Today is Tuesday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2009. There are 303 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Tuesday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2009. There are 303 days left in the year. On this date in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signs a measure making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States.

In 1849, the U.S. Department of the Interior is established. In 1894, British Prime Minister William Gladstone submits his resignation to Queen Victoria, ending his fourth and final premiership. In 1945, the Allies fully secure the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World War II. In 1959, the United States launches the Pioneer 4 spacecraft, which flies by the moon, and Comedian Lou Costello dies of a heart attack in East Los Angeles, Calif., three days before his 53rd birthday. In 1969, Apollo 9 blasts off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a mission to test the lunar module. In 1974, a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashes shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport in Paris, killing all 346 people on board. In 1991, motorist Rodney King is severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video .

March 3, 1984: Mayor Patrick Ungaro says 20 city employees will be laid off after six unions representing city employees reject the administration’s call for concessions.

Mahoning County Commissioner George Bindas, 71, announces at a meeting of the Mahoning County Democratic committeemen and women that he will not seek a sixth term as commissioner.

The two Republican members of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, Dr. William Binning and Ruth Lindesmith, agree to join Democrats Don L. Hanni Jr. and Russell Saadey in voting to replace the county’s 30-year-old voting machines with a computerized system.

March 3, 1969: A neighbor’s heroism is credited with saving a Hubbard Township resident after flames spread through the home of Elmer Clark of 74 Roseview Drive. The neighbor, Ronald Noel, saw flames and smashed a window to get into the house, saving Clark and his four daughters.

Youngstown detectives file burglary charges against three teen-age youths in a burglary at North High School and in the recovery of more than $2,000 in loot taken from another school.

Trumbull county employees return to work, ending a week-long strike.

March 3, 1959: Youngstown’s 50-year-old Roosevelt School on the East Side is beyond economical repair, says Architect John Samuels, who recommends building a new 10-room school for about $350,000.

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.’s output reflects the economy’s lag in 1958, shipping 2.5 million tons of steel products during the year, compared to $3.6 million the year before.

George Shuba of the Shuba-Wilkoff Sporting Goods Co. Accepts a district scouting job for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shuba played for the Dodgers from 1944 to 1956.

March 3, 1934: Gen. Edward Markham, chief of Army engineers, recommends construction of a Beaver-Mahoning canal that would cost $47 million. The federal government would pay $37 million, railroads $5.5 million, local subdivisions $1.5 million and private industry $1.2 million.

The Women Voters League gives city officials a series of 38 questions hinting at mismanagement of city affairs during a public hearing in City Council chambers.