David Yonke

Oregon

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Author and retired journalist, still keeping busy writing, editing and podcasting. Every day is a gift, let's make the most of it.

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Articles

Closing of SAME Café leaves customers 'nonplussed'

4 days ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

TOLEDO – With the closing of a donation based, nonprofit restaurant in Downtown Toledo, it won’t be the SAME for those who face food insecurities. The SAME Café – an acronym for So All May Eat – closed its doors in Toledo’s Main Library on April 23 after providing meals for 2½ years on a participation model, where people either donated money or volunteered their time to receive a healthy meal. “This café has had a big impact.
New life for the Ottawa Tavern

2 weeks ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

TOLEDO – The Ottawa Tavern, a beloved and historic local nightclub in Downtown Toledo, has a new lease on life. With their debut show post-reopening now on the books for Thursday, June 12 at 7 p.m. with Gyasi headlining following by Dagger Polyester and Leadfoot Granny, the OT is back in business after a delay early this month. “I’m not fully sure what we’re doing with it,” said Broc Curry, the new owner of the OT, as it’s fondly called, in an interview.
Meta builds data center in Wood County

1 month ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

BOWLING GREEN – Meta is building an $800 million data center that will be optimized for AI to connect Facebook and Instagram users around the world, officials announced Wednesday at a news conference held in Bowling Green State University’s Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Construction has already begun on the 280-acre site in Middleton Township on State Route 582, between U.S. 20 and I-75. The data center is expected to be fully operational sometime in 2027.
Local businesses brace for tariffs

1 month ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

President Donald Trump called Wednesday, April 2, “Liberation Day,” claiming that the new tariffs he is imposing on imported goods will free the United States from its reliance on foreign products. The tariffs, which are taxes charged on goods from other countries, are impacting businesses and consumers around the world and across the United States, raising prices on everything from automobiles and steel imports to paper products and groceries.
Toledoan's love of music leads to Over Yonder Concert House

2 months ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

TOLEDO – What started out as a friend playing a concert in Rob Krain’s backyard in the Old West End has evolved into an ongoing series of intimate shows featuring a mix of local musicians and national touring artists. “This has been a snowball rolling downhill,” Krain said after a February concert by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Crys Matthews. “I’ve always been a music fan, and I have friends in the music community.
Acoustics for Autism 2025

2 months ago | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

MAUMEE – Fortunately, things haven’t gone exactly as planned for Acoustics for Autism; it’s grown exponentially. Originally slated to be a one-time benefit concert in Uptown Maumee, the event has snowballed into what organizer Nicole Khoury describes as a “community Lollapalooza.”Khoury explained that “the goal was just to get a good group of people together to raise money so that parents’ out-of-pocket expenses would be less burdensome for autism spectrum disorders.
Pause and ponder with singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey

Jan 15, 2025 | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke |Peter Mulvey performs

TOLEDO – Peter Mulvey doesn’t want to win arguments; he just wants to tell stories that make people pause and ponder. And laugh. There’s no end to the stories Mulvey can tell, from space travel and the environment to religion and social justice. The singer-songwriter, who will be in concert Jan. 18 at the Flamb-OYE-nce Community House in Toledo’s Old West End, is a deep thinker and keen observer who holds a mirror up to society.
Carl Stone reinvents music

Dec 9, 2024 | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

BOWLING GREEN – When Carl Stone steps into the spotlight, dressed all in black with black-rimmed glasses and a black fedora, he appears to be a quiet, unassuming, cool jazz cat. You wouldn’t think of him as a disrupter, but beneath his stoic exterior, that’s exactly what he is. Stone is a 71-year-old artist and composer who, since the 1970s, has been using digital samples and computers to create songs that defy words and musical definitions. In concert Dec.
Jean Holden's life in song

Dec 3, 2024 | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

Story and photos by Dave YonkeTOLEDO – Even though she’s been a professional singer for 62 years, Jean Holden still gets butterflies before a concert. “I’m always nervous. It’s good to be a little nervous. It keeps you on your toes,” Holden said in a recent interview. “It’s good to not be cocky, to not be too self-assured.”Once she picks up the mic and begins to sing, however, the butterflies disappear, and it becomes clear why Holden is widely known as Toledo’s First Lady of Song.
TJO hits the high notes

Oct 27, 2024 | toledofreepress.com | David Yonke

TOLEDO – A concert featuring the music of the late, legendary big band leader Stan Kenton has been an annual fan favorite for many years for the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. This year, the jazz band will honor Kenton on Nov. 2 with a concert at the Valentine Theatre titled, Fascinating Rhythm – the Music of Stan Kenton. “He was a very progressive jazz artist for his time,” said Scott Potter, who plays trumpet with the TJO.