MASSIVE POWER OUTAGES DRIVE THOUSANDS TO HOTELS
You'd think Marilyn Kraemer would be able to pull some strings to get a warm room for the night. But the general manager of Courtyard Marriott hotel on Northwest Expressway was running into the same problem as many of her guests. When she lost electricity at home Monday morning because of the ice storm, she found the hotel was already full. Occupancies at other hotels were running near 100 percent as well, managers reported. - Brian Brus

OKC AIRPORT AWAITS OK TO FLY AGAIN
Flight traffic at Will Rogers World Airport was reduced by at least 60 percent Monday with cancellations in and out of the city by major carriers, airport spokeswoman Jennifer James McCollum said. - Brian Brus

STATE SENATOR CONTINUES BATTLE WITH GROCERY TAX
The battle between state Sen. Jay Paul Gumm and the Oklahoma Municipal League won't end until a law is passed to remove the state sales tax on groceries or until Gumm is no longer in office, whichever comes first. - Janice Francis-Smith

HARGROVE LEAVES CRRC TO START NEW BROKERAGE
After six years with Commercial Realty Resources Co., broker Aaron Hargrove has launched The Apartment Brokerage Team, a Tulsa firm with plans to add offices in Oklahoma City and Little Rock. - Kirby Lee Davis

SURVEY: TULSA HIRING TO OUTPACE OKC
Oklahoma City employers are expected to hire at a mild pace during the first quarter of next year, while Tulsa-area employers are expected to hire at a much hotter pace, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. - Jerry Shottenkirk

TREE SERVICE FIRMS CAPITALIZE ON ICE
A winter ice storm that proved a disaster to many Oklahoma homeowners provided a blessing of sorts to Oklahoma's tree service industry in what is otherwise a slow time of the year. - Kirby Lee Davis