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Thomas bill would require payment for power outages

State Rep. David Thomas, who represents parts of Trumbull County, introduced a bill to require electric utility companies to pay customers for repeated and/or prolonged power outages. Thomas, R-Jefferson, is sponsoring the bill with state Rep. Trisan Rader, D-Cleveland. With the Ohio House not meeting again until after the Nov. 3 election, Thomas said he didn’t expect the bill to pass this year. But Thomas said he and Rader would introduce it again next year, which would give it until Dec. 31, 2028, to be approved by the state Legislature. The Ohio Power Outage Relief Act would ...

Boardman contractor arrested again

BOARDMAN — A local contractor already convicted of stealing from customers in three counties has been arrested again. A Boardman police report shows that John P. Bartos III, 43, of Boardman, was arrested Friday at a Boardman hotel on four outstanding warrants, including one for an alleged probation violation in Mahoning County. Bartos received four years of probation in Mahoning County after pleading guilty to 18 felony counts involving 25 customers. Police went to the Holiday Inn on South Avenue shortly after 8:30 a.m. Friday, following an anonymous tip that Bartos was staying ...

Shooting nets man 7-year sentence

YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown man charged with attempted murder in a December shootout in Austintown will spend about seven years in prison after a plea agreement was reached on Monday. Mikklo Delgado, 24, avoided the trial scheduled for this week and instead pleaded guilty before Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony D’Apolito to aggravated robbery with a firearm specification. Delgado was arrested shortly after receiving treatment for a gunshot wound he sustained during the Dec. 3 shootout at Compass West Apartments that left a 16-year-old boy critically wounded. D’Apolito ...

MetroParks bikeway section will be closed Tuesday

CANFIELD — A section of the MetroParks Bikeway will be temporarily closed to the general public today as the Gorby Family Championship Cross Country Course at the MetroParks Farm hosts the 2026 Suburban League Championship Cross Country Meet. Beginning at 3 p.m. today, the section of the MetroParks Bikeway that runs through the MetroParks Farm between U.S. 446 and Leffingwell Road, along with the Farm Spur Trail, will be closed to bikeway and trail users. The MetroParks Bikeway and Farm Spur Trail will reopen upon completion of the cross country event at approximately 8 p.m. ...

Aggravated murder trial pushed back

YOUNGSTOWN — The aggravated murder trial of Vincent Marbley and Eddie Winphrie that was set to begin Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court has been postponed following the news that a new potential witness has come forward. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum filed a judgment entry Monday stating that the trial is now set for Oct. 26 with a pretrial hearing one week before that. The reason for the trial being postponed is that an inmate of the Mahoning County jail came forward recently to indicate that he has information relevant to the guilt or innocence of one of the defendants and ...

Ohio’s unemployment rate falls to 3.3% in August

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in August 2026, down from 3.4% in July 2026. Ohio’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment increased 2,100 over the month from a revised 5,686,600 in July to 5,688,700 in August. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services issued its findings last week. Figures have been seasonally adjusted. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in August was 195,000, down from 200,000 in July 2026. The number of unemployed has decreased by 66,000 in the past 12 months from 261,000. The August unemployment rate for Ohio decreased 1.1 percentage points ...