Years Ago

Today is Friday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2013. There are 74 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1685: King Louis XIV signs the Edict of Fontainebleau, revoking the Edict of Nantes that had established legal toleration of France’s Protestant population, the Huguenots.

1812: During the War of 1812, the British ship HMS Frolic is captured off the Virginia coast by the crew of the USS Wasp, which is in turn captured by the HMS Poictiers.

1867: The United States takes formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

VINDICATOR FILES

1988: Law enforcement officials say the death of mob underboss Vincenzo “Jimmy” Prato of a heart attack at the age of 81 is unlikely to spark a power struggle because Lenine “Lenny” Strollo has succeeded Prato as the mob’s top man in the Mahoning Valley.

Republican presidential nominee George Bush will be targeting Ohio, New Jersey and California in the final weeks of the campaign and is prepared to spend about $15 million in those states.

Cortland City Council is considering legislation to ban smoking in most public places, similar to legislation already passed in Warren.

1973: Four hooded pickets are arrested outside the Lordstown General Motors plant by Trumbull County sheriff’s deputies and cited under Ohio’s anti-hood statute.

Youngstown’s crime rate dominates a “Meet the Candidates” forum at the Youngstown YWCA attended by Republican mayoral incumbent Jack Hunter and challengers Democrat Anthony B. Flask and independent Joe Teague.

The city of Struthers is asking the federal government to reimburse at least part of the $1.2 million spent by the city to build a sewage disposal plant in 1962.

1963: Youngstown juvenile investigators arrest three boys who have admitted to numerous crimes, including 15 burglaries and seven auto thefts.

Kenneth M. Lloyd, secretary of the strike-bound Republic Rubber Division of Lee Rubber, urges employees to end their strike and facilitate the sale of the plant to Aeroquip Corp., which would save 961 local jobs.

Township trustees in Canfield and Boardman ban hunting in the townships until the drought ends because of the threat of fire. They’re also calling for a halt to leaf burning.

1938: The Youngstown Chamber of Commerce announces its support for the Youngstown school levy on the November ballot.

The park and recreation commission appoints Myron Goodwin and Arsene Rousseau, local architects, to draw plans for swimming pools and bathhouses to be built in the city’s $4.9 million PWA [Public Works Administration] improvements. program.