JoAnne Klimovich Harrop stories, Page 41
A guide to Pittsburgh: Check out what Lawrenceville has to offer
One look at the Doughboy statue and it’s clear you’re in Lawrenceville. The larger-than-life-size bronze statue of a World War I soldier stands at the entrance to the Pittsburgh neighborhood at Butler Street and Penn Avenue. Over the past 15 years, Lawrenceville has experienced a fascinating resurgence and become a...
Betty White’s memory to be honored at ‘Golden Girls’ parody show at Oakmont’s Oaks Theater
Part of Andrew Gold’s song “Thank You For Being A Friend” became the theme for the show “The Golden Girls.” The sitcom created by Susan Harris featured four previously married women who live together in Miami, Fla. They experienced many issues still relevant today. The show debuted in 1985 on...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 7-9
It’s the weekend. Don’t let the snow stop you from getting out. Pittsburgh RV Show The Pittsburgh RV Show is celebrating its 55th anniversary beginning this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m....
Duquesne Light, HeroX launch contest to replace ‘Tree of Lights’ at Point State Park
Duquesne Light Co. and HeroX, a platform for crowd-sourced solutions, are looking for some bright ideas. The companies announced a competition called “Reimagining the Duquesne Light Company Tree of Lights” on Thursday. The challenge is for someone to design an iconic holiday light display to replace the “Tree of Lights”...
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show founder John DeSantis dies at age 69
John DeSantis gave the best advice. “Growing up, my friends would always ask my dad for advice and my sons always asked him for advice. They felt comfortable around him – and he gave great advice. They would talk to him in confidence and know he wouldn’t tell anyone what...
Pittsburgh’s Fort Pitt Museum to close for annual maintenance
Friday is the last day to see the “Pittsburgh,Virginia” exhibit at the Fort Pitt Museum and the final time to visit for the next month. The museum, located Downtown Pittsburgh in Point State Park, will temporarily close, beginning Saturday for its annual exhibition maintenance and updates. A Feb. 1 opening...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 31, Jan. 1-2
Happy New Year. Here are some ways to welcome in 2022. First Night Highmark First Night Pittsburgh will kick off Friday at 6 p.m. The event which welcomes the new year will feature four large inflatable rabbits, part of an art installation called “Intrude” by Parer Studio. There are indoor...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveils 50-foot rabbit installation for First Night
Easter is months away. But that didn’t prevent this bunny family from hopping into town on Thursday. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust inflated a large 50-foot animal with floppy ears and three smaller similar creatures as part of its Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event, which is happening from 6 p.m. to...
Making the cut: Pittsburgh Dave opens barbershop in Ross
Barber school students learn to use a straight razor by cutting a balloon covered in shaving cream. “You learn quickly how to shave someone’s face after the balloon breaks just one time,” said Dave Peters, known as Pittsburgh Dave, who recently opened Steel City Barber Lounge in the My Salon...
A guide to making holiday gift returns
Someone gives you a gift. It’s the wrong size. It’s a duplicate. Maybe you don’t like it. You want to return it. After months of shopping leading up to Christmas, some people will be heading back to the stores Dec. 26. That’s a day known for holiday gift exchanges. In...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 24-26
It’s Christmas weekend. Here are some things to do around Pittsburgh to get in the holiday spirit. On the court The Harlem Globetrotters performing in Pittsburgh is an annual happening every holiday season. They are bringing their “Spread Game Tour” to PPG Paints Arena, Uptown at 1 p.m. and 6...
Feast of the Seven Fishes highlights Italian family tradition in Western Pa.
Dinnertime, for an Italian family, is sacred. It’s an opportunity to gather around the table, share a meal, drink some good wine and engage in great conversation. The spread on Christmas Eve represents the heart of this tradition. The Feast of the Seven Fishes — for which seven seafood items...
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, former Pitt player, hosts toy drive in McKees Rocks
Rayhonna Russell watched as her 2-year-old daughter Marlei looked through all the toys. The little girl in the bright pink coat ran from one to another to another, picking one up, pointing to another, smiling and giggling. She was one of many children who came to Kelly and Nina’s Daycare...
East End Cooperative Ministry steps up during pandemic
The poor are often invisible. “They don’t have buying power, they don’t have a political voice, because they can’t donate to campaigns and therefore are forgotten … invisible,” said Carole Bailey, CEO of East End Cooperative Ministry in East Liberty. “People in poverty do not consume news in the same...
College athlete travels across the country for liver transplant at Pittsburgh’s UPMC
Taylor Dockins cried as she listened to UPMC chief of transplantation Dr. Abhi Humar discuss her medical journey. Humar talked about her perseverance for five years fighting cancer and then learning she needed a liver transplant. The two connected when she traveled 2,400 miles for the operation. “Dr. Humar saved...
Brighton Heights artist works with students to create Bakery Square exhibit
It appears that two of the figures are holding up the building. Called the “Larimer Caryatids,” the second art installation at Bakery Square in Pittsburgh’s East End was created by artist Lori Hepner of Brighton Heights. A “caryatid” is a Greek word and the name given to an architectural column...
Holidays from the Heart remembers patients of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
Anne Alter walked back into UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Oakland on Friday — but not as a patient this time. She walked in as someone who is living proof that it’s possible to be well and live in recovery. Alter returned to sing a moving Hanukkah song at Holidays...
Unity’s Victory Brinker, Steelers JuJu Smith-Schuster support Pittsburgh’s less fortunate
Victory Brinker noticed homeless people as she walked the streets of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, Calif., before her performance on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. “She had never seen homeless people before,” said her mother, Christine Brinker, on Tuesday inside Light of Life Rescue Mission on Pittsburgh’s North Side. “She...
Volunteers lay wreaths on all 14,500 veterans’ graves in National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
Green wreaths with red bows lay against the white tombstones. As they place the greenery at each of the 14,500 veterans graves at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil, Washington County, this weekend, volunteers will say the deceased’s name. They will take a moment to pause and thank...
Play it Forward Pittsburgh helps families with holiday gifts for their children
Stephanie Badstibner of McKeesport recalled waiting in line overnight to be one of the first moms inside the Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive. It’s a free toy store where families can peruse thousands of items from cars and trucks to dolls and blocks. The mother of five wanted to...
Braddock’s Brew Gentlemen opens refurbished tap room after lengthy closure
The pandemic caused the initial closure of Brew Gentlemen’s taproom in March 2020. Owners Matt Katase and Asa Foster then decided to take the time to refurbish the indoor space in Braddock. Those enhancements will finally be visible Friday as the popular craft brewery reopens. “It’s been quite a journey,”...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 17-19
We’ve made it to the weekend. Here are some ways to spend it. Bakery Square for the holidays Walnut Capital, which manages Bakery Square in Larimer, will host a variety of free holiday happenings from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday in the...
Kennywood investing in new look for 125th birthday
The planning has begun. Kennywood is preparing for a really, really big party. The West Mifflin amusement park turns 125 years old on Dec. 18, 2023. And it wants to look its best. Like most celebrations, in order to be ready for the soiree, the park will need time to...
Sewickley Heights’ Wilpen Hall preserved as historic estate
When the doors open to Wilpen Hall, guests walk into a different time and place. “Once inside, you are standing in a living piece of history,” said Martin Maines, Wilpen Hall estate manager. “It is a very special place. Wilpen Hall is a slice of Americana that once existed.” The...
Former WTAE-TV reporter Kelly Brennan releases book about daughter’s medical conditionVideo
This is the story of a little girl in a yellow polka dot dress. Her name is Caroline. Through the powerful words and colorful pictures on the 33 pages of “Caroline’s Infusion Day,” the reader is taken through a day at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Infusion Center in Lawrenceville....

