TIME FOR ACTION TOUR: DAY TWO

Today, John McCain will continue his "Time for Action Tour" by traveling to Youngstown, Ohio. Throughout his tour, John McCain will be visiting communities that have been forgotten and left behind but where hope, innovation and local solutions are helping to lift these communities up.
Youngstown, Ohio:

In Youngstown, John McCain will visit Fabart Inc, a heavy metal fabricating facility that shut down after struggling in Chapter 11 status. Fabart came under new ownership in 2005 and is trying to reopen.

Senator McCain will then hold a Town Hall Meeting at Youngstown State University (YSU). Working with local businesses, YSU provides courses designed to train students and displaced workers for employment in the 21st century economy.

His final stop will be at Fire Line Inc., an advanced materials developer that manufactures a ceramic/metal material with armor application for the military. Fire Line also works with YSU's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) College to develop and place students in advanced manufacturing and technical jobs.

The history of Youngstown is inextricably linked to the history of the steel industry. Once home to the furnaces and foundries of Republic Steel, U.S. Steel, and Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Youngstown was an important industrial hub. Today, it is struggling to revitalize its economy and community. Youngstown Sheet and Tube announced it was shutting down on September 19, 1977, the death knell for the steel industry in Youngstown. That shut down, known as Black Monday by those who lived through it, was followed by the closure of US Steel and Republic Steel; by the mid-1980's the steel industry was gone, leaving Youngstown economically devastated. With the collapse of the steel industry, Youngstown lost an estimated 40,000 manufacturing jobs. It also lost over half its population from its peak of nearly 170,000 people in the 1950s. Today, Youngstown is embracing its smaller size and diversifying its economy. As p art of its 2010 plan, the city is implementing smart shrinkage by demolishing abandoned houses and buildings. It is also providing incentives to attracting diverse 21st century small businesses to Youngstown.

Youngstown is located in America's Rust belt between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the Mahoning River. At the time of the 2000 census, it was 82,026 and its racial make-up was roughly: 51% Caucasian, 44% African American, and 5% Hispanic. And about 25% of Youngstown population was living below the poverty line. The February 2008 unemployment rate for Youngstown is 7.6%.