Breaking News

Board of elections to finally get new home

YOUNGSTOWN – The Western Reserve Port Authority is paying $900,000 to purchase the former Williamson Elementary School and then make improvements for what will be the new home of the Mahoning County Board of Elections. The Vindicator reported Sept. 9 that county commissioners, the WRPA and the Youngstown City School District were finalizing plans for the board of elections to relocate to the former school at 58 Williamson Ave. on the city’s South Side. The official announcement came Thursday. David Betras, board of elections’ chairman, said: “Our move to Williamson represents ...

Youngstown council to vote Wednesday on Bottom Dollar building sale

YOUNGSTOWN – City Council is expected Wednesday to vote on the proposed $350,000 sale of the former Bottom Dollar grocery store to Potential Development, a pre-K through grade 12 school system for students with autism. Potential Development was the lone proposal to buy the building, vacant since January 2015, from the city. It wants to invest $1,066,067 into the building for a K-3 school. City council chose at its Sept. 16 to wait to vote because of Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, wanted to know if there would be an issue with selling the building because the city used $1.2 ...

Seeing Eye

SKATEPARK EVENT: The Youngstown Skate Park Association and Parks and Recreation Department will have a pop-up skate park 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Glenwood Community Park, 2538 Glenwood Avenue in Youngstown. The free community-focused event will temporarily transform a portion of the city parks property into a skatepark and provide an opportunity for action sports opportunities for neighborhoods throughout Youngstown. Helmets are mandatory for those under age 18. HISTORICAL SOCIETY LECTURE: The Springfield Township Historical Society Museum continues its “Afternoon at the Museum: ...

Man dies in early morning crash on I-80

AUSTINTOWN — The Canfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a two-vehicle fatal crash that occurred at approximately 03:07 a.m. Thursday, according to an OHP press release. At approximately 03:07 a.m., a 2026 Freightliner Cascadia semi, driven by Justin Hinds, 55, of Conyers, Georgia, was traveling westbound on Interstate 80 near mile post 222. At that time a 2010 Ford Crown Victoria, driven by Theodore Sisak, 35, of Erie, Pennsylvania, quickly approached the semi from the rear. Sisak’s vehicle struck the trailer causing fatal injuries to himself, according ...

Youngstown council asked to permit spending $1.5M in speed camera citation funds

YOUNGSTOWN – With Youngstown long struggling to spend money collected from those caught by unmanned cameras speeding in school zones, city council is being asked to set aside $1.5 million of it for safety improvements near various schools. It is, by far, the largest financial request ever made of the fund, which collected $2,676,735 for the city as of August. However, a specific plan still needs to be created for the $1.5 million request. Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works, said, “We don’t have a scope of work yet. But it will be sidewalks, ...

US unemployment claims dip to 197,000, lowest since mid-July

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped last week to the lowest level since mid-July as layoffs remain low and most American workers enjoy job security. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims ticked down to 197,000 from a revised 198,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped by 2,500 to 200,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. So far this year, ...