Bright murals popping up on buildings all over Erie

Everywhere you look in Erie these days there seems to be a new mural adorning the side of a building. One of the latest is the huge mural on the side of a building at W. 26th and Peach Streets, which looks pretty cool.

Large buildings offer a wide-open canvas for the mural painters, and one of my favorites is the eight-story painting of 71-year-old Rudy Daniels on the west side of Methodist Towers at 160 W. 8th. Daniels lives at Methodist Towers.

Meet Rudy: The man behind the Methodist Towers mural

Most of the murals, but not all, are strikingly attractive. Erie Arts & Culture has commissioned 50 murals to be completed by the end of 2023. The ones depicting real people or events are the best.

• Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, who was interviewed at Cathedral Prep’s auditorium on Tuesday before a crowd of 450 in the opening event of the Jefferson Society’s Global Summit, offered insight into some of the major changes affecting big-time sports. How a coach handles the new NIL — name, image and likeness — which can lead to big bucks for college players, is crucial these days, Calipari said.

More:Protecting amateur sports: What NIL, transfer portals mean to coaching great Calipari

“I know how difficult it is to work with players and the NIL on a 12-player roster,” Calipari said. "I can’t imagine what it must be like for college football coaches who deal with 50 or more players.”

Calipari was interviewed onstage by Jon Wertheim, executive editor of Sports Illustrated who is also a regular on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Wertheim, also a best-selling author who has written nine books, seems like a good guy.

New York City has been his home base for years, but he’s a native of Columbus, Indiana, a city of 50,000 located in the southern portion of the state, and retains his small-town charm.

Wertheim spoke in Erie eight years ago as part of a PNC Bank program, but he said he flew into the city and departed in less than three hours. “This time I arrived early and drove all over town,” Wertheim said. “It’s a beautiful city and I was really impressed with your waterfront.”

Luckily, Tuesday was a sparking autumn day that shows off Erie at its best.

• Speaking of the Jefferson’s Global Summit, the think tank’s president, Ferki Ferati, said a second Global Summit, sponsored by the Jefferson, is taking place this year in Redlands, California. Atlantic Monthly editor James Fallows, a longtime supporter of Erie’s summit, is a native of Redlands, and he’s been a driving force behind the second Jefferson speakers event.

• Former Gov. Tom Ridge, who attended a dinner for Calipari and Wertheim, is making a strong recovery from some serious health challenges. As always, Ridge has a great sense of humor and connects with everyone in the room.

More: Tom Ridge backs Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race and is impressed by his 'desire to serve'

• Ken Brasington, the outstanding local football coach who was recently inducted, along with his dad, Chuck Brasington, into the Erie chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports hall of Fame, stays in touch with John Widecan.

More: Brasington father-son combo to enter Erie sports Hall of Fame together

When Ken coached at Mercyhurst University, Widecan played center for the Lakers. Now Widecan is in his tenth year as director of football operations for the University of Cincinnati, which has been one of the nation's top teams in recent years.

• A billboard on upper Peach Street paying tribute to County singer Loretta Lynn, who died Oct. 4 at the age of 90, shows how popular she was with fans. When I was in college in Nashville, I used to write for a local magazine about country stars. Back then, you could easily reach the biggest stars — Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, for instance — and I had an interesting conversation with Lynn.

More:Loretta Lynn, country music legend and 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' dies at 90

Robert Altman’s movie, “Nashville,” had just come out and Lynn was furious about the portrayal of characters loosely based on her and her husband, Doolittle. “It made me so mad and so sad — all at the same time,” Lynn said. “I will never, ever agree to write a book or make a movie about my life.”

A year later, she collaborated with George Vecsey on “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which became a huge bestseller, and four years after that, Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for playing Lynn in “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” the movie.

• Michael Feinstein, known as “The ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” will bring his celebration of Judy Garland’s centennial to Mercyhurst University’s D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Liza Minelli, Garland’s daughter, produced the multi-media show.

• Retired PNC banker Chuck Harris took first place with his 1967 GT 350 at the recent car show at St. Jude Catholic Church. Chuck is the original owner of the car, which I assume was purchased from his dad, Chuck Harris, who ran Harris Ford in Erie for many years.

• Patrick Leary, D.O., founder and director of LECOM Health's Sports Medicine Fellowship, is heading to Cologne, Germany, next month to present a weekend seminar on boxing and sports osteopathy. Leary has lectured all over the world.

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kevin Cuneo: Murals splash vibrant color throughout Erie