New Law Demands Cash Bond on Foreclosures
Tuesday, March 26, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative has scheduled a press event this morning to draw attention to a new law that requires parties filing foreclosures on vacant homes, or homes that become vacant, to post a $10,000 cash bond against maintenance and demolition to the city.
'3 Minutes With' Scott Nally, OEPA Director
Tuesday, March 26, 2013BOARDMAN, Ohio -- In today's "3 Minutes With" video, Scott Nally, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agengy, discusses the cleanup at the D&L Energy well site and what his agency is doing to protect the environment as the oil and gas industry grows. Nally was the featured speaker Monday at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Council’s breakfast.
Sen. Brown Stumps for ‘Fair Minimum Wage Bill’
Tuesday, March 26, 2013BOARDMAN, Ohio -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is seeking popular support for his bill to raise the national minimum wage in three steps to $10.10 an hour from $7.25. His bill, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, calls for a minimum wage of $8.20 an hour this year, $9.15 next year and $10.10 in 2015.
With the Yankee Kitchen as a backdrop and the endorsement of restaurant owners Phil and Elias Raptis and a waitress of 18 years, Vicki Walter, Brown met with reporters Monday morning to present the case for an increase in the minimum wage.
Beam Ceremony Tops Off St. E's Project
Tuesday, March 26, 2013BOARDMAN, Ohio -- The new $100 million tower being built at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center should be completed and in use about a year from now.
Construction of the 165,000-square-foot project is both on time and “a bit under budget,” reported Genie Aubel, president of the Boardman hospital. “So that makes us very happy,” she said. Construction began in October.
Beer Industry Lifts Steins to Ohio, Pa.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013WASHINGTON -- A new economic impact study shows the U.S. beer industry, made up of brewers, importers, distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers, contribute nearly $4 billion annually to the Ohio economy. In Pennsylvania, the impact is $8.7 billion.
The study, commissioned jointly by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Institute, shows that the industry supported nearly 44,240 jobs in Ohio and 70,650 in Pennsylvania last year. Overall wages and benefits total nearly $2 billion in the Buckeye State and $2.7 billion in the Keystone State.
UCFC Completes $39.9M Offering; Revises Rights
Monday, March 25, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- United Community Financial Corp., holding company of The Home Savings and Loan Co., reported Friday that it has sold its previously announced $39.9 million in common and preferred shares to private investors in an offering.
The offering, announced on Jan. 15, was composed of $18.1 million of common shares and $21.8 million in preferred shares. In total, investors bought 6,574,272 newly issued common shares of UCFC at a $2.75 per share and 7,942 Series A preferred shares at $2,750 per share.
Made in the Valley Then … and Now
Monday, March 25, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio --In 1881, the Lane and Woodworth Patent Glass Roofing Co. of Youngstown thought it had a sure moneymaker on its hands. The premise was to manufacture an interlocking glass roof shingle that would allow more natural light in houses during the day while it served the agricultural market by creating a barn roof of glass that allowed the sunlight to dry hay much faster.
There was one problem. When winter arrived and temperatures fell, the glass contracted and fell apart.
Tourism Campaign Returns $15 for Every Ad Dollar
Monday, March 25, 2013COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's 2012 "Too Much Fun for Just One Day" advertising campaign resulted in a 15-fold return on investment for the Buckeye State, the state tourism office reports.
Comparatively, the return on investment -- budget for advertising -- in 2011 was $14 and $13 in both 2010 and 2009, according to David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency.
Stone, Ifill to Join Kent Dedication May 4
Monday, March 25, 2013KENT, Ohio -- Film director and producer Oliver Stone and PBS news anchor Gwen Ifill will be at Kent State University May 4 to mark its 43rd annual commemoration of the 1970 slayings of four students by the Ohio NationalGuard. They will help dedicate the May 4 Visitors Center with other commemorative events to be held beginning May 3.
The new center tells the events of May 4 and the political and cultural changes of the 1960s.