SAVVY MAINLINE

it's what you want to know

New sexual abuse suit vs. Conestoga – most damaging of all? Plus, Tredici debuts, two Nova bars close in Bryn Mawr; Catholic ed back in Berwyn & much more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is absorbing yet another fusillade – this one, an utterly explosive federal lawsuit that, in effect, blames Conestoga, its culture and staff for the months-long sexual abuse of a 15-year-old female student by 67-year-old TV studio aide Arthur Phillips.

Revolting.

To bolster its case, the suit details T/E’s “recent history of sex-related scandals”:

  • School aide/coach Christine Towers’ affair with a 15-year-old male student. Arrested exactly one year to the day before Phillips, Towers is in jail for her crimes.
  • The “No Gay Thursday” locker room hazing allegations that officials attributed to lax supervision.
  • The middle school sexting/cyberbullying charges.

The suit says the three scandals show a “pattern of deliberate and reckless indifference to signs of ongoing sexual harassment and sexual abuse” in the district.

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Well, Hello, DanDan, Bryn + Dane’s, BodyX, The Cottage, Louella, Orchestra, Hope Chest. Plus, Friends fund funeral for Stoga ’16 star; Axed coach sues Stoga officials & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Devon is fired up over DanDan.

It hasn’t officially opened but the new restaurant – at the old Ella’s near the Devon Acme – is already packin’ ’em in.

Just like it does in Center City.

And for good reason.

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SAVVY SOCIAL: LaBelle rocks Temple gala; Remembering Tricia Cuddy; Bryn Mawr Film, Surrey & Main Line Art Center galas; Kinney fashion show; Bag Bingo; Wynnewood wow home & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

A record-breaking 1,100 people partied with Patti at Temple Auxiliary’s Acres of Diamond’s gala, raising $1.3 million for critical, life-saving care.

A sparkling night at the Please Touch Museum: Guests took a spin on the carousel and bid on silent auction items, then sashayed down a red carpet to dinner under a huge custom tent.

Star power: Two Main Liners! Emcee was Flyers’ anthem singer Lauren Hart, longtime pal of Lindy Snider, wife of Larry Kaiser and daughter of Flyers’ co-founder Ed Snider. Patti LaBelle sparkled in Philadelphia Eagles Kelly green. Her private concert brought down the house.

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New Mistral, a bold move at KOP Mall; $$ for Stoga’s accused; Gravity Vault rocks Radnor; Queen of Soaps’ new memoir; Retail ups & downs & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

You’ll never guess what just blew in to the King of Prussia Mall.

Legitimately hip dining.

We kid you not.

Twice we visited the new Mistral – named for the stiff “mistral’ winds that clobber the coast of south France.

Twice, we were, well, blown away.

While the usual suspects – Cheesecake Factory, Grand Lux Café, California Pizza Kitchen – are corporate, aka manufactured for the masses, Mistral is:

  1. privately owned
  2. relatively intimate
  3. chef driven. (A fancy way of saying that an onsite chef creates and executes the menu. No corporate recipes.)
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Undocumented on the Main Line; Louella heads east & lots of comings & goings around town

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

They live among us, hiding but in plain sight.
They mow our lawns, mind our kids, cook our food, clean our homes.
They are Mexicans, living and working on the Main Line.
Some, of course, work under the table.
Others receive paychecks, have payroll taxes withheld, and file yearly U.S. tax returns.
Just like us.
But in many ways, not like us at all.
Because they are here without papers and have little reason to believe they’ll ever get them.
One such family – living in a rented, single-family home on the western Main Line – asked us to share their story.
They wanted us to put a human face on the immigration crisis.
But, of course, we cannot.
At least, not literally.

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More hazing fallout: Stoga accuser sues T/E Schools & football coaches; Bryn Mawr’s new Turning Point and Solidcore; Lost ladies of Lithe & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The criminal case against Conestoga football players was settled last week, but the dispute is far from over.

SAVVY Main Line has learned that the alleged victim and his father have filed a federal civil lawsuit against the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, Conestoga High School, former head coach John Vogan and his five assistant coaches.

The 22-page lawsuit, obtained by us this week but filed Nov. 2, 2016, alleges that the plaintiff (aka the then-freshman football player) was subjected to a “hostile educational environment” where he suffered “sex-based harassment and sexual abuse” … “so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive” that it denied him the educational opportunity or benefit provided by the school.”

According to the suit, the plaintiff suffered “severe and permanent injuries” and his civil rights were violated. He and his father are asking for compensatory and punitive damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees.

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T/E teacher/coach LeRoi Leviston (Stoga ’06) finds his voice as Roi Lush. Plus, hot news around town

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

If anyone’s story can blot out all the bad press that came out of T/E schools last year, surely LeRoi Leviston’s can.

His journey from starting Stoga quarterback to Mr. Lev, Valley Forge Middle School teacher, to Roi Lush, full-time rapper, is as improbable as it is inspiring.

The odds against LeRoi, 28, were stacked from the start.

He was born on Long Island to parents who “were very into hardcore drugs,” LeRoi tells SAVVY.

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La Colombe is here! More hip spots to follow in suddenly chic Bryn Mawr; A lupus miracle & Dad’s Day ideas

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Coffee geeks are bouncing off the walls this week.
And not just from caffeine.
They’re jazzed because the Main Line’s first La Colombe Café has opened.
At last.

The place is a knockout – a hip makeover of the old Bryn Mawr Garage with soaring ceilings, skylights, original brick and handcrafted wood seating.
Industrial chic done right.

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