Today is Saturday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2006. There are 302 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2006. There are 302 days left in the year. On this date in 1789, the Constitution of the United States goes into effect as the first Federal Congress meets in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourn for lack of a quorum.)
In 1681, England's King Charles II grants a charter to William Penn for an area of land that later becomes Pennsylvania. In 1791, Vermont becomes the 14th state. In 1837, the Illinois state legislature grants a city charter to Chicago. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated president. In 1902, the American Automobile Association is founded in Chicago. In 1906, John McAllister Schofield, a Union general in the Civil War and onetime commanding general of the army, dies in St. Augustine, Fla., at age 74.
March 4, 1981: Rebates and bonuses being offered by the big four American automakers have apparently fueled the new car market with area sales showing a dramatic increase in February.
Unmarked vehicles of the Trumbull County Sheriff's Department will be cruising Weathersfield Township, says newly appointed township Trustee George Bucella, in response to a rash of recent robberies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation opens an investigation into alleged misuse of federal funds in Youngstown's housing rehabilitation program.
March 4, 1966: Campbell City Council reacts quickly to a suggestion by Youngstown Councilman Jack Hunter that Youngstown and 11 surrounding communities, including Campbell, merge. Campbell "can walk on its own two feet without help from Youngstown," says Campbell Councilman Dominic Romeo.
No "organized" gambling is being conducted in the Shenango Valley, says a report filed with District Attorney Edward Bell, but there is sufficient evidence of gaming activity to warrant continued surveillance by state police.
William Frawley, who played neighbor Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy" and Bub on "My Three Sons," dies in Hollywood at the age of 73.
March 4, 1956: Two men, both stationed at the Youngstown Air Force Base and part-time operators of a Sinclair service station at Madison and Fifth avenues, are severely burned in an explosion at the station. A spark from an oil heater is suspected of causing the blast. John Stevens, 21, and Ernest Hannah, 24, are hospitalized.
James W. Shocknessy, chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, suggests a conference of turnpike officials from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey to discuss linking the toll roads into an uninterrupted 800-mile superhighway from New York City to Chicago.
March 4, 1931: Gov. White once again refuses to authorize a state probe of the utility scandal in Youngstown, telling Mahoning County judges that they have all the authority necessary to conduct a proper investigation.
Youngstown school director S.R. Creps says cuts will be made in all areas to trim the budget by $500,000 to match the anticipated revenue of $3.9 million.
Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. sales executives are awaiting final confirmation of a big pipe order, 35,000 tons of steel pipe from Sinclair-Texas Pipe Line Co.
The world's deepest oil well is claimed by Shell Oil Co., which announces a drill has been driven down 9,700 feet at a site 50 miles northwest of Bakersfield, Calif.