Today is Friday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2008. There are 320 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2008. There are 320 days left in the year. On this date in 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blows up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1879, President Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escapes an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounds Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara is executed more than four weeks later. In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrenders to the Japanese during World War II. In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to Czechoslovakia, are killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium. In 1965, Canada’s new maple-leaf flag is unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa. In 1986, the Philippines National Assembly proclaims Ferdinand E. Marcos president for another six years, following an election marked by allegations of fraud. (Marcos ends up being ousted from power.)

February 15, 1983: A General Motors-Toyota joint venture to build a small car at a California plant could mean jobs for the Mahoning Valley, because Packard Electric’s wiring operations are expected to produce wiring harnesses for the new car.

By refusing to sign foreclosure deeds, Mahoning County Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. is flirting with dereliction of duty, the very criminal charges he brought against three Youngstown city officials in 1982 regarding airport operations, says county Prosecutor Vincent E. Gilmartin.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society will open a soup kitchen at the Youngstown State University Newman Center at Rayen and Wick avenues, serving lunch every Wednesday and Friday.

February 15, 1968: The U.S. Air Force has canceled plans to shut down its reserve base at Youngstown Municipal Airport, says Rep. Michael J. Kirwan. The announcement raises the possibility that the 910th Airlift Group may receive larger, newer aircraft, such as four-engined C-130s to replace its aging Flying Boxcars.

S.Sgt. Frank Ramos Jr., 33, is reported killed in Vietnam, about a month after he had originally been scheduled to return to the United States.

Youngstown City Council passes a resolution authorizing the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority to seek a 300-unit public housing complex for the elderly.

February 15, 1958: Atty. Allen J. Swain says missing 6th Ward Councilman John J. Tobin was the brains behind an insurance swindle that fleeced American Associated Insurance Co. out of $250,000 to $500,000.

A 38-year-old gunman who held up the night attendant at the College Sunoco Service Station on Wick Ave., is captured and disarmed after he backed into the arms of off-duty Patrolman Norbert Smith, who stopped for gas.

Industrial production, a major barometer of the nation’s economic condition, drops to its lowest level in three years, says the Federal Reserve Board.

February 15, 1933: Police are seeking bombing racketeers after a blast wrecks a restaurant and barroom at S. Pine Avenue and Clinton Street and damages the fronts of 16 storefronts on both sides of Pine adjacent to the restaurant.

Youngstown Mayor Mark Moore is going to Washington to make a plea for relief funds to pay for the hospital care for indigents.

The Dime Savings Bank, one of Stark County’s larger institutions, closed in October 1931, reopens its doors in Canton, making $575,000 available to some 15,000 depositors. It is the eighth banking institution to resume business in the county in recent months.