Famous Cuyahoga Falls artist Jack Richard, 92, died Wednesday following an early evening automobile accident.

Richard was driving through the parking lot behind 2250 Front Street, the location of Jack Richards Studios, when he accelerated into the parking deck at 2221 Front Street, struck a concrete trash can and then a concrete parking deck pillar, Cuyahoga Falls Police reported.

For 52 years Richard owned the Studios of Jack Richard at 2250 Front Street, where every Tuesday he taught scenic landscape, portrait, still life and figure painting in oil, watercolor, pastel and acrylics as well as in various drawing media.

Commissioned portraits from Richard include First Ladies Mamie Eisenhower and Barbara Bush, golfer Nancy Lopez and singer Dina Shore.

Richard’s "Abigail Adams" historic portrait is in the National First Ladies Library and Museum in Canton.

Richard's studio also houses  the Almond Tea Art Gallery, with more than 14,000 paintings available for sale.

And has cleaned and restored more than 700 works of art.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Dawidziak shares stage with guitarist, co-author

Former BJ and current PD culture critic Mark Dawidiziak will join co-author Paul Bauer of Kent and blues guitarist Eric Taylor at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8 at the Bottlebrush Gallery & Center for the Arts in aptly named Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Mark and Paul, a used and rare books dealer in Kent,  take center stage at 6:30 p.m. to read and discuss their book, "Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler."  Tulley was an Irish writer, boxer, hobo and  friend to the stars in the 1920s and 1930s.

Mark Wade Stone produced a documentary,  “Road Kid to Writer - The Tracks of Jim Tully,” based on Mark and Paul’s book. Atlanta native Taylor wrote the music for the documentary, and will play his selections from the film at 7:30 p.m.

Mark writes: “Our opening will consist of talking a bit about Tully, some readings and an excerpt from the film. Then get ready for the real treat of the evening” – guitarist Taylor. 

After the event, Mark posted:

"A Jim Tully toast and thank you to Dennis McCurdy and all the wonderfully welcoming people in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Paul and I had a great time "opening" for Eric Taylor last night at the Bottlebrush Gallery. What an honor and treat to finally meet Eric and hear this artist's magnificent songs and stories . . . in an ideal setting."

EpiPen example of how drug firms stick it to the public

The soaring cost of EpiPens, used by those allergic to bee stings, peanuts and some medicines, capsulizes the greed of pharmaceutical companies capitalizing on the desperation of America’s afflicted.

First synthesized in 1904, epinephrine, aka adrenaline, is now a dirt cheap generic. If your doctor prescribed it, you could buy a pre-loaded syringe of epinephrine for under $20.

But the more foolproof delivery device — the pen in EpiPen — was patented in 1977, meaning that Mylan, the U.S. marketer, and Pfizer, the manufacturer, have a license to gouge.

EpiPens used to be cheap — just $35.59 wholesale in 1986. Now it’s $360 to $435 retail. In Canada it’s $94.

The delivery system was developed on the taxpayers’ dime by military/NASA engineer Sheldon Kaplan (who never got a penny in royalties) to inject atropine to counter battlefield nerve gas. Minor modifications suited it to epinephrine.

With little or no research and development costs, EpiPen brought Mylan $640 million in 2012, The New York Times reported.

This is the company founded by the late Mike Pushkar, whose name is on West Virginia University’s football stadium in Morgantown because he donated $20 million to the athletic department, from money gouged from desperate patients.

To read In These Times senior editor Terry Allen’s story, click on http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/05/sticker-shock-how-big-pharma-gauges-the-american-public/

Murdoch forced to withdraw Time Warner takeover

Rupert Murdoch, with Time Warner unwilling and Murdoch’s stockholders unhappy, withdrew his $80 million 21^st Century Fox bid to acquire Time Warner.

Why the change of heart: The reaction to the offer made Fox’s stock price go down.

21^st Century Fox is the parent company of Fox Television, Fox News Channel, 20^th Century Fox film studios, and several cable and satellite television networks.

Media Matters urged Time Warner shareholders and its Board of Directors to oppose the sale, arguing that the combined company would have created the world's second-largest media conglomerate and reduced viable options for consumers.

Executives of News Corp., Murdoch's print-focused company (parent of the Wall Street Journal and Murdoch's United Kingdom-based newspapers), were convicted in the phone hacking scandal. News Corps issues millions in payouts for privacy violations.

Media Matters Vice President Angelo Carusone said that the merger would have given Rupert Murdoch control of 40% of the cable market and 30% of the movie market.

“Murdoch has demonstrated that he is far too irresponsible for that amount of power,” Carusone said.

Two other blockbuster mergers are awaiting government approval: Comcast’s $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable, which is not part of Time Warner, and AT&T’s $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV.

Comcast will be controlling the costs for 30% of cable users in America.

AT&T will have 27% of the pay TV business.

Cable charges have more than doubled in 20 years.

To read the entire article, click on http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/08/05/rupert-murdoch-forced-to-withdraw-offer-to-acqu/200324

Surgeon general that tobacco lobbyists got fired dies

Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, whose campaign against second-hand smoke made him the only U.S. Surgeon General forced to resign, under President Richard Nixon, died in Pomona, California. He was 87.

Dr. Jesse Steinfeld

Tobacco lobbyists – and their campaign contributions – caused Nixon to jettison Steinfeld.

Three U.S. surgeons general have played the biggest roles in alerting the public to the dangers of tobacco.

In 1964, Dr. Luther Terry issued the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health, irrefutably linking smoking with lung disease and other illnesses. The report led to a sharp drop in smoking and to the first warning labels on cigarette packages.

Seven years later, Dr. Jesse L. Steinfeld issued a second report focused on the dangers of second-hand smoke. He proposed what he called the Non-Smoker's Bill of Rights, which said that the country must free non-smokers from the hazards and annoyance of other people's addictions. He strengthened the warning on packages and issued the first ban on smoking in government buildings.

In the 1980s, Dr. C. Everett Koop accelerated the war against tobacco, producing the first ban on smoking in airplanes.

But Steinfeld was the only one who paid the price of being canned.

To read his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, click on http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jesse-steinfeld-20140806-story.html#page=1

Turncoat Billy on BJ editorial page

Former BJ Washington correspondent and Columbus bureau chief, who retired as Columbus bureau chief of the Dayton Daily News, writes in today’s BJ editorial page about how he turned from Indians fan to Tigers fan because he couldn’t stay the perpetual heartbreak of rooting for Cleveland pro teams.

Bill Hershey

When Bill’s family moved from Ohio to Flint, Michigan, he was a 9-year-old fourth grader with an Indians pennant in his bedroom and was teased by children in that state up north, as Woody Hayes was fond of calling it, for his Buckeye allegiance.

He wrote supportive letters to Herb Score after Yankee Gil McDougal’s line drive struck the Indians pitcher in the face, badly damaging his eye, and to Jimmy Piersall, the Indians outfielder heckled by Tigers fans for his outbursts, the result of mental illness. And received replies.

The Tigers won the 1968 World Series, turncoat Billy became and remained a Tigers fan.

Now that LeBron James has returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the widely-heralded Second Coming, Bill writes, 9-year-olds throughout Ohio have hopes for a return to the glory that was Cleveland so long, long ago.

To read Bill’s BJ Editorial Page column, click on http://www.ohio.com/editorial/william-hershey-broken-hearts-for-james-to-mend-1.510875

Harry Liggett's home is getting a major makeover

To see what is being done to the late BJ Alums founder Harry Liggett's home, go to nephew Eric Poston's Facebook page. Plenty of photos.

Go to
https://www.facebook.com/eric.poston.3/media_set?set=a.10203252396243378.1073741835.1013342786&type=1

BJ wins 1, PD 4 Black Journalists Awards

BJ reporters Doug Livingston and Dave Scott won 2014 National Association of Black Journalists Awards for their series on black, poor children hit by cars.

The Plain Dealer won awards in four categories.

In Newspaper Investigative category for a series by Rachel Dissell, Leila Atassi and Margaret Bernstein on reinvestigating rape.

In Special Project category for the Angela Townsend and Lynn Ischay series on clues to cancer.

In the Photography: Single Image category for Lonnie Timmons III’s photo of Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown.

And for Andrea Levy’s “Gifted” series. 

Gannett joins dump-newspapers stampede

Gannett joins the crowd in sending its newspaper division into its own orbit to oblivion.

Gannett announced Tuesday it will spin off its newspaper and broadcasting divisions into two separate companies.

The company expects the publishing company, which will retain the Gannett name, to be virtually debt-free, with most of the company's debt being retained by the broadcasting company that will be renamed. 

Gannett will also acquire Cars.com, where it has a 23% stake.

Gannett, which owns USA Today and 81 local newspapers, will remain headquartered in McLean, Va., as will the broadcast company.

The separation is expected to be complete by mid-2015.

Gannett's announcement follows similar moves by other major media companies to spin off print divisions. 

The Tribune Company finalized the separation of its publishing business Monday, Time Warner spun off Time Inc. earlier this year, News Corp. spun off its newspaper assets, including The Wall Street Journal, last year, and E.W. Scripps and (Milwaukee) Journal Communications will merge and then create separate companies for their newspaper and broadcast operations.

The merged broadcast and digital media company, based in Cincinnati, will retain The E.W. Scripps Company name. 

The newspaper company will be called Journal Media Group and will combine Scripps’ daily newspapers, community publications and related digital products in 13 markets with Journal Communications’ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin community publications and affiliated digital products.

Scripps once owned the extinct Cleveland Press, Columbus Citizen-Journal and Youngstown Telegram.

To read the entire article, click on http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/08/gannett-to-spinoff-newspaper-division-193427.html

Carney crashes cataract crowd

Retired BJ reporter and sometime radio talk-show host Jim Carney joined the ranks of those who have had cataract surgery.

 

Jim Carney

The cataract – “the size of the state of Pennsylvania,” Jim reports – was replaced in his right eye by an intraocular lens implant “so now I will see like a six-year-old.”

In two weeks, the left eye gets the same modern miracle.

I can testify from personal experience that you go from the cloudy vision that’s removed to nearly 20/20 vision, depending on how the physician positions the implant.

Former BJ and PD editor Debbie Van Tassel, working for the Arizona Republic, had cataract surgery in April.

Three million Americans have cataract surgery each year. Medicare pays $3.4 billion a year for the procedure. But the American Academy of Opthalmology estimates that one year of cataract surgeries save $1,23.4 billion over 13 years in patient and Medicare and other insurer’s costs and employment productivity.

Retired photographer Don Roese, if all goes as planned, will be heading in the other direction, to his favorite state, Alaska, next summer. 

He swapped his red Jeep for a truck for the purpose. It's going to be a bumpy ride, Mary Ann!

Don and his insurance company talk a lot after his trips to Alaska. Rocks dinged his camper so badly one year that the insurance guys forked over a few grand to pay for fixing it up. 

That’s a $2 million golf fashion statement

If you watched the World Golf Championships at Firestone Country Club this weekend and noticed the patch on the left chest of your favorite golfer: It cost up to $2 million to the business whose logo you saw.

A logo on the side of the cap or collar can cost up to $200,000.

NASCAR drivers, eat your hearts out.

Tiger Woods, stumbling through the tour after his dust-up with the Scandinavian babe, still gets $20 million a year in endorsements. Even if she still gets half, that’s not a bad payday for just showing up.

Arnold Palmer hasn’t won a golf tournament since 1973 but he got $40 million in endorsements last year.

To read Bob Dyer’s usual witty article on golf fashions and cha-chinging, click on http://www.ohio.com/news/dyer/bob-dyer-golf-fashion-is-no-casual-matter-1.510112

Brimfield chief breaks into show biz

It started out with a Facebook page. Then it morphed into a book. And now

Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver will host his own radio show, “Breaking Good,” on WNIR 100-FM Saturdays, 7-10 p.m.

The title is a play on “Breaking Bad,” the wildly successful American Movie Classic cable series about a chemistry teacher who becomes a drug kingpin.

To read Brittany Harris’ story on the Fox-Channel 8 web site, click on  

http://fox8.com/2014/07/31/breaking-good-brimfield-police-chief-lands-own-radio-show/#ooid=t5M21kbzq4Pn0zn8XMNBJ49iwRt45rQE

Braves’ ‘Professor’ announcer dies

Pete Van Wieren, 69, “The Professor” among Atlanta Braves broadcasters for 33 years, died Saturday. He got the nickname because of his extensive research of baseball. 

Van Wieren retired shortly after the death of his long-time friend and broadcasting partner, Skip Caray.

Van Wieren and Carey were inducted together into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame in 2004.

To see CBS Sports’ article by Matt Snyder, click on http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24646811/braves-broadcaster-pete-van-wieren-dies-at-age-69

No more Scripps newspapers

E.W. Scripps and (Milwaukee) Journal Communications will merge and then create separate companies for their newspaper and broadcast operations.

The merged broadcast and digital media company, based in Cincinnati, will retain The E.W. Scripps Company name, and the Scripps family shareholders will retain voting control. The company will have 4,000 employees across its television, radio and digital media operations with expected annual revenue of $800 million. 

The newspaper company will be called Journal Media Group and will combine Scripps’ daily newspapers, community publications and related digital products in 13 markets with Journal Communications’ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin community publications and affiliated digital products. The company, with expected annual revenue of more than $500 million and 3,600 employees, will be headquartered in Milwaukee. 

Edward Wills Scripps founded his company in 1922. In 2008 Scripps divided its empire into separate companies for newspapers/TV stations/licensing, syndication and its cable channels such as the Food Network.

Scripps once owned the Cleveland Press, which died in 1982, and the Columbus Citizen-Journal, which also folded, and the Youngstown Telegram, which was absorbed by the Youngstown Vindicator.

To read the entire article, click on http://www.scripps.com/press/details?id=1357