Winner announced for ‘Give Small Business a Lift' campaign
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) — WRTA is celebrating its fourth annual 'Give Small Business a Lift' campaign
This year, twelve local small businesses were highlighted with their stories featured on buses and signs at Federal Station.
This year's winner is J.E. Washington Funeral Services. They'll receive extra advertising, including a social media push and a TV campaign donated by WKBN.
WRTA Executive Director Dean Harris says the campaign keeps growing, with hundreds of nominations coming in.
'We've kind of grown the event itself to really showcase a little better because we got a good feel for how to do it and it's just a very positive thing. And then our past winners are so thankful because they have been recognized,' Harris said.
More than 200 Valley businesses have participated in the first three years of this event.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
DOD allocates $25M for new fire station at YARS
VIENNA, Ohio (WKBN) – A Department of Defense funding plan shows that $25 million is being set aside for a new fire station at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township. The plan shows that money is being appropriated for FY 2025. It's part of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act 2025, which was signed by President Donald Trump on March 15. Congressman Dave Joyce, 14th District, who is also a member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, joined other Valley lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reiterating the importance of the funding for the fire station, specifically stating its importance as the facility transitions to the new C-130J. Congressman Michael Rulli, 6th District, said that the investment is significant and shows the importance of the air station. 'It ensures that Northeast Ohio remains not just relevant, but indispensable to our national security,' Rulli said. Last year, an $11 million project got started for a new front gate and visitor center at the air station. That project is being overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers. The air station began receiving the new C-130J in July 2024, with all aircraft to be delivered by the end of 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Auditor says taxpayers ‘paid the price' for former Girard City Schools treasurer ‘extravagant' pay
GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – The state auditor says compensation paid to the former Girard City Schools treasurer was 'careless, extravagant, and not representative of necessary business practices.' Mark Bello resigned from the district last year after a state audit at the time revealed that he made $270,000 more in fiscal year 2023 than he did the previous year. Auditor of State Keith Faber released the latest audit of the district on Thursday for the district's finances from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. The full audit is available on the auditor's website. That audit also noted that Bello's total pay was 'excessive' and that the district did not have rules or policies in place regarding the retire/rehire process. The treasurer retired and was rehired by the school board in June 2022. The approved contract included a base pay of $110,000, plus a stipend of 1% of all federal, state, and local grants and certain other revenues received by the district, according to a news release from the auditor. In fiscal year 2024, Bello was paid $443,568, which includes his base pay plus a $312,165 stipend. Additionally, his compensation included a $5,750 car allowance and an $11,146 leave balance payout. The district also paid his pension contribution of more than $30,000, the news release stated. The same 'Noncompliance, Waste and Abuse' finding was included in the previous fiscal year audit, when Bello was paid $461,187, including base pay of $118,078 and a stipend of $325,918, the release stated. While Faber did not recommend any findings for recovery, the auditor did recommend that the district's Board of Education 'exercise better diligence in reviewing and approving employee contracts to prevent similar payouts in the future.' 'While not illegal under state law, this was an abuse of public resources that should not have been allowed,' Faber said. 'The school board was asleep at the wheel, and the district's taxpayers paid the price.' Last year, the school board released a statement blaming wording in Bello's contract that resulted in the payout. The Board said it was not aware of the language change from 'all Federal, State, and local grants/CCIP/awards/private revenue of the District' to 'all revenue of the District,' which resulted in excessive compensation to the treasurer. An investigation into the contract showed that the former board president negotiated the contract with Bello and did not know about the 1% of the revenue stipend because it was not part of their verbal agreement and that the former board president never reviewed the written contract before recommending it to the Board for approval, the Board said. The Board also said that 'the Treasurer made the changes to the stipend provision and uploaded the revised 2022 contract to the Board's agenda packet under a non-descriptive name then renamed the file to 'Treasurer's Contract' only a few hours prior to the Board's meeting on June 23, 2022.' WKBN reached out to the district for a comment on the latest audit but has not yet heard back. Patty Coller contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This is the most 'significant' thing for bond and stock investors to watch
Listen and subscribe to Opening Bid on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Bond and stock investors need to be on the lookout for the ballooning US deficit, says BlackRock's (BLK) chief investment officer of global fixed income Rick Rieder. "At the end of the day, I think the debt, the size of the debt in the country is the most significant issue we have to watch for everything we do, certainly in fixed income, but I would argue for other asset classes," Rieder said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (see video above; listen below). This embedded content is not available in your region. Rieder is one of the top minds in the bond market. He manages $2.7 trillion in assets at BlackRock and was inducted into the Fixed Income Hall of Fame in 2013. "We're rolling too much debt," Rieder added, noting the new spending bill will only make the matter worse. "Like we roll $573 billion a week of debt. That's like rolling [the total debt of] Australia every single week." Read more: What are bonds, and how do you invest in them? The bond market has been in sharper focus ahead of the summer months. On May 16, Moody's downgraded the US credit rating to AA1 from its longstanding position of AAA. On May 22, the House passed the Trump administration's reconciliation package, which included tax cuts and a $4 trillion lift to the debt ceiling. Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has clapped back at the president's signature tax bill. "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on X this week. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." The yield on the 10-year Treasury (^TNX) has continued to climb amid fears of an out-of-control debt position for the US. The yield now stands around 4.45% — up sharply from 4% on April 4. The advance could increase the cost of borrowing for businesses and households further, stunting the US economy. Former top Biden administration economist Ben Harris said on Opening Bid that if interest rates climb toward 5% or higher on the 10-year, investors may buy more Treasurys instead of other assets. This will create a drag on the overall economy, which Harris said is "guaranteed" if the US takes on another $4 trillion or more in debt. 'The real threat is that this could spark some sort of fiscal crisis,' Harris said. Goldman Sachs (GS) chief US strategist David Kostin said this week that bond yields remaining at current levels will likely "constrain the magnitude" of potential S&P 500 (^GSPC) valuation expansion. Kostin's work shows that a 100 basis point change in real Treasury yields is associated with a roughly 7% change in the forward price-to-earnings multiple of the S&P 500. Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
