AP Features, July 15th, 2007
J. Donald Brandt
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) _ J. Donald Brandt, a veteran Delaware journalist and former editor of The News Journal of Wilmington, died Thursday. He was 78.
Brandt died in the West Indies, where he and his wife retired, after being hospitalized on Montserrat with a collapsed lung, said his daughter, Robin L. Brandt.
In 1961, Brandt joined The Morning News, which later merged with The Evening Journal into The News Journal, as a copy editor. He went on to serve as garden columnist, assistant city editor, editorial writer, editorial editor, public editor and managing editor.
After nearly two decades in Delaware, Brandt was recruited for the founding staff of USA Today as deputy editorial director. He returned to The News Journal in 1983 to become executive editor.
After stopping full-time work in 1991, Brandt wrote a popular weekly column, "Delmarva Naturally." Gannett Co., owner of The News Journal and USA Today, recruited him to write "A History of Gannett, 1906-1993," which was published in 1993.
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John Brooken Gaines
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) _ John Brooken Gaines, the former publisher of the Bowling Green Daily News, who headed the paper's parent company, died Friday. He was 92.
Gaines died at The Medical Center in Bowling Green following a brief illness. Johnson-Vaughn-Phelps Funeral Home in Bowling Green confirmed his death.
He was president and chairman of the board of News Publishing LLC, which operates the Daily News. His grandfather, John B. Gaines, founded the newspaper in 1882, and it has remained in the family's hands since its inception.
Gaines was a Bowling Green native and was involved with the Daily News since 1938, becoming publisher in 1947 and continuing in that role until becoming president in 1997. His son, Pipes Gaines, is the paper's publisher.
John Gaines remained involved at the paper until his final days, coming into the office whenever his health would allow.
He attended Western Kentucky University and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism. He was a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity and the Society of Professional Journalists.
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Floyd Maines
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) _ Floyd Maines, former president of Maines Paper & Food Services Inc., died Thursday. He was 86.
Maines was admitted to Lourdes Hospital on Tuesday with a bacterial infection that eventually spread throughout his body, said his son, William Maines.
Maines, who was born in Binghamton, had remained active in the company his father, Floyd L. Maines Sr., started in 1919. He was instrumental in turning his father's Maines Candy Co. from a $30,000-a-year business into a multibillion-dollar paper-and-food distribution company. The company, run by his sons William and David Maines, has grown into the seventh-largest food distribution center in the United States, servicing chains including Burger King and Olive Garden.
Maines joined the Navy and served in Europe during World War II in the Naval Technical Intelligence Department. He served for five years.
After joining his father's business, he initiated an expansion into fountain supplies, toys and paper, including napkins, straws and paper cups.
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Jim Mitchell
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) _ Jim Mitchell, a pioneering pornographer who was convicted of killing the brother with whom he built the Mitchell Brothers skin flick empire, died Thursday. He was 63.
Mitchell, who along with his late younger brother, Artie, produced "Behind the Green Door" and other adult films during the 1970s, died at the ranch near Petaluma where he lived quietly since his release from San Quentin State Prison in 1997.
The cause of death was not immediately known, but foul play was not suspected, according to Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Mitch Mana. Merle Lane, a relative of Mitchell's wife, Lisa, said it appeared Mitchell had a heart attack.
In 1969, the Mitchells opened a still-running adult movie theater in San Francisco. The pair, who faced multiple arrests on obscenity charges, ultimately produced hundreds of films.
Their glory days came to an abrupt end in 1991, when Mitchell shot his 45-year-old brother at Artie Mitchell's Marin County home. Jim Mitchell was carrying a rifle and a revolver when police arrested him at the scene.
He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 1992 and spent five years at San Quentin before being paroled in 1997.
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Larry Staverman
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Larry Staverman, the first coach of the Indiana Pacers when they started as an ABA franchise, died Wednesday. He was 70.
Staverman died after a long illness. Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh acknowledged Staverman's death in a statement.
The Pacers hired Staverman in 1967 before their inaugural season after he had played in the NBA for five seasons, and then was an assistant coach at Notre Dame for two years. The Pacers finished 38-40 in their first season, but Staverman was fired and replaced by Bobby "Slick" Leonard after a 2-7 start the following year.
He played in the NBA beginning in 1958 with the Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets and Detroit Pistons, averaging 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. He also coached the Kansas City Kings during the 1977-78 season, posting an 18-27 record.
