Business Digest

Bar and grill will open at MetroPlex

LIBERTY

Sammy G’s Bar & Grill is opening this week inside the MetroPlex Hotel & Conference Center, 1620 Motor Inn Drive.

The establishment will be open at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Dr. Indira Sammy bought the MetroPlex in November 2009 and has been upgrading the hotel.

Dr. James joins Vienna Dental

VIENNA

Dr. Bart James has left Aspen Dental and joined the practice of the Vienna Dental Center, 4400 Warren-Sharon Road. He will join Dr. Roger Clouse, who has practiced in Vienna for 38 years. Dr. James is a graduate of Mathews High School and Ohio State University.

Company retains Farris Marketing

BOARDMAN

Midwest Medical Consultants, a supplier of medical equipment to hospitals and other medical facilities, has retained Farris Marketing to develop and produce its first major positioning and marketing campaign. Boardman-based Midwest provides products throughout Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Farris is based in Boardman, with offices in Cleveland and Tampa.

Guard against identity theft

NEW YORK

Whether you’re filing your tax return electronically, downloading forms or e-mailing your accountant, identity thieves are ready to pounce on any Social Security numbers, addresses and bank account numbers you may unknowingly divulge.

Todd Feinman, chief executive of New York-based computer security firm Identity Finder LLC, advises people to password protect all returns printed to PDF, never e-mail forms with Social Security numbers and install upgrades to operating systems so vulnerabilities can’t be exploited.

Small changes can save family budget

NEW YORK

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, re-evaluating your grocery bill and making small changes in shopping habits can help shave your overall spending and family budget.

“Reducing your weekly grocery bill by just $25 will add an additional $100 a month that can be used to pay down debt or add to a savings account,” said Mechel Glass, director of education for Atlanta-based Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

CCCS gives this advice:

Look around. Many low-cost items, including store brands, are stocked on higher and lower shelves, while higher-priced items are at eye level.

Stock up during sales for staple items with a long shelf-life, but avoid buying things you wouldn’t normally purchase just because you have a coupon.

Buy in bulk — sometimes. It might be cheaper to buy three dozen eggs, but only if you don’t end up throwing a dozen away because they expire. Consider shopping for bulk items with a friend and sharing the cost.

Vindicator staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .58, 17.53 —.05

Avalon Holdings,3.37—.40

Clear Channel, .79 37.49 —.35

Cortland Bancorp, 4.75—.02

Delphi Automotive, .0211 .00

Farmers Nat., .24, 4.40 —.15

First Energy, $2.20, 39.76.17

FirstMerit Corp., .64,20.97 .07

First Niles Financial,8.00.00

First Place Fin., 3.57—.36

FNB Corp., .48,8.38.26

General Electric, .40,18.07—.12

Motors Liquidation, .5625—.0125

Huntington Bank, .04, 5.32—.18

JP Morgan Chase, .20,43.45—.19

Key Corp, .04,7.60.04

LaFarge, 18.10 —.20

Macy’s, .20, 20.89—.50

Parker Hannifin, 1.00, 65.11—.49

PNC, .40,59.61.41

RTI Intl. Metals,28.771.12

Rural/Metro, 6.72 .53

Simon Prop. Grp.,$2.40,83.54—1.02

Stoneridge 9.54 .03

Torent Inc., 2.00 .00

United Community Fin. 1.24—.17

Selected prices at 4 p.m. 03/19/10.Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommend-ation to buy or sell any security.