BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Store closes

YOUNGSTOWN

Phil Kidd, associate director of Youngstown CityScape, has closed his downtown Youngstown retail store, Youngstown Nation, on North Phelps Street.

Kidd opened the store in 2012 selling T-shirts, coffee mugs and other Youngstown gear.

Kidd, who works full time for CityScape, didn’t have enough time to devote to running the retail store, he said. He will still sell his products online at youngstownnation.com and at special events such as the Youngstown Flea, which will take place Sept. 24 next to the Covelli Centre.

Community Day set at Southern Park

BOARDMAN

Southern Park Mall, 7401 Market St. will present “Community Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

This is an opportunity for local nonprofit and charitable organizations to share information about upcoming events, volunteer opportunities and other information.

Participating organizations include Beatitude House, Circulatory Centers, Easter Seals and Youngstown Hearing & Speech and Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley, to name a few.

Man impersonated senator to erase loan

TAMPA, Fla.

A Florida man has pleaded guilty to impersonating a U.S. senator to avoid paying off his home loan. A U.S. Attorney’s Office news release says 67-year-old Sidney Hines pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tampa federal court. He faces up to three years in prison.

Court papers say Hines secured a HomeSaver Advance loan of $5,864 for his New Port Richey home in October 2008. Hines reportedly failed to make the payments. Officials say Hines called a collection agency five times between March 2013 and December 2014. He claimed to be U.S. Sen. Richard “Dick” Durbin and said Hines’ HSA loan had been paid in full and that the loan should be removed from his credit report.

Durbin has represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate since 1997.

Panel opens inquiry into EpiPen pricing

WASHINGTON

A Senate panel has opened a preliminary investigation into why the price of lifesaving EpiPens has skyrocketed.

The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Homeland’s investigations subcommittee said in a statement Wednesday that they began an inquiry into Mylan Pharmaceuticals’ pricing and competition practices. Mylan has been sharply criticized for its steep price increases for the emergency allergy treatment EpiPen.

The price has grown to $608 for a two-pack, up more than 500 percent since 2007. The drugmaker has announced it will launch a generic version that will cost $300 in the next several weeks.

GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri head the panel.

Heather Bresch, CEO of the pharmaceutical company, is the daughter of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Staff/wire reports