Tulsa County District Court has suspended all in-person hearings because of a spike in cases of the Chinese coronavirus in metro area.

The suspension started December 8 and will continue through January 11. Jury trials will be suspended until February 1, 2021, due to problems with collecting a jury pool. Jurors who have been summoned for that time frame will be excused from duty.

In a statement, officials wrote, “All areas of the courthouse occupied by judges, judicial staff, court clerks working in judicial offices, as well as courtrooms, are closed to the public during this time period with exceptions for necessary and emergency matters.”

More coronavirus relief

On December 2, the Tulsa City Council approved $4,781,250 in funding for Phase 3 projects, part of the COVID-19 Relief programming to help in Tulsa’s economic recovery during the pandemic.

“For the past four years, we have focused on becoming a globally competitive, world-class city,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “In the face of the current public health and economic crisis, we are more committed than ever to investing in initiatives that will help Tulsa build a strong, resilient economy.”

About $3.1 million of the funds will go toward a partnership between the City of Tulsa and Tulsa Community WorkAdvance (TCW).  Under the name Retrain Tulsa, TCW will use the funds fora new hub that will expand its physical facility in Downtown Tulsa and online space to provide career counseling, skills training and retraining for a new career. TCW has helped more than 1,700 Tulsans find employment.

“Madison Strategies Group is excited to partner with the City of Tulsa and other organizations across the community to launch Retrain Tulsa and empower job seekers to access a variety of career services and businesses can find the workers they need,” said Karen Pennington, executive director of MSG and Retrain Tulsa. 

Retrain Tulsa aims to help at least 500 Tulsans over a two-year period find jobs in industries such as healthcare, information technology, professional services and manufacturing.

Councilors also approved $1.2 million to support business incubation for startup companies and entrepreneurs. The City will partner with 36 Degrees North, a local nonprofit organization that supports innovators, to transform the currently vacant 5th floor of City Hall into a state-certified business incubator.

“36 Degrees North is excited to launch this new, high-growth business incubation space. It will be a true public-private partnership with the City of Tulsa that will drive economic impact in our community through entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Devon Laney, the president and CEO of 36 Degrees North.

Last year, the nonprofit served 285 companies that helped create and retain more than 1,000 jobs in Tulsa.

A third project approved on December 2 was a new methamphetamine treatment plan at 12&12, an addiction recovery center for adults.

“Methamphetamine kills more Tulsans than any other illicit substance, and the need for addiction treatment in Tulsa is growing as the pandemic worsens anxiety and other mental health challenges,” said Tricia Mason, 12&12’s Chief Operating Officer.

The program wants to treat an estimated 400 new clients to treat methamphetamine addiction. This project will be funded with $252,000.

Another item approved by the Council is $89,000 in ongoing funding for two City personnel handling the project progress and communication of the Coronavirus Relief Funds until the end of next fiscal year.

No confidence vote

The  City Council also voted 7-2 to approve a no-confidence vote in City Attorney David O’Meilia’s qualifications and fitness to do his job.

The declaration also states that councilors no longer want O’Meilia as the city attorney. Councilors Jeannie Cue and Phil Lakin were the no votes.

Because of a recent change, the city attorney is a civil service employee and can’t be fired without cause. The mayor is the only one who can fire the city attorney and Bynum has not publicly announced plans.