SAVVY MAINLINE

it's what you want to know

Hard to miss, impossible to forget: Teammates & friends to mark the too-short life & inspiring legacy of Stoga ‘22 rugby star Erik ‘Big E’ Elken. A tournament at USC & fundraiser in Wayne are days away.

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

When doctors told Erik “Big E” Elken that the hip pain he couldn’t shake wasn’t another rugby injury – it was a rare and highly aggressive Stage 4 sarcoma, he waited two days to tell his coach.

The University of South Carolina Gamecocks were playing that weekend and the ever-thoughtful Scholastic All-American didn’t want to be a distraction.

Big E broke the news to Coach Roberts on Sunday: He had an 8-pound tumor ­– the size of a newborn – on his femur and he was flying home to Berwyn for treatment.

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Delco, you’re in for a treat. Handel’s is heading your way

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

For two decades, Handel’s Ice Cream has been the western Main Line’s unofficial town square, where neighbors become friends and outdoor lines are braved – even in January.   

In 2020, flush with success, Handel’s went mobile, peddling its prized homemade scoops in a retro-cool ice cream truck to community gatherings in Berwyn and beyond.

This year, an even bigger step: an expansion to Delco.  

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Mare will return to Easttown! Berwyn filmmaker Brad Ingelsby reveals actors for 2nd seasons of HBO’s ‘Mare of Easttown’ and ‘Task’

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Cue the Wawa coffee and distinctive accent: Kate Winslet is coming back to Delco.

Filmmaker Brad Ingelsby all but guaranteed a second season of the HBO hit, Mare of Easttown, at a special appearance at World Wide Stereo in Wayne Tuesday night.

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Grand openings & goodbyes; Repurposing a Bryn Mawr landmark; Lux hotel rising in Radnor; Rock Hill Farm & VFMA news, hot headlines & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Bryn Mawr’s most distinguished building will soon welcome … students. A local billionaire just bought the longtime headquarters of Bryn Mawr Trust and plans to turn it into a financial literacy center for kids and adults, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.

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“Mom, they think I’m lying.” Radnor H.S. parents open up about the AI-manipulated video of their daughters and how officials handled it. The school board is updating its policies.

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Nearly two months after five distraught Radnor High School freshman girls told their parents that AI fakes of their sexualized images were making the rounds, authorities charged a 9th-grade boy with criminal harassment.

Case closed? Hardly.

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A 10,000 sq. ft. DHS office is en route to Tredyffrin; A published report says it may support an ICE surge

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The U.S. government plans to put DHS “back office” facility in Westlakes, an upscale office park in Berwyn, according to federal records obtained by the investigative news outlet, WIRED.

Flush with $85 billion in ICE funding from “The Big Beautiful Bill” Act, the U.S. General Services Administration has been quietly leasing office space for DHS teams to support ICE surges team in nearly every state. 

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In restaurant years, 25 is practically ancient. But fresh off a facelift, Christopher’s in Wayne has never looked better.

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

From the moment Christopher’s opened on North Wayne Avenue 25 years ago this week, it was love at first bite.

Finally, a local spot for familiar fare, solidly-executed, well-priced and family-friendly.

Mom could unwind with a Chardonnay, Dad with a Yuengling.

Even with kids in tow, Christopher’s felt like a night out – a respite from the chaos of a Chuck  E. Cheese, the corporate uniformity of a Chili’s, the harsh lights of a Minella’s.

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Golfers – new and seasoned – escape the cold at new, state-of-the-art indoor golf clubs in Paoli and Malvern

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Aronimink is prepping for the PGA Championship.

Merion is gearing up for the U.S. Amateur.

St. Davids is getting a major facelift.

Hopefuls languish on country-club waitlists.

Forget cabin fever. It’s golf fever – deep freeze, be damned – that’s raging ’round here this February.

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‘I’m tired of being the sad story’: Berwyn’s Nadine and Kevin Rudd open up about his early-onset Alzheimer’s kit

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Samantha’s wedding isn’t until October but Kevin Rudd, father of the bride, is already working on his toast.

He scribbles ideas in a journal as they flicker in his brain: sweet father-daughter moments, questions to puzzle through. Which songs did Sam and I sing on car rides to the College of Charleston? What was the funny thing that happened on our trip to Piney Point?

Ten years ago, Kevin would have delivered a pitch-perfect toast. A prominent investment banker and public speaker, he would have nailed it. No stage was too big, no microphone too intimidating.

But today, at age 63, he’s worried. Will he get the words out without jumbling them up?

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What $3,000 – $7,300 rent buys you in Suburban Square: Easy living, 21st-century style. The first Coulter Place residents move in this week.

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

With 70 swanky shops and restaurants literally at your feet, life at the new Coulter Place apartments offer copious conveniences – if not a whole lot of personal square footage.

It took five years for Suburban Square’s first on-site residences to go from concept and design to demolition and construction.

Are they worth the wait … and their steep price tags?

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