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In Lucas County, federal stimulus dollars have helped employ 565 low-income young adults this summer. The Lucas County Summer Youth Employment Program has been challenged with obstacles in its five-year existence — including reduced funds in 2011 — but organizers say this year’s program may be its strongest yet.

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The new ULTA Beauty and Texas Roadhouse are scheduled to open in the early fall in the Eastwood Complex, said Joe Bell, spokesman for The Cafaro Co. In addition, the Dairy Queen Grill and Chill across from Eastwood Mall is scheduled to open today. The Men’s Wearhouse store opened in early June, Bell said. Another business in Eastwood, Shoe Department, is expanding into an adjacent space with its new concept store, Shoe Department Encore.

“They were able to get that store open a lot faster than expected,” he said.

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Notice Software has closed a $350,000 seed round, led by the Rocket Venture Fund. Notice Software’s core technology uses push notifications to engage mobile device users with the web. Notice will use this funding round to expand its product offering to include e­tail and mobile workforce solutions.

Click here for the complete press release.

Hillman Cos. Inc. has a new chief executive and big dreams to grow the Springfield Township-based hardware distributor into the region’s next billion-dollar business.That milestone is the company’s next growth target, which would be a long way from its beginning as a family-run store on Gilbert Avenue selling nuts, bolts and screws in 1964.

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Amazing ideas often come from concerns we find in our everyday lives. That piece of wisdom rings especially true for Pixsi, a new consumer-centric mobile marketing company whose headquarters are located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to watch Pixsi grow first-hand. As a Startup Technologist for Microsoft, I see many startups growing on a daily basis. Pixsi is unique and a brilliant model example for entrepreneurs. Here are some takeaways that you can learn from Scott Andrews, the CEO of Pixsi.

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On July 25, the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network will host a panel discussion covering major aspects of the first-to-file system and how it differs from the previous patent process. Panelists will discuss how this reform will affect entrepreneurs and their technology, and how it might change the way startups, universities and other innovation hubs will conduct business. This free program runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Registration and event details are available here.

The market for buying and selling small businesses in Columbus picked up during the second quarter, with the value of companies changing hands also increasing, says a new report from BizBuySell.com.

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Last month, Global Cooling’s Stirling Ultracold SU780U ultra-low temperature freezer, which is manufactured in Athens, Ohio, won the Outstanding New Product Award presented by the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) at their annual meeting in Sydney, Australia.

Paul Clark, regional president for PNC Bank in Cleveland, is taking over for Timken Co. chairman Ward J. “Tim” Timken Jr. as chair of area economic development group Team NEO.

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Northside Medical Center officials say the ceremonial groundbreaking earlier this week for a $20 million addition and renovation project in Youngstown represents a commitment to the hospital, its patients and the community. The project at Northside on Gypsy Lane, an affiliate of ValleyCare Health System of Ohio, includes a 30,000-square- foot, three-story tower that will house the Emergency Department and serve as the hub of the hospital. Construction is expected to be completed in 2014.

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Stratacache, a provider of digital merchandising products and services, said earlier this week that it has purchased twin office buildings on Poe Avenue in Vandalia to serve as its expanding operations, support and sales centers. The company also said it anticipates hiring up to 100 new employees over the next three years to work in the buildings.

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Privately held real estate investment firms Hackman Capital Partners, LLC, of Los Angeles announced today the successful acquisition of a 28-building industrial real estate portfolio totaling 2,593,602 square feet. The transaction closed for the multi-tenant Ohio buildings on Friday, June 14.

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Officials say now is the time for developing a Xenia greenfield site into a 163.5-acre hub for civilian unmanned aerial systems development.

About 50 officials convened in a cornfield just south of Xenia Friday morning, and spoke of the potential civilian uses for UAS and UAV technology, notably for precision agriculture monitoring, geospatial and emergency responders. Officials from the city, county, and a number of Dayton businesses and organizations agreed that the potential could be huge.

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Earlier this week, Youngstown State University announced a record fundraising year, amounting to more than $10 million in private support from alumni, corporations, foundations and friends in the 2012-13 fiscal year.

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Two Honda suppliers stand to receive state tax credits for proposed expansions in Logan County that would lead to a combined 65 new jobs. Those are two of four projects in central Ohio that could bring a total of 135 new jobs to the area. Fifteen projects statewide were offered incentives yesterday by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. If all the companies follow through on their plans, 831 jobs will be created.

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