Shagah Zakerion reminded us we can do the impossible
“We are a city where the impossible has happened – Black Wall Street, Oil Capital of the World. If we rest on our laurels, we will lose out on that tenacity.”
Shagah said this as her “Tulsa hot take,” when asked a year ago in her Best of Tulsa interview with the great Luke Leifeste.
It’s quotes like these that help you understand just how vital Shagah was to what Tulsa is today. So many people posted tributes to her after her death was announced last week.
She was a kind force in our community who didn’t mind pushing hard when she needed to.
She helped Tulsans believe they could do something great.
Magic City Books President and Co-Founder Jeff Martin said in his tribute: “Despite decades of challenges that would make most justifiably bitter and resentful, Shagah chose a different path.”
Shagah was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager and fought it for 20 years. She wasn’t supposed to live more than a decade.
That didn’t stop her from raising the ranks of a number of organizations, making a dent in each one. During her time as the executive director of TYPROS, which is focused on helping Tulsa’s young professionals, she and her team brought Uber to Tulsa in the app’s earliest days, along with Trader Joe’s and other things she felt like we deserved as a city. So many doubted they could happen.
While some would say “Why Tulsa?” Shagah asked “Why not Tulsa?”
Shagah was just 39 years old.
Shagah, thank you for being you.
A celebration of life party is set for Cain’s Ballroom on Nov. 16. RSVP at shagahzakerion.com.
Quotable quotes
On coaching
“I’m not going to keep coaching if it means my kids grow up screwed up.”
– University of Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule, who said his 13-year-old daughter told him that a man at the stadium came up to her and cussed at her after a loss.
On dating today
“We need to ask the uncomfortable question: Is making something easier always a good thing?”
– Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, Hinge and other dating apps. The company announced that it won’t allow AI agents access to its apps. They want humans connecting with other humans, according to the unlocked op-ed in the New York Times.
On Western Civilization
“It’s not the place to put your friends. It’s not the place to put the richest people you know. It’s a place to put people who understand Western Civilization … and where we should be headed as a nation, not people who just know what our rank is nationally in terms of NCAA football.”
– Original Constitutional Principles Affecting Culture organization leader Bob Linn talking about Mike Mazzei’s ability to pick better members of the boards of regents that govern Oklahoma’s colleges and universities. The event was the day after the election and the governor-elect attended. The press was allowed to cover the event until Mazzei was about to speak. Members of his team asked the press to leave.
On values
“Thanks to you we can be a beacon of life to patriotic Americans that want to come to somewhere where we’re gonna have lower taxes. And we’re gonna respect individual freedom. And we’re going to welcome others that believe in being good to one another and that love Christian biblical values.”
– What Mike Mazzei said after the press left, which was recorded by Linn and given to The Oklahoman. William C. Wertz, The Oklahoman’s opinion editor, talked about the OCPA event in a recent column.
On the road
“This is a huge public safety issue in Oklahoma when it comes to somebody driving an 80,000-pound truck who has not been trained properly, can’t read and speak English.”
– Oklahoma Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton about a program to get illegal and unqualified commercial drivers off the roads. The Tulsa World’s Randy Krehbiel has the details.
Notable numbers
67,263
– The difference between the unofficial vote totals of governor-elect Mike Mazzei and his Democrat opponent Rep. Cyndi Munson in Tuesday’s election. That is telling when you look at the voting precinct map above, created by the Tulsa Flyer’s Anna Colletto.
46%
– What the statewide voter turnout was, per unofficial results. Tulsa County was about 47%, while Comanche County, home to Munson, was 37%. The Tulsa Flyer’s Anne Colletto has the details.
0
– The amount of federal tax paid by 114 companies, including Tesla, Walt Disney, United Airlines and DoorDash, according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
50 to 60%
– The number of horticulture jobs filled by the City of Tulsa’s Parks and Recreation department. Eight of those jobs help maintain 20 parks across the city. The Tulsa Flyer’s Sam Stockley with Documenters was at a recent board meeting where this was discussed.
1 second
– The amount of time it takes to make one box of Cheerios at the General Mills plant in Buffalo, New York. The company has teamed up with Ziploc to make the first resealable bag inside a traditional cereal box. Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios with a Ziploc PantrySeal bag are available exclusively at Walmart.com. They will roll out to retailers nationwide in the coming months.
1 in 4
– The number of patients who were admitted through an emergency room who spent at least four hours waiting before getting a bed in 2024. It was 1 in 8 in 2017. In this unlocked Wall Street Journal story, the rate of people boarded in the E.R. for at least 24 hours tripled during that time. An ER doctor said it’s only going to get worse.
120 degrees
– The temperature hackers cranked the heat up to in supermarket freezers across a half-dozen countries in Europe, just weeks after 700 French supermarkets had their freezers disrupted. The unidentified hackers seem to know how to take control of internet-based computers that stores and refrigeration firms use to oversee the systems, according to this unlocked WSJ story.
6 percent
– The decline in homelessness in the United States last year, the largest decline since an annual count began nearly two decades ago. That’s about 47,000 people, according to this unlocked NTY article.
This & That
Mayfest is back where it used to be, along East Third and Main Street, according to the Tulsa Flyer’s Tim Landes.
Google says that if school districts want to turn off AI tools in his software for K-12 students, that’s not a problem. They’ll just also lose access to Google search.
First Friday is very Tulsa
We spent a date night thanks to good weather at the First Friday Art Crawl last week in downtown Tulsa.
We loved how Guthrie Green was set up with tents of local art and crafts. We ate at the bar at The Tavern, grabbed a piece of pie and a Scotch-a-roo at Antoinette Bakery & Cafe.
And then across the street we enjoyed a concert inside the Vintage Barbie Museum with Cassi Stephan. Cassi keeps making albums with a new one coming in the new year. We last saw her at the piano in the living room of the Treehouse on Reservoir Hill for a concert.
Think of First Friday next time you want some of the best of Tulsa.
One last thing
Tulsan and NFL referee Clay Martin, who is also the athletics director at Jenks High School, had to explain the reason for a penalty Sunday during the Dallas Cowboys game. He got specific.
Thank you for reading this movement I am on toward truth and understanding in Tulsa. Remember, there is no cavalry. It’s up to us. All together now. jc
One invite this week:
Join Tulsa Press Club members and friends at the next Morning Edition coffee networking event, brought to you by Honeymoon.
We will serve a light breakfast and coffee. There’s no cost to attend, but would appreciate your RSVP to get you through security quickly.
Thanks to News on 6 for hosting us at its downtown studio. LeAnne Taylor will welcome us.
When: 8:30-10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18
Where: News on 6, 303 N. Boston Ave.
RSVP: andrea.myers@wearehoneymoon.com
The Collington Index is a free weekly news summary written by Jason Collington that explains quickly what’s important and interesting, shared in weekly wraps, popular lists, conversations and cheat sheets. Skim or go deep. A movement toward truth and understanding in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Subscribe for free on Substack to get an email newsletter each Tuesday morning. See the archive at collingtonindex.com.
