The Blade (Toledo, OH) articles from December 2002

The Blade (Toledo, OH) archives from December 2002

Zero Percent Deals on New Cars Flood Used-Vehicle Lots in Toledo, Ohio.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 3--Waves of zero percent financing deals have helped rev up new-car sales for more than a year, but used-car sales have suffered. Worse, a flood of trade-ins lowered used-car prices by about 25 percent. ...

After Year of Scandal, Some Shareholders Decide to Get Involved.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 3--A year ago yesterday, Enron Corp. dropped its bombshell: The energy company filed the biggest bankruptcy to date, listing more than $31 billion in debts and $50 billion in assets. For a time, it looked...

Meijer Grocery Chain Reports Little Effect from Boycott in Toledo, Ohio.
December 3, 2002

Some Gifts Have a Distinctly Toledo, Ohio, Flavor.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Mary-Beth McLaughlin Dec. 4--From the inexpensive to the pricey, from the practical to the whimsical, northwest Ohio has lots of offerings for shoppers who want to give a Christmas gift made in, or identified with, the Toledo area....

Toledo, Ohio-Area Bankruptcies Surge Past 8,000 Mark with Month Left in Year.
December 4, 2002

Akron, Ohio-Based FirstEnergy Lowers Profit Forecast.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 5--NEW YORK--FirstEnergy Corp. said yesterday that increases in pensions and other labor costs have forced it to lower its projected profit for next year to a range of $3.35 to $3.55 a share, down from $3.70 to...

Snow-Fighting Tools Fly Out of Toledo, Ohio-Area Stores.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 5--After dismal snow-related sales last winter, Glendale Avenue's Sears Hardware was sold out of one snow-thrower model and was nearly out of some others by noon yesterday. It also had its last 50 shovels...

Health Food Sales Financially Fit in Toledo, Ohio.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 6--Mary Swy views her occasional jaunts to Bassett's Health Food store as a way to indulge her cravings for Brazil nuts and other healthy foods. "I look at this as a luxury right now," the Toledoan said...

Toledo, Ohio-Area CEOs Say Tax Cut Helps Stocks.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 6--Officers of several companies based in the Toledo area believe a reduction of taxes on dividends could be very good for their stock, and others say any move by Congress will be closely watched by boards of...

Ohio Public Utilities Commission Rejects FirstEnergy Corp. Bid.
December 7, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 7--FirstEnergy Corp.'s bid to reduce the amount of money its customers can save if they switch to an alternative electric supplier has been rejected by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The commission...

Experts Say Owens Corning Could Emerge from Bankruptcy Strong, Healthy.
December 8, 2002... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 8--Despite growing evidence of tension between Owens Corning and its creditors, recent delays in the firm's huge asbestos bankruptcy case do not diminish the company's odds of eventually emerging from Chapter...

The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, Personal Business Column.
December 8, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 8--When Steven Cotner heard about the new "catch-up" provisions for retirement plans of workers over 50, he quickly signed up. "It's a great opportunity to tuck away an extra thousand dollars a year," said...

Toledo, Ohio, Real Estate Firm Grows, Sees Business Boom.
December 8, 2002... Byline: Mary-Beth McLaughlin Dec. 8--For the better part of 2001, Cavalear Realty was tops in market share in the local real estate market, a position in the past often held by Danberry Co. Realtors. Rather than fret, Danberry...

Defiance, Ohio, Area Could Become Hub for Grain-Based Fuel Production.
December 10, 2002... Dec. 10--A Memphis firm identified Defiance as one of two places to make 13 million gallons of biodiesel annually. Ohioans this year will use more than 200 million gallons of ethanol and 1 million gallons of biodiesel, and the Defiance area...

Deadline Nears for Last-Minute Income Tax Deductions.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 10--Taxpayers have three weeks to pick up some sure-fire last-minute tax deductions that will save them money when April 15 rolls around. In some cases, deductions that ordinarily wouldn't occur until next...

Toledo, Ohio, Partnership Aims to Help Firms with International Business.
December 11, 2002

New Toledo, Ohio-Made Jeep Wranglers Near, Job Needs Uncertain.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 13--DaimlerChrysler AG is finalizing plans to add two "stretch" versions of the Toledo-made Jeep Wrangler -- one with a back seat, the other without. But it hasn't been determined whether the early 2004...

Toledo, Ohio-Area Retail Chain Agrees to Study New Union Proposal.
December 13, 2002

Toledo, Ohio, Jeep Assembly Plant to Make Postal Vehicle.
December 14, 2002

Toledo, Ohio, Leads State in Part-Time Workers.
December 15, 2002... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 15--Arriving in Toledo from St. Louis this year with two children in tow, 39-year-old Linda Reynolds was worried about finding a job in the area's sluggish economy. So, when a temporary agency offered to place...

Findlay, Ohio, Real Estate Market Experiences Good Times.
December 15, 2002... Byline: Mary-Beth McLaughlin Dec. 15--FINDLAY, Ohio--Jim Staschiak II said now is the best time to be in the Findlay real-estate business in his 13 years as an agent. That's because he can offer his clients choices that were never...

Development Accelerates in Toledo, Ohio, Area.
December 17, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 17--Economic development has been slow in the Toledo area since even before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist acts. But development officials say activity picked up tremendously last month. "[November] was...

Workers at Closing Ottawa, Ohio, Plant to Receive Job Retraining.
December 17, 2002... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 17--OTTAWA, Ohio--When 1,100 workers are furloughed Friday at LG Philips Displays' TV picture tube plant here, it will present a major test of a program set up to provide retraining to workers who lose their...

Workers Displaced from Toledo, Ohio's, General Mills Plant Ponder Futures.
December 18, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 18--At 19, Gordon Gilmore started working at Toledo's General Mills, Inc., cereal plant during his summer vacation from college and decided to keep the good-paying job a year or two while "temporarily"...

Tech Alliance Urged to Target University of Toledo.
December 20, 2002... Byline: Julie McKinnon Dec. 20--At least some of the Regional Technology Alliance's development efforts could be concentrated on the area surrounding the University of Toledo, a prime place to attract technology-related firms, its...

California Investors Acquire Toledo, Ohio, Property from Indianapolis Firm.
December 21, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 21--Two California real-estate investors yesterday acquired Toledo's struggling North Towne Square with the hope that part of it may be leased to the city and county for use as office space. The center on Alexis...

FirstEnergy Declines to Sell Lake Erie-Area Power Plants to Low Bidders.
December 21, 2002

Toledo, Ohio-Area Grocery Workers Approve Contract.
December 21, 2002

Overall Unemployment Rate Drops in Ohio with Varied Results in Northwest.
December 21, 2002

Ohio Claims Second-Highest Foreclosure Rate in Nation.
December 22, 2002... Byline: Mary-Beth McLaughlin Dec. 22--Spiraling consumer debt, job losses and stagnating wages, and loans of up to 125 percent of a home's worth have proved a recipe for disaster for homeowners in Ohio, giving the state the second highest...

Future of Toledo, Ohio, Shopping Center Uncertain.
December 22, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 22--The future of Westgate Village Shopping Center is uncertain given the proposed redevelopment of nearby Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park. No one expects the center at West Central Avenue and Secor Road to...

The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, Personal Business Column.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 24--It's past time for Michael J. Owens' induction into National Inventors Hall of Fame Just about exactly 100 years ago, Toledo's own inventive genius, Michael J. Owens, was on the verge of a tremendous...

Toledo, Ohio-Area Retailers Ask More Information from Buyers.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 24--First, retailers got friendlier, stationing greeters at the door. This year, some have gotten a bit nosier, wanting to know your phone number as well as your ZIP code. Don't be alarmed, at least not yet. The...

Site Using Jeep Name Sued by DaimlerChrysler.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 25--A Web site catering to gay men is the object of a trademark-infringement lawsuit filed by DaimlerChrysler AG over use of the Jeep name. The car maker, in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in...

Two Toledo, Ohio, Downtown Developers Dissolve Partnership.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 25--The duo who brought the classy Diva restaurant to downtown Toledo and refurbished a dozen buildings nearby have ended their partnership, with one suing to dissolve and appoint a receiver for their...

VCR Sales Unspooling Rapidly As DVD Players Gain Popularity.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Jon Chavez Dec. 25--If you didn't get a DVD player for Christmas today, don't fret. You'll probably end up getting one soon and join the millions expected to help the DVD player retire the VCR by 2005. "DVDs have been the...

Suburban Toledo, Ohio, Couple Develops Cover for Grocery-Cart Seats.
December 26, 2002

Toledo, Ohio-Area Certified Public Accountants Stay Upbeat about Future.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Julie M. McKinnon Dec. 27--Northwest Ohio accountants are more optimistic than most about economic conditions improving in six months, although they weren't as upbeat as they were a year ago, according to an annual poll released...

Asbestos Lawsuits Hurt Defendants' Workers.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Gary T. Pakulski Dec. 27--Many workers at firms forced into Chapter 11 by asbestos liability face delayed retirement, a lower standard of living in their golden years, or a scramble to replenish retirement savings accounts,...

Health Care Is Expected to Be Big Job-Growth Field in Ohio.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Mary-Beth McLaughlin Dec. 31--Job seekers with health care backgrounds or business-service experience will be in luck in the next decade: Those are among the fastest-growing occupational fields in Ohio, according to a labor force...

Investors Hope 'January Effect' Holds True in 2003.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Homer Brickey Dec. 31--Which sort of January will investors see this time? Will it be like January, 1987, when the Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 14 percent? Or will it be more like January, 2000, when the Dow hit...

Champagne Retailers Hope for New Year's Eve Sales Boost.
December 31, 2002