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After 30 years at the helm of Akron Children's, Considine still looks to future
New version of Mozilla Thunderbird landing soon
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About Matsos Greek Dressing & Marinade
All-in-one units jolt desktop computer sales
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
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Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Sunday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns sick after sick loss in Detroit
Akron Zips:
Zips advance to Sweet Sixteen
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Post-game defensive quotes
Kent State Sports:
Kent State defeats Rochester College, 63-44
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
$18 million cut offered as Bridgestone Firestone weighs location of center
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
A state agency gave the green light Monday for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC to receive an $18 million tax break if it keeps its technical center in Akron.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority's five-member panel unanimously approved the deal, which would allow Bridgestone Firestone to pay just 25 percent of its state commercial activity tax bills for 15 years. In exchange, the company would be required to retain operations in Akron for at least 18 years.
The offer is part of an estimated $68 million economic-development package being pulled together by the state, Summit County and the city to keep the tire company's technical center in Akron.
The Nashville-based sub
sidiary of the Japanese tire company announced last month that it has narrowed its choices for its new Bridgestone Firestone Technical Center to Akron's Firestone Park or Murfreesboro, Tenn., southeast of Nashville.
Details of neither the Ohio nor Tennessee proposals have been made public.
Akron spokesman Mark Williamson said Monday that the company has not told the city its decision.
The state tax credit sought by the company and approved on Monday ''is part of the necessary project that Bridgestone Firestone goes through in the event that they end up selecting Akron,'' Williamson said. '' . . . It's not an indicator that they have selected Akron. It's just part of the process to be prepared if they do select Akron and if they want tax credits.''
Ohio Department of Development spokeswoman Melissa Vince said that Monday's approval of the tax break verifies ''the state's commitment to the project.''
Bridgestone Firestone said in a statement, ''We continue to make progress in our project to build a world-class technology center for our Akron teammates. . . . We still have more work to do.''
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who heads the Ohio Department of Development, still must approve ''a finding of extraordinary circumstance'' to extend the tax break from the typical 10-year period to 15 years, Vince said.
Bridgestone Firestone has said it needs a state-of-the-art facility to attract and retain employees.
The current technical center is in a former Firestone tire factory built in 1911 that also housed Firestone's headquarters. It employs about 600 people in high-paying jobs.
The state estimates the price tag for the new facility to be $100 million. If it goes forward, the project is expected to retain about 1,000 jobs in Akron.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
A state agency gave the green light Monday for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC to receive an $18 million tax break if it keeps its technical center in Akron.
Get the full article here.
