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Hey, Dad, what were you like in the ’60s?

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 ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Familiarity with card combinations and how to deal with them can be helpful to the defenders as well as to declarer. Most combinations do not present much of a test, since they repeat themselves time and again, but the less frequent ones are sometimes a challenge. Take this case where West ...

Gray Areas: Oakland plans open house, ‘Doubtfire’ at Robins

Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment: • The Oakland Center for the Arts will share its future plans for downtown Warren during an open house on Monday. The theater company, which started in 1987 in Youngstown, has a new home at the former First United Church of Christ, 280 E. Market St. Congregation members voted in 2024 to sell the gold-domed building to the community theater for $1 after the church council decided to dissolve the church due to declining membership. Attendees will be able to tour the building, enjoy refreshments and learn about its plans to ...

TNT stages one-act plays

Trumbull New Theatre will present two one-act plays led by first-time directors for a three-performance run next weekend. Steven Fraley will direct “Bad Auditions by Bad Actors” by Ian McWethy. A casting director has one day to find the leads for a community theatre production of “Romeo and Juliet.” What seems like a simple task proves impossible when the pool of actors includes extreme method actors, performers who just don’t know what to do with their hands and one particular woman who may or may not think she’s a cat. Alex Williams will lead the one-act entitled ...

Usher makes case for R&B in stadiums

LOS ANGELES — As Usher prepares to launch a stadium tour with Chris Brown, he says the criticism and legal troubles surrounding the singer never factored into his decision to embark on the tour. “Absolutely not,” Usher told The Associated Press. “He’s my brother, and he’s amazing ...