TODAY'S VINDICATOR HEADLINES | WEDNESDAY

A storm carrying wind gust of up to 60 miles per hour hit Warren Tuesday afternoon, knocking down trees, cutting power, flooding streets and wreaking havoc with the tents being set up on Courthouse Square for the 35th annual Warren Italian-American Heritage Festival. Doppler radar estimated rainfall of 1/2 to1 inch of rain in Warren and upwards of 2 inches in the Howland and Vienna areas. Eric Wilhelm, meteorologist for 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, said the opening day of the popular festival on Thursday may see some of the same type of weather, but Friday and the weekend promise sunny skies and lower humidity.

The owner of two East Midlothian Boulevard bars said he’s spending about $300,000 to $400,000 to remodel the former St. Vincent DePaul Society dining hall and an adjoining closed cigar store across Front Street from Youngstown’s new amphitheater and park into a restaurant. Winner Group Holdings Ltd., headed by Earl Winner, who purchased the buildings in 2015 and 2017, said Tavern 208 Bar and Grill could open as soon as next month. Winner also owns the Utopia Video Nightclub and the Brickhouse Tavern, both on East Midlothian Boulevard.

Youngstown City Council will meet behind closed doors at 4 p.m. today with Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Law Director Jeff Limbian and outside legal counsel to discuss the ongoing state audit of the city’s questionable use of $4.5 million in 2017 from water, wastewater and sanitation funds for economic-development projects. The auditor’s office first contacted the city last year in a letter to Brown informing him using water funds for economic development “may violate” state law and the Ohio Constitution. The city could end up in fiscal emergency if required to pay back the money. Meanwhile, the mayor said he is in agreement with fire Chief Barry Finley’s Monday statement that the fire department is no longer looking at eliminating two battalion chiefs to fund improvements to the department’s radio system as long as the firefighters union follows through with a plan to talk about other options to pay for the system, estimated to cost $285,000.

Second quarter earnings for potential Lordstown savior Workhorse paint a dire picture of the company, but General Motors insists the numbers aren’t reflective of the group’s financial health. Sales totaled just $6,000 in the second quarter, according to the group’s SEC filing. Still, GM corporate spokesperson Dan Flores said the news has not affected GM’s negotiations with Workhorse. He explained that Workhorse’ financial situation as an electric automobile producer is not uncommon, as the technology remains in the early stages of development. The Detroit News reported last week that Workhorse-affiliated Lordstown Motors Corp. is preparing to purchase the plant, pending funding.

The 12th annual Taste of Hubbard is set for noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 at Harding Park, and features more than 25 food establishments from Hubbard, Lowellville, Youngstown, Struthers, Masury, Liberty and Sharon, Pa., and at least 25 artisans selling their wares. Proceeds from the event benefit the Harding Park Meeting House committee which wants to build a nondenominational community center to honor the historic Presbyterian meetinghouse, which was built in 1857.

Mary Buchenic, committee member, said a woodworker is in the process of reclaiming some of the original meetinghouse’s wood, which will be used for the project. Admission is free, but sampling all the vendors requires a $20 ticket, which can be ordered ahead of time. Only 300 tickets will be sold this year.

Karen Kennedy sobbed for several minutes after hearing a recording of a 911 call she made in June 2018 for her neighbor and close friend Diane Dent, who had been shot twice on the porch of her Goleta Avenue home. Testimony in the aggravated murder trial of the alleged shooter, 52-year-old Jesse B. Williams, began Tuesday morning. “She had a big heart. She would give you anything,” Kennedy told the court. “It wasn’t nothing for me to come home and find potatoes or onions on [the] porch.” Kennedy said she didn’t see Williams fire the shots that killed her friend, but identified Williams as the man she saw leave the scene immediately after and tell another woman there: “You better not say you seen anything.”

Atty. Martin Yavorcik’s law license could have been suspended two years had it not already been suspended from April 2016 to January of this year for felony convictions in the Oakhill Renaissance Place corruption scandal, which were later overturned. The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct reviewed Yavorcik’s misconduct during his unsuccessful 2008 campaign for Mahoning County prosecutor, when the attorney received a $15,000 check from Flora Cafaro, part owner of Cafaro Co., and misrepresented it on a campaign-finance report. The board this week recommended Yavorcik be suspended from practicing law for two years, but be credited for the 32 months his license was suspended after his Oakhill felony convictions, which ultimately negates the recommended suspension period.