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The Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year
By Ashley Luthern
aluthern@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
The Vindicator votes are tallied to determine the Valley’s Top 10 newsmakers of 2010.
Those who made headlines ranged from a crime-fighting priest to a union leader turned politician. The criteria given to the staff and editors of The Vindicator before the vote was simple: Who drew headlines this year, and who will continue to shape news stories into 2011?
The No. 1 newsmaker of 2010, however, wasn’t an individual, but a group of people.
1. The Oakhill Seven
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Oakhill Renaissance Place
Mahoning County Commissioner John A. McNally IV, County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, former county treasurer John B. Reardon, attorney Martin Yavorcik, businessman Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., Flora Cafaro and former Jobs and Family Services Director John Zachariah were indicted in July by a Mahoning County grand jury in connection with a corruption investigation involving the county’s purchase of Oakhill Renaissance Place.
Three Cafaro-owned companies were also named in the 73-count indictment, which represented one of the largest corruption probes in recent Valley memory. Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center, which the county purchased in 2006, and the seven were accused of attempting to “prevent or delay the relocation of the County’s JFS offices.”
“... The participants in this conspiracy engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity and committed bribery, perjury, money laundering, tampering with records, and ethics violations in furtherance of or to conceal their participation in this conspiracy, including providing or accepting money, free legal services, campaign contributions, disclosing confidential information, and the offer to guaranty a loan made by a national bank,” special prosecutors Dennis P. Will and Paul M. Nick said in a July 29 news release.
Legal battles already have pitted the First Amendment, rights that include freedom of speech and the press, against the Sixth Amendment, the rights of the accused in a criminal trial, before the seven individuals even stand trial.
2. Father Maturi
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Father Greg Maturi of St. Dominic Church
It’s been a hard year for city residents as violence continues to be a part of daily life. A local Realtor was murdered and two elderly members of St. Dominic Church on the city’s South Side were shot to death, leaving the neighborhood reeling and city leaders looking for a solution.
Out of the chaos came Father Greg Maturi of St. Dominic Church — a priest with a self-described “new approach” and “fresh eyes” to confront the challenges of what he calls “gangland.”
Father Maturi, who came to Youngstown in November 2009, went to Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams with a request to demolish 20 vacant homes in the neighborhood surrounding St. Dominic Church. That request was incorporated into a larger plan named Operation Redemption to revitalize the city.
In 2011, the lots where those houses once stood will become green spaces and Maturi is hopeful that the ground breaking for a $1.2 million parish center will take place in the spring.
“This year, I’ve learned a lot about Youngstown and specifically about the South Side. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people personally, not just generically. I’ve had meals with them and talked with them,” Maturi said.
He added that experience has only deepened his understanding of how people “really love St. Dominic’s and want to help the church and the neighborhood.”
3. Jay Williams
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Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams
Youngstown’s mayor continued to make headlines in 2010, after he was voted top newsmaker of the decade last year.
Jay Williams, together with city officials, launched Operation Redemption, a plan to revitalize the South Side that will be applied to all parts of the city.
In February, V&M Star announced it would invest $650 million in an expansion plant next to its current location on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Williams had negotiated a land-tax deal with Girard officials to make way for the expansion.
This year, Williams has also been contacted by the White House about becoming the nation’s auto czar, officially called the director of recovery for auto communities and workers.
The mayor said his objectives for 2011 are to continue strengthening the economy of the city and the Mahoning Valley and to decrease crime in the city.
“I’m sure it will be a challenging year, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I want each year to be more successful than the previous year.”
Other newsmakers who made the top 10:
4. Dr. Cynthia Anderson
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President Anderson delivers her first state of the university address.
Dr. Cynthia Anderson was installed as the seventh president of Youngstown State University. She is the first woman, the first Mahoning Valley native and the first YSU graduate to hold the post. Anderson, served as vice president of student affairs before her selection as president early this year, and has pledged to focus on student success.
5. James A. Traficant, Jr.
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Former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. with longtime friend and former congressional aide Linda Kovachik.
Ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., who served time in federal prison, has lost his new bid for a U.S. House seat to four-term Democrat Tim Ryan, D-17th. Traficant received 16 percent of the vote, after his supporters fought to get his name on the ballot as an Independent candidate.
In July, the Trumbull County Board of Elections said petitions fell 107 signatures short of the 2,199 needed from registered voters to get on the ballot. At the beginning of September, boards of elections in Mahoning and Trumbull counties approved the petition, saying Traficant actually had seven more petition signatures than needed.
6. Kelly Pavlik
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Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik during a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. Monday, Feb. 11, 2008.
Professional boxer Kelly Pavlik entered the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment for alcohol addition, just days after his trainer canceled a Nov. 13 fight with Brian Vera, on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito main event at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The Nov. 4 clinic admission came after months of denials from his camp, which labeled reports of the boxer's alcohol dependency "vicious, ugly rumors." His agreement to the treatment at the Rancho Mirage, Calif., facility followed a family intervention by his parents and wife. His family then revealed Pavlik had been in alcohol rehab earlier this year before he lost to Sergio Martinez on April 17 in Atlantic City, N.J.
7. Dr. Connie Hathorn
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Youngstown Schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn
Dr. Connie Hathorn was hired as Youngstown schools superintendent, having previously served as executive director of Akron City Schools. He has taken the reins for a district that was designated as an academic emergency on state report cards from the Ohio Department of Education.
8. Jim Graham
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Jim Graham announces details of the MAY 2 " ENOUGH" Rally at Courthouse Square in Warren.
Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 at GM Lordstown since 1997, announced his candidacy for Warren mayor. The city’s current mayor, Michael O’Brien, announced he would not seek re-election.
9. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan
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Congressman Tim Ryan during election night party at Enzo's in Warren.
In addition to being re-elected with 53.7 percent of the vote, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, was a vocal proponent of the Health Coverage Tax Credit extension, which would help local Delphi salaried retirees with their health-care costs for an additional 18 months. The extension was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives this month.
10. Tom Humphries
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Thomas M. Humphries, CEO and president, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
The president of the Youngstown/ Warren Regional Chamber co- hosted a fundraiser for now Gov.-elect John Kasich, a Republican, prompting some businesses to withdraw their membership in the organization. Since Kasich won, however, Humphries may have the last laugh as he emerges as the one Valley leader the new governor might favor in 2011.