REGION

REGION
WCI Steel fires upits blast furnace
WARREN -- The blast furnace at WCI Steel was to be restarted this morning. By Monday, the first shipment of molten iron is to be sent to the basic oxygen furnace, where it will be converted to molten steel, said Tim Roberts, a company spokesman.
The blast furnace has been shut down since June 4 so it could be relined, a critical maintenance procedure. Some employees have remained on the job, while others have taken vacation or been temporarily laid off. Workers who have been off the job will be brought back sequentially as departments at the mill come back on line, Roberts said.
Joblessness jumpsin Mahoning Valley
YOUNGSTOWN -- Unemployment rates in the Mahoning Valley jumped last month, though they remain lower than they were a year earlier.
In Mahoning County, the jobless rate in June was 7.6 percent, compared with 7.0 percent in May and 7.9 percent in June 2003. The rate in Youngstown was much worse at 13.3 percent last month.
The rates in other counties were: Trumbull, 7.1 percent, compared with 5.9 percent in May and 7.3 percent in June 2003; and Columbiana, 8 percent, compared with 6.6 percent in May 2004 and 9.4 percent in June 2003.
For the state, the jobless rate last month was 5.8 percent, up from 5.6 percent in May.
New business helpspeople organize
NORTH LIMA -- Debra Bish, a former senior vice president at Sky Bank, has started Organized A to Z, an at-home business that helps people become organized.
The business offers four one-hour workshops that focus on organizing different areas. Those attending workshops receive organizing information and a catalog with 150 organizing products.
The business is a direct sales company. It relies on clients to invite company representatives into their homes to hold a workshop for usually six to 12 others. For more information, call (330) 716-2297.
Average gas pricerose nickel last week
INDEPENDENCE -- The average price for self-serve gasoline in northeast Ohio rose a nickel in the past week to $1.93 a gallon, according to the AAA Ohio Motorists Association's weekly survey.
Consumers are paying 39 cents a gallon more this week than they were at this time last year. The national average this week is $1.91.
Crude oil prices remain high because of speculation in the futures market, concern over security of supplies and a decrease in U.S. fuel inventories, said Brian Newbacher, a spokesman for the AAA Ohio Motorists Association. It covers nine counties, including Mahoning and Trumbull.
From Vindicator staff reports