Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Citizens of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, OK Anti-Discrimination Law
May 14 2015 // Voters in a northwest Arkansas town have upheld an expanded anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the City Council in February. Preliminary results show the Eureka Springs ordinance was ratified by a 579-231 vote in a...
New Law in Oklahoma Sets Requirements for Public Adjusters
May 13 2015 // Oklahoma’s governor has signed legislation proposed by the state insurance department that specifies certain required and prohibited actions of public adjusters. According to Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak,...
Coalition Wants Well Moratorium in Oklahoma Earthquake Areas
May 12 2015 // A coalition of environmental and grassroots organizations is calling for a moratorium on the use of wastewater disposal wells by the oil and natural gas industry in areas where they may trigger earthquakes. Members of the...
Toward Sensible Risk Management of Earthquake Risk in Energy Production
May 11 2015 // Underground disposal of waste water produced from oil and natural gas wells has been blamed for triggering thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma and a number of other U.S. states since 2009. Heightened seismic...
Oklahoma Texting While Driving Ban Signed by Governor
May 7 2015 // Gov. Mary Fallin added her signature to legislation that makes it illegal to text message while driving in Oklahoma and then issued a challenge to the state’s motorists. “Don’t text and drive in the state...
State of Emergency Declared in Oklahoma Following Severe Storms, Tornados
May 7 2015 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has declared a state of emergency after an outbreak of severe storms that swept across the state on May 6 bringing tornados, high winds, hail and flooding. At least 39 tornados were reported to...
Firefighters Suspect Arson in Fire at Tulsa, Oklahoma Business
May 6 2015 // Tulsa firefighters say a blaze that consumed a midtown vacuum store was intentionally set. Firefighters were called out around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning to the Teter Sweepers business after witnesses reported seeing smoke...
Verisk Expands Wildfire Risk Service to 3 More States
May 5 2015 // Verisk Insurance Solutions has added Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming to its FireLine wildfire risk management service. FireLine provides information to insurers to analyze wildfire risk at the individual address...
Oklahoma-Based The Holmes Organisation Acquired by Hub
May 4 2015 // Hub International Limited (Hub) subsidiary Hub International Midwest Limited (Hub Midwest) has acquired the assets of The Holmes Organisation (Holmes), a Tulsa, Okla.-based multi-line property and casualty, employee...
State Regulation Worked in Red Rock/Foster Jennings Case: Oklahoma Commissioner
May 4 2015 // The circumstances surrounding the liquidation of a small Oklahoma insurer highlight the concern over how effectively state insurance regulators are able assess potential buyers of insurance companies, according to a recent...
Beating Up on Workers’ Comp: Grand Bargain Taking Jabs from Multiple Directions
May 4 2015 // The state-based workers’ compensation system has stayed on its feet for 100 years in part by being able to defend itself against blows and then counterpunch when necessary. It has shown an ability to reform to fit...
Researchers in Oklahoma Developing Seasonal Tornado Forecasts
May 4 2015 // Weather researchers in Oklahoma are working on a method to develop seasonal tornado forecasts that could predict the likelihood of the severe storms weeks in advance. Harold Brooks, senior research scientist at the...
People – South Central
May 4 2015 // Julia Miller Spracklen, J.D., has joined Texas-based independent insurance brokerage firm, Roach Howard Smith & Barton, as vice president of risk services, responsible for overseeing the employees and function of the...
Doak Disputes WSJ Report; Says State Regulation Effective in Red Rock Case
May 4 2015 // The circumstances surrounding the liquidation of a small Oklahoma insurer highlight the concern over how effectively state insurance regulators are able assess potential buyers of insurance companies, according to a recent...
Rough Patches Aside, Oklahoma Comp Reform Works, Advocates Say
May 4 2015 // In his resignation letter to the governor, the first chairman of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission admitted that mistakes had been made in transitioning the state’s workers’ comp system from a...
Oklahoma Ban on Texting and Driving Goes to Governor
Apr 30 2015 // Oklahoma is in line to become the 46th in the nation to pass a ban on texting and driving. A bill passed on April 29 by the House goes to Gov. Mary Fallin, who urged lawmakers in her State of the State speech in February...
Oklahoma High Court Won’t Hear Challenge to Work Comp Alternative
Apr 30 2015 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declined to take up a case challenging the constitutionality of the portion of the state’s workers’ compensation law that allows companies to employ an alternative to...
Jury Trials OK’d for Medical Lawsuits over BP spill Clean Up
Apr 30 2015 // A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled oil spill cleanup workers who sue BP for medical problems that surface later in life have the right to make their case before a jury. The BP oil spill medical settlement reached in...
Oklahoma Driller to Pay $59K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Apr 28 2015 // Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P), a Tulsa, Okla.-based drilling contractor, will pay a former employee $59,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...
Storm Shelter Permit Applications Rise in Moore, Oklahoma
Apr 28 2015 // Applications to build storm shelters have spiked a month after a tornado touched down in Moore, Okla. Moore spokeswoman Deidre Ebrey says officials there have noticed an increase in the number of people applying for storm...
