METRO DIGEST || Youngstown design panel approves So So’s Lounge mural

Panel approves mural on So So’s Lounge

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s Design Review Committee approved a proposal from So So’s Lounge, 232 North Ave., to have artist Christian Mrosko paint a mural on the front of its building.

Mrosko has painted murals on a building near the Market Street Bridge and another near the Youngstown Playhouse on Glenwood Avenue. He told the committee Tuesday the So So mural on the North Side will be done in about a month. It will be inspired by Ernie Barnes’ “Sugar Shack” dance painting used in the closing credits of the 1970s TV show “Good Times.”

Drug-trafficking trial to be rescheduled

CLEVELAND

The federal drug-trafficking trial of Ricardo McKinney, 29, of Warren will be reset from today to sometime after he gets new attorneys.

Judge Christopher A. Boyko on Tuesday allowed attorneys David Betras and Frank Cassese to withdraw from McKinney’s defense after they indicated that McKinney had threatened the life of Betras and refused to cooperate with either attorney.

McKinney is charged with heroin distribution and being a felon in possession of a firearm relating to a raid at a home on North Road in Warren where McKinney was staying and where investigators found 3.6 pounds of suspected heroin with a street value of $250,000, two guns and about $6,000 in cash.

Injection-well owner to appeal decision

COLUMBUS

American Water Management Services, the company whose injection well on state Route 169 in Weathersfield Township just north of Niles was shuttered after a magnitude-2.1 earthquake in 2014, will appeal a decision by a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge.

Atty. Thomas J. Wilson of Comstock, Springer & Wilson of Youngstown filed the appeal Monday with the 10th District Court of Appeals.

The appeal says the Franklin County judge erred in dismissing AWMS’ appeal of the decision of the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission that kept the injection well closed. The parent company of AWMS is Avalon Holdings of Howland.

Real-estate classes at YSU start Monday

YOUNGSTOWN

People who want to earn licensure as an Ohio real-estate salesperson can begin the coursework in the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University starting Monday.

Successful completion of four courses is required for the Ohio licensure exam: Real Estate Law, Real Estate Principles and Practices, Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Appraisal.

All classes are offered from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Williamson Hall, 221 N. Hazel St., at YSU. Early registration is encouraged. For information, including an annual schedule of classes and online registration, visit www.ysu.edu/wcba.

Man threatens to kill self, taken to hospital

WARREN

Police were called to a home on Freeman Street Northwest at 11:48 p.m. Monday for a man who told a dispatcher he had a gun to his head and wanted to “die by police.”

When officers arrived, they found the man standing near the curb of a house in the 500 block and holding a gun to his head.

One officer turned his spotlight on the man and got out of his cruiser with his gun drawn and spoke to the man. The man told officers to shoot him. But after a few minutes, he put the gun down and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. His weapon was determined to be a BB gun. No charges were filed.

Mobile Meals donation

YOUNGSTOWN

The Home Savings Charitable Foundation recently donated a check for $3,770 to Trumbull Mobile Meals, a service that delivers nutritious meals to adults in Trumbull County.

The funds will be used for TMM’s Hunger Under 65 program that delivers meals for one year to adult clients who live in the county.

For information regarding the services of TMM, call 330-394-2538 or visit trumbullmobilemeals.org.

Fire destroys home

LEETONIA

A Salem Township home on Cunningham Road was destroyed by a blaze that was reported about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.

No information was available Tuesday night on the cause of the fire or any injuries, Leetonia Fire Department officials said.

Crews from several fire departments assisted Leetonia firefighters.

South Range BOE to refinance bonds

NORTH LIMA

South Range Board of Education will accept bids Thursday to refinance old bonds and cut taxpayers’ costs.

District Treasurer Jim Phillips said the district hopes to refinance a $20.3 million bond approved by voters in September 2007 to provide a local match for state funds for new buildings. Phillips said the district is pursuing lower interest rates that could save about $425,000. However, if Phillips doesn’t deem offers the best possible, he said he’ll reject them and continue to seek better options.

Work development classes at MYCAP

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, 1325 Fifth Ave., is offering information sessions for its first Workforce Development Program of 2016 Monday-Jan. 14 and Jan. 19-21, said Robert A. Beltz, program coordinator.

The sessions are from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, next Wednesday-Jan. 14 and Jan. 19- 21.

The six-week class runs from Feb. 1 through March at MYCAP. Potential candidates must be Mahoning County residents 18 or older, and be high-school graduates or working toward completion of a GED. Veterans are encouraged to apply.

For information about the program, including income eligibility requirements, call MYCAP’s Youngstown office at 330-747-7921, ext. 1190 or ext. 1724. The office is open Mondays-Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.