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Lifestyles | VIEW ALL

The necessary components of an estate plan

Estate planning can help solidify finances and secure a person’s legacy upon their death. Despite that, this crucial and useful step is often delayed and sometimes even avoided entirely. Modern estate planning is a vital component that can preserve assets and shield family members from ...

DEAR ANNIE: Running out of reassurances for worried mom

DEAR ANNIE: I am an adult now with grown siblings, but it seems my mother’s anxiety is growing right along with us. My mother is an incredibly anxious person. I try to be empathetic, but she hasn’t seen a therapist in years, and she completely dismisses any logical or positive ...

When your new internet romance turns into fraud — or worse

The FBI publishes an annual report of internet crimes with an emphasis on scams targeting older adults. In the most recent report, romance scams continue to show continuous growth over the past few years, with seniors over 65-years old reporting losses of more than $131 million. That is a ...

Ticket | VIEW ALL

Valley native brings Shy Blossom to Youngstown

South Florida band Shy Blossom first bloomed in the Mahoning Valley. Shy Blossom is led by Adriana McDonald, who spent the first 12 years of her life in Cortland, Lordstown and Garrettsville before her family moved south. The band will play its first Ohio date ever on July 5 at Westside ...

Todd Maki knows the score when it comes to orchestral passion

Todd Maki wants to bring orchestral passion to the concert band world. The Youngstown native is the new conductor and music director of the Youngstown Area Community Concert Band, succeeding Joseph Pellegrini, who retired in 2025 after leading the group for 35 of its 42 years. Maki has ...

Reader series features authors from Dayton

Dayton novelists Meredith Doench and Erin Flanagan will be the featured authors at Lit Youngstown’s next First Wednesday Reader Series event. Doench is the author of the Luce Hansen sapphic thriller series and the stand-alone novels “Whereabouts Unknown” and “Never Say Die.” Doench ...

Ticket stubs

Chalk on the Walk colors Warren A downtown Warren tradition continues Saturday with Chalk on the Walk at Courthouse Square. Free chalk will be available to children, and the walkways on the square will be canvas for their chalk art creations. It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and musical acts ...

Society | VIEW ALL

Engagement: Kapel-Bianco

The engagement and approaching marriage of Kayla Kapel and Santino Bianco, are being announced by the couple’s parents, Greg and Marriane Kapel of Lyndhurst, and Tina Bianco of Girard. The groom-elect is also the son of the late Philip Bianco. The bride-elect is employed as a registered ...

Anniversary: Seidner 71st

Mr. and Mrs. J. Ralph and Marilyn Seidner III of Salem, celebrated their 71st anniversary on Dec. 6, 2025. J Ralph and Marilyn Seidner III were married Dec 6, 1954. Their life together has been a rich tapestry of adventure, creativity, family and unwavering devotion. Their life spans states ...

Anniversary: Glozer 50th

Daniel and Kathy Glozer, lifelong residents of the Youngstown area, celebrated their 50th anniversary on Sept. 13, 2025. Mass was held at St. Luke Catholic Church and dinner at Alberini’s Restaurant, both attended by immediate family members. Daniel Glozer and the former Kathy Gromada ...

Anniversary: Holquist 70th

Charles and Gail Ann Holquist, of New Middletown, held a 70th anniversary celebration on Aug. 30, 2025, at Welker Park in New Middletown, hosted by the couple’s three children. Charles Holquist and the former Gail Ann Osborne were united in matrimony on Sept. 10, 1955, at Chapel of Friendly ...

Burton Cole | VIEW ALL

Cardboard aeronautics crumble under weight of bad idea

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” “It’s a perfect idea.” Falser words were never spoken than whenever Ollie — my third cousin twice removed, but not removed far enough to keep me from getting bent, folded, spindled, stapled or mutilated — declared something as a ...

Grownups’ heroes just don’t ‘ad’ up

The grownups, as always, were rude. They laughed at our TV heroes in the 1960s — Batman and Robin, Secret Squirrel, Secret Agent 86 Maxwell Smart, Space Ghost and Lance Link, Secret Chimp and other defenders of justice. “They’re just trying to sell you toys,” the grownups scoffed. The ...

Celebrate those crazy, hazy, zany days of June

Ah, June. School’s out, picnics are in and it’s Turkey Lovers Month. What could be better? Unless you’re a turkey and the lovers turn out to love a good turkey sandwich. Roll out those crazy, hazy, zany days of summer. Besides turkeys, June also marks Fight the Filthy Fly Month and ...

Cerebral flush or crammed cranium? Our ‘expert’ weighs in

I told you so! Not YOU specifically. Science. I called it in these very pages way back in 2012. It was the only thing that made sense. Sure, I was a little shaky the time that I insisted that the octopus is the spider of the sea. Maybe my plan to raise a breed of roof goats to keep moss ...

Lisa Resnick | VIEW ALL

Two things can be true at the same time

There’s something I keep coming back to lately. It’s not new, not groundbreaking, not something you haven’t heard before. But it’s landing differently now. Heavier and more real. Two things can be true at the same time. We say it casually, almost like a throwaway line. Of course ...

Try to put ordinary moments at the top of the pile

I was doing laundry the other day — yes, this is where we are now, folks. Riveting stuff happening over here. And I couldn’t help but think about how, just a year ago, I was days away from boarding a plane, heading overseas, alone, chasing something bigger than my everyday routine. Funny ...

The 7 p.m. identity crisis that comes with the season

I’ve realized something about myself. I am, unapologetically, a 7 p.m. girl in a 9 p.m. world. In the winter, this works in my favor. The sun clocks out at 5 p.m., and suddenly my entire personality feels validated. Dinner? Done. Shower? Taken. Comfy clothes? On. By 7 p.m., I’m curled up ...

Are you already where you really need to be?

I’d like to believe we all daydream — just in different ways. Not always the big, cinematic kind (though I’m not opposed to perfect lighting and a slow walk on the beach), but the quieter ones that slip in between school dropoffs, grocery runs and the emails that somehow multiply when ...

Home and Garden | VIEW ALL

Got deer? Shoo them away with prickly plants

In my earlier years of gardening, I was attracted to and purchased unusual plants. Many of those didn’t survive beyond their first year. As I have “matured,” I have redirected my purchases toward the easy-to-grow natives that feed our local pollinators. The hotter, drier summers have ...

Valley Grows calendar

Here are upcoming gardening events through the Ohio State University Mahoning County Extension Office. Contact the Extension Office, 490 S. Broad St., Canfield, at 330-533-5538. For a complete list of events, visit https://mahoning.osu.edu/events. Plant and Pest Clinic What: Stop by to ask ...

Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches?

As I watched a woodpecker banging away at a tree, it made me think, why don’t woodpeckers get headaches or suffer brain trauma from all that drumming? So, I looked it up. Once again, nature has created a miracle that does not allow the woodpecker to get headaches or become dizzy. ...

Animals wandering in a winter wonderland

Our temperatures have continued to fluctuate, but our winter weather will eventually remain colder and the darkness will cause us to bundle up, keeping ourselves warm. The days are gaining minutes of light in the morning and evening, but it will be a couple of months before we notice ...