LOCAL

LOCAL
New Family Dollar to open
YOUNGSTOWN -- A new Family Dollar store will open Thursday at 1370 Belmont Ave.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 9 a.m. at the main entrance before the store opens.
It will be the 354th Family Dollar store in Ohio.
NATION
Labor situationat airline on hold
CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines' labor situation remained in limbo Thursday as a federal judge declined to rule on a threatened strike by the carrier's baggage handlers and customer-service agents until after their contract standoff is resolved.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel put off until June 7 a decision on the machinists union's request for a temporary restraining order that would have barred United from trying to impede a strike.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers maintains it has the right to strike if United's bid to terminate its contract is approved by a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday. The two sides are in talks to try to reach a contract agreement that would make that ruling unnecessary.
United contends a strike would be illegal under the Railway Labor Act even if the contract is terminated.
Appeals court sides with Napa vintners
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The California Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a state law requiring that wine with "Napa" on its label be made mostly from Napa grapes.
The ruling was a disappointment to Bronco Wine Co., the major Central California producer which had challenged the state law.
The case involves a state law passed in 2000 requiring that if a wine has Napa on the label, the wine must be made from at least 75 percent grapes grown in Napa County.
Napa vintners say selling non-Napa wines under the Napa label weakens their product's value. Napa grapes are highly prized, with cabernet sauvignon grapes commanding nearly $4,000 per ton compared to the statewide red wine grape average of about $600 a ton.
Bronco, makers of the popular Two Buck Chuck, had argued the law could not trump federal regulations which also have the 75 percent requirement but exempt brands established before 1986. The state law closed that loophole.
Bronco has three brands made from non-Napa grapes -- Napa Ridge, Napa Creek Winery and Rutherford Vintners. Bronco officials say their labels aren't deceptive since grape origins are written on the label, albeit in smaller print.
Bronco might ask the California Supreme Court to review the ruling, Bronco attorney Peter M. Brody said.
The state Supreme Court upheld California's labeling law last year. Bronco appealed to the Supreme Court, but the high court declined to intervene.
In its suit, Bronco argued that the law impinges its free speech rights, hinders interstate commerce and is unconstitutional because it deprives the company of income without compensation.
The appellate court rejected those arguments.
Combined dispatches