The Morning Read

Check out a couple of things going on in Youngstown today:

• YNG has a new director. Only in the job for less than 24 hours, he already has an agenda focusing on expanding cargo operations at the airport. With the expansion of technologies and manufacturing in the region, improved access for cargo is a great direction for Youngstown's airport.
• Rep. Tim Ryan introduced a bill into the House of Representatives yesterday which would promote business incubators (like the insanely successful Youngstown Business Incubator). The Vindy has the story and the full press release from T.R.'s office is available after the jump.
• Like your Chevy? So do a lot of other people. The Tribune tells us what most people should already know: America is building better cars. Many Toyota owners couldn't agree more.

The Morning Read

Not much Youngstown-related news this morning, but still some winners.

• CNN has an interesting piece with ideas for small airports to win big money. They sound skeptical that an airport with three flights a day (like the featured North Central West Virginia Airport) is worth it, but maybe YNG can mooch some ideas.
• It was not a 3-year-old, but the mother of a 1-year-old who was the 1,000,000th visitor to the Covelli Centre.
• And because I am like the cool stuff they do and don't want to live in the tropical forest known as 'The Future', the Oakland Center for the Arts is holding an open mic night next Wednesday. Since April 28 is (several days after) Earth Day, one can assume the topic will be something about saving the big blue marble.

The Morning Read

A couple of cool things out there this morning:

• That Youngstown schools have issues is not in doubt, but in a creative way, turning to the students for help may provide solutions. The Vindicator has the story.
• There is a lot of good news emerging from YSU. Being an 'emerging center' is just part of it. Check this out (from the Vindy) or this (from the Business Journal)
• 890 YSU students are living on campus with room for more on the way.

The Morning Read

First, let me wish each of you a Happy New Year. 2009 was the return of Youngstown Pride and I hope for more good things for this blog in 2010.

Now, on to the morning reads:

• The New York Times has an interesting article on U.A.W. Local 1112, the Lordstown local which chronicles the G.M. plants past as a rebellious local, filing 15,000 grievances a year to one that works with management and sees the enemy as the foreign competition.
• The Business Journal is reporting that Ohio's small business and entrepreneurial climate ranks 11th nationwide. By reinventing their model for taxing corporations and with transportation infrastructure rivaling any other state, Ohio is well placed for those looking to start a small business. That is good new for Youngstown, which is seeing a lot of success from small businesses such as Turning Technologies and M7 Technologies.
• The Vindy has a mention of leadership classes being offered by the Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Mahoning Valley Local Government Leadership Academy classes start February 2.

The Morning Read

There are several great articles out there worth reading this morning:

• The Washington Post has a long feature about the struggles many are facing in the Mahoning Valley. We talk so much about the progressive change occurring in Youngstown but there are real people with real struggles to survive in this economy. This article does a great job capturing this pain experienced by our friends and neighbors. See the slide show here.
• Some sprucing up is occuring at 20 Federal Place. The Business Journal has the details.
• A couple of articles on the proposed V&M Star expansion in Brier Hill in both the Business Journal and the Vindicator, with mentions here, here and here.
• Last and certainly worth being least, Jim Traficant is circulating petitions to run for Congress. Help us if he does this, as the national media attention will be anything but positive. I was able to watch the first 10 minutes of the press conference that he held this morning. Possible casino deals, a shout-out to Kelly Pavlik and some random comments about bears defecating in the woods were the early highlights. The Vindicator has a summary here and you can find the press conference video here (later today) courtesy of WFMJ.