Mayfest Fun, Garden Giveaways, and Water Bond Advances: Your Tulsa News Roundup

Good morning, this is Tulsa Local Pulse for Friday, May 9, 2025. We wake up to blue skies and mild temps in the metro this morning. Highs are set to reach the mid-70s, making it perfect weather for all the action happening downtown today. It’s a big day for Tulsa with Mayfest kicking off in the Tulsa Arts District. Our city’s spring signature festival runs today through Sunday, with this year’s theme “Stay Gold” paying homage to S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, a true Tulsa legacy. Mayfest is free and always a crowd favorite, so we expect plenty of folks out enjoying the art, music, and food along Archer and Main. Watch for road closures around 101 East Archer and keep an eye out for the new Mayfit 5K and 1K fun run tomorrow morning, supporting The Outsiders House Museum. If you’re coming down, plan for parking and take advantage of public transit or rideshare when you can. In other happenings, gardeners and plant lovers can stop by the 7th Annual Backyard Passalong Plant Sale in Glenpool this afternoon from 1 to 4. That’s at 1038 East 133rd Street. Tonight, for something different, The Dinner Detective Mystery Show pops up at the Hilton Garden Inn in Broken Arrow. The show runs six to nine and includes dinner and interactive fun. Turning to city hall, the council recently advanced a $40 million bond for city water and public works improvements, and approved nearly $2 million in new grants for local violence intervention efforts. A zoning change for residential development near West 8th Street and South 45th West Avenue is also moving forward, which may soon bring new single-family homes to that area. Meanwhile, plans for more downtown farmers markets are back on the agenda, aiming to boost local shopping options and community events. In jobs and real estate, Tulsa’s unemployment rate remains stable, hovering around four percent as of this week. The spring housing market is seeing a modest uptick in home listings, with about 1,200 homes currently for sale across the county and median prices just over two hundred thousand dollars. Several local businesses are hiring ahead of busy summer months, especially in hospitality, tech, and logistics. School pride shines as Booker T. Washington’s track and field team captured state titles in the 4x400 relay, and several local high school students have been named National Merit Scholars. Congratulations to all our students and educators finishing the year strong. On the public safety front, Tulsa police reported a car burglary spree overnight near Utica Square with several vehicles broken into, but no injuries. Extra patrols are in the area, so please remember to lock up and remove valuables. No major violent incidents have been reported in the past 24 hours, and authorities remind us to stay aware, especially with crowds expected downtown for Mayfest. Finally, a feel-good note: volunteers from Kendall-Whittier are planting new community gardens this weekend, bringing neighbors together to beautify our st This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.