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YBI rings in $35K with 3rd Taco Bell grant

Local News

Staff report The Taco Bell Foundation, an extension of the fast-food restaurant chain, has awarded $35,517 to YBI’s Explore VR program. This marks the third consecutive year the Mahoning Valley-based incubator has received the community grant. This year’s funding will support career exploration and awareness in the Youngstown area through Explore VR’s immersive, VR-based lesson plans. “We’re incredibly grateful to the Taco Bell Foundation and its local franchise partners for supporting YBI’s Explore VR Youth Program,” said Rochelle Landy, director of Explore VR at ...

Procurement day aimed at Valley business owners

Business News

Staff report The Connector, an event to help business owners navigate procurement and land contracts across government, healthcare, transportation and more, will take place 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County. YBI and the Youngstown/Warren Minority Business Assistance Center are presenting the gathering. The Connector is built around a simple idea: business owners already know how to run their operations, and procurement is the path to landing contracts with schools, cities and state organizations to do that same work at scale. The event ...

City council fails to approve Sparkle Market bailout grant

Latest News

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 ...

Commissioners lean toward moving new 911 Center to KSU Trumbull

Local News

WARREN — Trumbull County Commissioners on Wednesday said they are strongly leaning toward placing the new Trumbull County 911 Center at Kent State University at Trumbull campus instead of the second floor of the county’s Health Department building in Cortland. Commission President Tony Bernard made the announcement during a discussion about applying for a 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant through the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. “Our next phase is we are going to sit down with Kent State officials and see if we could come up with a tentative ...

Liberty police respond to attempted catalytic converter theft Monday

Local News

LIBERTY — A search for two men who were attempting to steal from a local business Monday night ended because of environmental conditions. According to a police report, officers were called to The Nutrition Group on Belmont Avenue for a theft, and dispatchers said two individuals were trying to cut off catalytic converters and fled the scene. Officers were met by the caller, who said he saw two men, one wearing a hoodie and the other a long-sleeve T-shirt, around a white work van in the facility’s driveway, adding that he was working late and was leaving when he saw the ...

Aviation Education Center to break ground Friday

Business News

Staff report A groundbreaking ceremony for the Aviation Education Center, a celebration of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport improvement and community development initiatives, will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The Aviation Education Center will serve as a hub for hands-on learning, workforce development, career exploration and industry engagement, according to a news release from the Western Reserve Port Authority, which oversees airport operations. Once completed, the $5.5 million facility will provide students and community members with access to innovative educational ...