Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Panel to Study Texting And Driving Rules
Oct 9 2009 // A legislative panel in Oklahoma plans to investigate the potentially dangerous practice of texting while driving. Oklahoma currently has no state law against the use of cell phones while driving, according to the Insurance...
Insurer Urges Sale of Oklahoma’s CompSource
Oct 9 2009 // The state of Oklahoma could raise between $150 million and $200 million if it sold the agency that writes worker’s compensation insurance to the highest private bidder, officials of a Chandler-based insurance company...
Third Lawsuit Filed Against Oklahoma Eatery Over E. Coli Outbreak
Oct 2 2009 // Attorneys for 14 people sickened by an August 2008 outbreak of E. coli have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $3 million from the operators of a Locust Grove restaurant where the bacteria originated. The complaint was...
Okla. Lawmakers: Halt Denial of Claims to Domestic Violence Victims
Oct 1 2009 // Oklahoma is one of only eight states that allow health insurance companies to classify domestic violence as a “pre-existing condition,” two state lawmakers say. Democratic state Rep. Eric Proctor and Republican...
Insurance Premium Hikes in Oklahoma Double That of Wage Increases
Sep 24 2009 // A report from the White House says health insurance premiums in Oklahoma have risen twice as much as wages since 1999. The report says the cost of premiums is up by 96 percent while wages rose by 47 percent. The 96 percent...
Closely-Watched Oklahoma Pollution Suit Against Big Poultry Goes to Trial
Sep 23 2009 // David Overbey is no scientist, but he says a person doesn’t have to be to see how much the Illinois River has improved in recent years. Overbey, a 67-year-old retired laborer who spends his days fishing the river in...
It Figures
Sep 21 2009 // 1 Million From 1996 to 2008, Oklahoma averaged about 1 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes each year, and according to the National Weather Service the lightning strike total in the state is on the increase for 2009....
Oklahoma Teen Alleges Discrimination by Retail Giant
Sep 21 2009 // A Muslim teenager claims in a federal lawsuit that she was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch clothing store at a Tulsa mall because she wore a head scarf. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in...
Lawmakers Eye Tornado Shelters for Trailer Parks in Oklahoma
Sep 17 2009 // Prompted by a deadly February tornado in southern Oklahoma, a state House panel on Tuesday examined ways to increase the number of tornado shelters at mobile home parks. Reps. Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore, and Samson Buck,...
New Law Boosts Penalties for Drunk Driving in Oklahoma
Sep 9 2009 // A new state law in Oklahoma provides greater protection for children endangered by drunk drivers. Senate Bill 1139, by state Sen. Mary Easley and state Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, allows drunk drivers to face felony...
Oklahoma Considers Privatizing State-backed Workers’ Comp Insurer
Sep 8 2009 // In a recent meeting of a task force considering privatizing Oklahoma’s state-backed workers’ compensation insurer, CompSource Oklahoma, Nevada insurance executives said workers’ comp rates have dropped in...
Multiple Earthquakes Shake Central Oklahoma in 24 Hours
Aug 28 2009 // At least 10 minor earthquakes have shaken central Oklahoma in the past 24 to 36 hours, the most recent occurring early in the morning on Aug. 28, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. This morning’st tremor...
Former Oklahoma Insurance Agent Arrested, Faces Felony Charges
Aug 27 2009 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland announced former insurance agent Richard Wallen has been arrested by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Wallen has been charged with two felony...
Former Oklahoma Agent Sold Insurance Without a License, AG Says
Aug 25 2009 // A former Vinita, Okla., insurance agent will pay more than $4,400 in restitution after pleading guilty to selling insurance without a license, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson reported. William Ronald Harlan,...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Launch Study to Privatize Work Comp Insurer
Aug 7 2009 // A legislative task force has begun a study on how best to privatize CompSource Oklahoma, the agency that provides workers’ compensation insurance in the state. Members of a nine-member task force convened Aug 6. The...
Report: Truck Driver’s Inattention Caused Massive Oklahoma Wreck
Aug 5 2009 // The inattention of a tractor-trailer driver led to a wreck on the Will Rogers Turnpike that killed 10 people in June, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said in a report released Aug. 3. Investigators looking into the June 26...
Survey: Midwest Economy Improving
Aug 4 2009 // The Institute for Supply Management, formerly the Purchasing Management Association, began formally surveying its membership in 1931 to gauge business conditions. The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group uses the same...
Business Moves
Aug 3 2009 // Met Life MetLife Inc. is combining its institutional and individual businesses, as well as its auto and home insurance unit, into a single U.S. business organization. William J. Mullaney, who has served as president of...
Federal Judge: Oklahoma Can’t Seek Damages in Poultry Lawsuit
Jul 24 2009 // Oklahoma can’t pursue monetary damages in its environmental lawsuit against a dozen Arkansas poultry companies because it didn’t name the Cherokee Nation as a plaintiff, a federal judge ruled in a major blow to...
Disaster Aid Sought for Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers
Jul 22 2009 // Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry is seeking federal disaster designation for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers hit hard by extreme weather conditions the past 10 months. Henry said he made the request in a letter to Agriculture...
