SAVVY MAINLINE

it's what you want to know

The promise, pathos and too-short life of Brad Perz (Stoga ’13); Comings, goings & The Pub that stays put; Zapping pain in Paoli; Devine Designs & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Four weeks after her 24-year-old son died in her arms, Berwyn nurse Beth Perz stood before of a roomful of strangers – reporters, TV cameras and county officials – and broke down. Chester County had just announced its plan to sue opioid manufacturers. And two of the targeted companies – Endo and Cephalon – made the drugs that destroyed her son.

An eleventh-hour addition to the Jan. 15 news conference, Perz had written nothing; she would wing it.

She wiped her eyes, collected herself and began: “I’m here because I have to fight this fight.”

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Development déjà vu in Devon; Look who’s coming to Bryn Mawr, St. David’s & Malvern; Amazing lashes in Wayne; Everyone Reads T/E; Montessori memory care in Paoli; Student suicides & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Remember those ever-evolving plans for Devon Yard? How they once included a hotel, apartment building and parking garage near the old Waterloo site? And how, after a series of skirmishes, feisty neighbors thwarted all three.

Well, never say never.

The same developer – Eli Kahn, in partnership with Wade McDevitt – is back with new versions of each, all sited within spitting distance of Devon Yard and the Devon Horse Show.

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Autism ‘miracle’ in Merion; Bus stop blues & vandalism in T/E; PE pushback in LMSD; Tasty news for Tredici, La Cabra lovers; Plush digs for Bryn Mawr patients and more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

When doctors at CHOP diagnosed Matthew Cramer with “classic” Autism Spectrum Disorder, his mother, Julie, a physician herself, had to excuse herself.

“I was retching,” the Merion Station dermatologist tells SAVVY. “I was absolutely sick to my stomach.”

“It’s not cancer,” her husband, Warren, had reassured her. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“It sort of is,” Julie countered. For a long time, she couldn’t even say the word, autism. “I used the A word instead,” she says.

Ten years later, Julie says the full word without flinching. More than that, she’s eager to share her son’s remarkable journey.

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DOUBLE ISSUE: Alarming fire news; ‘Life Time effect’; Go float in KOP; Space for all abilities; Easttown trees; new Oath Pizza & Whole Foods. Plus, all-local gift ideas (w/ SAVVY savings!)

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

You smell smoke, call 9-1-1, first responders rush on over.

But what if – gulp – there aren’t enough first responders?

That’s the scary scenario laid out in a new report about the state of volunteer firefighting in PA.

Numbers have fallen off a cliff: from 300,000 volunteers in the 1970s to 38,000 today. The report calls the drop-off nothing short of a “public safety crisis.”

While the situation’s not as dire here, our Main Line fire companies – staffed largely by unpaid volunteers – are hurting for help.

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Livin’ large at Eddie V’s KOP; ‘Social crafting’ at Rustic Brush; tasting new Nick Filet & Hakata Ramen; Christmas on King; Stoneleigh saved; L. Merion miracle & much more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The swankest dining destination this side of Center City – Eddie V’s Prime Seafood – just dropped anchor in front of the King of Prussia Mall.

Everything at Eddie’s oozes opulence: the white-coated waiters, the show-stopping chandelier, the caviar tastings, the oyster-and-champagne pairings, the walk-through glass wine cellar.

Not for nothin’ is “Living it up” the chain’s motto.

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Standing up to hate; Great Valley shocker; Paoli contractor busted; New café & empty nester homes to Tredyffrin & LOTS of retail comings & goings

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Hearts were heavy but heads were held high across the Main Line this week.

Hate would have no home here.

From Beth Chaim in Malvern to Beth David in Gladwyne, from the Chabad Center in Devon to Chabad Main Line in Merion, from Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy to the Perelman Jewish Day School, thousands gathered – somber and shattered, yes, but resolute in their response to the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

There would be no cowering in corners.

With growing unease, Jewish friends had watched the rising tide of hate on their home turf: the toppled tombstones, the scribbled swastikas, the bomb threats. But a massacre? In their own state? In a neighborhood not so different from Narberth? If hate could kill in Squirrel Hill, it could kill anywhere, right?

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Remembering Radnor’s Heidi Diskin: a life of caring, cut short by depression. Plus, Paoli’s billboard battle, Target fever, Kindred Collective Bryn Mawr, Ardmore murder news, Retail roundup, Etcetera & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

On Sept. 7, three days after her sons started the new school year at Radnor Elementary, Heidi Diskin ended her life.

She was 44.

We share this with you because Heidi would want us to.

“One hundred percent, she would want her story told,” said her husband, J.D., in a phone interview. “My hope is that what happened to Heidi can be a teachable moment. As terrible as this situation is, it’s an even worse tragedy if it doesn’t help others.”

To family and close friends, Heidi’s suicide was a sucker punch – a heart-wrenching coda to 20 years of pain.

To those less close, it seemed, well, inexplicable.

Because Heidi had made mental health advocacy and suicide prevention her life’s work. She’d started a brain health foundation, she’d spoken to countless groups, she’d even hosted a cable TV show about mental health. How could Heidi Diskin – of all people – have succumbed herself?

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Generation Vape: Why Juuling’s not cool; Horse Show’s huge move; Grim find at Philly CC; Fusion upends education in Ardmore & Malvern; Plus, new Grove 1.2.1 & Avery Graham Aesthetics; White Horse Design & more

/ By Lisa and Caroline / /

Summer’s over and kids are back in school – reading, writing, and, increasingly, juuling.

Some are vaping right under our noses – on school buses, in cafeterias, bathrooms and bedrooms – using slick little Juul devices that look like harmless flash drives but are anything but.

Indeed, juuling is turning unsuspecting Main Line teens into nicotine addicts – one surreptitious, sweet-flavored puff at a time.

Seems even the “smart” kids are doing it.

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Dishing on new Devon Yard, Big break in brutal Main Line murder; Great Flood of ’18; Dining & retail roundup; Saturday Club 2.0 & much more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The Main Line seems smitten with its new baby, the upscale lifestyle center Devon Yard.

And why not?

She’s six acres of delightful: verdant and lush, our new bundle of joy.

And a surprisingly small bundle she turns out to be.

After that that four-year township tug-of-war, Devon’s new “town center” consists of two stores (albeit grand ones), two restaurants and an event space. Period.

Still, every detail disarms: the breathtaking courtyard, the vintage flourishes, the unexpected touches of whimsy.

Here’s what you need to know before you go:

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Transgender in Tredyffrin – C. McMillan’s story; Semi-Super Wawa to Wayne?; LM school search update; J. Alexander’s KOP & Alomore in Gateway & much more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Don’t bother searching for Cal Stone McMillan in Conestoga’s 2103 yearbook. The only McMillan listed is brainy trumpeter Caroline, and well, she’s long gone.

Because Caroline, in trans parlance, is Cal’s “dead name.”

In print and in person, Caroline has been largely erased – birth certificate, passport and driver’s license all say “Calvin” now. Calling Cal “Caroline” would be “deadnaming,” disrespectful because it signals non-acceptance.

Along with the masculine name, there’s a manly physique, a strong handshake, a deeper voice, a beard.

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