Business Briefs

Independence commissioning set

The U.S. Navy has approved Jan. 16 as the commissioning date for the littoral combat ship Independence, according to the USS Independence Commissioning Committee.

The ceremony will include a boat parade, fireworks, a concert by the Navy band and a military flyover, according to the committee, headed by former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow.

"We are extremely excited," Dow said. "This is going to be the biggest party that Mobile has seen in a long time."

One of two models the Navy is considering for its next generation of shallow-water warships, Independence was built at Austal USA in Mobile. The last time a Mobile-built warship was commissioned in the city was in World War II, according to retired Navy Capt. Hal Pierce.

The Navy announced earlier this year that Mobile beat out Philadelphia and San Diego, Independence's future homeport, as the site where the ship will be put into service.

Fundraising efforts are just getting under way, and the committee has set up a Web site at http://ussindepen-

denceship.org.

ThyssenKrupp to hold job fair

ThyssenKrupp Steel USA and ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA will hold a job fair Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Wilcox Central High School in Camden, Ala., the steelmaker said. The school is located at 1310 T.L. Threadgill Road, just north of the Ala. 10 Camden bypass.

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