Junior Brandi Brown received the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year award on the same day the Penguins were ranked last as a team. Photo courtesy of YSU Sports Information. With 10 days before the 2011-2012 opening tip, junior forward Brandi Brown is hungry. During the off-season, she was…

Sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess is greeted by teammates after he rushed for a touchdown Saturday against Western Illinois University. The Penguins’ offense will go up against the fourth-ranked scoring defense in the Missouri Valley Conference. Photo by Sam Marhulik/The Jambar. The Youngstown State University football team (5-3, 3-2) ranks fifth…

Senior Craig Ziobert sits behind an organ at Saint Columba Cathedral during the Dana Fall Choral Concert. Photo courtesy of Molly Sherer. Ever wonder how many other students share the same major as you? In Craig Ziobert’s case, no one does. Ziobert has been studying organ performance since 2008 and…

The Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim statue is one of many focal points of the Dickens Victorian Village. Photo courtesy of dickensvictorianvillage.com The imagination of Charles Dickens has come alive with life-size mannequins lining a five-block stretch of Cambridge, Ohio. The 186 mannequins and 80 scenes depict images from Dickens’…

Let’s face it, Tuesday’s ballot hinges on unions, budgets and the age-old dilemma of shrinking or expanding government. We live in an area built on union labor. But that manufacturing base is fleeting. The Mahoning Valley suffers fiscally. It also suffers from unemployment. There are 28,000 residents unemployed in the…

For the first time in school history, the Youngstown State University women’s cross-country team finished in second place at the Horizon League Championships on Saturday. “Out of the 30-plus runner-up trophies, it stands as one of the most cherished,” head coach Brian Gorby said. “I have been fortunate to coach…