NEWSMAKERS | Whitney Houston is back in rehab

NEWSMAKERS

Whitney Houston is back in rehab

NEW YORK

Whitney Houston is back in rehab. A representative for the superstar singer confirmed Monday that Houston is undergoing treatment. Kristen Foster says Houston is in an out-patient program for drug and alcohol treatment. She says it is a voluntary measure and part of Houston’s “long-standing” recovery process.

The 47-year-old has battled drug abuse in the past. She released a comeback album in 2009, but her 2010 tour was troubled: Houston canceled some dates due to illness and received negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance.

‘Avengers’ to film 2 weeks in Cincy

CINCINNATI

The executive director of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission says the superhero movie “The Avengers” will spend two weeks filming in her area. Kristen Erwin tells The Cincinnati Enquirer the location is within 30 miles of Cincinnati but won’t specify where it is.

The stars of the Marvel Studios feature include Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Col. Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. Erwin says director Joss Whedon plans to film in Cleveland and the Cincinnati area this summer.

Ohio tax credits for filmmaking helped lure the project to the state.

Mosconi’s pool cue, table on auction lot

PHILADELPHIA

The family of billiards great Willie Mosconi is selling his beloved pool cue, a personal pool table and other memorabilia at a weekend auction. A Pennsylvania auction house handling the sale believes Mosconi’s famed “Balabushka” cue could bring $100,000 at the auction in Chicago.

Mosconi won an unmatched 15-straight world championships from 1941 to 1957 and made a record 526-straight shots at a two-day exhibition in 1954. Son Bill Mosconi of Philadelphia says the family no longer has room to store all of his father’s keepsakes.

Willie Mosconi picked up the game at his father’s poolroom in Philadelphia and was turning heads by age 6. He became a TV personality in the 1970s and 1980s through televised exhibitions against rival Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone Jr. and others.

Vindicator wire services