Permits issued

Permits issued

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 10 horizontal drilling permits for the week ending May 30, none of which was in the Mahoning Valley. The rig count is at 26. ODNR lists a total 1,926 permits, 1,497 of which reported drilled with 901 producing.

DRC OKs proposal

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s Design Review Committee approved a proposal Tuesday from Sid Mar Foods, a wholesale chicken-distribution business, to make exterior improvements to its 1481 South Ave. location. The business plans to remove trees and weeds and make other landscaping improvements, power-wash the building and dock area, paint the building and install four signs.

Sid Mar plans to seek a grant from the Youngstown Initiative Committee to help fund the work. The committee could provide up to 40 percent of the cost, not to exceed $20,000. The company’s improvement work likely would cost about $50,000, but a final amount hasn’t been determined.

Snyder’s new line

BERLIN, PA.

Snyder of Berlin, a snack company that produces chips, cheese snacks, popcorn and more, which are sold throughout the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, is debuting a full line of new and revitalized hometown packaging in an array of new sizes for its potato-chip line.

For July 4th and Labor Day, Snyder of Berlin products will be shipped in patriotic boxes that will be on display in supermarkets, convenience stores and mass-market retailers.

The new extended packaging pays homage to Berlin, Pa., with 11 flavors each featuring a different landscape or location.

Joint venture

COLUMBUS

WP Glimcher, the real-estate company that operates Southern Park Mall in Boardman, recently completed the formation of its joint venture with O’Connor Mall Partners LP, an affiliate of O’Connor Capital Partners.

As a result of the transaction, O’Connor now has a 49 percent interest in the joint venture and WP Glimcher retains a 51 percent interest.

The joint venture resulted in about $430 million of cash received by WP Glimcher, as well as a reduction in WP Glimcher’s debt levels of approximately $800 million.

New Disney toys mix old-school play, high-tech gadgets

LOS ANGELES

Disney is launching a line of toys that combines high-tech wearable gadgets and old-school superhero role-playing to keep kids moving while engrossing them in sub-plots from “The Avengers,” “Star Wars” and “Frozen.”

It’s Disney’s most-ambitious game concept meshing real objects and virtual worlds since August 2013, when the family entertainment giant released its Disney Infinity video game that featured figurines and digital characters from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Toy Story” and other franchises.

The new line, called “Disney’s Playmation,” hits stores in October with the release of a forearm attachment called a “repulsor” that puts kids in the role of Marvel superhero Iron Man.

Staff/wire reports