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Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak recently announced that a proposed new law paves the way for more insurance companies to do business in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 1617, requested by Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, caps the premium tax on captive insurance companies at $100,000. Captive insurance refers to a subsidiary corporation that provides insurance to the parent company and its affiliates. It allows corporations and groups to take financial control and manage risks by underwriting their own insurance rather than paying premiums to third-party insurers.

Tri-State Coatings, Inc. will host an Industry Day on July 11 at Louisiana Technical College, 2010 North Market in Shreveport, LA, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guest speaker is Troy Niles, who will talk about the "State of the Industry."

Moe Fawaz describes what happened Monday morning when gunfire suddenly pierced the air of his auto body shop in Detroit. “Everyone was screaming and running for their lives, basically. It’s like being in a war zone,” he said.

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Now a local car garage is stepping up to make sure little Caylee Fleming, who has cerebral palsy and sight impairment, gets the equipment she needs. Greg's Auto Body and Sales at 500 New Haven Ave. in Milford, is holding a car wash fundraiser ...

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Andy's Auto Body is working on a food drive for Community Hope Center and preparing for its annual golf tourney to benefit 5As. The Andy's Auto Body Golf Tourney For 5As is set for Saturday, Aug. 4, at Rolling Hills Golf Course in ...

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Alabama's economy performed worse than almost every state's last year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The agency said Alabama's economy, as measured by gross domestic product, contracted 0.8 percent in 2011, worse than every state except Mississippi and Wyoming. GDP is the broadest measure of an economy, measure all goods and services produced. Alabama's GDP figure in 2011 was $150.33 billion, lower than the figure for 2008.

The BEA said 43 states managed GDP gains in 2011, led by North Dakota with a 7.6 percent gain. The states averaged a gain of 1.5 percent, down from 3.1 percent in 2010.

Wyoming's economy was weakest in 2011, shrinking 1.2 percent. Mississippi was No. 49, with a contraction of 0.8 percent. Alabama was No. 48.

Alabama's dismal performance last year was better than in 2009, when the state's economy shrank by 5 percent. In 2010, it expanded by 2.3 percent, the BEA says.

The Canton Nissan plant in Mississipi began making the Altima back in 2004, and now its employees will work on the new, fifth-generation model, as the 2013 model year car has begun rolling off the line.

The Canton plant, which also builds body-on-frame trucks, has put full priority on the 2013 Altima, building it in three shifts.

The new 2013 model year midsize sedan is actually based on the old model’s platform, but it has been heavily restyled and modified.

The base 2013 Altima comes with a 2.5-liter 182hp inline-four, starting at $21,500 and the top-of-the line model gets a 3.5-liter V6, in SL trim, it will grab just over $30,000.

“Today’s successful start of production of the Nissan Altima, our top-selling vehicle, only can happen because of the support of our dedicated workforce in Canton,” said Bill Krueger, vice chairman, Nissan Americas. “The Canton team builds among the highest-quality vehicles in the industry, and we are looking forward to bringing their production expertise to the next generation of this award-winning car.”

Gadsden State Community College students continued their winning tradition at the Alabama SkillsUSA Leadership Conference recently in Birmingham.

Seven gold medals, four silver medals and four bronze medals were awarded to students from the Ayers, East Broad and Valley Street campuses.

The gold medal winners will advance to the 48th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference, a showcase of career and technical education students, on June 23-27 in Kansas City, Mo.

More than 22,000 people have applied for 877 new jobs at Hyundai's Montgomery auto plant, with the majority of applicants coming from south-central Alabama.

The final tally of applica­tions was 22,508, according to officials at the plant. Now the pool is being whittled down through diagnostic testing, interviews and hands-on assessments.

The South Korean auto­maker is adding a third shift there to meet growing de­mand for its products.

A federal jury convicted Emmanuel Duran, 28, Raheem Brown, 24, and John Bowie, 23, of the armed robberies of pharmacies in Philadelphia between February and May 2010 and convicted Duran and Brown of robbing the A&G Auto Body at 2015 N. 19th Street in Philadelphia. All of the defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to distribute the narcotics they sold, and related weapons offenses.