Eatery opening

Eatery opening

YOUNGSTOWN

Hill Top Chicken n More, a new soul-food restaurant at 3662 Loveland Road, will have its grand opening Saturday. Hours for the restaurant are 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Daily specials will be $1 off from Saturday to March 6.

Ryan praises action

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, issued a statement regarding the White House’s proposal to protect clients from back-door payments and hidden fees from financial advisers that offer employer-sponsored benefit plans.

“Financial advisers are able to accept back-door payments from Wall Street and impose hidden fees that together can result in the loss of more than a quarter of retirement savings,” Ryan said. “These back-door deals and hidden fees must end, and I applaud the White House for cracking down on practices that are hurting our country’s retirees. After a lifetime of scraping and saving, Americans deserve to have a secure and dignified retirement.”

Drilling permits

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 16 horizontal-well permits last week with none in the Mahoning Valley. A total of 1,824 permits have been issued with 1,370 wells drilled and 816 producing. The rig count is at 37. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued Hilcorp Energy Co. a permit to drill in Shenango Township in Mercer County last week.

Ohio home sales up

COLUMBUS

The number of Ohio homes sold in January rose 4.2 percent from last year, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors. Sales in January reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 123,108 compared with 118,161 during the same month last year. The average home price last month was $137,464 — an 8 percent increase from January 2014.

Honda replacing CEO amid crisis

TOKYO

Honda Motor Co. — hurt by falling sales and embroiled in a crisis over defective air bags — is replacing its CEO.

The Japanese automaker said Monday that Takanobu Ito, its president and chief executive officer since 2009, will step aside in June and be succeeded by longtime executive Takahiro Hachigo.

The unexpected decision follows the recalls of more 6.2 million Honda vehicles in the U.S. — and millions of others elsewhere — equipped with air bags made by Japan’s Takata Corp. The air bags have inflators that can explode, expelling shards of metal and plastic. At least six deaths and 64 injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide.

At a press conference Monday, the 61-year-old Ito said it was his own decision to step down. He has been at Honda since 1978, when he joined the company as a chassis engineer.

Vindicator staff/wire reports