Today is Wednesday, March 18, the 77th day of 2009. There are 288 days left in the year. On this

Today is Wednesday, March 18, the 77th day of 2009. There are 288 days left in the year. On this date in 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Hawaii statehood bill. (Hawaii becomes a state on Aug. 21, 1959.)

In 1766, Britain repeals the Stamp Act of 1765. In 1837, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, Grover Cleveland, is born in Caldwell, N.J. In 1909, Einar Dessau of Denmark uses a shortwave transmitter to converse with a government radio post about six miles away in what’s believed to have been the first broadcast by a “ham” operator. In 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi is sentenced in India to six years in prison for civil disobedience. (He is released after serving two years.) In 1938, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas nationalizes his country’s petroleum reserves and takes control of foreign-owned oil facilities. In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass, where the Italian dictator agrees to join Germany’s war against France and Britain. In 1962, France and Algerian rebels sign a cease-fire agreement, which takes effect the next day. In 1965, the first spacewalk takes place as Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov goes outside his Voskhod 2 capsule, secured by a tether.

March 18, 1984: The possibility of development on Routes 62 and 7 across from the Truck World Mall has triggered a renewed drive to bring water from Hubbard city to the township.

Mahoning County Welfare Department officials pass over the top six scorers on a recent civil service exam before giving the job to the seventh person on the eligibility list.

The Trumbull County prosecutor’s and treasurer’s offices are launching a drive to collect delinquent real estate and personal property taxes estimated at several hundred thousand dollars.

March 18, 1969: Warren City Council rejects a proposal by the Warren Transportation Co. to continue service after April 10. The bus company invoked a 120-day cancellation clause in January, signalling the end of bus service in the city.

President Richard M. Nixon awards the Medal of Honor posthumously to Pfc. Melvin E. Newlin of Wellsville. Pvt. Newlin’s parents, Mr. And Mrs. Joseph L. Newlin of Wellsville, accept the medal at the White House.

Trumbull County offices are operating normally after employees vote to accept a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer from two of the county’s three commissioners.

March 18, 1959: Carole E. Brown, 21, of Mineral Ridge, pleads guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her husband, and is sentenced to life in prison, but could be free in 10 years.

Advertisement: A complete Easter outfit for boys is $9.93 at Atlantic Mills, America’s largest self-service thrift department store. Fedora hat, $1.41; 2-piece suit, $4.71; shirt and bow tie, 99 cents; stretch socks, 25 cents, and shoes, $2.57.

March 18, 1934: Youngstown hospital officials are discussing insured hospital service (group hospitalization) under which employed residents of the city could get care when they become ill by paying a fixed annual sum.

With weather conditions ideal, thousands of Easter shoppers jam the downtown stores, with one executive saying business was better than Christmas.

Ohio Gov. George White orders the deportation of undesirable aliens who are incarcerated in Ohio penal institutions. Each case will be considered on its merits and breadwinners will not be deported, which would leave their families behind and destitute.