BUSINESS DIGEST ||

Appreciation day

YOUNGSTOWN

Second Harvest Food Bank will have a Volunteer Appreciation Day from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the facility located at 2805 Salt Springs Road in Youngstown.

The Everyday Heroes picnic will honor the volunteers that give their time to help sort and re-box food for distribution, assist with programs such as BackPack and Mobile Pantry and help with answering the phone and other clerical duties.

Last year, volunteers gave more than 14,000 hours to help feed the hungry in the Mahoning Valley.

Lower premiums

COLUMBUS

School districts, cities and other Ohio local government employers could see a 6.1 percent reduction in their workers’ compensation premiums beginning Jan. 1.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator/CEO Sarah Morrison asked BWC’s Board of Directors on Thursday to grant the reduction for Ohio’s 3,700 public entities covered by BWC.

The board discussed the proposal during its actuarial committee meeting. If it approves the reduction at its Sept. 28 meeting, public employers will pay $11.8 million less in premiums than this year.

Kushner’s Mideast peace push met with skepticism

RAMALLAH, West Bank

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Thursday to try to jumpstart moribund peace talks, but after months without progress the Mideast envoy faces growing skepticism on the Palestinian side.

With no clear vision for peace outlined by the administration and domestic issues distracting President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expectations for the new peace push are low.

The Palestinians initially welcomed Trump’s election, but they have since grown impatient with what they say is a failure by the U.S. president to present a roadmap for peace. Specifically, they are seeking a halt to Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands and an American commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as part of a peace deal with Israel.

Doomed Puerto Rico dogs saved by airlift to US

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

They were a mix of breeds and sizes, ranging from puppies to seniors. All faced a grim future in Puerto Rico animal shelters, where chronic overcrowding results in many dogs being euthanized.

That changed Wednesday for 205 abandoned canines that arrived on the U.S. mainland in an airlift organized by animal-welfare advocates working to ease the load.

The island territory has struggled with dog overpopulation for years due to factors such as poorly funded shelters and low spaying and neutering rates.

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1241.360.30

Aqua America, .71 33.970.15

Avalon Holdings,1.97-0.30

Chemical Bank, .2745.880.68Community Health Sys. 7.55 0.14

Cortland Bancorp, .2817.750.00

Farmers Nat., .1613.450.05

First Energy, 1.44 32.67-0.26

Fifth/Third, .5226.850.25

FirstMerit Corp.,21.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1211.150.00

FNB Corp., .4812.840.01

General Motors, 1.5235.510.02

General Electric, .9224.30-0.09

Huntington Bank, .28 12.700.03

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.650.05

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9291.49-0.18

Key Corp, .3417.65-0.03

LaFarge, .34--

Macy’s, 1.51 20.700.20

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 156.58-0.32

PNC, 2.20127.660.13

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60156.59-0.98

Stoneridge 16.000.00

United Comm. Fin., .12 9.030.10

Selected prices from Thursday’s 4 p.m. close.