Former Maui News reporter Ron Youngblood died on Monday at the age of 73. Youngblood was something of a utility player at the News for 25 years–reporter, columnist, editorial writer, letters-to-the-editor editor, event reviewer and voice of the paper on Hawaii Public Radio. When Youngblood retired in 2009, the News reported that he “averaged writing about 320 editorials a year [and] edited the 4,000 or more letters to the editor the paper received annually”–a tremendous output for any journalist.
I used to read his weekly column, though he wrote about his motorcycle (“The Dancer”) more times than I can count. I only ran into Youngblood once, at some Chamber of Commerce thing a dozen years ago at the Four Seasons in Wailea. Then-Governor Linda Lingle was speaking, so I went to cover it. During a break I was chatting in the lobby with Dave DeLeon, a former colleague of Youngblood’s. Soon Youngblood joined us.
“You want to see my press credential?” Youngblood asked DeLeon. DeLeon humored him and said sure. “Here it is,” Youngblood said, holding out his pencil. “This is my press credential.”
He was right, too.
Click here to read The Maui News’ obituary on Youngblood.
Photo: Wolfgang Glock/Wikimedia Commons
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