Goodyear, others feel financial crisis pinch, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 2008
Akron—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reported today that it had to borrow money through an existing credit line because $360 million it had invested in a money-market fund had become unavailable. Goodyear is not alone among Northeast Ohio companies in experiencing extraordinary financial circumstances because of country's financial crisis.

Cleveland port hires first environmental manager, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 2008
Cleveland—The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has hired veteran environmental planner Pamela Davis as its first environmental/sustainability manager. Davis, of Lakewood, was senior environmental planner at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

JumpStart gets $3 million pledge for economic development, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 2008
Cleveland—JumpStart Inc. could receive up to $3 million over the next three years from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation. It's the largest, single foundation grant for JumpStart, said Chief Executive Ray Leach.

Brownfields ready for new development, by Donna J. Miller, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 26, 2008
Euclid, Ohio—Nearly 75 acres of brownfields at a former manufacturing site in the Euclid Business Park and on Lincoln Electric property have been cleaned and are ready for commercial or industrial development, the Ohio Environmental Agency said.

GM to build $370 million plant in Flint, Mich., by Tom Krisher, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, September 26, 2008
Flint, Mich.—GM's top executive, CEO Rick Wagoner, announced the company will build a $370-million, four-cylinder engine factory in flint to build powerplants for the new rechargeable electric Chevrolet Volt and a new high-mileage compact car.

Honda reduces output; Lower demand for SUVs in U.S. prompts move, Makiko Kitamura, Bloomberg News via Akron Beacon Journal, September 26, 2008
Tokyo—Honda's output fell 4.8 percent in August, and 10.2 percent in the U.S. The company announced it will make 50,000 fewer Pilot SUVs and Odyssey minivans than originally planned between August and October in the U.S.

Editorial: Great achievement: Congress adds its approval of a compact to protect a treasured resource, Akron Beacon Journal, September 25, 2008
Akron—A decade ago, Congress urged states along the Great Lakes to craft a shared management plan for this most precious natural resource. On Tuesday, the U.S. House approved the Great Lakes Compact, which the Senate had already approved and President Bush has promised to sign. Let's hope passage of the $26-billion Great Lakes Regional Collaboration legislation, a plan long stuck on Capitol Hill, won't take that long.

For entrepreneurs, opportunity still knocks, by Diana Ransom, SmartMoney.com, September 23, 2008
SmartMoney interviews businesses that have found a way to access start-up or growth capital in the current economic environment, including a door manufacturer in Chicago and a jewelry manufacturer in Burton, Ohio.

House OKs Great Lakes water deal, by Tom Henry, Toledo Blade, September 24, 2008
Washington—The most ambitious plan ever sent to Washington in hopes of establishing the eight Great Lakes states as guardians of water they share with Ontario and Quebec was ratified yesterday, 390-25, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate already unanimously ratified the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact on Aug. 1.

Automakers would get $25 billion in loans as part of bailout package, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 24, 2008
Washington—A government funding bill working its way through Congress includes $25 billion in low-interest loans for automakers. Congress approved the loans last year as part of a larger energy bill that increased fuel economy standards for cars. But it did not fund the program.

Venture capital at $536 million, Akron Beacon Journal, September 24, 2008
Columbus—Ohio ranked 13th in the U.S. in the total amount of venture capital money invested in fast-growing technology companies in 2007, according to a report out of Ohio State University.

Chrysler's Jolt: Three electric cars, by Jeff Bennett and Neal E. Boudette, Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2008 (Subscription)
Auburn Hills, Mich.—Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli and other executives told dealers that it has lost $400 million so far this year, just hours after it unveiled prototypes of new electric cars it hopes will give it an edge in the race to develop battery-powered vehicles.

Related stories:

Chrysler catches up in electric car; Vehicle set for release in 2010, by Bill Vlasic, New York Times, September 24, 2008

Chrysler to make an electric-drive Jeep Wrangler, Toledo Blade, September 23, 2008

Adrian stunned by plan to shut plant; Merillat Industries intertwined with city, by Jon Chavez, Toledo Blade, September 24, 2008
Adrian, Ohio—Taylor, Mich.-based Masco Corp., which owns Adrian, Ohio-based cabinet maker Merillat Industries, announced Monday it will close Merillat's Adrian factory in the second quarter of 2009 and eliminate 330 hourly and salaried jobs. However, Masco's Builder Cabinet Group headquarters, with 287 salaried employee will remain in Adrian.

PMA Plant Tour of Honda's Marysville Plant, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, Marysville, Ohio. Sponsored by Precision Metalforming Association Ohio Valley District,. Cost: $40 per member, $60 per nonmember.

Emerging Technology Forum: Polymer Applications in Medical Devices, October 10, 2008, Fawcett Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Co-sponsored by PolymerOhio and Rapra Technology.

CES Fall Engineering Extravaganza, "Innovations in Sustainability: Engineering Solutions," October 7, 2008, 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, LaCentre, 25777 Detroit Road, Westlake. Sponsored by the Cleveland Engineering Society.
The Cleveland Engineering Society will introduce an Academic Sustainability Showcase at its annual conference and trade show. The Showcase is meant to bring to light both institution and student-led sustainability initiatives. Students, schools or universities wishing to showcase their efforts may participate by entering posters, displays, and/or exhibitions of their work. More information is available online at www.cesnet.org.

Ford to reopen Engine Plant No. 1 in mid-'09, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 23, 2008
Cleveland—Joe Hinrichs, Ford's group vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs, said its its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 will probably reopen in mid-2009 when its new Ford Taurus sedan, scheduled for launch in 2010, goes into production.

Electric-powered vehicles legal to drive on streets, by Sarena McRae, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 23, 2008
Cleveland—Starting today, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will register and title three-wheeled electric cars the same as motorcycles. Winning motorcycle status was key for electric-vehicle manufacturers including Myers Motors, a Tallmadge-based company that makes a single-passenger, electric three-wheeler that can go 75 mph.

Design District in downtown Cleveland seeks to redesign the city's image, by Vivian Goodman, WKSU/NPR, September 23, 2008
Cleveland—In this audio report, NPR profiles the parties spearheading Cleveland's Design District, a downtown-to-midtown neighborhood for commercial and product design that will include MAGNET's Manufacturing Innovation Center on East. 25th St.

150-year-old state manufacturing tax gone, by Heather Rutz, Lima News, September 23, 2008
Lima, Ohio—Monday marked the last day of collection on the state's tangible personal property tax on machinery, equipment and inventory used in business. The elimination of the personal property tax, Ohio's largest local business tax, is expected to save business owners about $1.6 billion annually. Ohio joins nine other states without a general business tax on tangible personal property.

Longaberger closing its Hartville facility, Akron Beacon Journal, September 23, 2008
Newark, Ohio—Longaberger Co. will close its Hartville-based wood-processing facility by the end of November and consolidate some of those operations into its basket-making facility in Frazeysburg. Longaberger is upgrading its Frazeysburg factory to make it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly while allowing the company to make a broader range of colors and designs for its baskets.

Polyflow Corp. honored for recycling technology, Akron Beacon Journal, September 23, 2008
Akron—Polyflow Corp. Chief Executive Joseph Hensel accepted the "Most Promising Technology" award at the recent CleanTech Innovation Forum held in Washington D.C. The company is developing a process that recycles all forms of plastic, improving the environmental footprint of plastic and petrochemical product life cycles, from production through disposal.

This time, Norwalk Furniture sale goes through, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 22, 2008
Norwalk, Ohio—Jim McTevia, a consulting business turnaround specialist, said five Norwalk-area investors have "firmly agreed" to buy the company and hire 300 to 350 employees to start filling outstanding furniture orders. Details of the deal were not released.

PolyOne teams with Ill. company on plastics initiative, Crain's Cleveland Business, September 22, 2008 (Subscription)
Avon Lake, Ohio—PolyOne Corp. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. have agreed to collaborate on the development of bio-based plasticizers for use in polymer formulations. The global plasticizer market is an $11 billion industry and is comprised mostly of petroleum-based products.

Jeep complex’s future intriguing, by Larry P. Vellequette, Toledo Blade, September 21, 2008
North Toledo, Ohio—No announcements have been made, but the The Toledo Jeep Assembly complex that employs 3,400 could be retooled to make non-Jeep vehicles—perhaps even featuring electric drive components.

German company sees manufacturing promise in industrial Cleveland, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 21, 2008
Cleveland—MAN Ferrostaal Inc., which for decades has operated as a steel trading company, has moved its U.S. headquarters to the area. The first objective of MAN Ferrostaal's new U.S. focus will be the construction of large solar thermal power plants at a cost of more than $1 billion each.

Halcyon Products: Be sure to have a product in hand before going to market, by John Moore as told to PD reporter Marcia Pledger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 21, 2008
Cleveland—John Moore explains how he and his partner, Steve Nash, developed their company's new product for fire departments. Halcyon had assistance from MAGNET's Product Design & Development group and is now housed in MAGNET's Manufacturing Business Incubator.

Fisher lays out plan to create hubs in Valley, by Ed Runyan, Youngstown Vindicator, September 20, 2008
Champion, Ohio—Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher met with officials from Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties on Friday at KSU's Trumbull Campus to outline a broad plan for revitalizing Ohio's economy. One idea that clicked with the audience was creating hubs of innovation and opportunity. The Ohio Department of Development plans to establish such hubs in each of 12 districts in the state.

Local polymer company wins big contract, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, September 20, 2008
Akron—Akron Polymer Systems won a $250,000 contract to develop a flexible and transparent liquid crystal display that can withstand high-processing temperatures for The FlexTech Alliance, formerly known as the U.S. Display Consortium. The group is funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md., but composed of private companies and other enterprises devoted to developing new LCD technology.