SAVVY MAINLINE

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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 / 6 Comments /

The U.S. government plans to put an ICE 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’s ICE surge team has reportedly been quietly leasing office space in nearly every state, most of which will house street-level ICE agents and ICE attorneys. The list of secured leases includes two in the Philly metro area: 801 Arch Street in Center City and 1000 Westlakes Drive in Berwyn.

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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 / 39 Comments /

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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Handel’s Ice Cream will mark 20 years with a daylong celebration of one of Berwyn’s finest: “Big Dan” McMonigle, who passed in late June

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Handel’s Ice Cream could easily have made its 20th anniversary celebration all about Handel’s.

After all, Buck Buchanan’s first ice cream venture has been a hit since Day One, a place so enmeshed in the fabric of family life in Berwyn and beyond, it feels like always been there. Heck, even Adam Sandler famously found his way to Handel’s – and not just once.

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Tug of war over Stoneleigh’s ‘sister’; Fired up to dine at Hook and Ladder; Hot new Ardmore spots; Next act for TV’s Jeff Devlin; What’s missing from Main Line MONOPOLY; Homecooked & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The chorus to save Oakwell – Stoneleigh’s Villanova “sister” – from school district buzzsaws is practically deafening.

And we’re not just talking about cars honking for picketers outside Lower Merion School District’s Ardmore offices each Friday.

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Coping with coronavirus: The Main Line pauses, pivots and pitches in. Will life ever be the same?

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Frankly, we weren’t going to publish. This coronavirus crisis is too crazy/awful/unwieldy to even begin to unpack. Plus, we weren’t sure how to handle our loyal advertisers, who have enough bills to worry about.

But we’ve been monitoring the Main Line’s New Normal. And while plenty about it stinks, there’s good news worth sharing.

So we’re going ahead. You’ll see our advertisers’ banners and hear some of their corona-coping stories but they won’t be billed. It’s the least we can do.

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Parents protest T/E policy after kindergartner with Down Syndrome is reported to police; Edge Fitness to face off vs. Life Time; Skin-saving lasers, Berwyn Village, RenoFi, Mason Grey & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

T/E is in the news again and not for its test scores.

The school district is grappling with its response to a family whose kindergartner with Down Syndrome was reported to Tredyffrin Police.

The six-year-old’s offense? Pointing her finger and saying, “I shoot you” to her special ed teacher at Valley Forge Elementary.

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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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Multi-family housing boomlet in Tredyffrin? Big plans for Swedesford & Chesterbrook; New Village Play Space & a destination playground; Wins for Willows & Stoneleigh; Brain Fog; All-new Sporting Club & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Holy Lazarus! A long-stagnant stretch of Tredyffrin has a pulse.

The owner of Swedesford Plaza wants to bulldoze the old HH Gregg and build luxury apartments in its place – 250 of them.
After approaching umpteen stores, fitness chains, health systems and grocers for its two empty anchors, Echo Realty is throwing in the retail towel on one of them. In partnership with Bozzuto, Echo plans to build a four-story, 250-unit apartment building at the old HH Gregg site, a permitted use under zoning code.

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GUNS! Students walk out, Parents gather & Stoga teacher speaks out nationally; Devon’s new Lumbrada; Ardmore’s new Living Room; Pro athletes talk mental health; Village Wellness & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

They called B.S.

Fed up because they don’t feel safe in school, thousands of Main Line students walked off the job Wednesday.

For 17 minutes or more, classrooms became ghost towns, the halls were mostly quiet.

There would be no repercussions. Lower Merion, Radnor and T/E Schools were of one voice: students would not be penalized for commemorating Florida’s fallen 17 and demanding #NeverAgain.

As a precaution, parents were cordially not invited to attend – forbidden, in fact, from entering schools that became “closed campuses” from 10 to 11 a.m. Local police stood at the ready, their services, thankfully, not needed.

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