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Austintown trustees, school officials mull fuel sharing plan

AUSTINTOWN — A pending agreement between the township and school district could stretch the police budget further. The Austintown Board of Education reviewed a proposal at its meeting Wednesday to allow the Austintown Township Police Department to fill its cruisers on campus, using an unleaded fuel pump owned by the schools. However, no vote was taken. Township trustees approved the plan at Monday’s meeting, and they said it will save the township as much as $60,000 per year. “We can buy fuel locally from Lyden Oil, we’ll buy in bulk, more frequently, and let the police ...

Ohio AG: Criminalize misuse of Flock cams

While calling Flock Safety automatic license plate reader cameras effective when used properly, Attorney General Andy Wilson said the state Legislature should criminalize their misuse. In a Wednesday statement, Wilson, a Republican, said: “Misuse of Flock is rare and breaches should result in serious consequences. To that end, the Ohio General Assembly should criminalize the misuse of Flock just as it currently criminalizes the misuse of other law enforcement technology.” Wilson said: “Unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, for example, is a fifth-degree felony ...

City council fails to approve Sparkle Market bailout grant

YOUNGSTOWN — A rare tie vote from city council led to the rejection of a $350,000 grant to provide assistance to the struggling Sparkle Market in Cornersburg. Council voted 3-3 Wednesday with Councilwoman Amber White, I-7th Ward, abstaining on the advice of the city law department. A tie vote means the proposal failed and if it will be considered again by council it will have to be reintroduced. Voting in favor of the grant were Jimmy Hughes, D-2nd Ward; Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward; and Pat Kelly, D-5th Ward. Those in opposition were Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward; Mike Ray, D-4th ...

’26 report cards show ups, downs

A new academic year is in full swing, and districts across the Mahoning Valley are learning what leaps — or steps back — they took over the past year, as Ohio hands out its report cards. Released Tuesday morning, these assessments offer insight into how schools in the Valley are faring ...

End date sought for SOBE rate hikes

In a filing with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the city of Youngstown and the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel did not object to the significant emergency rate increases for downtown steam heat customers, but want the hikes to have an expiration date. If an end date isn’t set, the two entities urged the PUCO to require SOBE Thermal Systems LLC, the troubled utility company for most of downtown, to file an application for new permanent rate increases. In its joint filing, the city and the OCC wrote: “Absent an ending date for the emergency rates or a ...

Trump calls AI risks a ‘hoax,’ blasts data center opposition

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he would be a sufficient guardrail against rogue artificial intelligence, claiming that any efforts to limit the technology is part of a “SICK conspiracy.” Trump was pushing back against calls by tech leaders such as ...