JoAnne Klimovich Harrop stories, Page 9

Jessica George keeps her phone on silent overnight. When she checked it at 7 a.m. Thursday morning, she had missed several calls, many texts — and a few photos of a car lodged in the side of her Edgewood coffee shop that was scheduled to open in the next few...

Imagine waking up and looking out the window to a view of the water and feeling waves moving under you. That can be a reality aboard an Airbnb right here in Western Pennsylvania. The Serene Houseboat Hideaway is an Airbnb docked on the Ohio River in Glen Osborne. Owned by...

Adele Morelli’s morning commute to work is seven minutes — on foot. Morelli is the owner of Boutique La Passerelle on Wood Street, a European fashion boutique in Downtown Pittsburgh. She resides a few blocks away. “It’s definitely a lifestyle,” Morelli said on a recent Thursday evening during a Pittsburgh...

Thursday is America’s 248th birthday and Downtown Pittsburgh has many happenings, from Pirates baseball to fireworks. “The Independence Day tradition in Pittsburgh is one that is enjoyed by people throughout the region,” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement. “It brings thousands of people together to celebrate with one...

August “Gus” Kalaris often gave free ice balls to people who couldn’t afford one — he was known as the “Ice Ball Man.” He will be missed from his spot at the bright orange cart near West Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Kalaris died Friday night. For seven decades, Kalaris...

Lee Hendricks was driving to work on Route 22/30 for the midnight shift on March 13, 1993, when a Pennsylvania state trooper waved for him to stop. He pulled over, thinking the officer needed help because his police car was stuck in the snow. A storm was blanketing Western Pennsylvania,...

Tony Award-winning actress, singer and songwriter Idina Menzel recalled performing in Pittsburgh around the time of the Tree of Life tragedy in 2018 in Squirrel Hill. “I remember that time, and I remember such a sense of responsibility and connection to my audience. So, years later, when the project of...

Playa Bowls is coming to Pittsburgh. Described as a “superfruit bowl shop,” it is planning to open its first location in this area sometime this summer at The Terminal in the Strip District. Playa Bowls’ menu has more than 40 items and includes acai (berries), pitaya and mango bowls. Playa...

Set to be move-in ready this summer, the newly built Colonial-style home at 2007 Mallard Lane in Marshall offers a rare chance to skip the wait for new construction. Priced at $1,499,900, this two-story brick residence boasts 10-foot ceilings, a stacked stone gas fireplace, and a gourmet kitchen designed for...

For decades, Chuck Zapf has been buying a seat to shows and events at the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall for his older brother Gary, who has special needs. The seat he usually purchases is P-1. He now owns that actual seat. The venue is selling the seats on the...

The Paul Skenes fever continues to rise — and the blazing heat this week has nothing to do with that. Eat’n Park announced Friday the “Bucco Stache Smileys” — a Smiley cookie with a black mustache inspired by that of the Pirates rookie pitcher’s facial hair atop yellow icing. Skenes...

It’s the hottest week of the year and Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor isn’t serving up cones, sundaes or milkshakes. The shop in Pittsburgh’s Strip District isn’t even open. A note on the door dated Feb. 8, 2024, reads: “Hey Yinzers, Klavon’s is going to be closed for a couple of...

Page’s ice cream shop and Bad Azz BBQ are seasonal businesses — from spring into fall. When owners heard about the closure of Becks Run Road that connects Pittsburgh’s South Side to the Carrick/Baldwin area, they had concerns about how to let customers know they are open. “I think there...

It was a night Annalese Kimberly Bartolacci often dreamed about. Wearing a beautiful gown and dancing with Prince Charming, just like in a fairy tale. Her dream came true. Bartolacci, a recent Fox Chapel Area High School graduate, was selected as Cinderella at the 98th annual Cinderella Ball on June...

Never stop wishing. No matter your age. Because sometimes those wishes do come true. “If feels so nice to be able to give back to people who have given back their entire lives,” said Baliegh Butler, an Allegheny County ambassador for the Twilight Wish Foundation, a nonprofit based in Doylestown...

Matt Turbiner and Kirk Vogel definitely stepped up their game with their latest dining concept. Rival bar and restaurant opened June 14 in Collier. The sports-themed establishment’s name represents the intense competition between rival teams such as when Pitt plays Penn State, the Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens, Pirates...

In the early 1930s, William Kryskill promised his wife, Clara, he would build her a castle on the crest of a cornfield. Kryskill created the Hyeholde Restaurant and then living quarters with the finest stone on a hill in a picturesque setting surrounded by lush greenery. It was a fairy...

Endings create new beginnings. That philosophy inspired Karin Mayr to launch Sabika, a Pittsburgh-based, woman-owned jewelry company. For 23 years, the business has sold sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings through stylists who specialize in knowledge of the brand. That beginning has now reached an end. Mayr and her daughters,...

Ludwig Henigin laid the cornerstone at St. Wendelin Church 128 years ago. His great-great-granddaughter, Pat Henigin, stopped by the church on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon to check on the cornerstone as the church was being demolished. “I came here to see where the cornerstone is going to go,” said...

Claire “Larry” Hatch took a chance. With no restaurant experience, he got a second mortgage on his home with his wife, Gladys, to get the $75,000 needed to purchase a piece of land along Saw Mill Run Boulevard on Route 51 in Overbrook. Hatch was working for Isaly’s — a...

When Marlene Fait-Schmalz bought her childhood home in 2011, she reclaimed a piece of McKeesport history. The unique Victorian-style residence, once the Richard L. Fait Funeral Home, boasts a parlor, chapel and grand entrance on the main level, while the upper floors offer cozy living spaces. Now on the market...

The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium in Highland Park has a new resident — a wallaby joey, born to mom Ava. A wallaby is a marsupial, a pouched mammal in the kangaroo family. When they are young, they are called joeys. The animal is spending a lot of time in the...

Warren Goss watched as soldiers in front of him dropped — struck down by enemy fire — after the ramp of his Higgins boat lowered near Utah Beach in Normandy, France. Goss, then 19, climbed over the side of the boat and fought the surf to get to land. “I...

Eliza Davis got the gold. The soon-to-be Fox Chapel graduate earned the highest honor with the Girl Scouts — the Gold Award. In her project to earn the recognition she focused on harm reduction, a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use....

Artists from across the region — and nation — will converge starting Friday on the 14-block Cultural District as the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival kicks off, ushering in 10 days of free art and music. The festival, now in its third consecutive year of festivities relocated from around...