Biz Buzz

New Living. Need some swanky new digs not far from the downtown area, or just wanting to move? The Eleventh Street Lofts, 2002 E. 11th St., are up and running and wanting new tenants. The 10 new urban lofts sit in a restored 1920s building that offers some interesting amenities, such as open floor plans with stained concrete floors, exposed beams, granite countertops and cool appliances. The lofts are starting off at $950 and offer more than 660 square feet. To get more information, call 627-5446 or visit groupminvestment.com.

Back to the Drawing Board. Street School, 1135 S. Yale Ave., has elected six new members to its board of directors. Jarrod L. Compton with Bank of Oklahoma, Elizabeth Frame-Ellison with the Taylor Lobeck Foundation, Judy Gadlage with Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Connie Lee Kirkland with Williams, Susan Thomas community volunteer, and Allison Starke with Schnake Turnbo Frank | PR have joined the other 10 members in Street School Board of Directors in making decisions for the school. Street School is a tuition-free, alternative school that provides a supportive community for students who have chosen to continue their education in a non-traditional means. For more information, streetschool.org.

Greener Green Country. After its creation this past year, Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma has begun seven pilot programs for businesses and organizations who would like to be ECO certified that they're reducing their environmental impact. The participants of the pilot program include Colcord Hotel, Science Museum of Oklahoma, Maple Place Bed and Breakfast, Keystone State Park, Blackwell Information Center, the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and The Polo Grill. "The certification is meant to be a journey," said Dianne Wilkins, pollution prevention manager at the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. "Facilities will be asked to report their progress and establish new goals. We do not want the program to be accused of any greenwashing and will work with properties to take the necessary steps needed to achieve recognition." OTRD and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality have teamed up to create ECO. For more information, visit travelOK.com.

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Big Projects. Locally owned and operated full-service home improvement company 1st Choice Exteriors, in partnership with their new 1st Choice Restoration division, has recently initiated the first ever Project Give Back to reinvest a portion of their profits back into the surrounding community. Through an online open forum project submission and voting process, the public will get to decide exactly where and how these funds are used.

During 1st Choice Exteriors first year of operation, they had the opportunity to provide the roof on Habitat for Humanity Tulsa's landmark 200th home. Since the completion of that project in May of 2009, the changes in the national and local economy has negatively affected many businesses as well as the individuals associated with those businesses.

The current phase of Project Give Back involves the submission of feedback and ideas involving what the first Project Give Back will be.

Starting at 12pm on April 1, the second phase of Project Give Back will begin with opening the Web site for voting on the projects previously submitted online. Everyone will be eligible to participate in the poll and ultimately choose the winning project during the month of April.

The submitted idea that wins the title of the Project Give Back will be completed during the summer of 2010 by the team at 1st Choice Exteriors and 1st Choice Restoration.

Founded in October of 2008, 1st Choice Exteriors LLC offers complete home protection and improvement options. With services ranging from total roof replacement to new flooring, they can assist you from top to bottom with your needs. Operating under the belief that your home is an investment worth protecting, this belief system is being extended to protect the investment being made in the communities that surround them with Project Give Back. If you are interested in volunteering with Project Give Back you can include your availability when submitting your project on-line.

Writing Right. The Woodhull Institute's renowned "Raise Your Voice" nonfiction writing workshop is coming to the University of Tulsa campus March 6 and 7. Nationally prominent nonfiction professionals will show participants how to write editorials, opinion pieces, magazine articles and nonfiction book proposals that get noticed and get published. Participants receive writing instruction, one-on-one critique and fundamental knowledge about blogging and publishing.

Authors and journalists Barbara Victor ("Army of Roses: Inside the World of Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers"), Catherine Orenstein ("Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale"), and Melissa Walker ("Violet by Design") will be leading the Tulsa workshop sessions on topics including book proposals, feature writing, editorial writing and the blogosphere.

Alumnae of this seminar now write for The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Salon, Bitch Magazine, Glamour, Christian Science Monitor, and many others.

Registration costs are $295 ($25 for current University of Tulsa students). To register visit:

HYPERLINK "http://www.woodhull.org/secureRetreatPayment.php?title=Writers"; http://www.woodhull.org/secureRetreatPayment.php?title=Writers

Finally! Renewing your vehicle registration tag just got quicker and easier because Oklahomans can now renew online through the state's official Convenient Auto Renewal System (CARS). The secure online service is available at http://CARS.OK.gov, providing access for Oklahomans' commercial, non-commercial and farm vehicle registration renewals.

CARS also allows Oklahomans to sign up to receive an email when it is time to renew their tag with the Tax Commission's "Remind Me" utility. Reminders will be sent the first day of the expiration month entered into the utility.

"CARS is intended to make renewing car tags a convenient, simple and easy process for all individuals," said Paula Ross, Oklahoma Tax Commission spokesperson. "CARS is open around the clock every day, including weekends, nights and holidays."

Motorists have the option to pay for their registration with EFT payments, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. The payments are processed through a secure payment engine, which abides by rigorous policies and procedures to ensure that Oklahomans can be confident that their payments are safe, private, and secure.

In the future, the system will be built to accommodate for other registration types such as military and mobile home.

The Convenient Auto Renewal System is a product of a partnership between the Oklahoma Tax Commission and OK.gov, Oklahoma's Official Web site that allows for no tax dollars to be used to build, operate, or maintain the service online.