DEAR ANNIE: I’ve been married for 35 years and have four children and seven grandchildren. We are a blended family. All the children lived with, and were raised by, my husband and me. One of my daughters was always kind of a black sheep, always doing things outside the box. As a young ...

Basically, a defender’s falsecard is designed to mislead declarer without fooling partner at the same time. On rare occasions, however, the intent is exactly the opposite, with the falsecard deliberately aimed at deceiving partner without trying to mislead declarer at all. Witness today’s ...

DEAR HELOISE: King Alfred the Great would never have said “you” to one person, since this was the plural form, and “thou” was the singular form. (This can be compared to the German “du” and the Spanish “tu.”) After the French-speaking Normans in 1066 forced a two-tier society on ...

Youngstown main library hosts America250 event An America250 Celebration is planned from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, 305 Wick Ave., Youngstown. The event will include a talk by award-winning science fiction author John Scalzi, whose ...

Nine concerts are planned this summer for the 2026 Jazz in the Park concert series. It opens this Sunday with the Nightcap Band from Youngstown and the Urban Jazz Coalition, which last month played the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival with Brian Simpson, this year’s headliner for ...

A teen production of “She Kills Monsters” is the next offering in the Straw Hat Theatre summer season. Qui Nguyen’s play is the story of a young woman who is leaving her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When she finds Tilly’s “Dungeons & ...

Summer Festival of the Arts always draws a crowd, whether it’s at its original — and current — location at Youngstown State University or the years it was at Wean Park downtown. This weekend it won’t be the only big event on campus, which could expand attendance. The first day of the ...

Dave and Terri Jackson of Liberty Township are announcing the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Brittany Jackson, to Scott Foster of Austintown. Parents of the groom-elect are Ty and Cindi Johnson of Brookfield, and Scott and Leann Foster of Blacksburg, South ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

My friend Lynn and I were deep into the pointless exercise of wondering how different our lives would be if only we had done this instead of that. It’s not that either of us were one bad mistake away from a whole new world. We were dozens and dozens of little butterfly decisions away from a ...

Mom couldn’t find her purse. She had wedged it into a hiding place SOMEWHERE in case a burglar broke in, but forgot where her nifty new hidey-hole was. I suggested hiring a burglar to find it. Before I could look up the listing for Burglars, Bandits and Housebreakers in the Yellow Pages ...

“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 ...

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 ...

There is nothing more ironic than a writer sitting in front of a blinking cursor with absolutely nothing to say. Or maybe not nothing to say, but too much. Too many thoughts trying to organize themselves into something meaningful. Too much pressure to make it timely, impactful, thoughtful, ...

Have you ever wondered about the days of the week and how they would feel if they had feelings? No? Well, I have. It all started on a regular Monday morning where I caught myself still smiling because of the day before. Otherwise, let’s face it, Monday would probably hold every single ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...