General Electric's aviation unit plans to open a plant in Dayton next year.  The Dayton Daily News reports that two other plants in Mississippi and Alabama will be open next year, which will create over 400 new jobs at all three locations.

The company says it's part of a $580 million investment in its aviation business over the next five years.  GE also says it will hire 12,000 new workers over the next several years, including 5,00 veterans, as part of its expansion.

As natural gas prices continue to drop, the recent nationwide boom in drilling is slowing.

Several companies have said in recent weeks they plan to cut back production, but experts say the low prices are also opening up new markets.

Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, says there will be fewer natural gas wells drilled in 2012.

Yet Klaber says that even as drillers are pressured by low prices, the cost creates opportunities for more people and industries to use the product.

The county that includes Columbus plans technology upgrades that would allow residents to text authorities
about emergencies if they can't call 911.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Franklin County residents would likely be the first in Ohio to have that option.

David Ziegler is overseeing the $2.3 million upgrade and says the texting option would be useful for people with impaired hearing and in cases in which someone is hiding and can't speak up.

He says the contract for the technology upgrade still must be approved.

The county's Office of Homeland Security and Justice Programs said the texting option likely won't be available until next year at the earliest. Eventually, the county also hopes to be able to accept images and video sent from cellphones.

The state board that certifies construction plans for new energy facilities has approved an agreement that authorizes a 91-turbine wind farm in north-central Ohio.

The agreement approved Monday by the Ohio Power Siting Board allows Black Fork Wind Energy to construct the farm on 14,800 acres along the Crawford and Richland county line. The board says the company plans to begin construction in March and be operating by December.

Officials say the farm will be capable of generating 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power tens of thousands of homes.

The project is expected to create between 70 and 95 construction jobs and 10 permanent positions.

A new mobile application from the state of Ohio allows jobseekers to search and apply for jobs using an iPhone, iPad or Android.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced the free OhioMeansJobs app on Monday, saying it allows users to search tens of thousands of job openings and internships using a job title, keyword or location.

The app combines state of Ohio data with search and filter tools from Monster.

Ohio's unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in December, a drop from November that officials say can in part be attributed to people who gave up looking for work or otherwise left the labor force.

Eastman Kodak Co. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  According to the company’s web-site, “the business reorganization is intended to bolster liquidity in the U.S. and abroad.”  That means turning intellectual property into cash and focusing on its more valuable business lines.

Kodak did not announce job cuts as part of the bankruptcy protection filing. Roughly 600 employees and contractors work at Kodak’s Kettering facility on Research Park.

As part of the restructuring, Kodak says they’ve obtained $950 million dollars in financing from Citigroup, and plans to continue operating through the chapter 11 process.