Email
PrintWil Haygood and Oprah
Wil Haygood: Big screen.
File
A Washington Post article by Columbus native Wil Haygood looks as if it is heading to the big screen, with some major names attached. Lee Daniels, the director of Precious, is spearheading the adaptation of Haygood’s 2008 front-page story, “A butler well served by this election.” The article told the story of Eugene Allen, a butler who served under eight presidents from 1952 until 1986. According to a March 6 story in Variety, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker was in talks to play Allen, while Oprah Winfrey might portray Allen’s wife. Meanwhile, Haygood, the author of a memoir about growing up in Columbus and several books about prominent African-Americans, is in the midst of a new project: a biography of Thurgood Marshall, focusing on his 1967 confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last year, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded Haygood with a fellowship to support the book. Haygood lived in Weinland Park and started his career in journalism working at the Call and Post in Columbus.
First, the Columbus Symphony shifted its Picnic with the Pops from Chemical Abstracts Service to Columbus Commons last year. Now, Pelotonia announced in March it is moving its starting point from the CAC lawn to the new downtown park. No word yet on when Chemical Abstracts will move to Columbus Commons.
In an odd mid March press release, Ohio Democrats invited folks to apply for a chance to represent Ohio House District 27 (Columbus and parts of Clinton and Mifflin townships). The release didn’t mention why there was a vacancy: The previous officeholder, W. Carlton Weddington, recently resigned after he was indicted as the result of an FBI bribery sting operation. Qualified applicants were urged to send a cover letter and résumé to Keary McCarthy, the chief of staff for Ohio House minority leader Armond Budish. And, no, the slot will not go to the highest bidder.
So, how do you market a rotten team that just traded its big off-season acquisition and has put its biggest star on the market? Well, for the Blue Jackets, the trick apparently is to shift the focus away from the club. This winter, a banner with a photo of center Jeff Carter hung in Concourse C at Port Columbus airport. But after the team traded Carter in February—and announced that Blue Jackets star Rick Nash might follow his former teammate out the door—management took a different approach with a replacement Port Columbus banner. The new ad—slated to go up in late March—was to promote the 2013 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus and not feature any Blue Jackets players, says team spokesman Todd Sharrock.
Middle West Spirits recently gained some national attention when the distillery was mentioned in a roundup on Popular Mechanics magazine’s website. The Short North purveyor of vodka and whiskey made from locally sourced ingredients was featured as the fifth-best high-tech distillery in the world. A relative newcomer to the liquor-making scene, Middle West—no doubt the smallest distillery on the list—ranked behind only Wild Turkey Distillery in Kentucky, Roseisle Distillery in Scotland, Pemberton Distillery in British Columbia and Vermont Spirits Distilling Co. in Vermont.
