BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Ribbon-cutting for Castle Kitchen

WARREN

The Youngstown/ Warren Regional Chamber will have a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday for Castle Kitchen and Bath, 2420 Elm Road NE in Warren.

Castle Kitchen and Bath offers free estimates and provides support in selection and design. Homeowners can bring in drawings and measurements or have staff from Castle Kitchen and Design take measurements.

Locally owned and operated, Castle Kitchen and Bath is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by appointment on Saturdays and evenings. For more information, call 234-244-8236.

Tax commissioner warns against scam

Columbus

State Tax Commissioner Joe Testa recently issued a public warning to individual and business taxpayers in Ohio about an apparent tax scam that has surfaced in southwestern Ohio.

Residents and businesses in Butler and Hamilton received a postcard through the mail sent by what is called the “State Tax Commission” offering to settle delinquent tax debts for a small fraction of the amount owed.

Testa warns that the Ohio Department of Taxation is not involved with the entity sending these postcards and has not made any of the tax-settlement offers mentioned.

Anyone receiving these mailings is urged to visit the following Federal Trade Commission website for information on tax-relief companies: www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0137-tax-relief-companies.

Ohio home sales see record rate in June

COLUMBUS

Ohio experienced a record rate of home sales in June, the third-consecutive month the marketplace has reached a best-ever pace, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.

June’s average home price of $178,592 reflects a 3.9 percent increase from the $171,951 mark posted during the month last year.

Sales in June reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 150,880, increasing 5.4 percent from the 143,196 level posted in June 2015. The market also experienced a slight 0.7 percent increase in sales from May 2016’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 149,818. The rate of sales during June reached the highest level for the month since OAR began tracking data in 1998.

Suicide attack in Baghdad kills at least 14 people

BAGHDAD

A suicide bomber attacked a security check point in northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 14 people, Iraqi officials said.

The bomber, who was on foot, detonated his device at one of the busy entrances of the Shiite district of Kadhimiyah, killing at least 10 civilians and four policemen, a police officer said. At least 31 other people were wounded, he added.

Iran confirms Iranian-American has been detained

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran’s judiciary has confirmed the detention of an Iranian-American who was visiting family in Iran, the country’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported Sunday.

The report did not name the Iranian-American involved or say when he was arrested. It quoted the spokesman for the judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, as saying that the man was arrested in the city of Gorgan on unknown charges and then referred to the Iranian capital for investigation.

Staff/wire reports