Cosby boosts the boycott

In February, comedian Bill Cosby canceled two March shows at the Aronoff Center under pressure from the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati. "I feel very uncomfortable playing the concerts at this time in this climate," he said.

The superstar comedian/TV sitcom dad gave the faltering boycott credibility and momentum. In rapid succession, Wynton Marsalis, Smokey Robinson, Whoopi Goldberg and Wyclef Jean canceled appearances.

While that made national headlines, hundreds of shows went on here as scheduled.

Still, the boycott has kept African-American acts away from Cincinnati and has made local promoters nervous. It was a major factor in the first-ever cancellation of the annual stadium soul festival in July. As we enter 2003, boycott leader Amanda Mayes promises the campaign will continue.

Rosie bids us farewell

When Rosemary Clooney died June 29, Cincinnati lost its most famous living star, the "girl singer" who never forgot her roots. The 74-year-old Maysville native, who became one of the greatest interpreters of American song, died after a six-month battle with lung cancer. Her Maysville funeral was a homecoming that brought together fans, entertainers and politicians.

On Dec. 10, a Who's Who of the entertainment industry turned out for a tribute to Rosie at California's Beverly Hilton Hotel, to benefit the Mayo Clinic Rosemary Clooney Pulmonary Research Fund. Brother Nick Clooney took the occasion to announce next year's Rosemary Clooney Music Festival in Maysville, Sept. 20, headlined by Linda Ronstadt.

TV plays matchmaker

When millions tuned in last April to see who The Bachelor picked as his mate - Amanda or Trista? - ABC programmers knew they had discovered a new trend in reality TV.

ABC's bachelor, San Francisco management consultant Alex Michel, 31, chose Amanda Marsh, 23, a Kansas party planner.

ABC quickly added The Bachelor to its fall TV lineup at 9 p.m. Wednesdays. The search for a girlfriend by Missouri banker Aaron Buerge (photo) ranked No. 11 this fall, averaging 16.7 million viewers.

The relationship competition is becoming a new staple of reality TV. On Jan. 8, ABC will premiere The Bachelorette with Trista Rehn, 29, who was spurned by Mr. Michel in April.

City's singles sound off

Forbes.com pulled Cincinnati one step out of last place as the 39th (out of 40) worst place for singles to live (Pittsburgh became the new cellar dweller) when it issued its second annual survey results in February.

A lot of Tristaters were more than ready to voice their dating displeasure during and after the Enquirer's five-part series on the singles scene in August.

"Being singular in Cincinnati means that your chances of meeting Mrs. Right are outweighed by settling for Mrs. Notsowrong," Kennedy Heights resident Jonathan Michael Cobb (photo) told us for the series.

But Christopher Ott of Kenwood, also quoted in the series, recently announced his engagement. There is hope.

Hormone therapy gets cloudy

July was not a good time to be a gynecologist. Or a woman trying to manage menopause symptoms.

That's when the Women's Health Initiative announced it was halting a major study of the health benefits of Prempro, a combination estrogen-progesterone therapy, because it increased - not decreased, as previously believed - the risk of heart attack. And two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine disproved the notion that estrogen protects the heart.

The news frightened and confused women who had been taking the therapy long-term to protect their heart health. Medical experts are still debating the findings, though most now recommend using HRT for the short term only. There's still no consensus on how short "short-term" is, though.