Catherine Roberts

A new contract imposed on Hostess employees causes striking across the country.

Tulsa workers, at the 11th and Sheridan factory, are joining in.

Employees in the union representing bakery and confectionary workers, as well as employees in the International Union of Operating Engineers, are demonstrating on the southeast corner of 11th and Sheridan, and at the entrances to the campus on Sheridan Avenue and 11th Street.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Mabee center as part of the Tulsa Business Forums.

He talked about this week’s presidential debate, and said that while it’s true that our military's technological capabilities are far greater today than in the past, “we do have these replacement costs coming up, we do have these replacement programs for some of these ships.”

Those include ships in the Navy’s fleet that were built during the Regan era.

He added that the Navy “would like to build 313 ships.”

Two deaths over the weekend are the results of car collisions with deer.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife’s Mike McAllister says while the fatalities are unusual, hitting deer this time of year is not.

“Deer are on the move, looking to breed,” he said. “It’s a time when people travelling in a vehicle need to be paying extra special attention for deer.”

He says we’re about to hit the height of breeding season, “in about another seven to 10 days, and will last for about three weeks.”

The National Research Corporation names St. John Health System a 2012 Consumer Choice Award Winner.

St. John Vice President of Quality and Safety Lisa Medina says one reason she believes St. John has received the recognition is a policy of increased communication with patients and families: “not just waiting for them to ask questions, but to anticipate, doing a lot more anticipating of what the patients need, and what their families are wanting to hear.”

The 2013 Oklahoma Manufacturers Register reports that manufacturing jobs are up in Tulsa. That’s the first time that’s happened in five years.

Dick Havir is the operations manager for the local firm Crane Carrier Company, which manufactures parts for construction and garbage trucks.

He says, although business got off to a slow start this year, in the last few months, it’s been gaining momentum.

Catherine Roberts: So I guess the big question then is: business on an uptick, does that mean that you guys are looking to hire people?

Tulsa police are asking for your help catching cell phone thieves.

They have hit four area phone stores in the past few weeks.

Tulsa Police spokesman Officer Leland Ashley said, “They know what they’re targeting.”

He says they’re breaking in through the glass doors.

“Within a minute or two if not less,” he said, “they’ve grabbed the cell phones, and they’re on their way out.”

He says they’ve taken about 20 or 30 phones at each store and that they’re likely selling the phones on the street for a fraction of their store value.

Checking out e-books and audio books from the Tulsa City-County Library can be done in a matter of minutes, with the help of a free app for your smartphone or tablet.

Overdrive Media’s Digital Bookmobile visited Tulsa Tuesday and Wednesday to familiarize library patrons with the platform.

“It’s just an app you would download right out of your app store, called the Overdrive Media Console,” said Dan Conochan, who staffs the Bookmobile. “There’s a little bit of a set up, just a couple simple steps, and then you can download books.”