VIENNA Local officials OK loan to port authority

THE VINDICATOR
VIENNA -- Trumbull County commissioners have approved lending the Western Reserve Port Authority $150,000 to help get Vacation Express flights from the local airport off the ground.
The port authority, which runs the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, has three years to repay the money, according to action approved by commissioners Thursday.
The money will be advanced from the county's room-tax account.
Until last year, proceeds from the county's tax on hotel rooms could only be spent to promote tourism. However, a change in state law promoted by commissioners permits the money to be used for the port authority.
Mahoning County commissioners have also pledged to lend the port authority $150,000 to subsidize the new airline's start-up costs.