Bricklayers union pickets Chick-fil-A

Bricklayers union pickets Chick-fil-A

BOARDMAN

Members of the Bricklayers Local 8 union on Tuesday protested at the site of the new Chick-fil-A on U.S. Route 224 at Tiffany Square.

A union representative said the group is opposed to the use of out-of-town labor on the project.

“When we see something built in our area where local people are going to be shopping, we would prefer they use local labor, since we’re going to be patronizing it,” said field representative Brian Collier.

Farmers dividend

CANFIELD

The board of directors of the Farmers National Banc Corp. on Tuesday declared a cash dividend of $0.04 per share.

The common stock cash dividend will have a record date of March 11 and is payable to shareholders March 31. The 2016 first-quarter dividend payment represents a 33 percent increase over the 2015 first- quarter dividend payment.

Ohio home sales rise

COLUMBUS

The number of homes sold across Ohio in January rose 16.8 percent from the level posted during the month a year ago, the market’s 16th-consecutive monthly year-over-year gain, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.

January’s average home price of $143,562 reflects a 4.4 percent increase from the $137,535 mark posted during the month last year.

Sales in January reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 143,941, a 16.8 percent increase from the 123,275 level during the month a year ago. The month’s sales total eclipsed the previous best-ever mark of 142,816 set in January 2005.

The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes rose 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million. The gains build on a strong 2015 that ended with a 12.1 percent surge in December sales, as new regulations had delayed closings in November.

Backing challenge to climate plan

WASHINGTON

More than 200 members of Congress are backing a court challenge to President Barack Obama’s plan to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions.

A brief filed Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington argues that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its legal authority and defied the will of Congress by regulating carbon-dioxide emissions.

Led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., those signing on include Republican presidential candidates and senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida. Of the 34 senators and 171 House members listed, Sen. Joe Manchin of coal-dependent West Virginia is the lone Democrat.

“If Congress desired to give EPA sweeping authority to transform the nation’s electricity sector, Congress would have provided for that unprecedented power in detailed legislation,” the brief says.

Staff/wire reports