Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawmakers OK Louisiana Workforce Bill
Jun 25 2008 // A bill backed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that aims to reform the state’s workforce development system won final legislative approval, the Louisiana Department of Labor announced. The bill, HB 1104, requires the...
Insurance to Cover Settlement Between Okla. Town, Mentally Ill Man’s Estate
Jun 20 2008 // Officials in a Tulsa, Okla., suburb and the estate of a mentally ill man have settled a federal lawsuit over his August 2002 fatal shooting by police, officials said. Insurance coverage for the city of Owasso will cover...
New Insurance Law Riling Residents of Storm Damaged Okla. Town
Jun 18 2008 // Five weeks after many of them lost their homes to a powerful tornado, Picher, Okla., residents are expressing frustration about a new state insurance law that is affecting the buyout process for residents of the polluted...
Cost of Claims From Hailstorms in Oklahoma Could Top $20M
Jun 16 2008 // Hail damage claims from storms that hit Oklahoma in early June could easily top $20 million, an insurance industry source says, matching the cost of a similar storm in April. Meanwhile, nearly 1,260 electric company...
Weather Is a Big Deal in South Central States
Jun 16 2008 // Well before the June 1 start of hurricane season claims costs from weather related damages were on a steady climb across the South Central states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. Late May, early June hailstorms...
Reduced Okla. Supreme Court Caseload Attributed to Reforms, Mediation
Jun 10 2008 // Legislative reforms and mediated lawsuits are responsible for a decline in the number of appeals and court actions handled by the Oklahoma Supreme Court over the past few years. The Tulsa World examined eight years of...
Oklahoma Hail Damage Claims From Recent Storm Could Top $20M
Jun 5 2008 // Hail damage claims from this past weekend’s storm could easily top $20 million, an insurance industry source says, matching the cost of a similar area storm in April. Meanwhile, nearly 1,260 electric company...
Oklahoma Town Surveys Damage From Severe Storm
Jun 4 2008 // Local officials and insurance adjusters in Mannford, Okla., are assessing widespread damage from a June 1 hailstorm that pounded more than 1,000 homes and vehicles. City Manager Mike Nunneley said every home – about...
Tulsa County DA to Get Case of Former Insurance Commissioner
Jun 3 2008 // A district judge in Oklahoma has turned over handling of the tax-evasion case of former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office. Since the venue where Fisher has been...
Okla. Lawmaker With Insurance Industry Ties Won’t Run Again
Jun 2 2008 // Ron Peterson, the Oklahoma lawmaker who blocked health insurance mandates after getting thousands of dollars in contributions from insurance companies, is only one of a growing list of Republican House leaders opting to...
Guns in Locked Cars at Workplace OK under Louisiana Senate Bill
May 23 2008 // Employees in Louisiana would have the right to keep a legally owned firearm locked in their car in a parking lot at their place of work, if the House goes along with a bill approved 28-4 in the state Senate. Senator Joe...
Texas Regulators OK Reinsurance Plan for Wind Pool
May 22 2008 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin has approved the Texas Windstorm Association’s request for increased reinsurance for the 2008 hurricane season. TWIA, the state-backed “insurer of last resort”;...
Oklahoma Senate Approves Measure to Curb Copper Theft Epidemic
May 20 2008 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation intended to curb the growing problem of copper theft. Senate Bill 1856, authored by Sen. Cliff Branan, R-Oklahoma City, would increase fines and punishments for the crime of...
Damages Mount – again – In Storm-battered South Central States
May 19 2008 // Storms have caused more than $3 billion in damages this year, insurance group says As the town of Picher, Okla., began to climb out of the wreckage of the deadly tornadoes that swept across Southeastern Oklahoma, Missouri...
South Central Workers’ Comp Markets Show Signs of Improvement
May 19 2008 // Arkansas Workers’ comp premium rates in Arkansas will continue on the declining path they have followed since the state passed workers’ compensation legislative reform in 1993, when a 12.8 percent rate decrease...
Oklahoma Governor Vetoes Lawsuit Reform Bill
May 19 2008 // Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry in mid-May vetoed lawsuit reform legislation he said conflicts with an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision on a similar bill that the court found unconstitutional two years ago. Henry vetoed the...
Oklahoma AG Warns of Fraud in Storm-Damaged Areas
May 16 2008 // Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s office is warning consumers in areas battered by recent storms to beware of fraudsters seeking to take advantage of storm weary property owners. Investigators in the...
Oklahoma House Override of Tort Reform Bill Veto Falls Short
May 14 2008 // Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of legislation intended to make it tougher to file some lawsuits was sustained when House Democrats blocked a Republican-led override attempt. House members voted 55-42 on a motion to...
Recent Tornadoes Underscore Risks of Taking Shelter in Cars
May 14 2008 // Trapped in his car on the way to a friend’s wedding, Rick Rountree and his family never stood a chance once a tornado packing winds of 170 mph hit southwest Missouri. “It’s like taking a handful of...
Okla. AG: LaQuinta to Offer Free Rooms to Overcharged Ice Storm Victims
May 13 2008 // Oklahomans who were overcharged for hotel rooms during the December 2007 ice storms will receive free rooms or refunds after Attorney General Drew Edmondson settled a price gouging case against LaQuinta Inns. The...
