Joyce Hanz stories, Page 3

Three Pittsburgh restaurants and their chefs are getting national attention after being named semifinalists in the 35th annual James Beard Awards. The chefs at vegan restaurant Apteka, located in Bloomfield, have been nominated for the fourth straight year for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic award, covering New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland...

Naomi Gilchrist doesn’t remember exactly when she moved into her apartment in Sewickley, but she does recall the assistance from the Union Aid Society that helped to make living there possible. “I have my own little apartment — it’s a nice apartment — and I’m very pleased to have it,”...

Artie Pitt is livin’ the spice life. After a successful 20-plus-year career in the cannabis trade and music industries, Pitt is pursuing a lifelong love of making spicy foods — particularly hand-crafted hot sauce. Pitt launched Artie’s Hot Sauce in October 2023 after cooking up batches of hot sauce and,...

Get your Netflix or Amazon Prime fix for free with a Roku Express checkout kit from the Sewickley Public Library. “It’s great if you want to try it out or don’t have one or maybe just want to watch a movie,” said Richelle Klug, communications and social media librarian. The...

Michelle Cook has gone to the dogs, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I talk to dogs more than I talk to people,” said the pup walker, trainer and caretaker. Cook, 40, resides in Sewickley and opened Sky’s The Limit this month. Dog walking is the most requested...

The widow of a Buffalo Township firefighter killed at President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Butler County over the summer plans to be in Washington for inauguration-related events. “It’s an honor to be invited. I am always so honored when the president invites us to spend time with him, and...

An Indiana Township restaurateur is hoping to open a Turkish-themed bar and eatery in a former historic train station in Aspinwall. The former Luke & Mike’s Frontporch permanently closed on Dec. 28 and co-owner Sheri Rice confirmed Jan. 7 the business is under contract with Pittsburgh-based Finike LLC., registered to...

A third-generation volunteer firefighter is continuing a family legacy of public service in Sharpsburg and Aspinwall. Shaler native Mike Daniher is the inaugural chief of Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services, or SAVES. The communities of Sharpsburg and Aspinwall merged their fire departments into a new company in 2023 in an...

Tami McQuaid never thought she’d make a career out of being a hostess with the “mostest.” But 35 years later, Great Gatherings, a mobile professional staffing business owned by McQuaid, provides professional servers, bartenders, cooks and event promoters for private and corporate events in the Pittsburgh region. “My parents, Robert...

Two soccer-loving friends are kicking around a new fundraiser to provide public chess in Sewickley. Quaker Valley High School students and lifelong friends Charlie Pyle of Sewickley and Sutton Hoehl of Edgeworth began playing soccer together as preschoolers. Fast forward to 2025 and both play on the Quaker Valley High...

A community-based nonprofit is looking to boost membership and raise awareness throughout the Fox Chapel-area communities it has served for almost 100 years. The District Association of the Fox Chapel Area raises funds that are donated directly back into the communities in the Fox Chapel Area School District — Aspinwall,...

An Upper Burrell retiree is close to fulfilling her dream of providing a historically influenced, coffee-themed dining destination, one room at a time. The 1st Street Cafe, housed in the former Addison House Restaurant & Lounge on First Street in Leechburg’s business district, has a fresh new look, thanks to...

A Canonsburg man was among those injured when a man drove a truck around a police blockade and into a crowd of revelers during New Year’s celebrations early Wednesday morning in New Orleans. A family member said Jeremi Sensky, 51, was hurt in what authorities termed a terrorist attack by...

One person was injured in a single-vehicle crash Saturday morning along northbound Route 28 at Exit 7 in Aspinwall. The incident led to temporary closure of the exit as responders cleared the scene. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services fire Chief Mike Daniher said the crash was reported at 6:53 a.m....

Freeport Councilwoman Jeannie Mazurowski has resigned from her post. Appointed in January, Mazurowski confirmed her resignation to TribLive on Friday, citing prioritizing her family obligations as the primary reason for her decision to exit public service. “I don’t think I have the time to put into the borough that I...

A neighborhood eatery housed in a historic building that once hosted Sammy Davis Jr. is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in Point Breeze. Point Brugge Cafe will celebrate 20 years in business in 2025 as its cousin restaurant, Park Bruges in Highland Park, is set to close its doors...

Allegheny County detectives are treating the body found in Shaler on Thursday as a homicide because the victim had an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The victim was identified Saturday as 45-year-old Andre Wallace of Millvale by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Few other details have surfaced since...

Living life below zero left a lasting impression on the Blizzards of Sewickley. Alan and Pam Blizzard lived in Eagle River, Alaska, for 19 years after fleeing the urban hustle of New York and San Francisco. Their Alaskan adventures spurred Alan into the kitchen, where he found a keen interest...

Paranormal investigators now have a free ghost-hunting kit at the ready at The Sewickley Public Library. The kit is available for lending for one week for teens and adults. For speculative purposes only, the kit is available on a first-come, first-served basis and includes a UV blacklight flashlight, spirit box,...

Entrepreneur Lani Lazzari continues to stir things up in the skincare world. She was just 11 when she began experimenting with sugar and other all-natural ingredients in an attempt to cure her eczema and other related skin issues in the basement of her parents’ Fox Chapel home. Her mother, Gina...

Bigger is apparently better for a family of 11 in Fox Chapel. “I always wanted a big family,” said Stephanie Wilkinson, wife and mother to nine biological children she’s raising with her husband, Jim. “I told my mom I wanted at least eight kids.” The Wilkinson children, four boys and...

A professional metalsmith and jeweler with more than 22 years of custom jewelry experience has opened a studio in Blawnox. Dan Jacko of Verona opened Harp and Hound Jewelry on Dec. 7 at 238½ Freeport Road, the former site of Marlene Harris Collection. Jacko designs and creates artisan and handcrafted...

Calling all runners: There’s a new Sewickley-­based running club, compliments of a sporty, social married couple living in nearby Edgeworth. Anne and Joel Simpson moved to Edgeworth from New Jersey in 2022 and noticed a lot of solo runners in the Sewickley area but discovered there wasn’t a nearby organized...

After 14 years of “blood, sweat and tears,” an Aspinwall-based restaurateur is calling it quits. “It was time,” said Sheri Rice on Monday of Luke and Mike’s Frontporch, the popular bar and restaurant she co-owns with her ex-husband, Billy Rice. “We did try and make this corner beautiful and try...

A community center that once welcomed performances by Motown stars — including Diana Ross and the Supremes — continues to evolve to meet the needs of its public. The Sewickley Community Center, originally formed in 1935 as the Sewickley Colored Community Center, remains a steadfast staple center offering a variety...