Today is Tuesday, Aug. 5, the 218th day of 2008. There are 148 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 5, the 218th day of 2008. There are 148 days left in the year. On this date in 1858, the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, the dreamchild of American businessman Cyrus Field, is laid between Newfoundland and Ireland. (However, after several weeks of use, the cable burns out.)

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut leads his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala. In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal is laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. In 1914, one of the first, if not the first, electric traffic light systems is installed in Cleveland, Ohio, at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. In 1924, the comic strip “Little Orphan Annie,” by Harold Gray, makes its debut.

August 5, 1983: The Mahoning County grand jury indicts Clevelander James Lee Hall on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of architect Douglas Skica during a robbery at the Boardman home of Skica’s parents. Conviction could carry the death penalty.

Dr. John J. Coffelt, president of Youngstown State University, is taking a medical leave of absence for treatment of a respiratory problem. Dr. Neil D. Humphrey will serve as acting president.

The Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio reports 1,719 new cars and trucks were registered in Mahoning and Trumbull counties in July, an increase of 86 percent over the same month a year earlier.

August 5, 1968: The 58 members of the Ohio delegation to the Republican National Convention say they will stick with Gov. James A. Rhodes as their favorite son candidate on the first ballot . The decision could deny Richard M. Nixon a first ballot victory.

The Youngstown Hospital Association purchases two $1,500 recording devices that will allow doctors to dictate their notes over the telephone so that a typist can transcribe them. The machines will reduce the need for doctors to return to the hospital in the evening, on weekends or on their days off to handle paper work.

Hubbard Mayor Joseph J. Baldine presents miniature gold police badges to four auxiliary policemen who have completed 26 years of service since the organization was formed in 1942. They are Anthony J. Scarpine, William McBride, Harold W. Bell and William Webb. Unable to attend were Joseph J. Black, Orion A. Johnson and David J. Miller.

August 5, 1958: Municipal Judge Robert B. Nevin binds Joseph Sabatino, 67, over to the Mahoning County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a neighbor and visitor during a swimming party on Brunswick Road.

Albert R. Haenny is named to succeed James L. Wick Jr. on the Mill Creek Park Commission. Wick, former president and general manager of Falcon Bronze Co., resigned after serving more than 20 years on the board.

August 5, 1933: Youngstown’s Christy Deibel is on his way home from England where, among other things, he played in a foursome of golf with the Prince of Wales. Deibel and his partner, Raleigh Leigh of Columbus, defeated the Prince and his partner, Major E.E. M. Fryer.

Residents of a Hoover City established three years ago by 75 to 100 homeless men at the Cedar Street dump defy a police order to vacate their shacks made of packing boxes and scraps or face a city wrecking crew. The men beat the city to the punch by pouring gasoline on the structures and setting fire to them.

Fred B. King, founder of Fred B. King & Sons Funeral Home in Youngstown, dies unexpectedly in the Linesville, Pa., Sanitarium, where he had been undergoing treatment for a throat infection. He was 64.