REGION

REGION

Library to sponsor 3 business seminars

YOUNGSTOWN — The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will hold three business seminars. All programs are free. To register, call (330) 744-8636 and press 2 at the phone prompt.

A small-business seminar will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Poland Library. Information will be given on starting a business.

The library’s business and investment center will hold a session called Tools for Entrepreneurs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the main library. Staff will discuss print and electronic sources for businesses.

A session on databases will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 17 at the main library. Various databases are available from the library’s Web site and provide information to enhance a business or career.

Diane Calain to speak at networking meeting

WARREN — Diane Calain of Plant Industrial Advertising in Niles will speak Thursday at the weekly meeting of Business Connections of Warren. The professional networking group meets at 7:30 a.m. at the Mocha House. The group has one member per industry and meetings are held to help each member succeed in business. For more information, call Bob Fowler at (330) 652-7865.

Inventors association plans meeting in Liberty

LIBERTY — The Youngstown & Warren Inventors Association will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Liberty Township administration building, 1315 Church Hill-Hubbard Road. The guest speaker will be Victoria Thomas of Youngstown. She will talk about her pet bed product, which recently received a design patent. The meeting is open to the public, and there is no charge.

Dominion East Ohio offering grants

CLEVELAND — Dominion East Ohio is offering $100,000 in unrestricted grants in its Community Impact Awards. They recognize cities and community organizations that have made major contributions toward the economic and social revitalization of communities. The deadline is Nov. 24. For information, go to www.dom.com and type “2008 Community” under keyword.

PUCO warns consumers about telephone scams

COLUMBUS – The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is reminding residential and business customers of important tips that could help them protect against telephone scams. The two most common types of scams are slamming and cramming. Slamming is the illegal practice of changing your local or long distance telephone service without your permission. Cramming is the illegal practice of adding charges to your telephone bill for services that you did not order.

The PUCO advises these precautions:

UExamine the monthly bill and all charges on that bill. Look for unfamiliar company names, calls that were not made or services that were not ordered.

URequest appropriate blocking features such as a “900” call block, collect call block or international call block.

UBe careful of “activation codes” or answering “yes” to questions that may be intended to receive an authorization for a service. Read fine print carefully.

UAsk telemarketers for written information about any service they offer over the phone and don’t feel pressured into making an immediate decision.

From Vindicator staff reports