LOCAL

LOCAL
Pizza buffet to open today
BOARDMAN -- Cici's Pizza Buffet will celebrate the opening of its first restaurant in the Mahoning Valley with a ribbon-cutting ceremony 3 p.m. today at 463 Boardman-Poland Road. Operations Manager Tony Hudson said the establishment's main goal is to provide high-quality food at low prices. Cici's has 480 locations in 26 states. Founder Joe Croce opened the first Cici's Pizza Buffet in Plano, Texas, in 1985. The restaurant offers 16 varieties of pizza, pasta, salad and desserts in a $3.99 all-you-can-eat buffet setting. Children 3 years of age or younger eat for free.
Caribou Coffee cuts ribbon
BOARDMAN -- The Regional Chamber will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:30 p.m. today to celebrate the opening of Caribou Coffee, 439 Boardman-Poland Road at the Shops at Boardman Park. General Manager Debbie Davis said she is excited about the impact Caribou Coffee has made in the community. The coffee shop opened in February. "Business has been booming," Davis said. "It's like an Alaskan lodge inside, warm and inviting." Caribou Coffee, headquartered in Minneapolis, began operation in 1992. It is the second-largest U.S. specialty coffee company, employing more than 4,000 associates. The shop offers roasted coffees, specialty drinks and pastries.
WORLD
24-hour strike hits BBC
LONDON -- Thousands of British Broadcasting Corp. journalists and technicians staged a 24-hour strike over proposed job cuts Monday, severely disrupting radio and TV programs. The stoppage, one of the biggest in the BBC's recent history, prevented flagship morning news program "Today" from broadcasting on Radio 4. The show was replaced by prerecorded programs with only brief news bulletins. The BBC also said its main television news-magazine program, "Newsnight," would be canceled. The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, one of three striking unions, said that from 13,000 to 15,000 workers walked off the job over plans to ax about 4,000 jobs.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports