Lack of qualified baristas hurts Youngstown

The results are in and Youngstown is looking better than it did a few years ago. "Cities Ranked & Rated" is a periodic publication by a by Wiley Publishing Inc. It ranks metropolitan areas based on variables related to economy, cost of living, climate, education, health and health care, crime, transportation, leisure and arts and culture. Youngstown's score wasn't that impressive, as 269th best place to live out of 373 areas, but it is an improvement from 2004 when we were 291st.

The survey doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. We have a great cost of living, decent transportation but a crappy economy. The two interesting things to come out of this survey include that Youngstown lost points in the leisure section because there are only three Starbucks Coffee locations in the area compared with the national average of 13 for a region. Was this survey done by Howard Schultz? Nevermind our impressive array of parks and minor league sports teams, we need our Half-caf Double Mochachinos with extra foam!

Secondly, and to my delight, Boardman was quoted as "an unremarkable middle-class suburb." I've been saying that for years.

Source: Valley climbs 22 spots on list of best metro areas

By the numbers

When George Murry is installed today as bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, he'll be the fifth person to occupy that post since the diocese was founded in 1943. The number of people to hold other key jobs during that time:

• President of Youngstown State University: Six
• Mayor of Youngstown: 13
• Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers: 11
• President of the United States: 12
  
  Source: Vindicator, Wednesday, March 28, 2007

By the numbers

• 3, 525 - The average attendance for the Youngstown Steelhounds during the 2006-2007 season
• 4, 067 - The average attendance during the 2005-2006 season.
• $3,000 - $6,000 - The average amount the Chevy Center makes off of one Steelhounds game.
• $5,000 - $25,000 - What the center expects to make from the Mahoning Valley Thunder per game.
• $88, 424 - The Chevy Centre's anticipated loss for April to June 2007.
• $96,632 - The anticipated loss for July to September.
  
  Source: Vindicator, Sunday, March 11, 2007

More manpower

YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio State Highway Patrol has allocated several troopers to patrol within the city limits with a goal of reducing urban fatalities, said Mayor Jay Williams. The goal, he said, is consistent with the city's proactive efforts to help create a safer community. Troopers will focus on U.S. and state routes within the city. This will allow city officers to focus more sharply on the residential neighborhoods and businesses within the city. The joint effort will last until early March and serve as a trial period to evaluate the collaboration, the mayor said. He expects future joint efforts will occur this year.

Statistics Lesson

According to The Vindicator, from Feb. 2 to 2 p.m. February 11, there have been:

• 28 felony and 110 misdemeanor arrests.
  
• 12 firearms and $6,598 in cash recovered.
  
• 25 minor misdemeanor citations issued.
  
• 547 traffic stops and 124 stops of pedestrians.
  
• 261 traffic citations issued, and 39 parking tickets.

A packed downtown

Last week was a good week by all standards for Downtown Youngstown. According to the nearly official source DowntownYoungstown.com, last Saturday night there were 9,000 people downtown enjoying a variety of events.

• Chevy Center, 5,000, motocross rally
  
• Beeghly Center, 3,700, YSU vs. UIC
  
• B&O Station Banquet Hall, several hundred, Murder mystery theatre
  

YSU went on to defeat the UIC Flames for the first time in school history and the bars looked like they were busy. Never mind the cold, it was a great night to be downtown enjoying a wide variety of events which Youngstown has to offer. More nights like these can definitely be expected into the summer!

2:1

For each Youngstown native with a college degree, there are two vacant properties.