On Stage: The Pineapple Thief is livin’ the dream, making U.S. tour debut

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The Pineapple Thief Picture a high school boy dreaming for years about having a date with one of the most attractive girls in the school and never having the dream come true – until one day years later, the girl invites him to go on a date. The Pineapple Thief, a rock band from the south of England, went through a similar experience this year. The...

On Stage: Violet Bell bring progressive folk to Delaware Valley

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Violet Bell The Philadelphia area always has the Liberty Bell as a prime attraction. On November 21, there will be two “bells” for area residents to enjoy – the Liberty Bell in Old City and Violet Bell, which is headlining a show at the Living Room (35 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, https://thelivingroomat35east.com) Violet Bell is touring...

Barrar won’t seek reelection in 2020

State Rep. Stephen Barrar (R-160) Long-time State Representative Stephen Barrar announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection for a 13th term in 2020. Barrar, a Republican, represents the 160th District which covers an area from the Kennett Square area east into Delaware County. He managed to hold off Democrat Anton Andrew by about 800 votes in 2018. With Andrew running again in 2020 — and...

On Stage: Downingtown’s Morrissey hitting it big in national tour of ‘Mean Girls’

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Mary Kate Morrissey(Photo: Emilio Madrid-Kuser for Broadway.com) Just as every young basketball player has dreams of playing in the NBA or WNBA or every young musician envisions a career as a rock star, almost every young girl or boy who acts in local theater – or even in school productions – dreams of someday being in a Broadway musical. The...

Chesco Coroner IDs body found in Valley

The Chester County Coroner’s Office has positively identified the skeletal remains recovered from a wooded area in Valley Township on October 29, 2019, as those of Julia Gonzalez, age 22, of Coatesville. After recovery of the remains, the Coroner’s Office worked with forensic odontologist,  John B. Nase, DDS, FAGD, FICD on a postmortem dental examination which identified unique features of...

Welcoming FBI investigation, Dinniman says scrutiny of pipeline process long overdue

WEST CHESTER  – While news that the FBI is investigating how permits were issued for the Sunoco/ET Mariner East pipeline spread across Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the nation this week, for state Senator Andy Dinniman questions about the project and its permits are nothing new. In fact, Dinniman has been on the record in raising serious concerns about the safety and permitting of the controversial...

The numbers don’t lie: Donald Trump killed the GOP in SE Pennsylvania

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times In reviewing the final results of the 2019 elections in Chester County — and by the way, whomever decided to change up the format to make them almost impossible to work with on the Web, please find another line of work – I feel a little bit like one of the structural engineers on the Titanic seeing how my own preeelction projections played out. Clearly, my...

On Stage: Female rock pioneers team up

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Cherie Currie and Brie Howard-Darling In the 1980s, there were many all-female rock bands that wrote music, sang the songs and played their own instruments – acts such as the Bangles, the Go-Go’s, L7 and the Lunachicks. The groundwork for their success and acceptance was laid a decade earlier by two bands who made huge inroads into the male-donated...

What To Do: 44th Annual Unionville Art Gala

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times A work by Diane Cannon, the featured artist for this year;s Unionville Art Gala. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so you know that Christmas-related events will be filling the event calendar over the next few weeks. Fortunately for the traditionalists who would prefer Christmas events to get underway after Thanksgiving, there are several special...

On Stage: Big Damn Blues Revolution storms into Sellersville

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band Blues will be the order of the day on November 14 when the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) presents “The Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour” — a triple-bill featuring The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band as the headliner and J.D. Wilkes and Dom Flemons...