UPDATE | Power outage closes Mahoning Co. Courthouse for the day

YOUNGSTOWN — Power returned to the Mahoning County Courthouse this morning, but the building is closed for the day.

A power outage was reported at 8 a.m. today caused by a squirrel in a substation, said Christopher Eck, a FirstEnergy spokesman. The power, which affected 21 downtown customers, was restored at 8:50 a.m., he said.

But county Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said power to the courthouse wasn’t working until closer to 10 a.m.

The common pleas judges met this morning after the power went out and because it wasn’t known when it would return, they decided to close the courthouse, she said.

The judges have control over the operations of the courthouse even though other county agencies – including the auditor, treasurer, recorder and clerk of courts – are located there.

“You can’t work in the dark and they closed the courthouse,” Rimedio-Righetti said. “You can’t have court without power. I don’t blame them” for closing.

9:30 a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN — A power outage downtown has closed the Mahoning County Courthouse for the day.

Power was also out briefly at the police department and City Hall but it came back on.

The outage has postponed the murder trial of Johnny Ray Wallace, who is being re-tried for a November 2017 shooting death in a South Avenue bar. A jury could not reach a verdict in an earlier trial.