‘It is still a great time to be buying properties’

March 14, 2026

2025 was a strong year for the housing market as numbers grew across all facets. According to statewide housing data from Ohio Realtors, the state’s largest professional trade organization for the real estate industry, statewide home sales reached 10,075 in December 2025, marking a 6.9% increase from the 9,420 homes sold in December 2024. The median sales price across Ohio climbed to $250,000, up 2% from $245,000 the previous year. The state also ended the year with a greater housing supply, 2.69 months — the rate at which the market would sell at under 2.7 months — a 1.1% ...

Eastwood Mall Complex attracts all types of fans

March 14, 2026

NILES — Since its opening in 1969, the Eastwood Mall Complex has become the Mahoning Valley’s largest shopping center, with more than 200 stores, and it continues to grow. By that standard, one of its newest residents, Boscov’s, has been a perfect fit. The Reading, Pa.-based retailer ...

Weather delivers snow job late in the year

March 14, 2026

While 2025 was considered an average weather year for northeast Ohio, the most notable weather conditions of the year hit in December with 20 inches of snow. Ralene Campbell, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Cleveland, said for the overall year 2025 “was pretty average year with weather” compared to other years that had severe weather and major rainfall or snowfall. “Overall the year was average for weather, not ranking in the Top 10 for anything,’’ Campbell said. As for Mahoning and Trumbull counties, Campbell said, “It was not the warmest year or ...

In agriculture, ‘Bee’ is the buzz word

March 14, 2026

When it comes to articulating what he sees as the pivotal importance of honeybees and other pollinating insects’ role in the local agriculture, Scott Lealand didn’t mince words. “They are absolutely necessary. … It’s not an option. They are a vital part of our environment’s well-being,” Lealand, a longtime beekeeper and former president of the Trumbull County Beekeepers Association, said. It’s easy and perhaps instinctive for some to reflexively associate honeybees with dandelions and the ubiquitous white clover flowers that grow in many lawns and fields during the ...

‘Couples Therapy’ finds success on the road

March 14, 2026

There are many live theater options in the Mahoning Valley. Some of the productions have been successful enough to get extended runs or become annual traditions. But there aren’t many local stories like “Couples Therapy.” Written by Jason Tarr and starring John Cox and Brandy ...