Today is Sunday, May 4, the 124th day of 2003. There are 241 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Sunday, May 4, the 124th day of 2003. There are 241 days left in the year. On this date in 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen open fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit lands on present-day Manhattan Island. In 1776, Rhode Island declares its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence is adopted. In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turns into a riot when a bomb explodes. In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded. In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, enters the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, begins during World War II. In 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agree to surrender. In 1961, a group of "Freedom Riders" leaves Washington for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation in interstate buses and bus terminals. In 1980, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia, dies three days before his 88th birthday. In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signs a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that grants self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
May 4, 1978: Negotiations are under way for construction of a new seven-story $3- to $4-million Holiday Inn in downtown New Castle. Peter A. Vessella, owner of the Holiday Inn on Route 422 that was damaged by fire in November, said he is interested in purchasing 4.9 acres of authority property along Neshannock Creek just north of E. Washington St.
The new 228-acre Columbiana County park is dedicated "Scenic Vista Park" during ceremonies at the site two miles southwest of Lisbon. Mrs. Anne Shaffer of Salem received a $50 savings bond as the winner of a concert to name the park.
Dr. Duane Rost, solar energy researcher, tells a group of 35 persons at the Niles observance of SUN Day that there's a lot of work to do promote the use of solar energy in the United States. Niles Councilman Robert Leonard is president of SUN, Solar Understanding for Niles.
May 4, 1963: Dan Luce, 13, of Hubbard Junior High School wins The Vindicator's 30th annual Spelling Bee at South High School. He wins by correctly spelling binnacle, a word on which runner-up Patricia Kennedy stumbled.
The Rev. Hunsdon Cary Jr., D.D., chairman of the welfare study committee for the Health and Welfare Council, describes Mahoning County's relief situation as a "nightmare" in a progress report to the council.
Teamsters Local 377 offers to pay Youngstown $4,155 for land in the W. Federal slum clearance area where it proposes to build a new union office building.
May 4, 1953: About 150 striking employees at the Truscon Steel Division of Republic Steel Corp. return to work, ending a two-day wildcat strike that union officials would only say grew from "an accumulation of causes."
A blue-ribbon polling board has been assigned to Precinct Y of the Third Ward, site of suspected tampering in the November election. Six persons have been indicted by the Mahoning County grand jury.
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May 4, 1928: Clarence Darrow, who has swung many a judge and jury over to his views, wins a debate with Rabbi I.E. Philo before 500 Youngstowners on the question: "Has Man a Soul, or is He a Mere Machine." Darrow, who asserted that there is nothing in a man beyond what can be bought at the corner drug store for 95 cents, convinced 20 persons to his side, while Rabbi Philo convinced 10, according to ballots tallied the next day.
Fourteen employees of the East Ohio Gas Co. are treated for burns at the Youngstown City Hospital following an explosion near the South Ave. bridge, where the men had been repairing a gas main. Eleven men were still being treated two hours after the accident, but it was unclear whether any would be admitted.
Spring has come to Youngstown and Youngstowners are going to the golf courses, tennis court and open road.