Actress/civil rights activist and Cleveland native Ruby Dee, 91, died on Wednesday at her home in New Rochelle, New York.

She was married to actor/civil rights activist Ossie Davis.

She was in “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark drama about the struggle of a black family in Chicago at the dawn of the civil rights movement, in 1959 with Sidney Poitier.

The play had 530 performances on Broadway and was reprised, with much of the cast intact, as a 1961 film.

She was an Oscar nominee for a supporting role in the 2007 movie “American Gangster,” about a Harlem drug lord (Denzel Washington), as a loving mother who turned a blind eye to her son’s criminality.

She married singer Frankie Dee Brown in 1941, and kept the Dee name although they divorced after four years of marriage.

In 1998 Ruby and Ossie published a joint autobiography, “With Ossie & Ruby: In This Life Together,” to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Ray Habyan has back surgery

Ray Habyan, BJ maintenance retiree, had seven collapsed discs fused in back surgery.

“The next six months will be interesting, to say the least,” Ray writes.

Ray Habyan

Ray has had four operations on his right shoulder, the crushed bone sawed off next to his rotator cuff, a torn bicep muscle and a 2 ½ -inch skull fracture that brought on seizures.

Ray said the damage happened while we was working at the BJ, where he was Guild member and Steward from 1975-1996.

He also has had a Pacemaker since 2012. Like me, his heart rate is too low with the governor in his chest.

After 17 years in Sedona, Arizona on computer networking assignments and piloting small planes, he retired and moved back to the Akron area where his parents and his wife's mother live.

He does pencil drawings for the families of Gold Star military heroes.

If you want to wish Ray well with his recovery efforts, go to his Facebook page.

Massillon hospital’s parent highest biller in America

Community Health Systems, the largest for-profit hospital operator in America, bills 10 times the Medicare rate. Half the 50 top billers are with CHS. That may help account for its $18 billion in profits last year.

CHS, like other hospitals, doesn’t get anything beyond the Medicare rate from Medicare. But the billing rate helps drive up the discount price to companies with a large base.

Franklin, Tennessee-based CHS affiliates own, operate or lease 203 hospitals in 29 states with approximately 31,100 licensed beds.

That includes Affinity Medical Center in Massillon and three other hospitals in Youngstown and Warren.

CHS began in 1985. It was sold in 1996 for $1.1 billion to Forstmann Little & Company. CHS went public in 2000 but pays no dividends.

It is buying Health Management Associates for $3.6 billion.

In 2014 hackers broke into Community Health System's system and stole names, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, birthdays and telephone numbers of 4.5 million patients.

To read the entire article, click on

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/10/health/most-expensive-hospitals/index.html   

Ichabod Crane of headline writers dies

The Headless Headline Hero has reached the bottom of his life.

Vincent Musetto, 74, who wrote the legendary New York Post headline you see above, passed away Tuesday in the Bronx. He was 74.

This headline appeared April 15, 1983.

On April 13, 1983, Charles Dingle, drinking in a tavern in the Jamaica section of Queens, argued with the owner, Herbert Cummings, and shot him to death. He then took several women hostage, raping one and forcing another, in an apparent bid to confound the police, to cut off Cummings’s head.

Dingle was sentenced to 25 years to life and died in the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo in 2012.

Mr. Musetto’s headline appeared on T-shirts, was the title of a 1995 movie starring Raymond J. Barry and loosely based on the crime and was the title of a 2007 book, “Headless Body in Topless Bar: The Best Headlines From America’s Favorite Newspaper.”

As former colleagues have recalled over the years, Musetto’s headline almost did not come to be. That April day, as deadline loomed in the newsroom, it occurred to someone that the bar in question might not actually be topless.

“It’s gotta be a topless bar!” Musetto cried, as his former colleague Charlie Carillo wrote for The Huffington Post in 2012. “This is the greatest ^%^&^%%$ headline of my career!” The Post dispatched a reporter, who phoned from Queens to say, to the relief of all and to the everlasting glory of American tabloid journalism, that topless it was.

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Le Man  !!!!

Le 40 points

Le 12 rebounds

Le 8 assists

 

Le 2 games to win !!!!

Le 51-year curse

      Over, si vou plait !!!!


Backed by a roaring home crowd desperate for its first title, LeBron James scored 40 points, Matthew Dellavedova added 20 and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived Golden State's fourth-quarter comeback for a 96-91 win over the Golden State Warriors and a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

LeBron James broke Rick Barry’s record of most points in first three games of NBA Finals by one point, at 123. Even the legendary Jerry West only had 118 and Michael Jordan 117.

Said King James: "I don't like shooting high volume but it's the Finals. It's whatever it takes"

Cleveland has been without a professional sports title for 51 years, the longest drought in America for a major city. The 1964 Browns were the last Cleveland pro champs.

The Cavs took a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors, who ironically have made their climb to glory with Jerry West as their consultant for three years.

Golden State’s Steph Curry, held to 3 points for 29 minutes by Matthew Dellavedova, scored 24 in a desperate bid to pull out the victory, but 13 came when he was not guarded by Dellavedova, who was hospitalized for “severe cramping” and taken to Cleveland Clinic.

The Cavs already are without the services of Kevin Love and Kylie Irving.

 

Former BJ and current PD TV/movie critic Mark Dawidziak and wife Sara Showman of Cuyahoga Falls were at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut on Tuesday, June 9 for a performance of “Mark Twain’s Guide to Diet, Exercise, Beauty, Fashion, Investment, Romance, Health and Happiness,” based on material from Mark’s book.

Recalls Mark: “I was 16 the first time I visited The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. It was a magical summer day trip for a Long Island boy who had fallen completely under the spell of Mark Twain's writing. I've been drawn back many times since.”

Mark was there for his book-signing and a Q&A session.

Dawidziak teaches the Vampires on Film and Television course at Kent State University.

This is Mark’s 12^th book and is published by Prospect Park Books.

“Nobody gets Mark Twain the way Mark Dawidziak does,” PBS superstar documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says of “Mark Twain's Guide to Diet, Exercise, Beauty, Fashion, Investment, Romance, Health and Happiness.”

Actor Hal Holbrook, who does a one-man Twain show but was not in Stamford, and Mark Dawidziak have the best pulse on Twain of anyone in America today.

Dawidziak came to the BJ from Tennessee in 1983, and grew up on New York City’s Long Island, with the sounds of planes landing at JFK and LaGuardia airports lulling him to sleep at night or startling him awake.

Before the BJ & the PD, Mark's career took him to the Kingsport Times-News in Tennessee,
the Bristol Herald Courier in Virginia, the Associated Press’ Washington bureau and Knight-Ridder Newspapers’  Washington bureau.

NBA Finals began in Akron City

“The Most Valuable Basketball Maternity Ward in America is located on the second floor here at Summa Akron City Hospital.”

So writes Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News columnist.

He’s not the first to report that LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, the brightest stars for their teams in the NBA Finals, were both in Akron City.

But at least he didn’t write that they both were born in Akron General, as the Sporting News did. And others picked up on the error. Like the falsehood that lemmings follow their leaders in a mass plunge off cliffs. Doesn’t happen.

But I think Purdy does such a grand job with his version of the “twins” separated after afterbirth that you might want to read it.

Click on http://www.mercurynews.com/mark-purdy/ci_28277109/purdy-tracing-lebron-james-stephen-curry-roots-akron   if you want to do just that.

 

First Barbara Galloway Mudrak wrote about the Minerva monster 35 years ago when she was a BJ reporter.

Now she’s starring in the document titled “Minerva Monster,” based on the 1978 “sightings” that drew Bigfoot hunters and curiosity seekers into southern Stark County and wound up as a Mudrak story in 1980.

Barb, an Alliance High School teacher, former Stark County Sheriff’s Deputy James Shannon and Howe Cayton, whose family first reported the “sighting,” star in the documentary.

Move over, Hallie Berry (“Monster’s Ball”), there’s a new star in town.

It was produced by Seth Breedlove of Wadsworth, Alan Megargle of Painesville, Brandon Dale of Akron and Jesse Morgan of Mentor.

The movie premiered May 16 at a Bigfoot Convention at Salt Fork State Park. The film was part of Monster Day on Saturday in Minerva, birthplace of the monster mishmash.

I think this comes under the category of, if dog bites man it isn’t news, but if man bites dog it is.

Dyer, Suba, Masturzo lead Beacon Journal in journalism awards June 07,2015 10:31 AM GMT Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Copyright ��� 2015 Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Inc and Black Press. All Rights Reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of the Akron Beacon Journal is expressly prohibitePHA+DQoJVGhlIEJlYWNvbiBKb3VybmFs4oCZcyBCb2IgRHllciB3b24gYmVzdCBjb2x1bW5pc3Qg aW4gdGhlIHN0YXRlIEZyaWRheSBmcm9tIHRoZSBDbGV2ZWxhbmQgUHJlc3MgQ2x1YiwgbGVhZGlu ZyBhIG51bWJlciBzdGFmZmVycyBpbiB0b3AgYXdhcmRzLjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCUR5ZXIgYWxzbyB3 b24gZmlyc3QgcGxhY2UgZm9yIGludmVzdGlnYXRpdmUgam91cm5hbGlzbSBmb3IgaGlzIHNlcmll cyBvbiBFcm5lc3QgQW5nbGV5IGFuZCBHcmFjZSBDYXRoZWRyYWwsIGFuZCBzZWNvbmQgcGxhY2Ug Zm9yIGEgc2luZ2xlIGNvbHVtbi48L3A+DQo8cD4NCglQaG90b2dyYXBoZXJzIEVkIFN1YmEgSnIu IGFuZCBQaGlsIE1hc3R1cnpvIGFsc28gd29uIGEgbnVtYmVyIG9mIGF3YXJkcy48L3A+DQo8cD4N CglTdWJhIHdvbiBmaXJzdCBwbGFjZXMgaW4gdGhlIGNhdGVnb3JpZXMgb2YgZ2VuZXJhbCBuZXdz IGFuZCBwaG90byBzdG9yeS10ZWxsaW5nLCBhbmQgc2Vjb25kIHBsYWNlIGZvciBnZW5lcmFsIGZl YXR1cmUuPC9wPg0KPHA+DQoJTWFzdHVyem8gd29uIGZpcnN0IHBsYWNlIGZvciBzdHVkaW8gcGhv dG9ncmFwaHksIHNlY29uZCBmb3Igc3BvcnRzLCBhbmQgdGhpcmQgcGxhY2VzIGluIHNwb3J0cyBh bmQgZ2VuZXJhbCBuZXdzLjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCUluIHRoZSBjYXRlZ29yeSBvZiBiZXN0IHNpbmds ZS1kYXkgY292ZXJhZ2Ugb2YgYnJlYWtpbmcgbmV3cywgdGhlIEJlYWNvbiBKb3VybmFsIHdvbiBm aXJzdCBmb3IgaXRzIGNvdmVyYWdlIG9mIHRoZSBFYm9sYSBvdXRicmVhayBzcHJlYWRpbmcgdG8g QWtyb24uIFRoYXQgZWZmb3J0IHdhcyBsZWQgYnkgaGVhbHRoIHJlcG9ydGVyIENoZXJ5bCBQb3dl bGwsIGJ1c2luZXNzIHdyaXRlciBLYXRpZSBCeWFyZCBhbmQgZWR1Y2F0aW9uIHdyaXRlciBEb3Vn IExpdmluZ3N0b24uPC9wPg0KPHA+DQoJVGhlIHNhbWUgcmVwb3J0ZXJzLCBsZWQgYnkgUG93ZWxs LCB3b24gYSBzZWNvbmQgcGxhY2UgZm9yIEVib2xhIGNvdmVyYWdlIG92ZXIgc2V2ZXJhbCBkYXlz LjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCUxpdmluZ3N0b24gd29uIGEgc2Vjb25kIHBsYWNlIGZvciBoaXMgb25nb2lu ZyBjb3ZlcmFnZSBvZiBPaGlvIGNoYXJ0ZXIgc2Nob29scy4gSGUgd2FzIGFzc2lzdGVkIG9uIHNv bWUgb2YgdGhhdCBwcm9qZWN0IGJ5IHRoZSBOZXdzIE91dGxldCwgYSBzdHVkZW50IGpvdXJuYWxp c20gbGFiIGF0IFlvdW5ndG93biBTdGF0ZSBVbml2ZXJzaXR5IGFuZCB0aGUgVW5pdmVyc2l0eSBv ZiBBa3Jvbi48L3A+DQo8cD4NCglUaGUgTmV3cyBPdXRsZXQsIHdoaWNoIHRoZSBCZWFjb24gSm91 cm5hbCBhZHZpc2VzIG9uIG9jY2FzaW9uLCBhbHNvIHdvbiBhIGZpcnN0IHBsYWNlIGFtb25nIGZv dXIteWVhciBjb2xsZWdlcyBmb3IgaXRzIG9ubGluZSBwcmVzZW50YXRpb24gb24gY2hhcnRlciBz Y2hvb2xzLCB3aGljaCByZXN1bHRlZCBpbiBhIGNhbGwgZm9yIGxlZ2lzbGF0aXZlIGFjdGlvbi48 L3A+DQo8cD4NCglCdXNpbmVzcyBhbmQgY29uc3VtZXIgYWZmYWlycyB3cml0ZXIgQmV0dHkgTGlu LUZpc2hlciB3b24gZmlyc3QgcGxhY2UgZm9yIGJ1c2luZXNzIGNvbHVtbnMgb24gY2FyIHRpdGxl IGxvYW5zLjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCUluIHBhZ2UgYW5kIGdyYXBoaWMgZGVzaWduLCBFZG5hIEpha3Vi b3dza2kgd29uIGZpcnN0IHBsYWNlIGluIHRoZSBzaW5nbGUtcGFnZSBkZXNpZ24gY2F0ZWdvcnkg Zm9yIEVuam95ISBtYWdhemluZSwgQnJpYW4gU2hlbGxpdG8gd29uIHNlY29uZCBmb3IgYSBuZXdz cGFwZXIgcGFnZSBvbiBKb2hubnkgTWFuemllbCwgYW5kIFJpY2sgU3RlaW5oYXVzZXIgYW5kIEth dGh5IEhhZ2Vkb3JuIHdvbiBhIHRoaXJkIHBsYWNlIGZvciB0aGUgZGVzaWduIG9mIGEgQmxhY2sg RnJpZGF5IHNob3BwaW5nIHByZXNlbnRhdGlvbi48L3A+DQo8cD4NCglTcG9ydHMgd3JpdGVyIE1h cmxhIFJpZGVub3VyIHdvbiBzZWNvbmQgcGxhY2UgaW4gdGhlIHN0YXRld2lkZSBjb21wZXRpdGlv biBmb3IgYmVzdCBjb2x1bW5pc3QuPC9wPg0KPHA+DQoJQ29weSBlZGl0b3IgTWFyayBKLiBQcmlj ZSByZWNlaXZlZCBhIHNlY29uZC1wbGFjZSBhd2FyZCBmb3IgaGlzIGhlYWRsaW5lLCAmcXVvdDtG b2FtIGZvciB0aGUgaG9saWRheXMsJnF1b3Q7IG9uIGEgc3RvcnkgYWJvdXQgQ2hyaXN0bWFzIGJl ZXJzLjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCUNsZXZlbGFuZCBDYXZzIHdyaXRlciBKYXNvbiBMbG95ZCB3b24gYSB0 aGlyZCBwbGFjZSBmb3IgaGlzIENhdnMgYmxvZy48L3A+DQo8cD4NCglCb2IgRG93bmluZyB3b24g dGhpcmQgcGxhY2UgZm9yIHRyYXZlbCB3cml0aW5nIG9uIHRoZSBUb2xlZG8gR3JlYXQgTGFrZXMg bXVzZXVtLiBUaGUgUHJlc3MgQ2x1YiBtYWRlIHNwZWNpYWwgbm90ZSB0aGF0IHRoaXMgeWVhciBt YXkgaGF2ZSBiZWVuIGEgZmlyc3QgZm9yIGZhdGhlci1zb24gd2lubmVycy4gRG93bmluZ+KAmXMg c29uLCBBbmR5LCBhbiBBa3JvbiBuYXRpdmUsIHdvbiBzZXZlcmFsIGF3YXJkcyBhcyBhIHJlcG9y dGVyIGFuZCBjcml0aWMgZm9yIENvbHVtYnVzIEFsaXZlIG1hZ2F6aW5lLjwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCSZu YnNwOzwvcD4NCjxwPg0KCSZuYnNwOzwvcD4NCg==

The Beacon Journal’s Bob Dyer won best columnist in the state Friday from the Cleveland Press Club. Bob has rung that bell so often that I would need to take off my shoes to count them all, it seems. Another year, another best columnist in Ohio.

Bob also won first place for investigative journalism for his series on Ernest Angley and Grace Cathedral and second place for a single column.

Not bad for a guy who used share a table in the Blue Room with me for lunch for a gazillion years at Ol’ Blue Walls. It’s another of my nearby claims to fame, such as meeting the daughter of the guy who coached Jerry West at East Bank High School during my three-month winter in The Villages, Florida with Paula.

 

Or washing my hands in the BJ newsroom after Gov. Jim Rhodes finished his business and pretending I didn’t know who he was. Politicians HATE not being recognized. At least Rhodes didn’t sic the National Guard on me the way he did the Kent State students in 1970. Asshat!

Photographer Ed Suba Jr. won first places for general news and photo story-telling and second place for general feature.

Fellow camera-clicker Phil Masturzo won first place for studio photography, second for sports and third in sports and general news.

For single-day coverage of breaking news, the Beacon Journal won first for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak spreading to Akron. That effort was led by health reporter Cheryl Powell, business writer Katie Byard and education writer Doug Livingston.

The same reporters, led by Powell, won a second place for Ebola coverage over several days.

Livingston won a second place for his ongoing coverage of the shameful Ohio charter schools money-sucking, piss-poor education efforts.

The News Outlet, a student journalism lab at Youngtown State University and the University of Akron, was first among four-year colleges for its online presentation on charter schools, which resulted in a call for legislative action.

Business and consumer affairs writer Betty Lin-Fisher won first place for business columns on car title loans, another scurrilous practice.

In page and graphic design, Edna Jakubowski won first place in the single-page design category for Enjoy! magazine, Brian Shellito won second for a newspaper page on Johnny Manziel and Rick Steinhauser and Kathy Hagedorn won a third place for the design of a Black Friday shopping presentation.

Sports writer Marla Ridenour was second for best columnist.

Copy editor Mark J. Price, whose value in taking BJ readers down memory lane with his articles of bygone Akron days is priceless, got second  for his headline, "Foam for the holidays," on a story about Christmas beers.

Cleveland Cavs writer Jason Lloyd won a third place for his Cavs blog.

Bob Downing was third for travel writing on the Toledo Great Lakes museum.

Downing’s son, Andy, an Akron native, won several awards as a reporter and critic for Columbus Alive magazine.

 

Former BJ reporter Mary Raies McAllister passes away

Mary Helen Raies McAllister, who included the Beacon Journal in her long resume as a reporter, passed away May 12 in San Leandro, California.

Mary Raies McAllister at different ages

The University of Akron’s BJ career was sandwiched between stops at The Livingston Enterprise in Montana and The Morning Newspaper in San Leandro. She was a Plain Dealer correspondent during her time in Zips University (hey, everyone else is changing the name!).

Mary’s obituary:

Mary Helen (Raies) McAllister

Resident of San Leandro, Calif., Mary Helen McAllister, age 91, passed away peacefully at home in the loving arms of her daughter, Victoria, on May 12, 2015 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Born in Toledo, Ohio on July 18, 1923, Mary Helen was a loving, devoted and beloved mother, sister, daughter and best friend. She is survived by her four children, Kari, Shawn, Victoria and Brian; two daughters-in-law, Dawn and Mei-Ling; and five grandchildren, Justin, Doreen, Devlin, Peyton and Riley.

From an early age, Mary Helen was strong, determined and dedicated, working part- and full-time jobs throughout high school and college. During World War II, she worked as a "Rosy the Riveter" helping to build the airplanes used by the Air Force; her small size allowed her to climb deep into the wings of the airplanes and hold the bucking bar while rivets were driven into place.

Mary Helen's love of journalism began as the news editor of her high school newspaper, The Lariat. The recipient of a Knight scholarship, she attended and graduated from Akron University, where she was listed in "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges." Beginning in her first year at Akron University, Mary Helen worked on the college newspaper, the Buchtelite, and was editor by her senior year. During this same time, she worked part-time as campus correspondent for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Mary Helen ventured West to begin her career as a reporter in Livingston, Montana after graduation. Over the course of her life, she worked as a reporter at various newspapers, including: The Livingston Enterprise in Montana, the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio, and in California at The Morning Newspaper in San Leandro, The Valley Times in Dublin and The San Mateo Times. Her career at the San Mateo Times culminated with the last 20 years working as a reporter, Art Editor and eventually Chief Copy Editor, where she retired at age 73 in 1996. Many of the headlines she wrote for the San Mateo Times were reprinted in "The Write Stuff", a professional publication. In addition, Mary Helen won an "Award of Excellence" from the San Mateo Arts Council for her work showcasing local artists as a reporter and Art Editor of the San Mateo Times.

When ever someone was in need, Mary Helen tried to aid or otherwise comfort them and cared deeply about the suffering of others. In the late 1960's-70's, Mary Helen served on the board of the San Leandro Girls Club and the local drug CAUCUS program to help troubled teens get help with substance abuse. While working with the San Mateo Times, Mary Helen also served seven years on the Board of Directors for the Amphlett Employees Federal Credit Union.

A single mother, she was fiercely protective and devoted to her children; encouraging them to always pursue their dreams and to fight for what they believed in. Mary Helen loved life and had a gentle and giving nature that endeared her to everyone she knew. She loved crossword puzzles, card games and board games, was an avid Scrabble player and, seemingly, invincible at Backgammon. In her later years, she and her daughter would park at the marina each night after dinner and enjoy the sunset, the windsurfers and watch the planes take off and land at the Oakland airport across the bay while discussing the events of the day.

Mary Helen was a breast cancer survivor and although having suffered the torment and indignity of Alzheimer's disease in her later years, she is with Our Father in heaven now, and He is blessing her with an abundance of joy and love.

Mary Helen was cremated following her passing. A small memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, friends and family are requested to donate to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org, or to the National Breast Cancer foundationat www.nationalbreastcancer.org.



Mike Wanchic (left), Stuart Warner without a hat

At least Warner grew up with someone famous

Going to high school with someone who later becomes famous is kind of fame by proxy. I know how it feels.

When Paula and I were in The Villages, Florida I ran into the daughter of Roy Williams, Jerry West’s coach at East Bank High School before Mr. Clutch became WVU’s best basketball player ever and the NBA logo for his years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

I figure I shook the hand that was rocked in the cradle by the hand that once rested on Jerry’s shoulder and told him how to play basketball.

Close enough for me.

For Stuart Warner, the Mad Hatter in his BJ and PD days and now in Arizona, has a tale akin to that. He went to Lafayette High School in Kentucky with Mike Wanchic.

Doesn’t ring a bell? If does if you’re a John Mellencamp rock fan because Wanchic has been Hellencamp’s lead guitarist for 35 years.

Their 23rd studio release is “Plain Spoken.” Their first was “American Fool” in 1976. They are about to begin another concert tour.

Stuart remembers Wanchic as “captain of our terrible football team.”

Wanchic said “I made my first record with John in 1976, about 10 minutes out of school for both of us, and utterly naive. Over the years we've just sort of learned the art of recordmaking, songwriting and arranging.”

As Wanchic describes it, Mellencamp “comes in with an acoustic guitar and plays a song for us in folk-fashion. From there, we try to feel out what's important. [We attempt] to feel out what's in the song and try to make the arrangement around what the song is about, how it's supposed to feel.” The result is another studio album.

Being from Kentucky, Wanchic plumbs from Appalachian music, folk music and Motown.

The latest Mellencamp tour will begin Saturday, June 6 at the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After traipsing through everywhere except Ohio, including Canada, the concert tour will end Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Detroit Opera House Wednesday, June 10 is as close as Mellencamp and Wanchic gets to Ohio.

AND THE DIRGE CONTINUES

Repository owners buying Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch, owned by the Wolfe family for 110 years, is being bought by New York City-based New Media Investment Group.

ThisWeek Newspapers, a collection of 24 suburban weeklies; seven magazines, including Columbus Monthly, Columbus CEO and Capital Style; and the Dispatch printing plant, a five-story office building on Broad Street and ThisWeek’s offices in Lewis Center are included in the deal.

The Wolfe family will continue to own and operate WBNS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus; WTHR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis; RadiOhio Inc., which operates WBNS AM & FM radio stations; and the Ohio News Network, which supplies news, weather and sports to 70 radio stations across Ohio.

The Wolfe family also will continue to own Capitol Square, a commercial real-estate enterprise, and Agricultural Lands, a portfolio of farming operations.

John F. Wolfe, chairman and publisher of The Dispatch, lamented: “The past two decades of accelerating and challenging change in the newspaper industry made it clear to us that maintaining a single-city, family-owned paper in this environment was untenable long-term.”

New Media also owns the Canton Repository, whose presses print the Beacon Journal. It is a holding company that emerged from the bankruptcy of GateHouse Media in 2013. The company controls 126 dailies among its 550 publications in 32 states.

The Columbus Citizen and the Columbus Citizen Journal both folded years ago.

Since 2007, so have the Tucson Citizen, Rocky Mountain News, Baltimore Examiner, Kentucky Post, Cincinnati Post, King County Journal, Union City Register-Tribune, Halifax Daily News, Albuquerque Tribune, South Idaho Press and the Honolulu Advertiser.

Newspapers that reduced the days they print, adopted online/print or print-only models include the Ann Arbor News, Capital Times, Catskill Daily Mail, Hudson Register-Star, Christian Science Monitor (one of the quality newspapers used as an example during my West Virginia University School of Journalism days), Cleveland Plain Dealer, Detroit News-Free Press, East Valley Tribune, Flint Journal, Bay City Times, Saginaw News, Harrisburg Patriot-News, Syracuse Post-Standard, New Orleans Times-Picayune (another once-great newspaper), Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, Mobile Press-Register, Portland Oregonian and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

These lists were provided by the appropriately named Newspaper Death Watch.

So today the Internet, which along with a lack of foresight by newspaper owners who could have gotten in on the ground floor of this snotty brat before he got too big to swat, caused the demise of newspapers, is the vehicle for everyone to put their opinions out there as though they are as much of an expert as Woodward and Bernstein, Scotty Reston, Tom Wolfe, Hunter Thompson, Seymour Hersh (prior to his latest kerfuffle) and Maureen Dowd.

Internet readers have no way of separating the wheat from the chaff. Democracy is the poorer for it. And politicians are having a field day because the cats are dying off and there’s no one to watch the rats.

Mark Dawidziak never spoke truer words when he told me: “You got the last great retirement.”

Timely, too.

I doubt that I could have tolerated the insanity that passes for “journalism” today. Hell, a 12-year-old in his grandmother’s basement is considered as much of an expert on the news as an investigative reporter who spends six months before getting a corrupt politician or businessman tossed out on his ear or into the pokey.

Akron City the first dribble for NBA superstars

LeBron James and Steph Curry, the two best players in the NBA championship finals beginning Thursday, both were born in Akron City Hospital.

Birth records show the all-stars were born 39 months apart at the same hospital, Akron City, BJ medical writer Cheryl Powell wrote.

“If you want your kid to be an NBA player, have them delivered here at Summa,” joked Dr. Edward Ferris, residency director and vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Summa Akron City Hospital.

Bleacherreport.com, the Sporting News, nba.com and others erroneously said Akron General welcomed the bouncing baby boys.

Curry’s father, Dell Curry spent the 1987-88 season with the Cavs.

Birth certificates confirm City was, indeed, the birthplace of both LeBron Raymone James and Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II.