YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Optimism was high at the July 23 event marking the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace & Defense. The hub will forge a new era of advanced manufacturing in the Mahoning Valley. State and local officials gathered outside the former Vindicator Printing Co. building to mark the start of the $32.7 million renovation project. “This community has always been defined by its resilience, its work ethic and its ability to reinvent itself,” Megan Malara, hired last year as director of the new innovation hub, said at the event. The local commitment also demonstrates that local officials weren’t just looking for a handout.