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Government increases its NASA budget, which could mean big bucks for Glenn Research Center — P. 5 Brecksville medical device maker has quadrupled its number of employees in last seven years — P. 6
WORTH THE TROUBLE? Manziel’s brand has taken a huge hit, and the Browns’ could suffer, too It was an eventful 10-day span even for Johnny Manziel. The day after Christmas, the Cleveland Browns’ much-hyped rookie quarterback partied with friends at Barley House, which may or may not have caused him to oversleep and miss a scheduled treatment for his injured hamstring in Berea the following morning. In a candid interview with reporters Dec. 29, Manziel apologized to his teammates and said, “It’s about being accountable instead of looking like a jackass.” Hours later, he was in South Beach, having what one friend tweeted was a “crazy night” at a Miami nightclub. Manziel closed the week by flipping off hecklers at a Houston nightclub,
resulting in several drinks being thrown in the Texas native’s direction, according to TMZ. The Browns’ patience with the quarterback they drafted in the first round last May is clearly wearing thin, and many fans — including some who were firmly on the Johnny Football bandwagon only one month earlier — are urging the team to move on without the 22year-old. The biggest hit, however, might have been taken by the Manziel brand — the marketing machine led by LeBron James’ LRMR Management Company, which helped the rookie land sponsorship deals with such heavyweights as Nike, Mars Chocolate and Nissan before he ever threw a pass in the NFL. Sales of Manziel’s No. 2 jersey
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By KEVIN KLEPS kkleps@crain.com
See TROUBLE, page 18
Plummeting price of oil weakening steel industry By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
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Just a few years ago, back in 2011, Northeast Ohio was abuzz about the rebirth of its steel industry. France’s Vallourec was investing close to $1 billion in a new steel mill in Youngstown, TimkenSteel was investing $225 million in its Stark
each new shale well using more than three miles of pipe to go down and then laterally into the nation’s shale plays, all of the companies were rushing to serve this rapidly growing market. Today, though, the region is reeling from news last week that U.S. Steel plans to idle its Lorain mill, putting more than 600 steel work-
ers out of work. What gives? More like what gave — and that would be the price of oil. Oil was selling for more than $100 a barrel in 2011, and drillers were scrambling to get to it, whether it was trapped in the tar sands of Canada, the shale plays of the Dakotas or just about anywhere
else below ground or water. Today, oil is worth half that and has been trading at or below $50 a barrel. As a result, the number of rigs drilling in the United States, especially for oil, is dropping by the week. It’s one of the worst oil-price crashes in history, say economists. “If this is a burp or a hiccup, I’d See STEEL, page 17
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County mills and, in Lorain, Republic and U.S. Steel were investing, respectively, $85 million and $95 million in their operations. All of those mills make what is known as “oil country tubular goods” — basically, the steel tubing needed to drill for gas and oil, along with the fittings and components used with the tubing itself. With
SMALL BUSINESS The corporate crowd is getting served by an old-school lunch method ■ Pages 13-15 PLUS: GUARDED OPTIMISM ■ TAX TIPS ■ & MORE
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