County will benefit from ARRA funding

Jefferson County is scheduled to receive more than $14 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That information was released recently on the Ohio Department of Development web site.

The money will flow to Jefferson County through the following channels:

·        Infrastructure:  $7.5 million

·        Education:  $32,000

·        Energy and Environment:  $3.1 million

·        Work, Opportunity and Poverty:  $3.4 million

In addition to these funds, the county also will share in $7 million in multi-county awards.

CIC board will visit Franciscan on Tuesday

The Community Improvement Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the International Room of the J.C. Williams Center on the campus of Steubenville’s Franciscan University.

Cynthia J. King, the Southern Ohio partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, will provide a brief overview of Census 2010 efforts. The board also will hear from David Skiviat, vice president of finance at Franciscan. 

The August meeting, scheduled for Aug. 18, will be held at the Historic Fort Steuben on South Third Street in Steubenville. The city of Steubenville will host the August session.

Allen Kukovich, executive director for the recently-announced Regional Visioning Project, will provide a brief overview of the project’s mission during the meeting.

Ohio ranks best in the Midwest

A new report released by The Pew Charitable Trust ranks Ohio best in the Midwest and among the top five states in the nation for job growth in a clean energy economy.

According to the Ohio Business Development Coalition, the nonprofit organization that markets the state for capital investment, the report is further evidence that Ohio is uniquely positioned to succeed in the advanced energy industry thanks to its existing strengths in manufacturing and engineering, along with its vast, skilled labor pool capable of an easy transition to fulfill the jobs of the future.

The Pew study shows in 2007, Ohio ranked among the top five states with the most jobs in clean energy (3,653), energy efficiency (5,367) and environmentally friendly production (2,800).  Overall, Ohio boasted a total of 35,267 clean jobs in 2007, which represents an overall job growth of 31 percent since 1998 and an average annual job growth of .85 percent each year.

Scheduling conflicts delay local seminar

Due to scheduling conflicts, the seminar planned for July 23, entitled “Where Business Starts in Ohio,” has been postponed.

Officials from Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office were scheduled to visit Steubenville to present an overview of the agency’s business services division. Debora Batta, director of business services, was to deliver the keynote address.

The seminar will be rescheduled for a later date.

JMB partnership will meet on Aug. 14

Three Ohio counties have joined forces to encourage regional cooperation and economic development.

Charter members of the Jefferson-Monroe-Belmont Partnership met this week to finalize plans for a Friday, Aug. 14 gathering in Monroe County.  The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the Incubator Kitchen of the Midway Community Center, located in Antioch, Monroe County.

Charter members of the partnership and co-chairmen of the effort include:

Tom Scott, community developer for Team Monroe; Sue Douglass, executive director of the Belmont County Department of Development; Larry Merry, director of the Belmont County Port Authority; and Ed Looman, executive director of Jefferson County’s Progress Alliance.

 “We see this partnership being a facilitator of knowledge,” Looman said. “Monroe County has been able to establish an Incubator Kitchen project that is working well. The August meeting will allow representatives from the other counties to learn more about how Monroe County managed to get this idea off the ground.”

Third Bridge Invitational set for Aug. 21

The third annual Bridge Invitational is set for Friday, Aug. 21 at Steubenville Country Club.

This year’s outing will be billed as a “3-2-1 Corridor” event, three counties, two states, one goal:  create economic development opportunities in Brooke, Hancock and Jefferson counties.

Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11a.m. and the round of golf will begin at noon. Dinner will be served immediately following golf.

The event is sponsored by Progress Alliance and the Business Development Corporation for the Northern Panhandle. For further information contact either Ed Looman at (740) 283-2476 or Pat Ford at (304) 748-5041.