OKC CIVIC LIFE
Kings expected at street dedication
Members of the southern alternative rock band Kings of Leon are expected to attend the dedication of a Bricktown street renamed in their honor later this month. The ceremony is planned around the Kings of Leon visit to Oklahoma City on Sept. 27, when the band will headline the grand opening concert for the MAPS 3 downtown park. The city is renaming a short section of East California Avenue between S Joe Carter Avenue and Charlie Christian Avenue, just east of the ballpark, to Kings of Leon Lane.
Of note: Other celebrity street names in Bricktown include Flaming Lips Alley, Vince Gill Avenue and Wanda Jackson Way.
Storm debris collection
Oklahoma City will have crews making two sweeps in September to pick up tree limbs and other debris from parts of town hit hardest by the Aug. 26 storm. Sweeps began last week. Pick-up is limited to residential damage; storm-related tree debris should piled at the curb, separate from other waste, with limbs cut into sections of 10 feet or less. The area designated for free pick-up generally crosses from northwest Oklahoma City through downtown and into southeast, to the far side of Lake Stanley Draper. See okc.gov for details.
Ambulance insurance enrollment open
Enrollment is open throughout September for the EMSAcare emergency ambulance service insurance program. Coverage is $3.65 per month, included in the city utility bill, and extends to all permanent household members, regardless of their age or relationship to each other and even if they don't have medical insurance. Call 2972833 or go to okc.gov/ emsacare to learn more.
Worth noting: EMSAcare covers the full cost of an emergency medical transport after an individual's insurance has paid its share; a typical emergency transport for an individual without insurance can cost more than $1,300.
Present/absent
Mayor David Holt and all eight city council members attended the Aug. 27 regular meeting. The council voted unanimously to send the MAPS 4 proposal to voters on Dec. 10.
Calendar
The city council meets at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 200 N Walker Ave.
• The council is set to introduce an ordinance that would limit the authority of the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning Commission to initiate proposals for historic district designation. A companion resolution, if adopted, warns the Planning Commission against deferring its review of the measure.
• The 15th annual Oklahoma Regatta Festival is Oct. 4-6 in the Boathouse District. Events include rowing on the Oklahoma River, kayaking, dragon boat racing and whitewater rafting.
• Myriad Botanical Gardens' popular fall festival, Pumpkinville, opens Oct. 11 and runs through the 27th. The Children's Garden will be given over to decorations by local artists, crafts and games, and 16,000 pumpkins; the annual event is a fundraiser for the Myriad Gardens Foundation.
• Dec. 5 is the new deadline for advocates of a dedicated sales tax for parks to turn in signatures at the city clerk's office. Short on signatures and with a deadline coming up in about a week, proponents decided to refile their initiative petition, first introduced in June, and start over.