Today is Sunday, March 30, the 89th day of 2003. There are 276 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Sunday, March 30, the 89th day of 2003. There are 276 days left in the year. On this date in 1981, President Reagan is shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded are White House press secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a District of Columbia police officer.
In 1822, Florida becomes a United States territory. In 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Ga., first uses ether as an anesthetic during a minor operation. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reaches agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as "Seward's Folly." In 1870, the 15th amendment to the Constitution, giving black men the right to vote, is declared in effect. In 1870, Texas is readmitted to the Union. In 1945, the Soviet Union invades Austria during World War II. In 1964, John Glenn withdraws from the Ohio race for U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall. In 1970, the musical "Applause," based on the movie "All About Eve," opens on Broadway. In 1973, Ellsworth Bunker resigns as U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, and is succeeded by Graham A. Martin. In 1986, actor James Cagney dies at his farm in Stanfordville, N.Y., at age 86.
March 30, 1978: Salem city police begin a crackdown on speeders, with officers making 85 traffic arrests in three weeks. Police Chief Richard Whinnery says it appears to be human nature for motorists to begin driver faster when spring comes and police want to slow things down.
School officials dedicate an elevator in Lakeview High School, Cortland, that will be used by orthopedically handicapped students from Trumbull and Ashtabula counties who attend special classes at the school.
Youngstown city councilmen who believe that some financial institutions may be practicing redlining -- not making mortgage loans in the city -- will demand commercial banks wanting to be the depository of city funds to provide extensive documentation.
March 30, 1963: Richard Whinnery, 31, who received the highest grade in a recent civil service test, is sworn in as a lieutenant on the Salem Police Department by Mayor Dean B. Cranmer.
Industry in Youngstown and Ohio is on its last legs unless a canal is built to connect the Ohio River with Lake Erie, Rep. Michael J. Kirwan and District 26 Director James P. Griffin tell delegates to a district convention of the United Steelworkers of America.
Fifteen delegates from the Youngstown Citadel Corps of the Salvation Army attend the Music Congress in New York City.
March 30, 1953: An explosion shakes a section of the East Side and damages the home of F.P. DeNiro at 116 Lincoln Park Drive. He is the father of petty racketeer Vince DeNiro.
An American Bus Lines bus collides with a steel-laden truck in Route 14 six miles north of Salem. Two in the bus were killed and eight injured.
The 62-member Jackson-Milton High School band receives an excellent rating from judges at the competition of bands at McDonald High School.
March 30, 1928: The price of milk in Youngstown will drop to 12 cents a quart, a decrease of one cent, says B.E. Millikin of the Milk Dealers' Association.
The New York Evening Post reports that Ty Cobb has decided to retire from baseball following a report that he cleaned up on the stock market, making $200,000 in recent days.
Aviators George Haldeman and Eddie Stinson set a new world's record airplane endurance flight of 53 hours, 36 minutes. Stinson has a host of Youngstown friends and conducted an aerial circus for The Vindicator in Youngstown two years ago.