WARREN, Ohio (WYTV) – We don’t know if he’s staying at the former “Hotel California” in Austintown, but we do know that rocker Joe Walsh is in town for a few days.
The former Eagles lead singer and guitarist was on the stage at the Packard Music Hall Wednesday night. There was no opening act; Walsh was the show. There’s another performance on Friday.
Music included some of his solo hits as well as some James Gang favorites. His music career spans more than 40 years.
BOARDMAN TWP, Ohio (WYTV) – A Pittsburgh favorite is coming to the Youngstown area. And if you like to stand in line for hours at a time, they have a deal for you.
Primanti Brothers is opening on South Avenue just north of Route 224 in Boardman on Friday. It’s the first location in Ohio.
The first 100 customers who line up starting Thursday night at 8 p.m. will get what they’re calling a year’s worth of free sandwiches. You have to wait in line until the doors open on Friday afternoon though.
The signature sandwich with various meats and cheeses includes the french fries and coleslaw ON the sandwich.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Congressman Tim Ryan would like to capitalize on some of the political fallout over some lawmakers who oppose the Export-Import Bank.
With General Electric’s decision to not locate its corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Representative Ryan says, “bring it here.” House Speaker John Boehner is among those opposed to the taxpayer-funded bank; his district includes parts of the Cincinnati area.
Ryan says he’s written a letter to Jeffrey Immelt, the company’s chairman and CEO, suggesting they consider his district for a new location.
“This is clearly a long shot, but you know I’m all about long shots. It would have a tremendous economic impact that would ripple throughout the whole western PA and northeast Ohio.”
Even though Ryan recognizes it’s a longshot, he says he’d love to see GE come to Akron or Youngstown. The company is moving 500 jobs overseas in apparent reaction to the failure of Congress to fund the bank since July 1.
CAMPBELL, Ohio (WYTV) – A member of the Campbell Civil Service Commission has been removed and a criminal investigation is underway.
Anthony Matash was removed from the commission by City Council on Wednesday night. Police learned that a water department employee was given a Civil Service exam earlier this month. There was apparently no public notice of the test.
WYTV has also obtained a police department memo that speculates that answers were provided to that applicant.
Campbell Police Chief Drew Rauzan says, “Our detectives are trying to discern why the test was given why this individual was given a test, why the civil services commission was involved. I think we just want to get the message out here that from speeding to civil services, just follow the law and the police department will never be in your business.”
Chief Rauzan says the city prosecutor will soon be involved in the investigation.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Students and community members gathered at Stambaugh Auditorium Wednesday night to hear from an award-winning journalist. Soledad O’Brien presented at the Centofanti Symposium.
She is known for her documentary series on CNN, “Black in America.” O’Brien also worked for CNN and NBC as an anchor and contributor.
She spoke tonight on her career and the importance of racial discussions in America. “You have to let people believe what they believe and say what they believe and then you can talk about what you believe. But you can’t put everyone in their boxes and expect them to be comfortable with an icky conversation.”
The Centofanti Symposium was created at YSU with the goal of bringing speakers to the community who raise awareness about the challenges found in vulnerable groups in society.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Downtown Youngstown parking decks and parking lots are now regulated by the city. Council passed legislation to that effect Wednesday night.
Owners of parking areas will pay $50 annually if they have 100 or fewer parking spaces. Over 100 spaces, the fee is $75. Council had considered charging about twice that amount. “That comes out to a lot better deal for the parking lots, and we’re satisfied with that,” says Councilman John R. Swierz. “The real reason is we had to have some kind of control. There was no ordinance, control, or anything like that.”
Uniform signage is also being required under the new law.
AUSTINTOWN TWP, Ohio (WYTV) – There was no winner Wednesday night in the Queen of Hearts drawing at Barry Dyngles in Austintown.
The jackpot grew to a whopping $778,203. 306,000 tickets were sold.
Ray Clark’s ticket was drawn. His card number on that ticket was 38. That card was the Nine of Hearts.
He was in the parking lot next door when his name was called. “I was back there by your van. I was watching on your van. And they said Ray Clark and I just couldn’t believe it.
He had bought 225 tickets for a group of 9 people which included his wife, daughter, brother and friends. He says he will play again, but is changing his strategy. He says he’ll buy the same card number for all his tickets.
For safety reasons, Raccoon Road was closed before and after the drawing between Burkey and New Roads.
“I’m hoping I win,” Peggy Hupp of Austintown said before the drawing. “I never seen so many people.”
Hupp is one of thousands of people who waited in line on a warm and sunny day to buy tickets.
The large crowd for Wednesday night’s event is a concern for Austintown Police Chief Bob Gavalier, despite the fact that Barry Dyngles is paying for five off-duty officers to patrol the area.
“To me personally, I think it’s overgrown down there,” Gavalier said before the drawing. “It’s too big for down there. I’m hoping somebody wins tonight.”
Gavalier admits the crowd has remained relatively calm in weeks past, but can’t be sure it’ll stay that way.
“No, not yet, I mean why not,” Barry Dyngles Manager Doug Duganne said when asked if the game had gotten too big. “Let’s get this thing bigger. It’s like a carnival atmosphere. It’s fun.”
There are eight more cards to go, wRhich means there could be up to eight more weeks of drawings.
“That’s when I think we need to sit down with the township and maybe the prosecutor’s office and the owner to see what we can do,” Gavalier said.
When asked about changing locations, Duganne wasn’t in favor of the idea.
“The whole idea is to bring people here,” Duganne said. “We can’t profit off this game if we have it somewhere else. It really doesn’t do us any good.”
To see the weekly drawings, you can download the WYTV app in the Apple App or Google Play store. You may not be able to hear your name drawn, but you’ll see it on the app.
WYTV is also streaming the weekly drawings.
PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WYTV) – Police are looking for an armed Mercer County man who threatened to kill himself and shoot police officers if they try to arrest him.
Mercer County’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) responded about 11 p.m. Wednesday to a house on Shadow Drive in South Pymatuning Township after they were notified about threats to police.
Officers searched the surrounding neighborhood for a few hours and tried to track the man’s phone but did not locate him.
An officer said the suspect could be charged with making terroristic threats. The investigation is ongoing.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Youngstown Police are investigating a homicide on the south side.
Police responded about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday to a house in the 500 block of Cohasset Drive.
When officers arrived, the 16-year-old victim was lying on the floor with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.
Police said the victim, whose name they have not released, was determined dead at the scene.
Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses who were there at the time.
Police have not arrested anyone in the case as of Thursday.
PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WYTV) – Police are looking for an armed Mercer County man who threatened to kill himself and shoot police officers if they try to arrest him.
Mercer County’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) responded about 11 p.m. Wednesday to a house on Shadow Drive in South Pymatuning Township after they were notified about threats to police.
Officers searched the surrounding neighborhood for a few hours and tried to track the man’s phone but did not locate him.
An officer said the suspect could be charged with making terroristic threats. The investigation is ongoing.
NILES, Ohio (WYTV) – A new fashion retailer opened at the Eastwood Mall Complex Thursday.
H&M held a grand opening at its location inside the main concourse of the mall.
Prizes and incentives were given to customers. The first 200 in line received a scratch off card for a chance to win between $10 and $200.
“There is really something for everybody. You can find things to wear to work. You can find things for the weekend or everyday life. We have a bunch of different lines in each department,” said Patrick Shaner, H&M communications specialist.
The retailer sells clothes for men and women. There is also a department for babies and children to age 14.
LORDSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Lordstown High School students celebrated the 228th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Thursday.
Constitution Day, an event organized by students in the high school’s American Honors Politics class, featured speakers Warren Tribune-Chronicle Editor Brenda Linert, who discussed freedom of the press with the students; and Rokey Suleman, who has worked as an elections monitor in countries without free elections.
Monica Holliday, a senior at Lordstown High School, said students learned about the importance of fair elections during Suleman’s discussion.
“He teaches us that elections are more important than we think. Everybody says that sometimes your opinion doesn’t matter; but we learned from him that your opinion really does matter,” she said.
After the assembly, seniors could take copies of the Constitution and register to vote for the November elections.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WYTV) – A suspect is in custody after threatening to stab several people with a butcher knife at a house in Boardman.
Police say Perry Marlowe, 57, got into a fight with four people at a home on Hillman Way and attacked them with a knife, including a woman that lives with him.
Marlowe was subdued by unknown subjects and found lying in the yard when police arrived, according to a police report.
A butcher knife was found at the scene.
Marlowe is charged with felonious assault, domestic violence and obstructing official business.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – The Mahoning District Board of Health is taking samples from several locations in Mill Creek Park to try to pinpoint why there are elevated levels of bacteria near the walking bridge at Lake Newport.
Samples are being taken at several locations, including the Wetland Bridge, Wetland shores, near the walking path on Route 224 and another testing location near Calla Road in the hopes of creating a baseline.
Testing continues for the waterways of Mill Creek Park following the closing of the park’s three lakes in July because of high levels of E.coli in the water.
The decision to close the lakes came in the same week that WYTV 33 News noticed a slew of dead fish in Lake Newport and started pushing for answers.
BESSEMER, Pa. (WYTV) – Calling hours will be held Thursday for the Bessemer Police Chief who died Sunday afternoon.
Chief Thomas Macri was cleaning his pistol on his back porch, when it went off and shot him in the chest. Macri died of his injuries.
Calling hours are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 3 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Noga Funeral Home in New Castle.
A procession will leave Noga Funeral Home at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Vitus Church.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – In about a month, the Youngstown City Schools will be under the direction of a CEO, and the local teacher’s union isn’t happy about it.
The Youngstown City Schools teachers union is sponsoring a public meeting Thursday night to talk about the takeover. The meeting is open to the public.
It runs from 6:30 to 8:30 at the McGuffey Elementary School, on South Schenley Avenue.
The takeover plan includes a Chief Executive Officer who will have power to hire, fire, reopen contracts, close schools and more.
BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WYTV) – A fire destroyed a Columbiana barn Thursday afternoon.
The fire broke out at the building at 822 County Line Road around 2 p.m.
According to the Beaver Township Police Chief, the property had recently been sold and the former owner was cleaning out the barn and attempting to move some machinery when the fire broke out.He suffered second degree burns to his hands but refused treatment.
The structure is a total loss. The house that stands 20 to 30 feet away sustained moderate damage. The siding on the back of the house was melted off.
No other injuries were reported.
BROOKFIELD, Ohio (WYTV) – The Trumbull County OVI Task Force will be conducting a check point in Brookfield Thursday night, according to a notification from a Warren Police officer.
The checkpoint is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to Warren Police Detective Eric Laprocina.
During the checkpoint, police pull over and inspect cars that pass through a certain street. Detective Laprocina did not immediately respond to a request asking to specify where the checkpoint would be held Thursday night.
Police held five OVI checkpoints in Trumbull County in August.
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Debris still littered the area Thursday evening along Raccoon Road in Austintown after the Queen of Hearts drawing Wednesday night at Barry Dyngles’ Pub.
The trash was left behind by some of the thousands who jammed into the pub, parking lot and adjoining lots waiting for the latest drawing in the card game.
Owner Shawn Hannon said what started last October as an idea to drum up business has now taken on a life of its own. He said they are still focused on the Bar-B-Que and food they offer.
“Frankly that is what it is all about. But now, we are getting a lot of other people involved at this point. We want to make it good for everybody,” Hannon said.
Lawmakers agree and held a hearing this afternoon with officials from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to ensure all the rules regarding “pool games” are being followed. Ohio Senator Bill Coley, R-4th District, said as long as the business involved isn’t keeping the proceeds, the card game is perfectly legal.
“I don’t have a problem with that, and I don’t want to just step in willy nilly with regulation,” Coley said.
Austintown Police Chief Bob Gavalier said he has concerns about the trash and patrons with open containers of beer off the property, but added that the crowds have been well-behaved so far.
Hannon says he wants to discuss the game’s future with township officials and his neighbors. A meeting is planned for Friday to discuss a a different venue in the area that can accommodate the crowd or whether he will continue to have the drawings at the Raccoon Road location.
LORDSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Thursday, the Ohio Power Siting Board approved Clean Energy Future’s plan to construct an 800-megawatt natural gas-fired combined-cycle generation facility, the Tribune Chronicle has reported.
The Lordstown Energy Center will be located on a 17-acre parcel in the Lordstown Industrial Park, east of State Route 45 and south of Henn Parkway. Clean Energy Future expects the plant to be in operation by May 2018 and generate 1,026 related jobs in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
At a public meeting about the plant in Late July, Lordstown Mayor Arno Hill said everyone he has talked to supports the project. The only concern is making sure the company keeps its word.
“There is some people that have said ‘Well, what happens if they don’t live up to the agreement?’ Well, I have got full faith that they are. I have talked to two other communities and they said they have been great to work with. So they do have a track record and it’s all positive,” Hill said.
Clean Energy Future has promised to pay the Lordstown Local School District almost $13 million over 18 years. The district will get $500,000 a year during construction and then $1 million a year for five years, $1.25 million a year for five years and $1.5 million a year for five years.
