According to news release:

The adventures continue with a guided “Pirates Quest” zip line tour that will run diagonally across the peninsula. The tour consists of five zip lines, ranging from 312 feet to 1,300 feet, two towers and one 80 ft suspension bridge. The tour accommodates groups of 10 guests at one time and lasts approximately two hours. Guests will learn about the great Colorado River basin and the historic Route 66, while zipping in style.

The zip lines will be operational in June.

Pirate Cove also is adding another zip line called the Rum Runner that can go as fast as 55 mph. Other additions include an 80-foot “Plank Walk” Powerfan Freefall and an 80-foot  ”Bosun Swing.”

The newspaper reported:

Renovations will include landscaping upgrades to islands along the roadway along with new signage that will include a Route 66 theme.

Landscaping within the village’s TIF district will be made along Joliet Road to 135th and landscape island improvements will be completed from McKool Avenue south to Renwick Road, said assistant village manager Dawn Caldwell.

The project is expected to cost an estimated $1.4 million.

The city should know by October whether it will win the grant. Funds would come from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program.

More about Tulsa Art Deco, from a 2008 film by Jack Frank:

Local artist William Franklin, president and founder of the museum, plans to have the museum open throughout Mayfest — the same event where he got his idea for the museum in 2009.

A special open house event is scheduled 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the museum. Refreshments will be provided.

The museum has already drawn some tourists, he added. Groups from Canada and Singapore have stopped by on their treks along Route 66. [...]

The main room includes a tiny theater booth that can hold a couple of viewers to watch such films as Jack Frank’s documentaries on Tulsa history. Each side of the booth is decorated with elements from Art Deco regions – one wall, for example, features examples of Miami’s Art Deco buildings.

The room is also a gift shop, with items including Franklin’s own “Decopolis Studio” line of Tulsa history greeting cards, toy cars and plans made in streamline style.

The windows along the Philcade lobby are filled with objects and memorabilia, from glittering party gowns and toiletry sets to common household objects such as space heaters that, thanks to the Art Deco influence, look more like works of art.

The Museum also will host its third annual Deco Ball fundraiser on 8 p.m. June 9 in the penthouse of the Philcade.

The museum also has a Facebook page here. The Tulsa Preservation Commission also maintains a list of Art Deco buildings.

Cadiz Inc., which got its name from a small town near Route 66, initially drilled water wells to irrigate grapevines and citrus trees in the desert. The company now has something bigger in mind:

The company is pushing ahead with a proposal to pump enough groundwater every year to supply 100,000 homes and sell it to urban Southern California at prices that could, over the project’s 50-year life, reap $1 billion to $2 billion in revenue. [...]

At times sounding like they are describing a major oil discovery, Cadiz officials are pitching the project as a dependable alternative to water deliveries from Northern California and the Colorado River that have been squeezed by drought and environmental regulations. [...]

Federal lands surround the 34,000 acres the company owns just south of Route 66 near the old railroad stop of Cadiz. A half-dozen congressionally designated wilderness areas are close by. About 15 miles to the north lies the 1.6-million-acre Mojave National Preserve, managed by the National Park Service.

Cadiz’s proposed network of 30 wells, each about 1,000 feet deep, would pump groundwater that flows from beneath these public lands and is replenished by rain and snowmelt from their mountain ranges: the Providence and New York, the Marble and the Clipper.

Environmentalists worry over whether pumping out all that water will affect natural springs that sustain wildlife in oases sprinkled throughout the desert. Critics also fret that the government will be stuck with a bill in hundreds of millions in subsidies for the project if debt-laden Cadiz Inc. goes under.

The Times also spelled out my biggest concern:

Cadiz intends to withdraw more water every year than nature puts back in the ground, lowering the groundwater table and depleting the aquifer. By how much, and whether that will harm the fragile desert environment of nearby public lands, remain important questions.

No one really knows the rate of natural groundwater replenishment in the 1,300-square-mile area that drains toward the Cadiz operation. Scientists can only estimate it based largely on conceptual modeling that has yielded a wide range of numbers over the years.

Federal hydrologists and scientists hired by environmental groups say the natural recharge rate is at most half — and could be less than a sixth — of what Cadiz’s experts say it is.

And the Southwest has repeatedly underestimated water demand or overestimated the capacity of the region’s aquifers. Count me in as one of the people open-minded about this project, but very uneasy about its possible repercussions.

The extension would begin at County Highway 29 north of Towanda and connects an old alignment of Route 66. The state of Illinois would cover 80 percent of the $1 million cost. The county’s share would be just under $50,000.

The county board approved the application by a 15-3 vote.

“We are talking about an enhancement for the community and the benefits of an extension of a bike trail may show up in other areas,” said board member George Gordon.

“This is a great investment for our community,” said board member Sondra O’Connor.

“There is an old saying about being pound foolish and a penny saved. Well, we would look like idiots if we turned this down.”

MoDOT is replacing the Highway 100 bridge that goes over Interstate 44 between Gray Summit and the west edge of Villa Ridge. A Google Street View image of the bridge can be seen here.

The bridge work will force a lengthy detour for both eastbound and westbound travelers on I-44 nightly from Tuesday through Thursday. MoDOT’s detour maps can be seen here.

And the interstate will see lane closures through much of the project. Officials are expecting travel delays in that area through the summer.

Travel on Highway 100, aka Route 66, in that area will be closed through the entire project. MoDOT says detour signs will be posted for local traffic.

Here’s a report by KPLR-TV in St. Louis:

Selby opened his first pizza restaurant at 11th Street (aka Route 66) near Harvard Avenue in Tulsa. It soon was named Ken’s, which later became Mazzio’s.

The original restaurant is still there, although it’s been extensively renovated over the years. The Mazzio’s corporation now counts more than 160 restaurants in nine states.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Mazzio’s, Selby braved summer heat, narrow highway shoulders, and chiggers to walk about 100 miles from Oklahoma City to the original eatery on 11th.

An interesting excerpt from the World’s obituary:

Greg Lippert, Mazzio’s president and CEO, said Selby was an inspiring figure.

“Ken was born to Depression-era parents; he was not a man of means when he came into this world or while growing up,” he said. “He achieved what he did through sheer determination and hard work. The Ken Selby story is a uniquely American story.

“And Ken never forgot where he came from,” Lippert said. “He was comfortable talking to governors and heads of state or to one of our employees making pizzas on a Friday night. He always had great respect for the hourly employees and their vital importance to the company.”

A memorial is set for 2 p.m. May 22 at the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa. His remains were cremated. Survivors included his wife, five children, three sisters, and seven grandchildren.