METRO DIGEST || Council recommends approval of waiver

Council recommends approval of waiver

YOUNGSTOWN

The city’s planning commission is recommending the approval of a waiver to allow the Ravenna Drive Thru, 2519 Glenwood Ave., to reopen. City council has the final say in approving the proposal.

The convenience store was destroyed in a fire in January. It should reopen in a month or two.

Project begins

WARREN

The Main Street to Thumm’s Project got underway with two public input sessions last week.

Both sessions, hosted by the Wean Foundation in partnership with the city of Warren, were facilitated by the Economic Action Group, a local economic development organization managing the project.

Warren stakeholders attended the sessions where they shared their input on the Main Street to Thumm’s Project (adjacent to David Grohl Alley). Among the ideas shared were visibility and lighting, pedestrian mobility, safety and maintenance.

Next steps for the project include the Economic Action Group’s compilation of the feedback from the input sessions, followed in the coming weeks by a call to artists/request for proposals.

Arrested ministers released on summons

YOUNGSTOWN

Five clergy members arrested on charges of criminal trespassing during a vigil in support of immigrant detainees at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Monday were released on summons, according to Pastor Dustin White of Radial Church in Canton.

The five appeared in Youngstown Municipal Court for arraignment Tuesday morning where prosecutors said they were not ready to file charges.

White also called on people to contact legislators to end Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with for-profit detention centers.

White said his group will continue to seek opportunities to give spiritual support to detainees.

Domestic violence charges filed

YOUNGSTOWN

City police reported one woman was bloodied during a fight with her boyfriend Monday night, after both admitted drinking.

The woman told police she had been verbally arguing with her boyfriend, 60-year-old Christopher Vitello, at their Tod Lane home on the North Side. She said Vitello slapped her and locked her out of the home. She reportedly smashed several windows attempting to get back in, which angered Vitello, the report states.

Vitello pushed the woman face first onto a marble floor. The woman sought help from a neighbor. Responders noted she had visible injuries above her eye and on her arms and knees. She refused transport to a hospital.

Vitello claimed he didn’t know how the woman was injured. Police charged Vitello with domestic violence, specified as simple assault, and transported him to the Mahoning County jail. Police searching Vitello found one tablet of an opioid painkiller and other drugs, which also were logged as evidence.

Trial delayed

YOUNGSTOWN

Jury selection in the aggravated murder trial of James Jarrell in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court was pushed back a day Tuesday because not enough jurors were present.

A spokesman for Judge Lou D’Apolito said jury selection will take place today after more jurors are added to the jury pool.

Jarrell, 36, is accused in the stabbing death of his stepmother, Tina Jarrell, in July of 2015 in her Wellington Avenue home on the West Side.

Committee meeting

LOWELLVILLE

The Lowellville village finance committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. today in council chambers, 140 E. Liberty St., to consider 2018 capital improvement funds, Ohio Public Works Commission application for 2019 and an increase in a police department salary line item.

Neighborhood event

YOUNGSTOWN

The Southside Summer 2018 neighborhood experience is from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Valley Christian School’s Pleasant Grove Campus, 3919 Southern Blvd. There will be free food, music, a bounce house, various games and a video game truck.

Student trustee appointed for YSU

YOUNGSTOWN

Gov. John Kasich appointed Rocco L. Core of Mineral Ridge as a student member of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees.

Core is a student at YSU studying nursing and sociology.

His two-year term runs through April 30, 2020.

Core, expected to graduate in spring 2020, has served as a member of the YSU Academic Senate, Student Nursing Association, Physical Plant Advisory Council, Textbook Affordability Committee, Bookstore Advisory Committee, Integrated Technology Committee, Academic Standards Committee, Student Government Association, Student Conduct Board and has participated in the Reserve Officers Training Corps.