Springboro distributor entangled in opioid probe

Last week was the deadline given to a Springboro prescription wholesaler to turn over documents for a congressional investigation.

Miami-Luken, a regional drug wholesaler headquartered at 265 S. Pioneer Blvd., was asked Sept. 25 by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce for information amid an inquiry into how suspicious volumes of painkillers imported to West Virginia contributed to the rural state’s opioid overdose epidemic. The company is in hot water after West Virginia went after it and other drug distributors.

Reporter Kaitlin Schroeder reported that Miami-Luken is separately fighting a Drug Enforcement Administration effort to yank its distribution license. In February 2016, Miami-Luken settled for $2.5 million with West Virginia’s attorney general over allegations of flooding the state with painkillers.

Reporting by the Charleston Gazette-Mail found in six years, drug wholesalers brought 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills into the state, which divides out to 433 pain pills for every adult and children. The investigation found an example of a pharmacy in a town of 392 that received 9 million hydrocodone pills in two years.

The DEA has alleged that the 55-year-old Springboro firm failed to effectively control the drugs it distributed and failed to disclose suspicious orders of controlled substances like oxycodone and hydrocodone for customers in southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.

Spending more to renovate

In another sign we have more to spend, reporter Max Filby recently reported we are spending more money this year than ever on home remodeling and additions.

Dayton-area builders are benefiting from the boom but struggling to keep up with it at the same time.

Americans are expected to spend a record $316 billion this year on remodeling, up from $296 billion in 2016, according to a report from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing studies.

The second half of this year has exploded for construction companies in terms of the number of projects, according to Matt Jones, production supervisor at Greater Dayton Building and Remodeling.

Nationally, remodeling activity is at its highest peak in 10 years, marking an 8.7 percent jump since 2007, according to Remodeling magazine. Bathrooms and kitchens remain the most popular spaces to remodel, but don’t tell my wife this.

How much longer?

Sears Canada Inc. announced it will close all stores, and about 12,000 Sears workers will lose their jobs over the coming months.

Sears Canada Inc. is an independent Canadian digital and storebased retailer whose head office is based in Toronto. The company operates as a separate entity from its U.S.- based co-founder, now known as Sears Holdings Corp. based in Illinois.

But if you walk in your local Sears store, you’ll notice the end could be near for it. Inventory is low at area stores, and it looks as if items are not being restocked.

Rich Gillette is the Dayton Daily News business editor. He can be reached at rich.gillette@coxinc.com or follow him on Twitter @richgillette.