Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs

We're going to grab a place on Forbe's list of desirable places to live if the pace of economic development in the Mahoning Valley keeps up. The news lately has been all about jobs for our fine area and hopefully that translates into new positions for everyone who faced a layoff last year or an opportunity for anyone looking to move up. The new opportunities have been buzzing by so fast it's hard to keep up with all the good news:

• V & M plan to build a new pipe mill with an investment of 650 million dollars that will create construction jobs and eventually employee 350 people. Company officials have indicated Youngstown may also be the site of a 300 million dollar melt shop.
• Revere Data is moving into the tech block downtown and will employee 40 -50 people within two years.
• VXI Global Systems opened a call center downtown in October that they hope will eventually employ 500 people.
• Exal Corp is building a new facility on Salt Springs Rd. that will employee 400 people making aluminum cans and bottles.
• The Severstal steel plant in warren will be reopening.
• Sharon Regional Health System renovated a vacant super market in Hubbard at a cost of $1.7 million dollars that will provide a needed service and employee 12.
• Patriot Special Metals is creating a $65 million dollar complex in North Jackson that will produce specialty aviation parts.
• Reinforcement Systems is building a new plant and headquarters in Warren at a cost of $28 million dollars that will employee 65 people making wire reinforcement for construction projects.
• McHenry Industries is building a a new production facility in Austintown for manufacturing signs.
• Dearing Compressor and Pump Company is spending $3 million to build an addition to its plant in Boardman.
• TMK IPSCO signed a lease on a facility in Brookfield that will employee up to 120 people producing pipe for natural gas drilling.
• Arcelor Mittal is calling back 126 hourly workers at its Warren plant.
• GM Lordstown will add a third shift for production of the Chevy Cruze which translates into 1200 workers.

This is amazing news for a region that has grown accustomed to grim economic news. My fuzzy math puts the number of potential jobs available over the next year or so at just over 2800. And these are good jobs with living wages. Some firms on the list did not provide a number for how many workers would be added so the number should end up being higher. In addition, many jobs will be created or workers called back as those payrolls filter into the community through construction, retail outlets, restaurants and services.

The Mahoning Valley needs to seize this opportunity to advertise ourselves as a place where business comes to be successful. Local governments would do well to build upon the cooperation between Youngstown and Girard in bringing home the V & M deal. As shown in the list above, there is opportunity for every community within the Valley. Now is the time for our leadership to make sure every opportunity available comes our way.

(Thanks to The Vindicator for a good deal of that list)

Xalisco Heroin Becomes a Problem for Ohio Suburbs

Heroin dealers from the Xalisco region of Mexico are making inroads all across the country and in Ohio, by using a new business plan. Getting cheap, potent black tar heroin delivered to your house is as easy as ordering a pizza. The LA Times is running an investigative series that lays out how impoverished Mexican sugar farmers are becoming rich by delivering the drug to the addict's door.

Immigrants from Xalisco, in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, Mexico, have
brought the heroin north over the last decade, and with it a highly effective
business model featuring deep discounts and convenient delivery by car. Their
success is a major reason why Mexican black tar has seized a growing share of
the U.S. heroin market, according to government estimates.

The dealers are targeting rural and suburban areas, not inner cities, because those areas don't have established dealers. Drivers move into an area where the drugs of choice are Oxycontin and other prescription pills. feeding those habits can cost hundreds of dollars per day but the cut rate heroin these dealers provide can be had for about $8.00 a hit.

They were innovative and tireless. Rather than sell from houses, where they
would be sitting ducks for narcotics agents, or on street corners in seedy
neighborhoods, they operated like a pizza delivery service. Users called a phone
number. A dispatcher relayed the order to a driver, who took the heroin to the
customer.

Areas like Northeast Ohio appear to be exactly what these dealers are looking for. Avoiding cities like Warren and Youngstown leaves them free to operate in northern Trumbull county, southern Mahoning county and Columbiana county. Police patrols are thin due to smaller local police forces and county cutbacks.

Rural Athens, Vinton, Meigs and Hawking counties have seen a tenfold
increase in heroin addicts seeking treatment over the last four years, and
almost all were black-tar users, said Joe Gay, director of Health Recovery
Services, a drug-rehabilitation center serving those Ohio counties."When you see
these increases, you ask why," Gay said. "The answer is availability and price.
Heroin was never available in these rural counties, and now it's cheap and
plentiful."

There haven't been any reports of this activity locally but it would be very surprising if it wasn't taking place. How many people from the ABC communities, Austintown, Boardman, Canfield and Poland roam into Youngstown looking for dealers? That's a ready made clientele for such an operation. Now they can get high without venturing into the city.

The rest of the series can be found here at the LA Times website.

Check Out Gear Informer

Despite this never ending recession we still love stuff and we still like buying stuff. What you want to do is make sure you are buying the right stuff. The guys at Gear Informer can help you do that. Get their picks on the gear you need to thrive and not just survive. From tees to shoes, to books and music, to technology and hot sauces, the Gear Informer guys lay out their picks for your consideration. From the site:

We here at Gear Informer are on the forefront of providing you with the freshest
gear, culture, and inside information for the style conscious male. The Gear
Informer posse constantly scours the universe for the best music, movies,
clothes, technology, kicks, bags, books, podcasts and anything else we see fit.
Sit back, relax, and let us do all the work while you live your best.

This, my Hippie Friends, is Why I Picked the Jeep Over the Prius

I went out to clear the driveway this morning was greeted by snow measuring 8" deep, if my Quaker Staek and Lube ruler can be believed. Clearing it took quite a toll on the orange beast. It's hard to believe we don't all abandon ship and head south and west. There must be something wrong with us.

Lynn Tilton on Rebuilding American Manufacturing

This Tech-Ticker video featuring Lynn Tilton is very eye opening. She advocates a return to American manufacturing as a way to save the country. Given the absolutley horrible budget outlook released today for the next ten years I think she's somebody we should probably listen to. Things don't look to good right now, folks.

If you aren't familiar with her, here's an article discussing what she's accomplished.