Results of food drive

Results of food drive

HERMITAGE, PA.

The First National Bank of Pennsylvania employee Holiday Food Drive, involving more than 220 bank branches in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, netted 14,750 food items and more than $1,100 in cash donations. Bank employees selected local community agencies to distribute the donations to those in need.

Free counseling

MERCER, PA.

The Mercer/Lawrence County Athena Powerlink invites women business owners to apply to receive a year of free business counseling. Applications will be accepted through Feb. 27, 2011. They may be obtained in Mercer County from Karen Piccirilli at PNC Bank, 66 E. State St., Sharon, Pa. 16146, 724-982-1140, or in Lawrence County from Carrie Goff at 724-656-7884 or Drew McDowell, 724-656-7883, at PNC Bank, 2 N Mill St., New Castle, Pa.

Successful applicants’ businesses must be at least 51 percent owned and managed by women; be at least two years in operation; have a minimum of two full-time employees, including the owner; and annual revenues of at least $250,000 for retail or manufacturing businesses and $100,000 for service businesses.

A growing industry

COLUMBUS

The hospital industry is the fastest-growing industry in Ohio, according to the December issue of OHA HealthBeat, an Ohio Hospital Association publication based on 2008 data.

Every dollar spent by a hospital supports roughly $1.25 of additional business activity. More than 350,000 Ohioans worked in a hospital in 2008, and hospitals also created jobs within the community by buying goods and services. A total of 576,000 Ohioans were employed because of the hospital community. That amounts to one in every nine Ohio jobs.

Hospitals and health systems are among the top employers in 80 of 88 Ohio counties and five of Ohio’s top 11 employers are hospitals/health systems. From 2000 to 2008, Ohio’s health- care industry added more than 116,000 jobs, more than any other sector of the economy.

Suing over spam

SAN FRANCISCO

Daniel Balsam hates spam. Most everybody does, of course. But he has acted on his hate as few have, going far beyond simply hitting the delete button. He sues them.

Eight years ago, Balsam was working as a marketer when he received one too many e-mail pitches to enlarge his breasts. Enraged, he launched a website called Danhatesspam.com, quit a career in marketing to go to law school and is making a decent living suing companies who flood his e-mail inboxes with offers of cheap drugs, free sex and unbelievable vacations.

“I feel like I’m doing a little bit of good cleaning up the Internet,” Balsam said.

From San Francisco Superior Court small-claims court to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Balsam, based in San Francisco, has filed many lawsuits, including dozens before he graduated law school in 2008, against e-mail marketers he says violate anti-spamming laws.

Vindicator staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 22.68 —.21

Avalon Holdings,2.77—.03

Clear Channel, 1.75 60.60 2.06

Cortland Bancorp, 5.30—.35

Delphi Automotive, .02 .00

Farmers Nat., .12, 3.55 .00

First Energy, 2.20, 37.25—.05

FirstMerit Corp., .64,20.13 .19

First Niles Financial, .32,8.00.00

First Place Fin., 2.55—.06

FNB Corp., .48,9.96—.07

General Electric, .48,18.19—.08

Motors Liquidation, NANA

Huntington Bank, .04, 6.89—.07

JP Morgan Chase, .20,42.23—.13

Key Corp, .04,8.85.00

LaFarge, 15.73 —.02

Macy’s, .20, 25.24.20

Parker Hannifin, 1.08, 85.98—.17

PNC, .40,60.88—.31

RTI Intl. Metals,26.82—.09

Rural/Metro, 14.70 —.06

Simon Prop. Grp.,2.40,99.66—.60

Stoneridge 16.05 —.01

United Community Fin. 1.30.00

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Thursday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.