Your Morning Matters: Honoring the best
Good morning and welcome to your Morning Matters.
It's Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, and I had a lovely time last night with about 130 supporters of local media during the Youngstown Press Club Hall of Fame induction ceremony for its inaugural Hall of Fame class and its first First Amendment Award honoree.
Inducted into the hall were the late Robert "Bob" Black from 21 WFMJ-TV, Stan Boney from 27 WKBN-TV and Ralph Zerbonia, who founded Youngstown Publishing Co. Receiving the first Youngstown Press Club First Amendment Award was The Vindicator Printing Co., publisher of the Youngstown Vindicator.
What a great night. And, really, it is a nice point to reflect on the past two years since The Vindicator closed. Five days after Justin Dennis, Jess Hardin and I walked out of 107 Vindicator Square, we walked into Mahoning Matters. Jeremy Harper followed soon after. And next week, Mahoning Matters will celebrate its second anniversary.
I'll talk more tomorrow about what we have planned — prizes, for one — and where we are going. But as I sat among so many professionals dedicated to telling the stories of the Mahoning Valley last night, I paused to appreciate my own journey. I've been doing journalism professionally for 39 years. If I include my time on high school newspapers, college newspapers and internships, it's been 45 years. I was 13 when I got my first paper route. Wow. Even typing that astounds me.
I've spent almost 14 years here in the Valley. And while here I've met and worked with some of the best journalists I've ever encountered in the past four decades. It's great that we once again have a press club to pause and recognize them.
More about our second anniversary tomorrow! Until then, let's make today count.
Here's what you need to know about the Mahoning Valley today:
General election ballots have been finalized in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Our county-specific guides will show you what will appear on your ballot on Nov. 2.
Officials in practically every municipality and township in the Mahoning Valley are up for re-election, including the mayors of Youngstown and Canfield, which Mahoning Matters intends to cover separately. Dozens of tax issues await voters at the polls as well — some of them old, some of them new.
Pandemic facts
- In the U.S.: 43,343,564 confirmed cases; 695,001 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine at 8 p.m. Sept. 29.
- In Ohio: 1,407,445 confirmed or suspected cases; 21,945 deaths.
- In Pennsylvania: 1,425,048 confirmed cases; 29,323 deaths.
- In the Mahoning Valley: 27,932 confirmed or suspected cases in Mahoning County; 20,582 in Trumbull; and 12,264 in Columbiana.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: Closed at 34,390.72, up 90.73 points, or 0.26%.
Other matters
The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County is partnering with the Youngstown City Health District to provide free COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, as well as annual flu shots, at select library branches. Mahoning Matters
Should the U.S. Supreme Court find abortion unconstitutional, abortions would automatically be banned in Ohio under nearly all conditions, including in cases of rape and incest, under newly proposed state Senate legislation. Mahoning Matters
The number of Americans opposed to getting a COVID-19 vaccine reached a new low this month, a poll found. Mahoning Matters
Campbell Superintendent Matthew Bowen was awarded Outstanding Superintendent by the Northeast Region Ohio School Boards Association. WKBN
Austintown Schools will host their senior citizen drive-thru dinner at Fitch High School on Oct. 27. WFMJ
The Youngstown Local Schools board on Tuesday voted 6-1 to give the district's final 2022-25 Academic Improvement Plan to the state, a move that would have the city district headed back toward local control. The Vindicator [May encounter paywall.]
Ursa Major Technologies, a Colorado-based designer of rocket engines and propulsion solutions for the aerospace industry, looks to fill two additive manufacturing positions at its space in the Youngstown Business Incubator. The Business Journal [May encounter paywall.]
In case you missed it
In this week's installment of "An Inclusive Table," Eartha Hopkins writes: "The majority of what I know about history was not found in the books I read in a formal classroom." Instead, she learned "from the tender yet brutally honest approach of my mother who earned a bachelor's degree in African American studies from Youngstown State University." Mahoning Matters
Your comments matter
"I love it."
— Ray Hoon, on Infinite Consortium Gaming coming to Eastwood Mall this fall.
Registered readers can comment on a selection of our stories, and all readers can comment on stories on our Facebook page. Opinions published here do not reflect the views of Mahoning Matters.
Event of the day
The Dinner Theatre Rejects will perform at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, 505 Gypsy Lane, at 7 p.m. The evening will include an improv performance by the sketch comedy group. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. The cost is $15. To register, click here.
To see what else is going on around the Mahoning Valley, check out Mahoning Matters' event calendar here, or click the Events tab on the top menu at mahoningmatters.com.
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This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Your Morning Matters: Honoring the best."