Today is Wednesday, April 23, the 114th day of 2008. There are 252 days left in the year. On this

Today is Wednesday, April 23, the 114th day of 2008. There are 252 days left in the year. On this date in 1564, is believed to be the birthdate of English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare; he dies 52 years later, also on April 23.

In 1789, President-elect George Washington moves into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York. In 1896, the Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen is publicly demonstrated in New York City. In 1940, about 200 people die in the Rhythm Night Club Fire in Natchez, Miss. In 1958, the film noir thriller “Touch of Evil,” starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Orson Welles, who also directed, is released. In 1968, student protesters begin occupying buildings on the campus of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a week later. In 1968, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merge to form the United Methodist Church. In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan is sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence is later reduced to life imprisonment.)

April 23, 1983: Gov. Richard F. Celeste’s 1984-85 budget will include an increase in funding for Youngstown State University, but not enough to restore budget cuts suffered by YSU in recent years.

New Castle city officials are looking into the possibility of taking over the Mesta Machine Co. through the process of eminent domain as part of a proposal that would allow employees to reopen the plant.

The groundwork is being laid for construction of an above-ground reservoir in Green Township that would provide water to southern Mahoning County and could stimulate economic growth in that area.

April 23, 1968: Kelly and Cohen of Pittsburgh, a subsidiary of Shoe Corp. of America, will open a major appliance, radio and television store at 27 W. Federal St., the former site of the downtown G.C. Murphy store.

Amelia Picciochi testifies for more than an hour about the rest home she operates at 97 Wick Oval. She says she does not operate the home at a profit, but takes six to nine bedridden people in at a time who cannot help themselves and whom she has never charged a penny in 34 years. The state revoked her license in September.

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. reports a good first quarter earning nearly $11 million, or $1.01 per share, on sales of $215 million.

April 23, 1958: The Greater Youngstown Area Foundation changes its name to the Youngstown Area Development Association and says the district’s prospects for new industrial development is “exceptionally good.”

U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan of Youngstown will attend the dedication of the new Cape Hatteras National Park in North Carolina as a guest of Gov. Luther Hodges and National Park Director Conrad Wirth.

Major crimes in Youngstown in 1957 rose only 3.8 percent over the previous year, compared to a national increase of 9.1 percent. Murders in the city more than doubled, from eight to 17.

April 23, 1933: Jurors in the trial of Cyrus Neff said none favored acquittal in the death of his wife; the 13 hours of deliberation centered on which charge to agree on. Three men wanted first-degree murder, six women favored manslaughter. The jury returned a verdict of second-degree murder.

New life is injected into a proposed Mahoning and Beaver rivers canal to the Ohio River, with U.S. Rep. John Cooper of Youngstown pledging his support.

A bill to legalize Sunday dancing in Campbell is passed to second reading at a special session of city council, which received a petition signed by 300 people favoring dancing.