REGION

REGION
Ohio Edison seeks causeof downtown blackout
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ohio Edison was working Monday to determine what caused a power outage that left about 750 residential and commercial customers in the dark for about a half-hour Monday afternoon. Paul Harkey, area manager for Ohio Edison, said the outage happened about 2 p.m. while crews were repairing a switch at the Belmont Avenue substation which caused one downtown business to lose power Sunday. Monday's outage affected downtown businesses and some homes and businesses on the city's North Side.
Specialty grows in South
MINERAL RIDGE -- Specialty Pipe & amp; Tube, a distributor of heavy wall pipe and tubing, is expanding its business in the South through an agreement with J & amp;R Sales Co. of Taylors, S.C. J & amp;R will represent the Mineral Ridge company in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. It already had been representing Specialty in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Hoover recalls workers
NORTH CANTON -- Hoover Co. has called back more than half of the 500 production workers it laid off in June. About 300 of the employees had returned to work by Monday, including 115 who were called back in late July, said Jim Repace, president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1985, which represents about 1,800 Hoover production workers.
With sales in the floor-care industry down almost 8 percent this year, the company also had eliminated about 200 salaried workers, bringing the company's local salaried work force down to about 600.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports