OHIO, PA.

OHIO, PA.
Armstrong cable honored
BUTLER, Pa. -- Armstrong's cable television system serving the Youngstown area received the Jud L. Sedwick System of the Year Award for 2004 during the communication company's recent awards dinner.
General Manager Dan McGahagan accepted the award on behalf of the nearly 50 employees who work at Armstrong's Boardman office. McGahagan was recently promoted to the position after the retirement of longtime Boardman General Manager Paul Wachtel.
Jeffrey Ross, president of Armstrong's cable television division, said "Boardman won because they had the best performance against goals for subscribers, finances, productivity, operational performance and safety."
The award is named for Armstrong's founder.
Boardman is one of 12 cable television systems operated by Armstrong.
Lubrizol picks chairman
CLEVELAND -- Lubrizol Corp., a maker of additives for lubricants and fuels, said Monday that its board elected James L. Hambrick, president and chief executive, as its chairman.
Hambrick, 49, will succeed W.G. Bares, who plans to retire this year.
The appointment takes effect Jan. 3, the Cleveland-based company said.
Hambrick joined Lubrizol in 1978. He was elected president in January 2003 and chief executive in April.
Bares, 63, joined Lubrizol in 1963. He was elected a director in 1981, president in 1982, chief operating officer in 1987 and chairman, president and chief executive in 1996.
Bares retired as chief executive in April.
In afternoon trading, shares of Lubrizol closed at $35.29, up 23 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Lubrizol had 2003 revenue of $2.05 billion.
NATION
Battelle gets contract
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute and the University of Tennessee have received a five-year contract extension to run the government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Monday.
The current contract, which UT-Battelle LLC won in 1999, was due to expire March 31. The extension through 2010 is valued at $4.8 billion.
"We are very pleased to take this step," Abraham said. "UT-Battelle has a proven and sustained track record of excellent performance and has led the effort to modernize this important DOE facility."
UT has long held a research relationship with the federal lab but didn't seek a management role until joining with Battelle, a nonprofit organization based in Columbus.
Gasoline sells lower
WASHINGTON -- The retail price of gasoline fell for the sixth straight week to average $1.85 per gallon nationwide, the Energy Department reported Monday.
The government survey said the average price nationwide of regular-grade unleaded gasoline declined 6.4 cents last week to $1.847. Prices are 38.2 cents, or 26 percent, higher than a year ago.
Pump prices are highest on the West Coast, averaging $2.066 per gallon, and cheapest on the Gulf Coast, averaging $1.761 per gallon. In the Midwest, gas averages $1.729 per gallon.
One of the key factors behind the high price of gasoline is expensive oil -- the result of strong demand, geopolitical uncertainties and tight domestic supplies of heating oil.
UnitedHealthcare to pay
WASHINGTON -- UnitedHealthcare, a health benefits processor, will pay the federal government $3.5 million to settle allegations of fraud stemming from mishandling of telephone calls involving the Medicare program, the Justice Department announced.
The penalty stems from a whistle-blower lawsuit brought in November 2001 by a former UnitedHealthcare employee, who will receive a $647,500 share for calling attention to the matter under the federal False Claims Act.
According to the settlement, UnitedHealthcare knowingly mishandled phone inquiries from certain Medicare beneficiaries and providers from 1996 through 2000, then falsely reported its performance to administrators of the Medicare program.
At the time, UnitedHealthcare had a Medicare contract to process claims for medical equipment in the northeastern part of the country.
Airline cuts salaries
CHICAGO -- United Airlines took a first step toward achieving the additional labor savings it seeks in bankruptcy, imposing wage reductions on its 8,500 nonunion employees that include an 11 percent pay cut for CEO Glenn Tilton and other top executives.
The airline, owned by UAL Corp., told employees on a company hot line Monday that the cuts will account for $112 million of the $725 million a year in labor savings it needs.
They do not include an additional 4 percent temporary reduction in salary that will take effect with the permanent cuts Jan. 1 and remain in place until United emerges from bankruptcy. The nation's No. 2 carrier has not specified a target date for its exit from Chapter 11, but with the industry still in financial turmoil that is now not expected until next fall.
Staff/wire reports