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Valley, educators have big future in EV

It is amazing to think that nine months after the last Chevy Cruze rolled off the line at Lordstown, on Christmas Day the Washington Post runs a story exploring the possibility of the Mahoning Valley becoming a hub for electric vehicle technology. I will not go as far as calling this rebirth an Immaculate Conception of the new auto industry in the Valley, but given the reaction by the auto and technology industry media to the news that LG and GM are going to build a $2.3 billion EV battery plant near the old GM assembly line, maybe we can say it’s more an Immaculate Reception (no ...

Yes Trumbull County, there is a Santa Claus

With editorial license taken upon the 130-year-old letter to the editor from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon who said “my friends say there is no Santa Claus” We say… Trumbull County, your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. Many lifetimes that built steel and automotive factories, and engineered cities, highways and neighborhoods have been dimmed by a generation who watched jobs and careers leave or evolve. This county is great, but the boundlessness of opportunity we embraced as children has been supplanted by the snarky sarcasm of ...

Mahoning Valley must shape its future together

For more than 50 years, GM-Lordstown was a pillar of our local economy. Generations of northeast Ohioans devoted their lives to produce award-winning cars and vans, while building GM into the company it is today. For these reasons and so many more, the plant closure shook our community to its core and left us devastated. The thousands of jobs lost at the local General Motors plant and spinoff companies will be hard to replace. For former GM workers, the pain and heartache this closure brought remains an open wound that will not heal anytime soon. Yet amid this crisis we are, ...

Cost of utilities deciding factor in buying

As a buyer looks at a home a second or third time, they will invariably ask: “What are the utility costs?” More times than you might think, the cost of heating and lighting a home are an important deciding factor in a purchase. This is especially true when first-time buyers are shopping for a home. Utility costs are far more controllable than many people imagine. By paying attention to the costs of your utilities, you can make your home far more enjoyable while you own the house; and a bit more desirable and valuable when you sell it. Let’s look at heating and cooling. If ...

Tax abatements work when used properly

Debate rages on all sides as to the value and effectiveness of offering companies tax abatements to lure them to build or expand at a given location. From those who claim it is corporate welfare that ultimately cheats the poor and middle class to others touting the benefits of jobs and significant investment, myopic views and uninformed opinions of the process and results benefit no one. First, tax abatements attract no one and no corporations have tax abatements at the top of their “must have” list. Site selectors (people whose job is to help companies choose locations) provide ...

How deed restrictions and zoning affect homes

One of the most invisible items in a real estate transaction are the rules governing the use of the home itself. There are “rules” that may be present that can dramatically affect your ability to use it. Those sets of rules may be the zoning, deed restrictions, or if you are looking at a condominium, they are called the Condominium Rules and Docs. Most people are aware that condo rules exist, but most don’t think about the deed restrictions or zoning on single-family homes. Let’s start with condo rules. Most prospective condo owners are aware that there are rules about ...