Today is Wednesday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2008

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2008. There are 308 days left in the year. On this date in 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, is gutted by fire. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, uses the fire as justification for suspending civil liberties.

In 1801, the District of Columbia is placed under the jurisdiction of Congress. In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is born in Portland, Maine. In 1861, in Warsaw, Russian troops fire on a crowd protesting Russian rule over Poland; five marchers are killed. In 1922, the Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upholds the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees the right of women to vote. In 1939, the Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., outlaws sit-down strikes. In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, is ratified. In 1960, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeats the Soviets, 3-2, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. (The U.S. team goes on to win the gold medal.)

February 27, 1983: Youngstown Municipal Airport may eventually regain its importance as an air carrier terminal which — together with its industrial park — would play a vital role in re-establishing the Youngstown district as a healthy and growing metropolitan area, says John S. Andrews, local business consultant.

Midwest Inn Services, the new owner of the Avalon Inn, plans a new drive promoting the inn as a dining/entertainment complex.

Hundreds of people attend the Strouss Baseball Card Show in the second-floor auditorium of the downtown Youngstown department store.

February 27, 1968: A $1 million discount department store will be built on Mahoning Avenue in Austtintown as the first Youngstown area retail development by the Cook Coffee Co. of Cleveland.

An 18-year-old Miltonia Avenue high school dropout is fined $150 and sentenced to 112 days in jail in Youngstown Municipal Court on charges of creating a disturbance at Rayen School and carrying a concealed weapon.

Gus Hall, a former Youngstowner who is leader of the American Communist Party, opens the World Communist World Conference in Budapest, delivering a message of sympathy and support for North Vietnam.

February 27, 1958: Mrs. Charles F.A. Page, 43, of near Springfield, Mass., the former Caroline Stambaugh of Youngstown, accidentally shoots and kills her husband at their country estate, “Thunder Top.” She tells police she and her husband were cleaning pistols in the den when a 22-caliber pistol discharged.

Good crowds of shoppers descend on downtown Youngstown to take advantage of many bargains be offered by 84 downtown stores.

February 27, 1933: Banks in Youngstown declare restrictions and on “large and unusual withdrawals” in an attempt to stop private hoarding of cash. Most banks are limiting withdrawals to 5 percent of deposits; one Cleveland bank has established a 1 percent limit.

Youngstown City Councilman Michael J. Kirwan proposes legislation fixing a $100 penalty for anyone convicted of obtaining relief for the poor under false pretenses.

City officials and councilmen from Youngstown, Akron, Warren, Girard, Struthers and Niles are discussing the feasibility of building a central power station that would provide electricity for all cities.