Gas supplies up

Gas supplies up

NEW YORK

Natural-gas supplies have expanded tremendously with a boom in North American production.

The government says supplies are more than 40 percent higher than the five-year average thanks to increased gas extraction in North America.

The total supply of natural gas is 2.6 trillion cubic feet.

Natural-gas prices fell 2.2 cents to $2.61 per 1,000 cubic feet Thursday, which is 32 percent lower than a year ago.

Mobile store opens

Niles

Best Buy Mobile will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Eastwood Mall.

Best Buy Mobile provides a variety of phones and networks. The store will offer grand-opening specials such as $50 off smartphones, excluding the Apple iPhone, and 20 percent off all accessories.

For information, including hours, call Ann Grove at 330-518-0966.

Architecture firm plans ribbon-cutting

Youngstown

The Workshop Arch + Design LLC will host a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Workshop Arch + Design is at 25 E. Boardman St., Suite 537.

The business is a women-owned and managed commercial architecture and interior-design firm that specializes in health-care and collegiate architecture.

Denise Holt and Rebecca Tennant, principals of the firm, will be seeking certification as a Women Business Enterprise from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. An open house will follow the event.

The Workshop Arch + Design is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Water-safety dispute

CONNOQUENESSING, PA.

At least 10 households in western Pennsylvania fear their drinking water has been ruined by natural-gas drilling, but state officials say tests don’t show that.

Residents say Rex Energy Corp. has sent letters notifying them it no longer will deliver drinking water to the households after Wednesday.

Rex Energy says in a statement that testing found no notable differences in pre- and post-drilling water chemistry in Connoquenessing Township, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman John Poister says the agency hasn’t found any evidence that oil or gas drilling caused problems.

But resident Janet McIntyre says people in the neighborhood have reported orange water, black water, yellow water and unusual test results over the past year, along with odors and illnesses.

Jobless figures

WASHINGTON

The number of people seeking unemployment aid was unchanged last week, and the four-week average of applications fell to its lowest point in four years. The figures add to evidence that show the job market is improving.

Applications stayed last week at a seasonally adjusted 351,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest since March 2008.

Vindicator staff/wire reports