telephoneand postal mail. The arrangementbrought numerous benefits, with thenew locale inspiring some of E.B.White’s best prose. But the Whiteslearned that there’s no real substi-tute for the peculiar intimacies ofoffice life, and they eventuallyreturned for a time to work onceagain alongside their colleagues.

The point here is not that alterna-tives to the traditional office areinvariably unworkable. Legionswho’ve found happiness outside thestationary corporate workplace tellus otherwise. But such bargainsinvolve definite costs as well as ben-efits, and the sense of communitythat can come from sharing an officecan’t be overlooked.

What Groth found at The NewYorker is what we all expect to findat an office – an assortment of allies,rivals, oddballs, and authority fig-ures, all struggling – and often pre-vailing – at the precarious art of get-ting along.

In other words, a second family.

Danny Heitman, a columnist atThe Baton Rouge Advocate, is theauthor of A Summer of Birds: JohnJames Audubon at Oakley House.This column appears via TheChristian Science Monitor.

Finding nostalgia in a fluorescent world

The editorial cartoon above does not necessarily reflect the views of The Journal Record. We believe in and facilitate a free exchange of ideas from both ends of the political spectrum.

ChristianScience Monitor

GuestEDITORIALEDITORIAL BOARD

Teachingintegrity

GuestCOLUMNDanny

HEITMAN


Bellaire poised for redevelopmentMapleoak buys

shopping center at key intersection

BY KIRBY LEE DAVISTHE JOURNAL RECORD

TULSA – Daniel L. Guterman’sMapleoak Investments paid $3 millionfor the Bellaire Shopping Center, a 54-year-old Tulsa complex at a keyInterstate 44 intersection.

News of that sale raised questionsof a possible reconstruction projectfrom some Tulsa retail analysts, notingthe two new construction projects onPeoria Avenue’s western shore andanother on the interstate’s other side.

“My guess is this is a redevelop-ment play,” said Bob Parker, vice pres-ident of retail leasing and marketingfor GBR Properties. “It wasn’t neces-sarily bought for the existing tenantmix, I would suspect.”

Tulsa County Courthouse recordsindicate that Tulsa-based Mapleoakpaid $44.18 per square foot to UnitedProperties of Tulsa for the 67,898-square-foot complex at the northeastcorner of Tulsa’s newly rebuilt I-44and Peoria interchange.

Neither United nor Mapleoak offi-cials could be reached for comment.

That area has enjoyed a fairamount of reconstruction beyond thethree-year widening of I-44. QuikTriptore down the old Camelot Hotel over-looking Bellaire to raise one of itsthird-generation convenience stores.That 3,500-square-foot shop is nearlycomplete.

In July, Oklahoma Central CreditUnion opened its 22,000-square-footheadquarters and branch immediatelynorth of the QuikTrip, facing Bellairefrom Peoria’s west bank.

On the interstate’s other side,Virginia College opened its firstOklahoma campus in April, havingrenovated Empire Plumbing Supply’sformer 53,200-square-foot store at5124 S. Peoria Ave.

“That area is changing for the bet-

ter,” said Richard Monaghan, a vicepresident and retail specialist with CBRichard Ellis of Oklahoma. “Thatintersection’s got new life comingback.”

United Properties had owned the4.6-acre Bellaire Shopping Centersince 1982.

“Typically they don’t sell,”Monaghan said. “If you look atUnited’s portfolio, they’ve ownedsome stuff for a long time.”

Tulsa County assessor recordsindicate that Bellaire, 4901 S. Peoria,contains two one-story buildings, oneat 64,878 square feet, and one of3,020. Its major tenants includedCiCi’s Pizza, Radio Shack and Waffle

House.The center stands 88-percent occu-

pied, according to the August issue ofSquare Feet magazine, published byThe Journal Record.

Parker noted that Guterman is notknown for major remodels.

“But they certainly have the capac-ity to do it,” he added.

Assessor records indicate thatMapleoak owns three other commer-cial properties in the Tulsa area, alloffice or industrial, althoughMonaghan said Guterman has alsoowned retail sites.

While Bellaire appears somewhatweathered – “It’s certainly served itstime,” Parker said – it also retains a

prominent cultural position amongresidents who grew up cruisingPeoria. It reportedly appears in the1982 movie Tex, based on theOklahoma teen angst novel by S.E.Hinton.

With the Brookside commercialarea’s continued resurgence just over amile north of Bellaire, Parker said theshopping center stands to benefit as asouth Tulsa gateway to the growingPeoria commercial corridor.

“If you enhance and improve the I-44 intersection and the properties thatare on it, you can kind of encapsulatethat whole corridor and call itBrookside and keep filling it in withnew and exciting stuff,” he said.

The Bellaire Shopping Center in Tulsa sold to Daniel L. Guterman’s Mapleoak Investments for $3 million. PHOTO BY RIP STELL


THE JOURNAL RECORD

UPCOMING LISTS:

Call Dawn Darbon at (405) 278-2876 if you have not received a questionnaire and you think your company would qualify to make one of these lists.

Real Estate Development Companies - Sept. 21

Office Furniture Dealers - Sept. 24

IT Training Companies - Sept. 24

Printing Companies - Sept. 25

Lawmakers mull switch to debit card refundsBY SEAN MURPHYASSOCIATED PRESS

OKLAHOMA CITY – When 81-year-old Orland Olandese received his $240state income tax refund in the form of adebit card, the retired postal workerwasn’t sure what to do.

“I said, ‘What’s this?’“ Olandese toldmembers of the House GovernmentModernization Committee on Tuesday.“I found it’s a debit card, which I never... have ever had.

“I’m from the old school. I’ve never,ever used an ATM machine. It wassomething new to me.”

Olandese was one of an estimated290,000 Oklahoma residents whoreceived their tax refund in the form ofa debit card as part of a cost savingmove by the Oklahoma TaxCommission, said Tony Mastin, theagency’s executive director. The switchsaved the agency about $500,000 annu-ally that was spent printing and pro-cessing refund checks.

The move concerned some lawmak-ers, who said constituents likeOlandese find the cards confusing andare being subject to numerous fees andpenalties when they use the cards.

“It is those debit cards that havecaused concern for my constituents andmany others,” said state Rep. ScottInman, D-Del City, who requested thestudy. “You had a lot of senior citizens,for example, who had a lot of confu-sion.

“There’s only a select few ATMsthat you can use without a fee beingcharged.”

Along with out-of-network ATMfees, users are charged for balanceinquiries, online fund transfers and$1.50 per month after two months ofinactivity.

Olandese said he eventuallyreceived his $240 after a clerk at a con-venience store helped him use theATM.

“I just about gave it up and said theheck with it, but I didn’t, I stayed inthere,” Olandese told the panel. “Payingfees for getting my own money, well Ithought it was kind of dumb.”

Inman said he wants to see how

much the debit card company that wasawarded the state contract earned infees and hopes the Legislature will giveOklahoma residents the option ofreceiving a paper check.

The contract was awarded toAffiliated Computer Services, a Xeroxcompany.

Other agencies also are savingmoney by switching to debit cardsinstead of paper checks for things likeunemployment and welfare benefits.

John Miley, an attorney for theOklahoma Employment SecurityCommission, said many unemployedworkers don’t have a bank account andwere being charged as much as 15 per-

cent at check cashing services to cashtheir unemployment checks eachmonth.

“We have found this to be a much,much easier way to get benefits out topeople,” Miley said. “To go back towriting checks would be extremelyexpensive for us.”

The Oklahoma Department ofHuman Services uses debit cards forits food-stamp program and issuedmore than $80 million last month tomore than 608,000 people, said JerryDavidson, director of the agency’selectronic payment systems. Thosecards can only be used at licensedretailers.

DHS also issues traditional debitcards that can be used at any retailerand at ATMs for programs thatinclude payments for child support,temporary assistance for needy fami-lies, adoption and foster care subsi-dies and aid to the aged, blind and dis-abled. Nearly $40 million in debitcards are issued to almost 250,000residents each month through thoseprograms, Davidson said. More than73 percent of those who receive pay-ments opt for the debit cards insteadof a direct deposit into a bankaccount, he added.

“A lot of them say they just don’thave a bank account,” Davidson said.

Orland Olandese, of Del City, during an interview following testimony before an Oklahoma House committee in Oklahoma City onTuesday. AP PHOTO


Employers post fewer open jobs in JulyBY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers postedfewer jobs in July than in June, furtherevidence that hiring may stay weak in thecoming months.

Job openings fell to a seasonallyadjusted 3.67 million, the LaborDepartment said Tuesday. That’s downfrom June’s 3.72 million job openings,which was revised lower.

The data follow Friday’s disappoint-ing employment report, which said theeconomy added only 96,000 jobs inAugust. That’s below July’s total of141,000 and the average 226,000 a monthadded in the first three months of theyear. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1percent from 8.3 percent, but onlybecause the number of people workingor looking for work fell.

The drop in available positions hasmade job hunting more competitive.Nearly 12.8 million people were unem-ployed in July, meaning 3.5 people werecompeting for each open position.

While that’s down from a post-reces-sion high of 7 to 1 in July 2009, in ahealthy economy the ratio is usually 2 to1.

Job openings have increased 68 per-cent from 2.2 million over the past threeyears. But companies aren’t filling themquickly. Total hiring has increased only 11

percent in that stretch.There are several reasons companies

aren’t hiring faster, economists say.Companies may not be offering suffi-cient pay to entice workers to take thejobs. Some employers say they can’t findenough skilled workers in certain indus-tries, such as information technology.

Businesses are also worried aboutEurope’s financial crisis, slowing growth

in China and the pending expiration oftax breaks in the United States.

Jeff Joerres, chief executive ofManpowerGroup, an employment serv-ices firm, said those trends are makingeven healthy companies reluctant tohire.

“It’s all I hear about,” he said. Some ofhis company’s clients say, “Our businessis good, but we’re worried,” he added.

Employers are still posting fewer jobsthan before the recession, when theyadvertised about 4.4 million a month.

In July, the number of available jobsfell in manufacturing, health care, andprofessional and business services, a cat-egory that includes engineers, account-ants and lawyers.

The government’s monthly employ-ment report measures net hiring.

Tuesday’s report, known as the JobOpenings and Labor Turnover survey,shows the amount of hiring and firingthat takes place in the U.S. each month. Itprovides more details than the monthlyjobs report.

It also highlights one reason the jobmarket remains weak. Layoffs have fallensteadily recently, but companies aren’tstepping up hiring.

Layoffs fell to 1.6 million in July.That’s the lowest level in the 10 years thegovernment has tracked the data. Itshows that companies aren’t cutting jobs,despite their worries about futuregrowth. It’s also likely why weekly appli-cations for unemployment benefits havetrended down recently.

But they aren’t adding many either.Overall, employers hired 4.2 million

people in July, down from almost 4.3 mil-lion in the previous month. Before therecession, total hires routinely topped 5million.

Business employment specialist Linda Reynolds, right, helps job searcher D’AndrePreston at WorkSource Oregon in Tualatin, Ore. AP FILE PHOTO


The Supreme Court ruled on theAffordable Care Act that the federal gov-ernment could not threaten to take awayexisting Medicaid money if states chosenot to expand their Medicaid roles. Thisgave governors the ability to stick a thumbin the eye of the president and supportersof the ACA.

I have advice for the governor.Gov. Mary Fallin has not indicated

which way she is leaning. This is wise.Fallin can wait until after the election.This is smart politically, and allows time tothoughtfully listen to both sides of a com-plex decision.

Medicaid is a joint federal/state pro-gram covering certain categories of thepoor – for instance, families with childrenand the disabled. It also covers diseaseslike breast cancer. The ACA eliminatesthese categories and imposes a single stan-dard of income of less than 133 percent offederal poverty guidelines. This could add200,000 to the Medicaid rolls inOklahoma, with the extra cost borne bythe federal government in the early years.

Fallin can do what other conservativegovernors have stated as their intent andsay “stick it” to the new requirement. Butthis question can’t be settled on ideologi-cal grounds. The ACA’s premise is to get tocoverage for all by using state Medicaidprograms to fund the poorest of the poor.After that, low-income people get subsi-dies to buy insurance based on a slidingincome scale. States that refuse to add thisnew class of patients set up a huge dough-nut hole between people who are nowcovered by Medicaid and those with justenough income to qualify for the new sub-sidy.

Most Oklahoma health care providerswill lobby Fallin to expand Medicaid.Hospitals and physicians who now carefor these people for free will not appreci-ate turning back money while our healthcare community bears the costs of caringfor these uninsured. She may also be pres-sured to accept the new standard fromlocal chambers of commerce that under-stand that cost shifting in hospital emer-gency rooms to pay for the care of thepoor affects their health care premiums.

So my advice: Bide your time, listen toall sides, avoid ideologically driven deci-sions, and do what is best for allOklahomans.

Stanley Hupfeld’s new book, PoliticalMalpractice – How the Politicians Made aMess of Health Reform, is available athttp://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61862-292-1 and isavailable for order in bookstores.

Bide your time

Extreme healing for heroesSurprising new

medicine to helpwounded warriors

BY MARILYNN MARCHIONEASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON – Scientists are growingears, bone and skin in the lab, anddoctors are planning more face trans-plants and other extreme plastic sur-geries. Around the country, the mostadvanced medical tools that exist arenow being deployed to help America’snewest veterans and wounded troops.

• In Los Angeles, surgeons usedpart of Michael Mills’ forehead torebuild his nose after a bomb disfig-ured him in Iraq.

• In Pittsburgh, doctors used anexperimental therapy from pig tissueto help regrow part of a thigh musclethat Ron Strang lost in a blast inAfghanistan.

• In Boston, scientists are makingplans for the first implants of lab-grown ears for wounded troops aftersuccessful experiments in sheep andrats.

• In San Antonio and other cities,doctors are testing sprayed-on skincells and lab-made sheets of skin toheal burns and other wounds. Theingenuity is impressive: One productwas developed from foreskin left overfrom circumcisions.

Much of this comes from taxpay-er-funded research. Four years ago,the federal government createdAFIRM, the Armed Forces Instituteof Regenerative Medicine, a networkof top hospitals and universities, andgave $300 million in grants to spurnew treatments using cell science andadvanced plastic surgery.

“The whole idea is to bring allthese researchers together to developthese great technologies that were inearly science to eventually be readyfor the troops,” said AFIRM’s recent-ly retired director, Terry Irgens.

Now those who served are cominghome, and projects that once hadbeen languishing in labs are makingstrides and starting to move into clin-ics.

Strang is among those benefiting.The 28-year-old Marine sergeantfrom Pittsburgh lost half of a thighmuscle to shrapnel, leaving too littleto stabilize his gait. “My knee wouldbuckle and I’d fall over,” he said.

Now, after an experimental treat-

ment at the University of PittsburghMedical Center, “I’m able to run a lit-tle bit” and play a light football gamewith friends, he said. “It’s been a hugeimprovement.”

It’s one example of the “new med-icine” in the works for troops. TheAssociated Press conducted morethan a dozen interviews and reviewedthe latest medical research to meas-ure the progress and extent of noveltreatments under way for woundedwarriors. The results point to somesurprising feats of surgery and bio-engineering.

Growing new earsUp to a thousand troops might

need an ear, and prosthetics are not agreat solution. A rod or other fasteneris required to attach them to the head.They don’t look or feel natural andthey wear out every couple of years. Amatching ear grown from a patient’sown cells would be a huge improve-ment.

“People have been working on thisfor 20 years” but haven’t been able toovercome obstacles to making it prac-tical, said Cathryn Sundback, directorof the tissue engineering lab atMassachusetts General Hospital.

Her lab thinks it’s found the solu-tion. Using a computer model of apatient’s remaining ear, scientistscraft a titanium framework covered incollagen, the stuff that gives skin elas-ticity and strength.

They take a snip of cartilage frominside the nose or between the ribsand seed the scaffold with these cells.This is incubated for about two weeksin a lab dish to grow more cartilage.When it’s ready to implant, a skin

graft is taken from the patient tocover the cartilage and the ear isstitched into place.

Scientists in her lab have main-tained lab-grown sheep ears on thoseanimals for 20 weeks, proving it canbe done successfully and last long-term. They also have grown anatomi-cally correct human ears from cells.These have been implanted on thebacks of lab rats to keep them nour-ished and allow further research. Butthat wouldn’t happen with ears des-tined for patients – they would just begrown in a lab dish until they’re readyto implant.

“We’ve solved all the technicalproblems,” Sundback said, and nowthey are ready to seek approval fromthe Food and Drug Administration toimplant these into patients – probablyin about a year. “It’s amazing howmuch progress we’ve made with theAFIRM funding.”

Bioengineering muscles, bone, skin

A soldier lucky enough to keep hisarms and legs after a bomb blast stillmight lose so much of a key muscle,like biceps or quadriceps, that thelimb can’t be used properly. In somecases, “the patient has lost so muchmuscle that there’s nothing left forthe surgeon to sew together,” said Dr.S t e p h e nBadylak, aregenerativem e d i c i n especialist att h eUniversity ofPittsburgh.

HEALTH CARE

OfficeVISIT

StanleyHUPFELD

Marine Sgt. Ron Strang, right, walks with his girlfriend, Monica Michna, in the yard byhis home in Jefferson Hills, Pa., just south of Pittsburgh. AP PHOTO

Read more online


HEALTH CARE

In Portland, fluoride debate ideological clashBY STEVEN DUBOIS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. – It’s a dental story toldso often it borders on cliche.

When someone moves to Portlandfrom another state – and that’s most peo-ple you meet in this city of transplants –their new dentist takes one look at theirexcellent teeth and concludes they musthave been raised elsewhere, a place thatputs fluoride in its drinking water.

The tale is also told from the perspec-tive of native Portlanders.

“I have had several dentists commenton my and my children’s teeth, saying:‘Oh, I can see you grew up in Portland,’”Mary Lou Hennrich said. And that’s nocompliment, she added.

Portland is the largest city in the U.S.that has yet to approve fluoridation tocombat tooth decay, a distinction thatcould change at Wednesday’s CityCouncil meeting. Mayor Sam Adams andtwo city commissioners have announcedtheir support, ensuring a majority on thefive-member panel.

Fluoridation has been an emotionaltopic in communities across the countryfor more than 50 years, and continues tobe in cities ranging from conservativeWichita, Kan., to a place whose unofficial

motto is “Keep Portland Weird.”Portland is considered one of the

nation’s most liberal, and the issue pres-ents a clash between two progressivepositions: the desire to improve the den-tal health of low-income children and theimpulse to avoid putting anything unnec-

essary in the air, food or water.“The fact that Portland stands out as

the largest U.S. city without fluoridationis not the kind of weird we should be,” themayor said. “This is causing pain to kids.”

Many in Portland and the state havelong opposed public fluoridation, saying

it’s unsafe and violates an individual’sright to consent to medication. While 73percent of the U.S. population drinkswater treated with fluoride, the rate isless than 25 percent in Oregon.

Portland voters twice rejected fluo-ride before approving it in 1978. Theyoverturned their decision before it wasever added to the water.

The issue re-emerged last month,when a coalition of health and otherorganizations that had been lobbying thecouncil for more than a year gained thepublic support of Commissioner RandyLeonard.

Opponents criticized the council forrushing into action without a public vote,and plan to collect signatures to force areferendum on it in May 2014. More than225 people signed up to testify at a publichearing last week that ran six and a halfhours. Sixty-one percent opposed fluori-dation.

“Barnyard animals are force-medicat-ed, not human beings,” said Mike Smith, amember of the Occupy Portland move-ment.

Portland’s drinking water alreadycontains naturally occurring fluoride,though not at levels considered to beeffective at fighting cavities.

Demonstrator China Starshine holds up signs outside of City Hall, where the Portland CityCouncil opened public testimony on Commissioner Randy Leonard’s plan to fluoridatethe area’s drinking water in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 6. AP PHOTO


HEALTH CARE BRIEFSProgram applicationsaccepted until Nov.OKLAHOMA CITY – The OklahomaState Department of Health is accept-ing applications for Certified HealthyOklahoma certification.

The deadline is Nov. 1.The Certified Healthy Oklahoma

certification program recognizes com-munities, schools, businesses, campus-es and restaurants that encouragehealth-focused behaviors and policiesdesigned to help improve Oklahoma’shealth outcomes.

Five categories of certification areavailable.

The Certified Healthy Business pro-gram recognizes workplaces that pro-vide health and wellness opportunitiesfor their employees.

The Certified Healthy Restaurantprogram recognizes restaurants thatprovide healthy food options to theircustomers.

The Certified Healthy School pro-gram recognizes schools that are teach-ing students and staff how to behealthy.

The Certified Healthy Communityprogram recognizes communities thatoffer citizens a healthy place to live,work, learn and play.

The Certified Healthy Campus pro-gram recognizes colleges and career-technology centers that provide a

healthy environment for faculty andstudents.

Each program has three levels ofcertification – basic, merit and excel-lence. Award winners will be notifiedin December. An awards ceremony isscheduled Feb. 28 in Oklahoma City.

The Certified Healthy Oklahomaprograms are a joint effort of theOklahoma State Department of Health,The State Chamber, The OklahomaAcademy, Oklahoma Turning PointCouncil and other partners.

Information on applications is avail-able at www.okturningpoint.org.

– Staff report

OU Physicians opens two clinicsOKLAHOMA CITY – OU Physicianshas opened two clinics within existingOklahoma City-County HealthDepartment facilities – 921 NE 23rd St.and 4330 NW 10th St.

“To improve health care access andconvenience, we are expanding ourpresence in area communities and pro-vide services in settings close topatients’ homes,” said Brian Maddy,CEO of OU Physicians.

The OU Physicians CommunityHealth Clinics will offer medical serv-ices including preventive care and edu-cation, disease management, diagnostic

testing and immunizations.“The goal is to complement each

other’s services, not duplicate, and theadditional clinical support that OUPhysicians Community Health Clinicsbrings to the Oklahoma City-CountyHealth Department is a wonderful ben-efit for our clients,” said DepartmentDirector Gary Cox. “The more we cando to address the health care needs ofour citizens, the better for the commu-nity as a whole.” – Staff report

Csiszar to receivenational awardOKLAHOMA CITY – University ofOklahoma Health Sciences Centerresearcher Anna Csiszar has beenselected to receive a national award forher work to better understand age-related cognitive impairment in theelderly.

The Nathan Shock New InvestigatorAward is presented by theGerontological Society of America, thenation’s largest interdisciplinary organ-ization devoted to the field of aging.

The award recognizes outstandingcontributions to new knowledge aboutaging through basic biological research.

Csiszar is an associate professor atthe Reynolds Oklahoma Center onAging within the Department ofGeriatric Medicine in the OU College

of Medicine and an adjunct facultymember in the Department ofPhysiology.

Csiszar will be presented with theaward in November at GSA’s 65thAnnual Scientific Meeting in SanDiego. – Staff report

Cancer center adds Razaq, RazaqOKLAHOMA CITY –Mohammad Razaqand Wajeeha AbdulRazaq, hematologist-oncologists, haveestablished theirmedical practiceswith the Peggy andCharles StephensonCancer Center.

They have alsobeen named assistantprofessors with theUniversity ofOklahoma College ofMedicine.Hematologist-oncol-ogists diagnose andtreat patients withcancer and blood dis-eases.

Mohammad

See HEALTH CARE BRIEFS, PAGE 13

Mohammad Razaq

Wajeeha AbdulRazaq


HEALTH CARE BRIEFS

Razaq is board-certified in oncology,hematology and internal medicine. Hespecializes in diagnosing and treatingpatients with head and neck and lungcancers. He completed a fellowship inhematology-oncology at MaimonidesMedical Center, New York City, andmedical residency at Coney IslandHospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. He completedan internship and earned his medicaldegree in Pakistan.

Wajeeha Razaq is board-certified inoncology and internal medicine. Shespecializes in diagnosing and treatingpatients with breast cancer. She com-pleted a fellowship at St. Luke’sRoosevelt Hospital Center, New YorkCity, and a residency and internship atLong Island College Hospital,Brooklyn. She earned her medicaldegree in Pakistan. – Staff report

Public forum set onAffordable Care ActLAWTON – Cameron University’s BillW. Burgess Jr. Business ResearchCenter has scheduled a public forumon the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act from 10 a.m. tonoon Friday in the CETESConference Center on campus.

Speakers will include state Sen.Constance N. Johnson, D-OklahomaCity, and Matt Pinnell, chairman,Oklahoma State Republican Party.

A panel will include David Blatt,director, Oklahoma Policy Institute;Wallace Collins, chair, OklahomaDemocratic Party; Steve Hyde, CEO,Southwestern Medical Center; TobyPedford, a representative of theOklahoma Tenth Amendment Centerand CEO of Legacy Wealth StrategiesGroup; and Jonathan Small, fiscalpolicy director, Oklahoma Council ofPublic Affairs.

The forum is free and open to thepublic. – Staff report

Altheus begins next phase of studyOKLAHOMA CITY – AltheusTherapeutics started its Phase 2 studyof Zoenasa, a combination therapy forulcerative colitis, with the enrollmentof the first patient.

The synergistic effect of theZoenasa combination was discoveredby Altheus’ scientific founder,Richard Harty, past chief of gas-troenterology at the University ofOklahoma Health Sciences Center.

“We believe that Zoenasa willdefine a new category within themesalamine-based market that couldimprove front-line treatment forulcerative colitis and alter the marketsignificantly,” said Dennis Schafer,Altheus CEO. – Staff report

La Greca joins St. AnthonyOKLAHOMA CITY– Amanda LaGreca and JohnLong Jr. havejoined St. Anthony’smedical staff.

La Greca special-izes in diabetes andendocrinology. Sheis also board-certi-fied in internalmedicine.

She received her doctor of medi-cine degree from the University ofBuenos Aires, Argentina. She com-pleted a fellowship of endocrinology,metabolic disorders and diabetes atthe University of Oklahoma.

La Greca is a part of St. AnthonyPhysicians Group EndocrinologyAssociates.

Long received his doctor of medi-cine degree from the University ofOklahoma College of Medicine inOklahoma City and a bachelor of sci-ence degree in chemical engineeringand biochemistry from the Universityof Oklahoma. His residency trainingwas at the St. Anthony FamilyMedicine Residency. He completed afellowship in advanced obstetrics forfamily medicine at Swedish Hospitalin Seattle. Long is board-certified bythe American Board of FamilyMedicine.

Long is a part of the St. AnthonyPhysicians Group Family MedicineCenter. – Staff report

Free dental screenings offeredOKLAHOMA CITY – NeighborhoodServices Organization and Dentistsfor the Disabled and Elderly in Needof Treatment Inc. are providing freedental screenings and dental care toOklahoma City’s low-income anduninsured veterans.

To qualify for free dental care, vet-erans must apply through D-DENT.Once they qualify, veterans arescreened at NSO’s low-cost dentalclinic at 8101 S. Walker Ave. inOklahoma City. After the screenings,veterans receive comprehensive den-tal care provided by D-DENT volun-teer dentists throughout the state.

Dental care for veterans is not cov-ered by insurance unless they aredetermined to be 100-percent dis-abled by Veterans Affairs.

Stacey Ninness, president andCEO of NSO, said it creates a barrierfor many veterans to receive evenbasic dental care.

NSO’s dental clinic sees about 18 to24 patients per day and last yearalone, performed 5,990 procedures.

For information on the program forveterans, visit www.d-dentok.org.

– Staff report

HEALTH CARE BRIEFSfrom page 12

Amanda La Greca


Join us for the 32nd annual Woman of the Year

“50 Making A Difference” program

On October 4, 2012 The Journal Record will name a new “Woman of the Year” from a group of 50 honorees.

You are invited to attend this year’s gala at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Table Sponsorship: $2,750 Table of 8: $1,200 Individual Seats: $150

For more information, call (405)278-2820 or go to www.journalrecord.com/woman-of-the-year

Guest Speaker: Bonnie St. JohnSpeaker, consultant, leadership instructor, best-selling author

and paralympian skier

Help us also celebrate the 2012“Programs Making a Difference” in Oklahoma:

Suited for SuccessOSU WE Inspire

Oklahoma Women’s CoalitionWomen’s Leadership Initiative

YWCAWork of Women

Sponsored by:

Forum Sponsors:

FILE PHOTO

Studies: Alzheimer’s drugmay stabilize brain plaque

BY MARILYNN MARCHIONEASSOCIATED PRESS

An experimental drug that failed tostop mental decline in Alzheimer’spatients also signaled potential benefitthat suggests that it might help if givenearlier, fuller results of two major stud-ies show.

Some patients on the drug had sta-ble levels of brain plaque and less evi-dence of nerve damage compared toothers who were given a dummy treat-ment, researchers reported Tuesday.

The drug is called bapineuzumab(bap-ih-NOOZ-uh-mab), made byPfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.The new results suggest that it mightwork if given sooner, before so muchdamage and memory loss haveoccurred that it might not be possible toreverse, experts say.

“We’re very disappointed that wewere not able to come up with a treat-ment to provide to our dementiapatients in the near term,” said Dr. ReisaSperling, director of the Alzheimer’scenter at Brigham and Women’sHospital in Boston and leader of one ofthe studies.

But brain imaging and spinal fluidtests are “very encouraging” and sug-gest the drug was “doing something tothe biology of the disease.”

“We’ve got a path forward” now totest it in people with mild mentalimpairment or those who show plaqueon brain imaging but have not yet devel-oped symptoms of dementia, Sperlingsaid. Of people with mild cognitiveimpairment, about 15 to 20 percent ayear will develop Alzheimer’s disease.

About 35 million people worldwidehave dementia, and Alzheimer’s is themost common type. In the U.S., about 5million have Alzheimer’s. Current med-icines such as Aricept and Namendajust temporarily ease symptoms. Thereis no known cure.

This year researchers had beenhopeful of major progress in treatingthe disease, but study after study has

proved disappointing, including resultsreported earlier on bapineuzumab. Thedrug failed to slow mental decline orimprove activities of daily living forpatients with mild to moderateAlzheimer’s in two studies in theUnited States and Canada.

Bapineuzumab is designed to attachto and help clear amyloid, the stuff thatmakes up the sticky plaque that clogspatients’ brains, harming nerve cellsand impairing memory and thought.Doctors don’t know whether amyloid isa cause or just a symptom ofAlzheimer’s, but many companies aretesting drugs to try to remove it.

Sperling’s study involved peoplewith a gene that raises the risk of devel-oping the disease. Dr. Stephen Salloway,a neurologist at Brown Medical Schoolin Providence, R.I., led the other studyof people without the gene. Bothresearchers have consulted for thecompanies that make the drug and pre-sented results Tuesday at a neurologyconference in Stockholm.

Brain imaging on a subset ofpatients in Sperling’s study found 9 per-cent less amyloid in those on bap-ineuzumab compared to those on adummy treatment. The drug group hadstable levels while the others developedmore plaque. Spinal fluid tests on someparticipants also showed the druggroup had less of another substancecalled p-tau that is released when nervecells are damaged.

There were potential safety con-cerns, including six deaths from variousforms of cancer among those on bap-ineuzumab and none in the placebogroup. But a wider review of all studiesof the drug found that cancer was notmore common among users.

“That’s not raising any red flags,”said an independent expert, Dr. MariaCarrillo, a senior scientist at theAlzheimer’s Association. She said thebiological changes suggest the drug ishelping, so if it’s used sooner, “we canperhaps affect cognition.”

HEALTH CARE


Officials: Park project on scheduleBY BRIAN BRUS

THE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – Bicentennial Parkeast of the Civic Center Music Hall willbe completed on schedule and within its$3.6 million budget by the end of themonth in time for the center’s 75thanniversary, city officials said.

The park’s updated design will satis-fy the concerns of those who arguedthat City Hall was insensitive to thebuilding’s history, said Shannon Cox,City Hall’s spokeswoman for Project180. Instead, the park will become moreof an interactive component of the CivicCenter cultural experience, she said,and officials are hopeful that it willattract more residents to enjoy the area.

The park is part of Project 180, a$140 million update of the downtownbusiness district streetscape thatincludes everything from trees to side-walks to lights. Project 180 is funded byrevenues collected from a tax incrementfinance, or TIF, district around theDevon Energy corporate office sky-scraper just north of the park. Work onTIF district projects is possible becauseadditional tax revenues for infrastruc-ture improvements are identified inadvance of the expected economicdevelopment effects for those areas.

The Civic Center was finished in1937 as a New Deal project to enhanceOklahoma City’s cultural life. The build-ing was largely unmodified until cityresidents voted for major renovationswith the first MAPS, or MetropolitanArea Projects, tax issue in 1993.

Earlier this year, city leaders facedconflicts over how the lawn spacebetween City Hall and the Civic Centershould be upgraded. Initial plans forBicentennial Park, which were entan-gled with City Hall’s pool and fountain,were opposed by the Downtown DesignReview Committee. Officials took issueat the time with aesthetic elements thatwere proposed such as vaguely defined

spinning towers and pavilions. Thegroup was also concerned aboutinstalling electronic signs and removinghistorical plaques and statues.

The group’s recommendation at thetime said, “This assembly of multipledisconnected features neither preservesthe historic (significance), nor allowsfor easy circulation and flexible utiliza-tion of the pedestrian spaces.”

Construction bids were received inJanuary. The design contract wasawarded to Planning Design Group inTulsa; Elliott & Associates is the archi-

tecture firm. Designers and city officialswere able to refine the description ofwhat was planned and assure commit-tee members that history would be pro-tected.

Trees were planted this week, andcombined with walls for sitting areas,Cox said.

“Now you can really get a feel ofwhat the designers were going for,” shesaid. “The art deco elements and flairsare carried throughout the parkbetween those historical buildings.

“This redesign will enable the Civic

Center to better utilize the space now,”Cox said. “The two pavilions closest tothe Civic Center will support exhibits orspace rentals for small receptions.They’ll also be able to have performanc-es in the park, east of the dancing foun-tain.”

Sweeping walkways will lead peoplein and they’ll be able to enjoy the foun-tain as the water dances to music pro-grams, Cox said.

“These spaces were designed so thatpeople will be able to interact with thepark,” she said.

Bicentennial Park east of the Civic Center Music Hall under construction. PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS

BY DAN JOLINGASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Moving icemay keep a Royal Dutch Shell petrole-um drill ship away from a Chukchi Seaprospect for several days, a Shell Alaskaspokesman said Tuesday.

Curtis Smith said at midday that amassive ice pack heading toward theBurger Prospect had slowed from 0.5knots to 0.2 knots – about 1/4 of a mileper hour – and remained 10 to 12 hoursaway.

“Depending on conditions, it couldbe a few or, potentially, several daysbefore it’s safe enough to resumedrilling,” he said in an email response toquestions.

The prospect is 70 miles off thecoast. The Noble Discoverer drill shiphas moved 30 miles south and will

remain there until the ice – 30 mileslong, 12 miles wide and up to 82 feetthick – has passed and is unlikely tochange course and return.

The ship began preliminary workSunday on an exploratory well – thefirst drilling in U.S. Chukchi waterssince 1991 – but was forced to stophours later when ice headed for the shipwas spotted more than 100 miles away.

Shell drilling protocol calls for thevessel to disconnect from its eightanchors when ice approaches.

Environmental groups, which havechallenged Arctic offshore drilling inlawsuits, said the interruption under-scores the dangers of drilling. Smithsaid the company is taking a cautiousapproach.

The company spent $2.1 billion onChukchi Sea leases in 2008 and morethan $4.5 billion overall on Arctic off-

shore drilling, including the BeaufortSea.

The state of Alaska hopes that oilfrom offshore drilling will eventuallyrefill the trans-Alaska pipeline, whichnow runs at less than one-third capaci-ty. Federal officials estimate that Arcticwaters hold 26 billion barrels of recov-erable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet ofnatural gas.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazarannounced Aug. 30 that Royal DutchShell PLC would be permitted to beginpreparation work at the Chukchi siteeven though the company’s spillresponse barge has not been certified.The company was authorized to drillnarrow pilot holes 1,400 feet below theocean floor and roughly 4,000 feetabove a petroleum reservoir.

Smith said the response barge,which was refurbished in Bellingham,

Wash., has been undergoing sea trialsand was scheduled for more inspectionsTuesday.

The company’s drilling permit callsfor Chukchi drilling to end Sept. 24, amonth before seasonal sea ice is expect-ed at the prospect. The company hasapplied for a two-week extension buthas heard no word on the request,Smith said.

Shell’s second drill ship, the Kulluk,is in the Beaufort Sea waiting to moveonto an offshore prospect after the fallbowhead whale hunting season.Whalers from Nuiqsut have used threeof their four strikes, Smith said, andKaktovik whalers have used one ofthree allowed under subsistence hunt-ing rules. Both were hunting Tuesday.

The Kulluk, an ice-reinforced drillship, is authorized to drill into hydro-carbon zones up to Oct. 31, Smith said.

Ice still delaying Shell Arctic offshore drilling


McDonald’s sales bounce back on value dealsBY CANDICE CHOI

AND MICHELLE CHAPMANASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – McDonald’s said a keysales figure climbed 3.7 percent inAugust, as the fast-food chain empha-sized the value of its menu offeringsamid the challenging global economy.

The world’s biggest hamburgerchain said Tuesday that its breakfastmenu and value items pushed up salesby 3 percent in the U.S. Last month, thefigure had dipped 0.1 percent in theregion after the company said its pro-motions failed to drive growth.

McDonald’s has been intensifying its“messaging around value,” noted AndyBarish, a Jefferies analyst. For example,he noted that the company ran promo-tions for its breakfast Dollar Menu inmid-August.

In Europe, which is McDonald’sbiggest market and accounts for 40 per-cent of its business, sales at restaurantsopen at least 13 months was up 3.1 per-cent on strength in the U.K., France andRussia. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based com-pany said its sponsorship of the LondonOlympics helped lift results.

Another strong contributor was itsCoke Glass promotion, in which cus-tomers got a free glass and wristbandwhen they bought an extra value mealor premium salad.

The strongest performance inAugust came from the region encom-passing Asia, the Middle East andAfrica, with revenue at stores open atleast 13 months up 5.7 percent.

McDonald’s said the increase in theregion was fueled by a shift in the tim-ing of Ramadan, the monthlong obser-vance during which Muslims fast dur-ing daylight hours. Ramadan ran fromlate July to mid-August this year. It hadfallen entirely in August last year.

Strong results in Australia and China

also helped.The overall results for the month

were offset by weakness in Japan,Germany and parts of southern Europethat have been hit by austerity meas-ures.

In such hard-hit regions,McDonald’s has been working to under-score the value of its meals to lure con-sumers to eat out more often. In theU.S., the company plans to continuemixing up its menu with new items.And in Asia, the company has said it willboost traffic by offering “convenience

enhancements,” such as delivery.Sales at all the company’s restau-

rants rose 1.2 percent for the month.McDonald’s, which has more than33,500 locations around the world, isoften seen as a bellwether for the indus-try.

The increase in August follows a dis-appointing showing in July, when thefigure came in flat. That was the worstshowing in more than nine years; thelast time the figure dipped forMcDonald’s was in April 2003.

After years of outperforming its

rivals, analysts say McDonald’s could beheading into a period of slower growth.The company is also facing increasingcompetition, with Burger KingWorldwide Inc. and The Wendy’s Co.working to revive their brands.

Revenue in restaurants open at least13 months is a key measure of a restau-rant chain’s performance because itstrips out the impact of recently openedor closed stores. The figure is a snapshotof money spent on food at both compa-ny-owned and franchised restaurants.They do not reflect corporate revenue.

A sign advertising job openings outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Chesterland, Ohio. AP FILE PHOTO

BY RYAN J. FOLEYASSOCIATED PRESS

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The founderof an Iowa brokerage has signed a pleaagreement with federal prosecutors inwhich he admits to carrying out a $200million fraud and embezzlementscheme that bankrupted his companyand could result in him spending therest of his life in prison, prosecutorssaid Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Russ WasendorfSr. will plead guilty to mail fraud,embezzling customer funds and twocounts of making false statements toregulators. U.S Magistrate Judge JonScoles confirmed the agreement buthasn’t ruled on the matter.

Prosecutors said the agreementcalls for Wasendorf to be sentenced toup to 50 years in prison.

Details of the agreement were madepublic during a hearing in federal courtin Cedar Rapids called to determinewhether Wasendorf should be freed

from jail pending his plea hearing andsentencing.

Scoles said he would rule by Fridayon whether to release Wasendorfpending sentencing, which hasn’t beenscheduled. The judge also plans toschedule a hearing soon to allow a for-mal guilty plea.

Prosecutors have asked the judgenot to release Wasendorf, who listenedintently as FBI agent William Langdonlaid out the case against him.

FBI agents arrested Wasendorf, 64,days after he tried to commit suicide.The arrest came while he was hospital-ized at University of Iowa Hospitalsand Clinics, and by then court recordsshow he had already been cooperatingwith investigators.

After his arrest, Wasendorf waivedhis right to an immediate detentionhearing, but he requested one lastweek.

Defense attorney Jane Kelly saidthe plea agreement leaves open howmuch prison time will be recommend-

ed for Wasendorf under federal sen-tencing guidelines. She indicated itwould likely be far less than the maxi-mum 50 years.

Nonetheless, Linda Livingston, aLutheran pastor who has counseledWasendorf in jail, testified that he hasaccepted the likelihood of spendingthe rest of his life behind bars.

Livingston said he was relieved thathis fraud was uncovered and dedicatedhimself to trying to recover as muchmoney as possible for his customers.

Livingston said she and her hus-band, former high school classmates ofWasendorf, have agreed to allow himto live in their home if he is released.

Assistant U.S Attorney PeterDeegan argued that Wasendorfremained a serious risk to commit sui-cide or flee if released. He saidWasendorf “has gone from being ahero to a villain” and signed a plea dealthat will likely put him in prison untilhis death.

“What incentive does he have to

show up in court?” Deegan asked.Tuesday’s development came as

regulators try to unravel the compli-cated finances of Peregrine FinancialGroup Inc., and partially compensatecustomers who have not been able toaccess their funds for two months. Thetrustee overseeing the company’sbankruptcy outlined a plan last weekfor an initial distribution of $123 mil-lion in assets to about 17,000 cus-tomers, who would receive 30 percentto 40 percent of the assets they heldwith the firm. The payments wouldstart by the end of September.

But the company’s regulator, theU.S. Commodities Futures TradingCommission, raised concerns aboutthe plan in a filing Sunday, arguingpayments should not be processeduntil accounts can be verified as valid.The commission said its preliminaryinvestigation uncovered more than $45million in “fictitious bookkeepingentries and unusual activity” in cus-tomer accounts.

Prosecutor: CEO in Iowa case admits to fraud


Now what? 11 things to do with your old iPhoneBY BARBARA ORTUTAY

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – In case you haven’t heardby now, Apple is unveiling its latestiPhone on Wednesday. That leaves thequestion: What should you do with yourold one?

The new phones will join some 244million iPhones sold since the first onelaunched in 2007. Some have been lostor stolen. Some of us are still hanging onto our old gadgets in some futile attemptto resist the constant upgrade cycle thattechnology companies are forcing on us.

But it’s fair to say that millions ofiPhones are languishing in desk drawersor gathering dust. Here are a few thingsto do with yours to keep it from meetingthat fate once you buy the iPhone 5.

1. Give it to your kids so they stoptaking yours...

Every parent, aunt and uncle knowsthat no toy in the history of toys has everbeen as appealing to a kid as an iPhone.They are shiny, they have games andgrown-ups use them for importantthings. More importantly, they areeither off-limits or doled out in limitedquantities as a reward for, say, sittingstill for a minute. Load up your oldiPhone with games and give it to adeserving child in your life.

2. ...or to your mom so she can final-ly see the light

Alternately, if a Luddite adult hasbeen thinking of taking the plunge intothe world of smartphones, your oldiPhone may help him or her get over thehump. If you have an iPhone 4 or 4S,you might also find someone who’s stillhanging on to an earlier model and givethem the gift of an upgrade. You mayjust buy a friend for life (or at least untiliPhone 6 comes out).

3. Use it as a teeny-tiny iPadYou’ll be able to watch videos, send

email and search Wikipedia for randomfacts to end cocktail-party disagree-ments with your decommissionediPhone – as long as you have a Wi-Ficonnection. There’s even a camera,

which means you can avoid being thatguy (or gal) at the concert who’s turningheads for taking photos with an iPad.

4. Donate to charitySeveral charities accept old phones

for donation, though it’s worth remem-bering that these groups likely won’tphysically give your old phones to peo-ple in need. Rather, they work withphone recyclers and sell your donatedphones to them.

A nonprofit group called CellPhones for Soldiers will take your“gently used” phone and sell it to recy-cling company ReCellular. It will thenuse the proceeds to buy calling cardsfor soldiers.

The National Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence works with anoth-er recycling group in a similar manner.About 60 percent of the phones it col-lects are refurbished and resold. Themoney goes toward supporting thecoalition. The remaining 40 percent ofthe phones are recycled, according tothe group’s website. It pays for ship-

ping if you are mailing three or morephones.

There are a few more suggestionsfrom New York’s Department ofEnvironmental Conservation at:h t t p : // w w w. d e c . n y. g o v/ c h e m i -cal/8818.html.

5. Alarm ClockDo you still use that old radio alarm

you bought for your college dorm roomin the 20th century? Join the 21st cen-tury by turning your old iPhone into analarm clock. Hide it in a different spotin your bed each night for an addedchallenge.

6. Sell, sell, sell!Join the eBay hordes and sell your

phone for a few hundred bucks if youcan. There will likely be a flood of thegadgets soon after people start gettingtheir new phones, so it might makesense to wait a little.

A company called Gazelle, mean-while, will make an offer for your oldphone based on its condition, yourphone carrier and other information. A

32 gigabyte iPhone 4S on VerizonWireless, for example, was recentlygoing for $237 if it’s in good conditionand $90 if it’s broken.

7. Trade in at GameStopThe video game retailer offers cash

or store credit for old iPhones (alongwith iPods and iPads). The service isonly available in stores and not online.A 32-gigabyte iPhone 4S on Verizonwill get you up to $335 in store creditor up to $268 in cash.

8. Stream musicStick that baby in a speaker dock,

spring for a Pandora subscription ($36per year) or Spotify ($10 per month)and bam, you have a stereo.

Or try SoundCloud. Although it’smeant to let you create and sharemusic with people, it’s also a goodplace to listen to DJs you like or dis-cover new ones. TuneIn, meanwhile,will let you listen to online radio sta-tions playing music, sports, news ortalk shows.

9. Keep as a backup in case you loseyour fancy new one.

Nearly one-third of cellphone own-ers have had their gadgets lost orstolen, according to a recent surveyfrom Pew Internet & Pew Internet &American Life Project.

10. Use as a cameraAt its core, a decommissioned

iPhone is a hard drive with a camera.Snap photos with it. No Canon needed.You can also use the iPhone to movephotos and other files from one com-puter to another.

11. Recycle with AppleApple Inc.’s own recycling program

will give you an Apple gift card if it isdetermined to have a “monetaryvalue.” A 32-gigabyte iPhone 4S withsome light scratches but in good work-ing condition was recently estimated at$280. That’s higher than Gazelle, butyou’ll have to spend the money atApple. The company also accepts bro-ken phones for recycling but you won’tget any money for them.

A boy checks an iPhone at an Apple booth at an electronics store in Tokyo. AP FILE PHOTO

Moody’s set to downgrade U.S. without budget dealNEW YORK (AP) – The U.S. govern-ment’s debt rating could be heading forthe “fiscal cliff” along with the federalbudget.

Moody’s Investors Service onTuesday said it would likely cut its“Aaa” rating on U.S. government debt,probably by one notch, if budget nego-tiations fail.

If Congress and the White Housedon’t reach a budget deal, about $1.2trillion in spending cuts and taxincreases will automatically kick instarting Jan. 2, a scenario that’s beendubbed the “fiscal cliff,” because it islikely to send the economy back intorecession and drive up unemployment.

A year ago, Moody’s cut its outlookon U.S. debt to “negative,” which acts asa warning that it might downgrade therating, after partisan wrangling over

raising the U.S. debt limit led the nationto the brink of default.

Rival agency Standard & Poor’s tookthe drastic step of stripping the govern-ment of its “AAA” rating on its bonds onAug. 5, 2011. Fitch Ratings issued awarning of a potential downgrade.

In its report Tuesday, Moody’s saidit is difficult to predict when Congresswill reach a deal on the budget, and itwill likely keep its current rating and“negative” outlook until the outcome ofthe talks is clear.

In Washington, Moody’s action did-n’t spur the politicians responsible formaking a deal to sit down at the table.

House Speaker John Boehner, anOhio Republican, said he’s not confi-dent that Congress can reach a deal andavoid a downgrade. No serious negotia-tions are expected until after the

November elections.Moody’s also noted that the govern-

ment will likely again reach the debtlimit by the end of the year, whichmeans another round of negotiationsin Congress on raising the limit if theU.S. is to keep paying its bills. “Underthese circumstances, the government’srating would likely be placed underreview after the debt limit is reached,but several weeks before the exhaus-tion of the Treasury’s resources,”Moody’s analyst Steven A. Hess said inhis report.

Despite the rating cut last year fromS&P and the warnings from Moody’sand Fitch, the U.S. has been able to con-tinue borrowing at very low rates.That’s because investors are still buyingU.S. government bonds, as economicturmoil in Europe and uncertainty in

other parts of the globe have left U.S.debt and U.S. dollars looking like safebets. In contrast, bond investorsdemand high rates from troubled coun-tries like Spain and Italy.

The stock markets plunged whenthe downgrade occurred in August2011. The Dow Jones industrial averagelost 634 points on the first trading dayafter S&P’s announcement. ButMoody’s warning on Tuesday did littleto ruffle traders. The Dow average rose70 points to 13,325 in late-afternoontrading.


■ BUSINESS CALENDAR

12 13Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma Women’sBusiness Center – Government contracting work-shop, 8:30 a.m.-noon at Rogers State University,Innovation Center, Room 111, 1701 W. WillRogers Blvd. in Claremore. The fee is $15 perperson. Register at www.ruralenterprises.com.

Tulsa’s Select CEO Forum – Seminar, 7 p.m. at the businessoffice of Williams, Jarrett, Smith & Co. Ken W. Williams II,president of WJS, will present “Obama Changes for FederalEstate and Gift Taxes.” For reservations, contact Alisha Bavuso at(918) 492-7511 or [email protected].

To view the complete Journal Record Business Calendar,

please visit www.JournalRecord.com.

Scan thisQR code toview online

ThursdaySeptember

WednesdaySeptember

Stocks rise ahead of Fed meetingNEW YORK (AP) – Investors spentTuesday preparing for two events sureto move markets this week: a FederalReserve meeting and a court decision onwhether Germany can help support itsstruggling neighbors. And if the stockmarket’s gains Tuesday are any sign,they expect both events to turn out well.

The Dow Jones industrial averagerose 69.07 points to close at 13,323.36.The average of 30 large company stockshas already gained 1.8 percent to startSeptember, a month that is usually dis-mal for stocks.

Bank of America led the 30 stocks inthe Dow, rising 5 percent, or 45 cents, to$9.03.

Federal Reserve officials will gatherfor a two-day meeting on Wednesday.Many expect the Fed to announce a neweffort to revive the sluggish economyThursday afternoon.

On the same day the Fed starts itsmeeting, Germany’s high court isexpected to rule on whether the coun-try can participate in a Europeanbailout fund. The court rejected a last-minute appeal to delay the decision onTuesday.

“It’s going to get interesting thisweek,” said Randy Frederick, managingdirector of active trading and deriva-tives at the brokerage Charles Schwab.

Frederick expects the Fed to makesome sort of move, especially after thegovernment reported last Friday thatemployers added fewer than 100,000jobs in August.

“Prior to the employment reportpeople weren’t as sure,” Frederick said.“I am definitely on the majority sidehere. There’s some sort of easing com-ing.”

In other trading, the Standard &Poor’s 500 index rose 4.48 points to1,433.56. The Nasdaq compositeincreased 0.51 of a point to 3,104.53.

The assumption that the Fed willannounce new stimulus measures is sowidespread that some worry the marketcould take a plunge if the Fed fails to

deliver.Ron Florance, managing director of

investment strategy at Wells FargoPrivate Bank in Scottsdale, Ariz., saidhe’s always wary when stocks rise onnothing more than expectations.

“These are the things that make younervous, when markets are going strongin anticipation of news,” Florance said.

On Tuesday, the CommerceDepartment reported that exports toEurope dropped 11.7 percent in July,stoking concerns that Europe’s troublescould smother the U.S. recovery. OverallU.S. exports fell 1 percent to $183.3 bil-lion, lowered by weaker sales of autos,telecom equipment and heavy machin-

ery.Morgan Stanley and Citigroup rose

after the two banks settled a disputeover how much to value their jointlyowned brokerage firm, MorganStanley Smith Barney. The dealcleared the way for Morgan Stanley tobuy Citigroup’s stake. Citi gained 83cents to $32.66. Morgan Stanley rose64 cents to $17.25.

A profit warning from luxuryclothing chain Burberry helped tugdown other high-end retailers in earlytrading. Burberry said slowing sales toChina will likely weaken earnings.Ralph Lauren lost $4.09 to $156.22.Tiffany & Co. sank 78 cents to $62.26.

Among other stocks making moves:• Legg Mason jumped 5 percent

following reports that its CEO willstep down Oct. 1. Clients have beenpulling money out of the money man-ager’s funds, weakening revenue.Legg Mason’s stock surged $1.38 to$26.85.

• Hewlett-Packard gained 52 centsto $17.95, a 3-percent gain. The comput-er and printer maker said late Mondaythat it will cut 29,000 jobs by October2014, or 2,000 more than it had previ-ously planned. Sales of personal com-puters have slumped as people favorsmartphones and lightweight tabletcomputers.

A specialist works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. AP PHOTO


■ TRANSPORTATION ■ TRANSPORTATION

• No Company Liability • No Career Risk

• No Criminal Risk • No DUI Risk

BOOK NOWfor Special Occasions!

www.viplimo.net CALL 800-438-3336 FOR RESERVATIONS

PROMS, WEDDINGS, BACHELOR(ETTE) PARTIES & SPECIAL OCCASIONS

• Dining Out• Dallas Shuttle• Airport Shuttle

• Bricktown Shuttle• Weddings, Proms,

Special Occasions

• Night Out On the Town• Football/ Basketball

Games

• Concerts• Door-to-Door Valet

Services

Sedan Service AvailableCELEBRATE SAFELY!

■ BUSINESS TO BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Last days of summer push up gasoline prices(AP) – The waning days of summershould mean the last increases in gaso-line prices for a while.

Average gasoline prices rose 1.5cents overnight to $3.843 per gallonTuesday, the biggest gain in two weeks.The price has risen about 50 cents sinceJuly 1.

Motorists in about eight states arepaying at least $4 per gallon, accordingto AAA, Wright Express and the OilPrice Information Service. Even thelowest prices – $3.59 in Mississippi and$3.60 in South Carolina – are up morethan 60 cents from early in the summer.

Yet, relief is in sight. Refiners cansoon switch to selling winter blends ofgasoline, which are cheaper than sum-mer gasoline blends formulated toreduce pollution.

“This is the fireworks finale for theseason, the next four or five days,” saidTom Kloza, OPIS chief oil analyst. “Bynext week, it will, it will start to movelower.”

This week, short supplies of summergasoline, particularly in the Northeast,are contributing to the latest increase,Kloza said. He also said cited lingeringeffects from supply disruptions causedby Hurricane Isaac and refinery down-

time in the Midwest.The national average for gas is with-

in a dime of the year’s high, so a declinewill be welcomed by drivers. Gas pricestopped out at $3.94 per gallon in earlyApril, then fell for about three months.But rising oil prices, pipeline and refin-ery issues and the vacation driving sea-son pushed prices up 10 percent sincethe start of summer.

Overall, the national average pricehas increased 3.2 percent so far thisyear, compared with the same time peri-od in 2011, according to OPIS data. Justone state – Montana – has seen lowerprices year to date, although by just 0.1percentage point. In Arizona, the aver-age price is up 6.2 percent from a yearago.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose slightlyahead of a meeting this week where theFederal Reserve may decide to takeadditional steps to promote economicgrowth. Such measures can mean moredemand for oil and other energy prod-ucts.

Traders also are awaiting a decisionfrom Germany’s high court, expectedWednesday, on whether the countrycan participate in a European bailoutfund.

Benchmark oil rose 63 cents to finishat $97.17 per barrel in New York. Brentcrude, which is used to price interna-tional varieties of oil, gained 59 cents to$115.40 per barrel.

Other futures prices on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange:

• Heating oil rose 1.89 cents to end at$3.1857 per gallon.

• Wholesale gasoline gained 1.95cents to end at $3.0435 per gallon.

• Natural gas increased 18 cents, or6.4 percent, to end at $2.992 per 1,000cubic feet.

Crude OilState Spot Prices

From ConocoPhillipsCentral Oklahoma Sweet - $93.59West Texas Intermediate - $93.79

Refined Products

Active Rig Counts

Notes

Natural Gas

Futures trading Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange (Source: Associated Press). Rig count information provided by Baker Hughes Inc.

For week ended Sept. 7Oklahoma - 199

U.S. - 1,864

1,000 bbl.; dollars per bbl.Open High Low Settle Chg

Oct 96.29 97.31 96.08 97.17 +.63 Nov 96.62 97.63 96.43 97.50 +.62 Dec 96.93 97.94 96.77 97.82 +.61 Est. sales 474,155. Mon.'s sales 493,096 Mon.'s open int 1,565,285

10,000 mm btu's, $ per mm btuOpen High Low Settle Chg

Oct 2.842 3.004 2.802 2.992 +180 Nov 2.963 3.114 2.926 3.104 +163 Dec 3.200 3.332 3.166 3.324 +143 Est. sales 629,974. Mon.'s sales 340,428 Mon.'s open int 1,121,877

Heating Oil42,000 gal, cents per gal

Open High Low Settle ChgOct 316.45 319.00 315.50 318.57 +1.89 Nov 316.24 318.80 315.65 318.43 +1.69 Dec 315.56 318.50 315.55 318.13 +1.47 Est. sales 114,973. Mon.'s sales 132,948 Mon.'s open int 345,339, up 4,572

Gasoline42,000 gal, $ per gal

Open High Low Settle ChgOct 3.0275 3.0488 3.0182 3.0435 +.0195 Nov 2.9040 2.9261 2.8984 2.9211 +.0160 Dec 2.8236 2.8495 2.8236 2.8456 +.0152 Est. sales 84,093. Mon.'s sales 140,091 Mon.'s open int 293,059, up 3,637

Futures Market

Futures Market

Futures Market

■ Energy DatabankFor Sept. 12, 2012 From Staff, Wire Reports

HarperCollins reaches deal to lower e-book pricesBY HILLEL ITALIEASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – A new and uncertainera of e-book prices has begun.

HarperCollins Publishersannounced Tuesday that it hasreached new price agreements withsellers that conform to a settlementwith the Justice Department over alle-gations that five publishers and Applecolluded to set prices for e-books.Such new works as Michael Chabon’sTelegraph Avenue now can be pur-chased on Amazon.com for $9.99, aprice publishers and rival booksellersfear will give Amazon dominant con-trol of the e-market.

Simon & Schuster and HachetteBook Group also settled, but as ofTuesday afternoon e-prices for such

fall books from those publishers asBob Woodward’s The Price of Politicsand Tom Wolfe’s Back to Blood wereselling for $14.99. A spokesman forSimon & Schuster declined comment,while Hachette issued a statementsaying it was “engaged in productivediscussions with e-book distributionagents.”

Apple and two other publishers,Penguin Group (USA) and Macmillan,declined to settle and a trial is expect-ed next June.

The settlement was announced inApril, when the Justice Departmentfiled suit, and was approved last weekby a federal judge in New York. Thelegal action stems from agreementsreached between major publishersand Apple in 2010 that allowed pub-lishers to set their own prices for e-

books, an effort to counter Amazon’sdeep discounts of best sellers. Overthe past two years, Amazon’s e-shareis widely believed to have droppedfrom about 90 percent to about 60 per-cent, with Barnes & Noble.com’s risingto 25 percent.

E-books are believed to comprisearound 25-30 percent of total sales,exponentially higher than four to fiveyears ago. But growth has slowed overthe past year, and reasons cited varyfrom the higher prices charged underthe Apple agreements to a generalmaturation of the e-market, with themost avid e-book readers alreadyaccounted for.

With no definitive resolutionexpected soon, publishers and book-sellers face a complicated time of pos-sible price wars or periods when

books may become unavailable duringthe busy fall season, depending howquickly new agreements are signed.Barnes & Noble.com and other onlineretailers may feel pressure to cut theirprices as deeply as Amazon.com. AndRandom House Inc., which agreed to asimilar sales model as HarperCollinsand others but is not involved in thelegal action, may find itself chargingseveral dollars more for popular e-books than its competitors charge

Prices for new HarperCollinsbooks differed from seller to seller asof Tuesday afternoon. Chabon’sTelegraph Avenue cost $12.59 onBarnes & Noble’s Nook and $9.99 onApple’s iBookstore. Molly Ringwald’sWhen It Happens to You was $9.74 onAmazon, $12.99 on Barnes & Nobleand $9.99 on Apple.


Great CareerOpportunities!

City of Edmond, Oklahoma

is currently seeking qualified

candidates for various positions.

Visit

www.edmondok.com/jobsto view job openings.

EXPERIENCED FORM CARPENTERS &CONCRETE FINISHERS NEEDED

Crossland Heavy Contractors is seeking individuals to fill immediate positions for experi-

enced form carpenters and concrete finishers for our OKC job site. Candidates must have

own transportation and be highly motivated. Drug screen, physical and criminal background

check is required of successful candidates. We offer excellent pay and benefits including

health, dental, 401k and holiday pay. We also offer paid educational opportunities to

enhance your career.

Interested candidates may apply in person at:

13919 North Harvey Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73013

For position inquiries, contact Courtney Smith at 405.748.5043

or email [email protected]

Applications are also available online at: www.heavycontractors.com

Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/V/H

Drivers: CDL-A.We’ve Got Oilfield Work!

Pnuematic, Will train.2yrs TT or TDS w/1yr. 23yoa. EOE.

800-444-4293 JoeBrownCompany.net

Clinicall Sociall Worker/LCSWneeded for Tinker AFB.

FT Mon-Fri with full benefits available.

Must have LCSW license.

Call Toni Pettineo 877-456-3579 or email

[email protected]

Family Practice Physician or InternistMD/DO Unrestricted license to practice in Oklahoma. DEA License.

Ambulatory Primary Care Setting. NHSC student Loan Repayment Options.

APPLYMary Mahoney Memorial Health Center

12716 NE 36 Street, Spencer, OK 73084 | P.O. Box 30589, Oklahoma City, OK 73140405-769-3301, Ext. 1238 | Fax (405) 769-9685 | [email protected]

EMPLOYMENT

GENERALAdvertising Account Manager

The Journal Record Publishing Company is seeking a creative,

high-energy, driven individual to fill the role of Advertising Account

Manager. This position isresponsible for the development and maintenance of advertising

accounts for both the corenewspaper product and a number of special publications throughout the year. This is an outside sales

position based out of our downtown Oklahoma City office.

Previous experience in printadvertising sales is helpful, but not required. A very strong work ethic

and the ability to juggle multiple projects are absolutely

necessary for success in this role.Please send resumes to:

[email protected] Journal Record Publishing

Company is the publisher of The Journal Record, Oklahoma’s daily business newspaper. We have been in business since 1903.

To place an ad in the

Classified Marketplace, call

405.278.2866

DDIILLBBEERRTT BY SCOTT ADAMS

ACROSS1 Woodwind played

by Bill Clinton4 Black card9 Punch

13 Mean guy15 Austin’s state16 Doing nothing17 College official18 Film holders19 Crazy as a __20 Indigestion22 Consequently23 Defeat24 Hither and __;

here and there26 Leftover pieces29 Devices often

connected tocomputers

34 Still breathing35 DVD remote but-

ton36 Singer Tormé37 Ulna or clavicle38 New Orleans foot-

ball player39 Casino cubes40 Finale41 Regretting42 Dinner course43 Takes back, as

one’s offer45 Growths that can

become cancer-ous

46 Diminish47 Arrestee’s hope48 “Slow down,

Trigger!”51 “The great

beyond”56 Swine57 Shreds58 Sups60 Bit of land in the

ocean61 “__, Dolly!”62 Basin63 Last letters64 Actress Burstyn65 __ down the law;

be strict

DOWN1 Turf2 Elderly3 Radiologist’s neg-

ative4 Emphasize5 Chicken noises6 Chopping tools

7 SurrealistSalvador __

8 Writer of prosepieces

9 Noiseless10 Smell11 Wooden shoe12 Casino game14 Force into servi-

tude21 Vatican leader25 Small bill26 Cavalry sword27 Duplicate28 Orange peels29 Take __; go to

much effort30 Ladder step31 Dickinson or Post32 Summary33 Winter toys35 __ up; settled

accounts38 Try to get a tan39 Lingers41 Tease42 Dirt44 Discontinues45 Protestant clergy-

man47 “Uncle Miltie”48 Smart person49 Rubber tube50 Womanizer’s

glance

52 Sense; touch53 Able to reach high

shelves54 Get an “F”55 Sicilian volcano59 Heaven above

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

(c) 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.


We need your help... because

Big Dogs Can’t Drive.

To volunteer or donate, please contact

www.BigDogsHugePaws.com

Big Dogs Huge Paws, Inc., a non-profit rescue for large breed dogs,seeks volunteers to help transportdogs as needed to reach their newhomes. If you can give any amountof spare time and mileage, pleasecontact our rescue for more infor-mation. Your generosity wouldmake a difference and change biglives forever!


Premiums for family health plans hit $15,745BY RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON – It sounds like goodnews: Annual premiums for job-basedfamily health plans went up only 4 per-cent this year.

But hang on to your wallets.Premiums averaged $15,745, withemployees paying more than $4,300 ofthat, a glaring reminder that the nation’sproblem of unaffordable medical care isanything but solved.

The annual employer surveyreleased Tuesday by two major researchgroups also highlighted another dis-turbing trend: employees at companieswith many low-wage workers pay moremoney for skimpier insurance thanwhat their counterparts at upscale firmsget.

Overall, “it’s historically a very mod-erate increase in premiums,” said DrewAltman, president of the Kaiser FamilyFoundation, which conducted the sur-vey with the Health Research &Educational Trust.

He quickly added: “But even a mod-erate increase feels really big to workerswhen their wages are flat or falling.”The rise in premiums easily outpacedworkers’ raises and inflation.

Following a 9-percent hike in premi-ums last year, the 2012 increase quicklybecame fodder for the political debate.Republicans said President BarackObama’s promises to control health carecosts ring hollow in light of the findings.

But the most significant cost-controlmeasures in Obama’s law have yet totake effect, and the president’s big pushto cover the uninsured doesn’t startuntil 2014. Those measures include anew tax on the most expensive insur-ance plans and a powerful board to keepMedicare spending manageable.

Trying to head off critics, the admin-istration issued a report estimating that

consumers have saved $2 billion as aresult of the health care law. That’s dueto a combination of insurance rebatesfor employers and individual policy-holders, as well as closer state oversightof proposed rate increases, facilitated byObama’s law.

Still, theKaiser surveyshows that pre-miums for job-based family cov-erage rose bynearly $2,400since 2009 whenObama tookoffice, with a cor-responding increase of nearly $800 foremployee-only coverage.

“We aren’t happy to see any increasein health insurance premiums,” saidGary Cohen, head of the administra-tion’s Center for Consumer Informationand Insurance Oversight, adding thatofficials are “heartened” that it was onlya modest rise this year and look forwardto slowing costs as more provisions ofthe health care law take effect.

Most independent experts say thefact that premiums keep rising fasterthan overall inflation reflects underly-ing problems with the health care sys-tem that have frustrated policymakersof both parties for years, as well as cor-porate benefit managers.

Indeed, only last week an arm of theNational Academy of Sciences estimat-ed that about 30 cents of every dollarspent on health care – $750 billion ayear – is wasted through unnecessaryprocedures, cumbersome paperwork,uncoordinated care and fraud.

Obama says he’s working to makehealth care more affordable for all byleveraging the power of governmentprograms like Medicare to pay hospi-tals and doctors for quality results,rather than sheer volume of tests and

procedures. But that will take time.Republican Mitt Romney wants to

give future retirees a fixed amount ofmoney to pick either private insuranceor a government plan modeled onMedicare. He expects that the private

market will findways to deliverquality service atlower cost. TheGOP approachmirrors the shiftaway from tradi-tional pensions,which pay a stan-dard benefit, to401(k) savings

plans that limit the employer’s expo-sure.

The Kaiser/HRET survey foundthat employee-only coverage went up 3percent this year, with annual premi-ums averaging $5,615. Companies usu-ally pick up a larger share of the cost foremployee-only coverage, so workerstypically paid about $950 of that.

The availability of employer-basedcoverage, the mainstay for working peo-ple and their families, remained stablethis year, with 61 percent of all compa-nies offering health benefits. However,only half of companies with three tonine workers offered health insurance,while virtually all large firms with 1,000or more employees did so.

Companies continued shifting coststo their workers, at a somewhat slowerpace. A trend toward steering employ-ees into plans with high annualdeductibles eased a bit. The deductibleis the amount you must pay each yearbefore insurance kicks in. The surveyfound that 34 percent of workers are inplans with annual deductibles of atleast $1,000 for single coverage, upfrom 31 percent in 2011.

“We don’t know if it’s a timeout, orif it’s reached some natural limit,” said

Altman. “It’s really something to watchfor in the future because (high-deductible plans) have an impact bothon people’s budgets and on holdingdown overall costs.”

The survey’s focus on health insur-ance provided to lower-wage workershighlights one of the major areas ofuncertainty around Obama’s healthcare law.

If the president is re-elected and thelaw goes into full effect, employerswith lots of low-wage workers may betempted to drop coverage and sendtheir employees into new state-basedinsurance exchanges, markets that willoffer taxpayer-subsidized privateinsurance. A separate survey this sum-mer by the Mercer benefits consultingfirm found that 9 percent of employersin the retail and hospitality industriessay it’s likely they will drop coverage,even if they have to pay penalties to thegovernment.

The survey found that workers inlower-wage companies pay $4,977toward the cost of family coverage, ascompared to an average of $4,316 for allworkers. And the policy they get fortheir money is less generous, typicallyworth about $1,000 less.

“They are really paying more andgetting less,” said Altman.

Although employers and govern-ment are doubling down on efforts tokeep health care costs manageable,most experts believe the sluggish econ-omy provides the likeliest explanationfor the moderate rise in premiums. Lastyear’s spike is blamed on a mistaken betby insurers that the economy wouldrecover faster.

The survey includes more than2,000 small and large employers. Askedwhat kind of increase they’re expectingfor 2013, employers said their best esti-mate at this point is 7 percent – sure toprompt more pain.

already become law.And the idea is spreading.In several states, including

California and Rhode Island, the med-ical use of marijuana is allowed by law.In fact, 15 states, along with theDistrict of Columbia, have adoptedlaws allowing the use of medical use ofmarijuana.

In a 2005 study, HarvardUniversity professor Jeffrey Mironsaid that more than 25 millionAmericans are eligible for some formof medical marijuana program.

Additionally, authors of a studypublished in the September edition ofthe American International Journal ofContemporary Research said that legal-izing the medical use of marijuanacould generate substantial tax revenuefor the state.

“Oklahoma, like all states, needsmoney,” wrote University of CentralOklahoma professors Marty Ludlumand Darrell Ford. “One easy solution isto make medical marijuana subject to

the state sales tax. The city of Bouldermade $74,000 in one quarter throughthe tax on medical marijuana. Theability to generate sales tax seemshigh. Again, predictions are difficultwith an industry only in existence for10 years, but medical marijuana is verypopular with consumers and shouldgenerate a significant amount ofmoney.”

In addition to tax revenue, theauthors said cities could generate sub-stantial revenue in licensing fees.

“Cities have also started licensingfees, similar to permits required forother industries,” the pair wrote. “Thecity of Denver will gain $1.4 million inannual licensing fees ($5,000 per dis-pensary) from medical marijuana. Infact, a recent episode of Weed Wars (aDiscovery Channel series) discussed anew $2 million tax on the HarborsideClinic. While many conservatives maynot favor medical marijuana, theywould certainly support the tax rev-enue from this endeavor.”

In Oklahoma, marijuana is alreadytaxed. While marijuana is illegalunder state law, Oklahoma has had atax stamp for it for the past twodecades.

“We do have a tax stamp,” saidOklahoma Tax Commission spokes-woman Paula Ross. “We hardly eversell them, but they are available. Idon’t think we’ve sold very many inthe past 20 years.”

Ross said the state has sold 23 ofthe stamps over the last decade at acost of $10 each.

And though the stamps are rarelypurchased, the lack of one can be usedby prosecutors as a tool in criminalproceedings.

Developing a tax system for med-ical marijuana would be no differentthan other prescriptions, Ross said.

“We would follow what theLegislature enacted,” she said. “Andthen it would probably function likeother prescriptions. The merchantwould fill out the report and the mer-

chandise would be taxable. We wouldget those reports, then separate thestate and the municipal taxes.”

Still, even though pressure may bebuilding and even though the statedoes – in a limited way – already havea tax structure for marijuana, actuallygetting a law passed allowing medicaluse would be difficult.

“Currently, there is no support forsuch a program,” Ludlum and Fordwrote. “There is no evidence in sup-port of the program by the Oklahomamedical community. With the conser-vative climate, public support will bedifficult to obtain. In Oklahoma, find-ing broad-based support for such aprogram will be a daunting taskindeed. The only conceivable way tomake the program a political reality isto work out the details in advance andto inform the public about the medicalbenefits of marijuana. Only those twoactions can hope to overcome thepolitical opposition to the current pro-posal.”

SMOKE: Oklahoma proponents of medical marijuana face uphill battlefrom page 1

The Kaiser survey shows that premiums for job-based family

coverage rose by nearly $2,400 since 2009.


Formula for productive partnershipsOCAST program

pairs students with companies

BY D. RAY TUTTLETHE JOURNAL RECORD

TULSA – Cornell Cross II is learninghow a good reputation can precede him.

Cross, associate director of programsfor the Oklahoma Center for theAdvancement of Science andTechnology’s Tulsa office, said the cen-ter’s success placing college interns withcompanies is attracting attention innortheast Oklahoma.

“People are coming to OCAST,”Cross said. “Word is out about OCAST asthey see how we can be a partner, put-ting companies and universities togeth-er.”

The program’s objective is to trainstudents, said Kinnee Tilly, senior vicepresident of economic development forthe Broken Arrow EconomicDevelopment Corp.

“Developing a skilled workforce isone of the greatest challenges we haveright now,” Tilly said. “So, for a programthat specifically targets the companiesthat need the skilled workforce to thestudents within the universities thatneed the real-world experience, this awin-win.”

The Intern Partnerships programconnects college students and facultymembers with scientific and technicalbusinesses making advancements inenergy, chemistry, the environment andnational defense, Cross said.

Ron Burden, president of Tulsa-based Bennett Engineering Inc., said thecompany has benefited from the OCASTmodel.

“We are a consulting engineeringcompany and we have seen our clientstake advantage of the internships,”Bennett said. “It has been tremendouslybeneficial. They get a good employee,while the student gains real-world expe-rience.”

The program is designed to assist injob creation and advance student skillsets, Cross said.

“Many of the college students whoparticipate in the program becomeemployees of the small businesses that

sponsor them,” Cross said.The goal is keeping the state’s best

and brightest students in the state aftergraduation, Tilly said.

“The company gets the advantage ofhaving a qualified student within itsdoors as an intern, while the student isable to learn from the company and thengive back to the company,” Tilly said. ”Ithelps the local businesses grow theirworkforce and expand their productbase to grow the local economy.”

During the most recent cycle of fund-ing, Tulsa universities and businessesreceived all of the available funding forthe program, Cross said. Funding wasawarded to University of Tulsa facultymembers for one internship at CovantaEnergy, two at GWACS Defense Inc. andone at Magnesium Products Inc., whichpartnered with Oral Roberts University.

Overall, Tulsa businesses have won

44 internships over the 16-year historyof the program.

“We work with Tulsa technology-based businesses to help increase aware-ness of funding opportunities,” Crosssaid. “It is coming to the point where ourreputation extends beyond our office.Word is out as companies talk to eachother about OCAST and universities areseeking partnerships with OCAST forresearch and development projects.People are bringing their things to me,rather than me trying to take projects tothem.”

Applicants across the state may com-pete in the process. The most qualifiedare selected by an out-of-state reviewpanel of experts in the fields of scienceand engineering. Each successful appli-cation is awarded $60,000 for two years.The award money from OCAST covershalf of student salaries, equipment, sup-

plies and travel costs. The other half ispaid by the sponsoring companies.

Involvement from Tulsa businesseshas surged, Cross said.

The current number of proposalsfrom Tulsa is 31 – more than double thenumber in the April-May-June quarter,Cross said.

The types of companies seekinginterns run the gamut, Cross said, fromAcme Engineering to WagonerHospital.

The state agency provides funding toOklahoma-based scientists, researchers,businesses, manufacturers and organi-zations in an effort to help them discov-er new products, treatments and tech-nology. Beyond the internship program,OCAST funds research in many technol-ogy areas, including health, nanotech-nology, plant science and manufactur-ing.

Cornell Cross II, associate director of programs for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology’s Tulsa office.PHOTO BY RIP STELL

BY DEE-ANN DURBINASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT – Ford Motor Co.’s board ofdirectors is meeting this Thursday andCEO succession could be on the agenda.

The directors are close to promotingMark Fields to chief operating officer,Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing anunnamed source. The promotion wouldmake Fields the probable successor to 67-year-old CEO Alan Mulally. The reportalso said that Mulally is expected to stepdown at the end of 2013.

Ford said the report was speculative

and wouldn’t confirm it. But the companysaid it takes succession seriously and hasa plan in place for each of its leadershippositions.

At least one board member contactedby The Associated Press referred all ques-tions to Ford.

Mulally is one of the most respectedCEOs in corporate America. He is reveredat Ford for turning around the companyafter being hired in 2006. Soon after, hemade the critical decision to take out a$23 billion loan. He used the money to cutworkers and brands and speed up prod-

uct development. He has now presidedover 13 consecutive quarterly profits.

Mulally has never said publicly whenhe will retire, but Ford is under pressureto prove that it can keep its turnaround ontrack after he leaves. Naming Fields oranother successor while Mulally is still incharge would ensure an orderly transi-tion.

Fields, 51, has long been considered afront-runner for the top job. The 23-yearveteran of the company developed therestructuring plan that Mulally used ashis blueprint when he came to Ford. As

president of the Americas, a job he hasheld since 2005, Fields has led Ford’sNorth American operations to near-record profits.

Fields also has significant internation-al experience. He was the president andCEO of Mazda Motor Co. from 2000 to2002, and led Ford’s European operationsbefore taking his current job.

Another frequently mentioned con-tender is Joe Hinrichs, 45, who is cur-rently presiding over a major Asianexpansion as head of Ford’s Asia Pacificand African operations.

Ford’s board may consider CEO succession Thursday

• Local Feature• Public Notices• Sept. 12, 2012

L T . R O B E R T B Y B E E , O K L A H O M A C I T Y - C O U N T Y H E A L T H D E P A R T M E N T

Beating stress and cigarettesBY SARAH TERRY-COBO

THE JOURNAL RECORD

OKLAHOMA CITY – Lt. Robert Bybeemanages security for the OklahomaCity-County Health Department. Heworks four 10-hour shifts, and canspend as much as five hours per daymonitoring the many security camerasat the Health Department’s main officeon NE 23rd Street.

He also coordinates the bioterrorismemergency preparedness group for thestate and acts as a liaison between thefederal government and local lawenforcement officials. Though his workmanaging security is quite differentthan his 26 years on the Oklahoma Citypolice force, where he reached the rankof lieutenant and is still referred to bythat title, he admits that it can get quitebusy at the Health Department.

He credits his employer with help-ing him turn his health around afterhaving a heart attack in 2009.

“I should have died, but I didn’t; Ihad a 99-percent blockage,” Bybee said.“Everything was bad that could be bad.”

He was borderline diabetic, histriglycerides were very high at morethan 500, he weighed 245 pounds andhe smoked for more than three decades.Surviving the heart attack broughteverything to light, Bybee said.

So he met with a dietician, whoadvised him to reduce the amount offried foods and eat the right portions atmeals. He started working out at theHealth Department’s on-site wellnesscenter and at home. His triglyceridesare now below the normal range,between 110 and 120. He has nowdropped to about 190 pounds.

“It’s all because I’m eating right,”Bybee said. “I am actually great. (Thechanges I’ve made) probably saved mylife.”

The on-site wellness vendingmachines are helpful, he said, becauseeach item is color-coded to show thecalorie range and the prices are evencheaper than fast food. He’s given upsoda in lieu of Crystal Light.

Because of his job duties, Bybee saidit isn’t practical to change into workout

clothes, so he rides a stationary bicyclefor 20 minutes at work and then for 20more minutes at home. He also liftshand weights at work and at home. Thisyear he has also started doing tai chi athome with an Xbox Kinect video game;this helps him manage stress, he said.

“If you are stressed out, you aregoing to bring the bad habits in,” he said.

Two keys to his success are his wife,Shari, and daughter, Brandi Dickey, hesaid. He and his wife shop for groceriestogether and she makes sure to buyhealthful food. If he tries to sneakunhealthy snacks, she catches him andputs them back on the shelf.

“She is eating the same way and that

is the biggest support,” Bybee said.“They keep me in line. They don’t let mesway.”

His daughter is a nurse and has chil-dren, and that helped motivate him toquit smoking in January. Though it wasdifficult the first 72 hours, that was theworst part, he said.

He tried nicotine patches before, butthat didn’t work. This time he usedfruit-flavored nicotine gum and calledthe state’s tobacco help line, (800) Quit-Now, to help when he struggled. He saidhe eventually weaned himself from thenicotine gum, and switched to Tic Tacswhile he is at work, or simply a cinna-mon toothpick when he is at home.

“I’ve never looked back,” he said. “Ican actually taste all my food again.”

Like many former smokers, Bybeegained a few pounds when he quit. Sohe has also taken to eating celery andcarrot sticks at home.

His main goal is to maintain hisweight at about 190 or 195 pounds. Hesaid when his weight did creep above200 pounds, his cholesterol and triglyc-erides increased, too. He could also feelthe weight gain in his knees and legs, aswell as in his waist.

“When I get under 200 (pounds),I’m a completely different person,”Bybee said. “My disposition is different.I just feel better.”

Lt. Robert Bybee uses a stationary bicycle at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department’s on-site wellness center to stay active andmaintain his weight. PHOTO BY BRENT FUCHS

sept 12, 2012

Documents

Transcript of sept 12, 2012