Today is Thursday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2003. There are 363 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Thursday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2003. There are 363 days left in the year. On this date in 1900, Secretary of State John Hay announces the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.
In 1492, the leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrenders to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. In 1921, religious services are broadcast on radio for the first time as KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the regular Sunday service of the city's Calvary Episcopal Church. In 1929, the United States and Canada reach agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls. In 1935, Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann is found guilty, and executed.) In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila is captured by Japanese forces during World War II. In 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1965, the New York Jets sign University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000.
January 2, 1978: City administrators try in vain to save a downtown Warren building that caught fire three hours after the city's 86 firemen went out on strike. A three-story apartment and commercial building at 804 E. Market St. is destroyed, leaving six tenants homeless and the 800 Bar on the ground floor out of business. Chief J. Bruce LaBaugh and one assistant are the only trained firefighters on duty. They were joined by Mayor Art Richards and several other administrators in trying to contain the fire.
Youngstown's New Year's Eve celebration isn't as old as New York's which began in 1905, but it still drew 5,000 people downtown and they showed just as much enthusiasm as the revelers in Times Square.
Republic Steel's new $90 million coke plant under construction in Warren will be partially exempted from property taxes, according to an Ohio EPA official, because it is an air pollution control project.
January 2, 1963: A $250,000 fire destroys the office and damages the shop of Aerolite Extrusion Co., 4605 Lake Park Road. Boardman firemen battle the fire and cold temperatures for two hours.
John H. "Jack" Lemon, 71, retired Youngstown city clerk, dies at his home on Idlewood Ave. He was clerk for 38 years under nine mayors and was widely respected for his public service.
A 30-year-old Powersdale Ave. man is being held on an open charge after an auto chase through Mahoning and Trumbull counties by 36 police cars from 12 police departments at speeds over 100 mph.
Sharon Steel Corp. is acquiring the Union Steel Corp. of Union, N.J., a manufacturer of stainless steel tubing and pipe as part of Sharon's expansion and modernization program.
January 2, 1953: Two persons die in an East Side fire blamed on a short circuit in Christmas tree lights. Dead are Earl Filimon, 31, of 1115 Kimmel St., and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Dorothy Marsteller, 21. Filimon's wife, Margie, is in North Side Hospital, where she gave birth to the couple's third child.
The city of Youngstown closes 1952 with a bonded debt of $4.8 million, Finance Director J. Emerson Davis reports. When Mayor Charles Henderson took office Jan. 1, 1948, outstanding debt was $6.5 million. The city has a taxable value of $74.70 for each dollar of outstanding debt.
The Hilltoppers, singing their newest hits, "Trying" and "You Made Up My Mind," are coming to Stambaugh Auditorium with Lionel Hampton, King of the Vibra Harp. All seats reserved, $2, $2.50 and $3.
January 2, 1928: Members of the Youngstown Fire Department honor their retiring chief, Joseph Wallace, for 31 years as a member of the department, by presenting him with a beautiful watch with his initials neatly engraved. Wallace announces that he has accepted a position with the Sharp Bros. Plaster Co., 112 Oak Hill Ave.
The P & amp;O railroad turns over hundreds of old utility poles to Christ's Mission Settlement where able-bodied men who are out of work are splitting them into firewood for delivery to customers.
Youngstown's newest playhouse, the State, throws open its doors to the public and before the theater is closed after the last performance of the day several thousand persons see and praise the building's beauty.