Landmark Building: Bustling Once, Bustling Again
Friday, December 14, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- From the outside, the terra cotta façade still commands a certain wonder. Inside are architectural cues that date to the 1920s and reflect the majesty of when the Strouss-Hirshberg Co. erected the imposing 6-story building at 20 W. Federal St.
The department store’s only serious rival was McKelvey’s, an equally imposing structure three blocks west and since razed and replaced by the Voinovich Government Center.
Today the Strouss building, now named 20 Federal Place, again bustles, as does the downtown it anchors.
TBEIC Joins JumpStart Network
Friday, December 14, 2012WARREN, Ohio -- The Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center (TBEIC) here has officially joined the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network. As a network partner, it will extend its reach to support energy startups throughout the 21 counties in northeastern Ohio.
The network is composed of pre-seed and seed funds, incubators, business accelerators, experienced advisers and specialized support organizations that work together to accelerate the growth of young tech-based companies.
Sharon Regional Names Smith Chief Quality Officer
Friday, December 14, 2012SHARON, Pa. -- Sharon Regional Health System has named Amy Smith its chief quality officer. She has direct responsibility for patient safety, service quality, organizational performance improvement, medical staff performance improvement, and clinical standards and practices.
Smith comes to Sharon Regional from ValleyCare Health System in Youngstown (formerly Forum Health), where she served as vice president of care management, market director of case management and director of case management/utilization management. Before that, she worked for Sharon Regional in several posts.
Legal Aid Adds Millions to Ohio Economy
Friday, December 14, 2012COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Legal aid in Ohio generates millions of dollars of economic activity for the communities it serves, finds a new report from the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation.
Entire communities and neighborhoods benefit when low- income Ohioans are helped by legal aid attorneys, the foundation said.
Questionable Insurance Claims Rise 36% in Ohio
Friday, December 14, 2012DES PLAINES, Ill. -- In 2009, 1,924 questionable claims from Ohio were referred to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a just-released report says. In 2010, the number increased to 2,193 and last year to 2,621 -- up 36% from the number in 2009.
Questionable claims are defined as claims that the member insurance companies refer to the bureau for closer review and investigation based on one or more indicators of suspected fraud. One claim may contain up to seven reasons for referral.
State Awards $573,300 to YSU for Internships
Thursday, December 13, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Youngstown State University has been awarded $573,300 from the Ohio Board of Regents to help create a program designed to increase the number and enhance the quality of technology and business professionals in Northeast Ohio.
The funding is contingent upon approval by the Ohio Controlling Board in January.
Chesapeake Assets Sale Infuses Utica Investments
Thursday, December 13, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s sale of most of its midstream assets across the country is likely to infuse new investment in eastern Ohio's Utica shale -- bolstering a $900 million infrastructure project under way in southern Columbiana County, executives say.
Chesapeake announced late Tuesday it will sell a substantial majority of its midstream assets to Access Midstream Partners LP for $2.16 billion.
Harrington Hoppe Builds Gas Practice Pipelines
Thursday, December 13, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Alan Wenger, an experienced attorney with a focus on real estate law with Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell Ltd., began to take notice in 2009 of the complex developments emerging in Pennsylvania related to oil and gas exploration there.
As giant energy companies descended on the central and southwestern parts of the commonwealth to tap the Marcellus shale, Wenger held the suspicion that some of this activity would move into northeastern Ohio.
November Home Sales in Valley Drop from October
Thursday, December 13, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Home sales last month in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were down from October, but still up when compared to November 2011’s sales, reports the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors.
In Mahoning County, 175 units were sold in November, down from 197 in October but up from 160 in November 2011. Trumbull County posted 128 units sold last month, down from 145 in October but up from 114 a year earlier. Columbiana County had 58 units sold in November, up from 48 a year earlier but down from October’s 67.