LOCAL

LOCAL
Charles Osgood to speak at Better Business Bureau
BOARDMAN -- Charles Osgood, anchor of CBS News' "Sunday Morning" and "The Osgood File," will be the keynote speaker at the Better Business Bureau's fourth Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics on Feb. 16 at Mr. Anthony's.
The Torch Award honors area businesses that exemplify outstanding marketplace ethics and a strong commitment to serving their community, according to the BBB.
The event features a gourmet dinner and an open bar from 6 to 7 p.m.
Seating is limited, and reservations are required. Call (330) 744-7210 to make reservations.
First Niles Financial sees increased income in 2004
NILES -- First Niles Financial, Inc., the holding company for Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles, has reported net income for the quarter ending Dec. 31 totaled $240,000 compared to $275,000 for the same quarter in 2003
Net income for the year ending Dec. 31, 2004, was $1.03 million compared with $1.06 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003.
The company said return on average assets for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2004, was 0.97 percent and 1.04 percent respectively. Return on average assets for the comparative periods in 2003 was 1.10 percent and 1.06 percent, respectively.
Primary earnings per share for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2004 was 18 cents and 79 cents, respectively, as compared with 21 cents and 80 cents for the respective comparative periods in 2003.
At the end of 2004, the company had assets of $99.2 million compared with $100 million at the end of 2003.
Starr Fabrications plans to improve its building
WARREN -- Starr Fabrication Inc. in Vienna Township plans improvements of $1.3 million to $4.8 million at its 4175 Warren-Sharon Road facility.
Trumbull County commissioners are expected today to approve an enterprise zone agreement for the company. It is requesting tax incentives of 60 percent for 10 years on new real and personal property investments.
The company plans to hire an additional 28 employees within three years of the project completion, it has told the county. The company employs 64, according to the planning commission.
Vienna Township trustees also have approved tax incentives of 60 percent for 10 years.
The company plans additions or new construction of $300,000 to $1.45 million.
Improvements to the building would be $30,000 to $165,000; new machinery and equipment would total $750,000 to $2.65 million. New furniture and fixtures would be $20,000 to $75,000; new additional inventory would be $200,000 to $500,000.
STATE
Cleveland Clinic gets $17.22 million grant
The Cleveland Clinic has been awarded a five-year, $17.22 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance its research into the science of heart attacks. The federal funding will support clinic studies in four key areas: the genetics of heart attacks, the genetics of atherosclerosis, the role of proteins in arterial disease, and the role of inflammation markers in the formation of coronary plaques.
NATION
Microsoft revamps system, wants users to update
SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. released eight security fixes Tuesday that carry its highest threat rating and urged computer users to install them quickly because all the vulnerabilities they address could let attackers take complete control of systems.
Seven of the security vulnerabilities Microsoft marked "critical" affect the Windows operating system and related software, including the Internet Explorer browser, media player and instant messaging program. The eighth is with the Redmond software maker's Office XP business software.
Deadline nears for people to collect tax refunds
WASHINGTON -- About 1.7 million people are missing out on more than $2 billion in refunds for taxes they paid three years ago.
The window to claim the money closes in nine weeks.
"As soon as you send us your tax return, you'll get your money," Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson said Tuesday. "But if you don't file, you won't get anything."
Taxpayers must act by April 15 to claim a refund for taxes paid in 2001, under laws that make the money the property of the U.S. Treasury after sitting unclaimed for three years.
The IRS estimated that half the people due refunds could claim more than $484. It takes a 2001 tax return, filed by mail, to get that check. There's no penalty for filing a return late to claim a refund.
Super Bowl ad pulled
NEW YORK -- A racy ad was pulled at the last minute from a second showing during the Super Bowl telecast on Sunday after NFL executives objected that the spot made light of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" incident in last year's halftime show.
The ad for GoDaddy.com Inc. featured a buxom woman appearing before a "broadcast censorship" hearing, when suddenly a strap breaks on her already skimpy top.
Although the spot was initially approved by Fox executives prior to airing, a decision was made during broadcast not to air the spot a second time later in the game. Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the NFL, said that the NFL's chief operating officer, Roger Godell, expressed his "disappointment" to Fox executives after seeing the first airing of the ad.McCarthy said the NFL had not reviewed the ad prior to its airing, and was not aware that it had been scheduled to be repeated later in the game. "We questioned why a spot of that nature was in the game," McCarthy said, noting its "inappropriateness" and the fact that it referred to last year's incident.
From Vindicator staff/wire reports