VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is sending new signals about how it intends to minister to LGBTQ+ Catholics in the Pope Leo XIV era, with signs of openness and limitations after Pope Francis ushered in a notable welcome during his 12-year pontificate. Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates cheered this week ...

GIRARD — St. Rose Catholic School hosted its first-ever Police Appreciation Day May 10 by welcoming local law enforcement agencies for a day of learning, connection and gratitude as the nation prepared to observe National Police Week. Principal Anthony Catale said students in grades ...

136 YEARS: First Baptist Church of Niles will celebrate 136 years at 10:45 a.m. Sunday with a special worship service. The church was established in 1890. SPRING HYMN: Trinity Lutheran Church, 2742 North Road NE, Warren, will host the annual spring hymn sing at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The event ...

YOUNGSTOWN — The 2026 Men's Rally in the Valley will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 23 at the Covelli Centre. The free event will include a concert with Grammy-winning Christian artist Michael W. Smith, as well as several guest speakers, including Bishop Timothy Clarke, Chris Holm, Billy Hartwig ...

Bike event postponed in Youngstown Due to the weather forecast, the Bike @ the Market event planned today in downtown Youngstown is postponed until June 11. The Bike Month Walk leaving from the grounds of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, 305 Wick Ave., will go on as ...

Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment: • Food and music — with a side of boxing — are planned this weekend with the first Foodie Fest at Penguin City Brewing Company. More than 20 food vendors will be set up in the parking lot at the brewery, 460 E. Federal St., ...

The Youngstown Playhouse will have auditions on June 28 and 29 and July 2 for the musical “In the Heights,” which will open its 2026-27 season Actor auditions are scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. June 28 and 29 for the Lin-Manuel Miranda/Quiara Alegria Hudes musical. The dance call will be ...

Simply Slavic is seeking entries for its annual baking contest on June 14. This year’s themes are “15 Years of Baking Tradition” and “250 Years of American Freedom,” recognizing the generations of immigrants who carried treasured recipes and cultural traditions to the Mahoning ...

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 ...

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 ...

There were no YouTube tutorials to teach me how to drive a tractor. I had to learn the old-fashioned way — Dad yelling at me every time I popped the clutch, bucking him off the sputtering Farmall. Or maybe it was Dad who was sputtering. The main reason for the lack of video tutorials back in ...

It was Nia Vardalos who said, “Becoming a mom, to me, means you have accepted that for the next 16 years of your life, you will have a sticky purse.” Lynne Williams observed, “A mother need only step into the shower to be instantly reassured she is indispensable to every member of her ...

I had invited her. She came. When it was time for her to leave, I stood, hugged her goodbye … then sat back down to finish eating my cake. Five days later, it finally occurred to me that the polite thing would have been to walk her to her car. And probably hold her door. And tell her how ...

I finished my order of General Tso’s chicken and reached for dessert — the fortune cookie. And got hotter than the general’s chicken when I pulled the slip out of the cookie. My fortune came with a QR code. Seriously? Two troubling questions weighed upon me: One, do you have to ...

I found myself the other day doing something I never thought I’d do — Googling, “Where do women my age shop?” Not for someone else. For me. And I just sat there for a second, staring at the screen like it had personally called me out. Because for the longest time, when I said ...

There are three words — actually, let’s call them a phrase because it hits harder when it flows — that we love hearing, whether we admit it or not: “I got this.” Or even better… “I got you.” There is something about those words, in that exact order, that just does ...

There was a time when I thought putting calorie counts front and center on menus was a great idea. Transparency, awareness, informed choices — all the things we tell ourselves we want when it comes to health and wellness. And to be clear, I still understand the intention behind it. But ...

Lately I’ve been wondering: Is there such a thing as a trend gap? Not the age gap. We’ve all accepted that one. I’m talking about the cultural space that quietly opens up between generations — the place where suddenly the things that feel brand new to our kids are things we’ve ...

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 ...