Today is Easter Sunday, April 16, the 106th day of 2006. There are 259 days left in the year. On

Today is Easter Sunday, April 16, the 106th day of 2006. There are 259 days left in the year. On this date in 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blows up at the harbor in Texas City, Texas; another ship, the Highflyer, explodes the following day. The blasts and resulting fires kill 576 people.
In 1789, President-elect George Washington leaves Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York. In 1862, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia becomes law. In 1912, Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel. In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returns to Russia after years of exile. In 1935, the radio comedy program "Fibber McGee and Molly" premieres on the NBC Blue Network. In 1945, in his first speech to Congress, President Truman pledges to carry out the war and peace policies of his late predecessor, President Roosevelt. In 1947, financier and presidential confidant Bernard M. Baruch says in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse: "Let us not be deceived -- we are today in the midst of a cold war." In 1972, Apollo 16 blasts off on a voyage to the moon. In 1986, dispelling rumors he is dead, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appears on television to condemn the U.S. raid on his country. In 1991, Sir David Lean, director of "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago," dies in London at age 83.
April 16, 1981: Discovery of an FBI bug at the Calla Mar Manor indicates that federal authorities have apparently intensified their investigation of a gangland war for control of Mahoning Valley gambling that has left nine men dead, two wounded and one missing over two years.
General Motors van plant at Lordstown is closing for two weeks, idling about 2,100 employees, in an effort to adjust field inventories of the vehicles.
The Cafaro Co. of Youngstown, owners of the Eastwood Mall, offers to assist in talks between Niles and the Western Reserve Transit Authority to retain the level of bus service the WRTA provides Niles.
April 16, 1966: Mahoning County's Community College, assured of a state charter by the Ohio Board of Regents, may merge with the proposed Columbiana County College, which is under pressure to consolidate.
Patricia Jo Horwatt, who began dancing at 3 and was active in the Children's Theater and the Youngstown Playhouse, dies of leukemia at the age of 11. She was an honor student at the Fifth Avenue Elementary School in Struthers and the fourth grade spelling bee champion in 1965.
Actress Elizabeth Hartman boards a United Air Lines jet at Youngstown Municipal Airport for Hollywood, where she will attend the Academy Awards banquet. She is nominated for an Oscar for her role in "Patch of Blue."
April 16, 1956: Edward Cardinal Mooney, Archbishop of Detroit, tells 1,500 fund-raising volunteers at Stambaugh Auditorium, that "No nation was ever blessed with the maintenance of religious principles in its citizens unless its educational system made possible in some practical way the instruction of children in the religion of their parents." Cardinal Mooney spoke at the campaign rally for the Mahoning Valley high schools, which is attempting to raise $600,000 toward $3 million needed for two Catholic high schools in Youngstown.
A mysterious explosion badly damages the Hillcrest Sportsman's Club, a poolroom and sandwich shop, at 138 Walton St., Struthers.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections approves the hiring of more than 200 extra poll workers for the May 8 primary elections. Most will be assigned to precincts where heavy voting is expected.
April 16, 1931: Busy shoppers in Youngstown in 1929 spent more than $101 million for food, apparel, automobiles and other retail merchandise, bureau of census figures show.
Mahoning County judges say they will follow the recommendations of the Ohio Supreme Court in investigating the actions of county Prosecutor Ray Thomas by holding a public hearing rather than seeking a special grand jury investigation.
Preparation for spring business at an alleged joint in East Madison Ave. at stop 15 on the Sharon Line is wrecked by Vice Squad officers who seized 500 quart bottles of beer and 35 gallons that were still brewing. Police say the beer was being prepared for warm-weather consumption.