FLINTCO BUILDS GIANT CRANE TO AID CASINO PROJECT
Next week Jimmy Dishman will face the unenviable task of climbing a 28-story ladder each morning and night, five days a week, for the next six months. Dishman runs tower cranes for Flintco, the Tulsa-based contractor for the $125 million Cherokee Casino and Resort expansion going forward in Catoosa. To build that project's 21-story tower, Flintco is assembling a Liebherr 550 EC-H20 leased from Morrow Equipment Co. of Salem, Ore., at a cost of $80,000 a month.

HOLIDAY SHOPPERS SHELL OUT CASH IN STORES AND ONLINE
Holiday shoppers turned out in droves around the country the three days after Thanksgiving and retailers hope they will continue to spend both in stores and online. Monday marked Cyber Monday, a name given to the Monday after Thanksgiving where retailers have seen a spike in online purchases as people around the country return to work but continue to shop at their desks. A recent survey for Shop.org, conducted by BIGresearch, showed that 54.5 percent of office workers with access to the Internet, accounting for roughly 68.5 million people, will do some of their Christmas shopping on the computer at work. That number is up from 50.7 percent of office workers who shopped for holiday gifts online in 2006.

TULSA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PREPARES ITS $6.2M WEST CAMPUS EXPANSION
Tulsa Community College will start construction Wednesday on a $6.2 million math and science building to keep pace with its growing West Campus. Working from plans by Fritz Bailey Architects of Tulsa, contractor Nabholz Construction of Lenexa, Kan., intends to complete the two-story, 23,000-square-foot structure by January 2009.

IMMIGRATION BILL HITTING RETAILERS, EMPLOYERS
Retailers and employers whose success depends on Latino business and workers have felt the pinch since Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigrant law went into effect on Nov. 1. Some undocumented immigrants have left the state and others are reluctant to venture outside of their homes. Reliable estimates on the number of illegal immigrants that have moved to other states or back to their own country are not available.

WEST NORMAN SITE, FORMERLY TASTE OF CHINA, SLATED FOR JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE
An Oklahoma City restaurant owner recently purchased a former restaurant space in Norman and plans to open a Japanese-style steakhouse after the first of the year. Kwang Soo Go purchased the former Taste of China restaurant just off Interstate 35 in Norman for $1.24 million. The building is in need of roof repair and renovation, but Go plans to customize the space for a sushi bar, 16 hibachi grills and a bar serving alcohol.

BUSINESSES QUESTION PROPOSED AIR QUALITY EMMISSIONS STANDARDS
Businesses whose pollution emissions are regulated by state and federal agencies voiced concern Monday over proposed new rules that would modify how those emissions are reported. The Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Division is revising its rules governing excess emissions and seeking input from the businesses that would be affected by the changes.

NEW TRUCKING TECHNOLOGY MAY BE LUCRATIVE VENTURE
Given the sheer volume of commercial truck traffic nationwide, Scrub Oak Technologies Inc. shouldn't have any problem attracting venture capital for the company's product development, Chief Executive Ann Patten said. "The problem is that smart shock absorbers for trucks just aren't sexy," she said. "The product does not create a buzz for venture capitalists in Oklahoma. It's not bio- or nano- or weather-tech.

CENTURY CLUB: CARL C. MAGEE
Though his invention to this day remains unpopular with many, Carl C. Magee changed the course of traffic and parking history in America with his parking meter. Though his invention to this day remains unpopular with many, Carl C. Magee changed the course of traffic and parking history in America with his parking meter. The first parking meter was installed July 16, 1935, in Oklahoma City. It irked the public. Drivers could no longer park all day in one space without incurring a charge. Cities, on the other hand, enjoyed the added revenue. Metered parking soon caught on worldwide. Today, there are more than five million parking meters in use, manufactured by a number of companies.