Warren council OKs revitalization district

Warren council OKs revitalization district

WARREN

City council has unanimously approved legislation that allows creation of an 87-acre revitalization district downtown to encourage commerce and development.

The legislation, approved Monday, allows up to 15 more liquor permits for businesses that make at least 75 percent of their revenue from food sales.

The Ohio Legislature changed Ohio law last December at the urging of Mayor Doug Franklin, Councilman Greg Bartholomew and others to make Warren eligible for a revitalization district and the liquor permits that go with it.

Sen. Capri Cafaro of Hubbard, D-32nd, sponsored the legislation in the Senate; state Rep. Tom Letson of Warren, D-64th, sponsored it in the Ohio House. Gov. John Kasich signed it into law Dec. 20, 2012.

The legislation extended the use of such districts to communities like Warren, which has a population of 40,700. The law formerly only allowed cities with a population above 100,000 to create such a district.

Medicare checkup to be available

GIRARD

The Ohio Department of Insurance’s Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program is having a free, appointment-only Medicare checkup event at 10 a.m. Monday at the Girard Multi-Generational Center, 443 Trumbull Ave. Call 330-545-6596 for an appointment.

The checkup is intended to help people review Medicare changes and determine coverage for 2014.

It coincides with Medicare’s Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 annual enrollment period.

OSHIIP is Medicare’s designated and impartial educational program in Ohio for beneficiaries, family members and health care professionals. For information and enrollment assistance, call 800-686-1578.

A Medicare Check-up and Annual Enrollment Toolkit is available at www.insurance.ohio.gov. The tool kit includes a plans listing and checkup events schedule. Ohioans can also visit OSHIIP on Facebook.