Off year election? Hardly. Tuesday’s election really does matter

By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times The best way to ensure our democracy survives these troubled times is not to support any candidate running as under the Republican label, given how that party has endorsed MAGA and has as its agenda the dismantling of democracy.  HERE IN MY little corner of the world we are just three days out from the Nov. 7 elections and the end of that day can’t come soon...

What To Do: 89th PA Hunt Cup

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Pennsylvania Hunt Cup There are several events in the area this weekend with impressive numbers regarding anniversaries – lofty numbers such as 89, 76, 54, 48, and 42 – numbers marking the events’ anniversaries. The Pennsylvania Hunt Cup (Pennsylvania Hunt Cup racecourse, Newark Road, Unionville, 484-888-6619, http://pahuntcup.org) is one of the...

County announces results of latest Citizen Survey

Chester County Government’s five-yearly survey of citizen priorities and service satisfaction re-confirms that 94 percent of residents believe Chester County is an excellent or good place to live and raise a family, and that maintaining the quality of water, preserving open space, and managing population growth remain top areas of importance. Results of the latest Chester County Quality of Life Survey,...

On Stage: ‘Wicked’ returns for shows at Academy of Music

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Wicked Did you ever wonder what the witches of Oz were doing before the time they encountered Dorothy and her entourage? Many questions that were left unanswered in “The Wizard of Oz” were answered at a later date — questions such as what the witches of Oz were doing before they encountered Dorothy and how they got to be the way they were. They...

Election of Johnson as Speaker shows exactly who the GOP is and why you can’t vote for them

By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times OCT. 25, 2023. A date that will live in infamy. Seriously. Why? It was the date on which Rep. Michael Johnson, a Louisiana far-right little-known congressman, was elected unanimously by his U.S. House Republican colleagues to be Speaker of the House. I am going to put it right up there will with the issuance of the Declaration of Independence, the adoption of the...

On Stage Extra: Sue Foley rocks the Loft at City Winery

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Sue Foley There will be no tricks but plenty of treats when Sue Foley, a Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader based in Austin, Texas, performs a show at The Loft at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, https://citywinery.com/philadelphia) on October 31. It’s Halloween night but the only scary thing will be how well Foley...

Verizon Internet, TV and phone down in portions of Chester County

Verizon FIOS is suffering a major outage near West Chester — definitely in the Pocopson area — affecting hundreds, if not more, homes and businesses, leaving them without Internet, TV service and in many cases landline phone service. The appears to be some major fiber optical cable break — but company officials declined to comment both on the nature of the outage and when service will...

Unionville Art Gala returns for 47th year, Nov. 17-18

Jersey Calf by Shawn Faust Unionville High School Art Gala celebrates its 47th year. The annual art show and sale, to be held November 17 and 18 at Unionville High School, showcases local working artists, Unionville High School (UHS) Alumni, and current UHS student artists. In addition to beautiful artwork, there is live music to entertain and delicious desserts to enjoy. Funds raised will benefit...

What To Boo: Halloween events for the timid and not-so-timid

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Halloween events and activities should be scary. They should be scream-inducing. They should be off-limits for the timid. Fortunately, this area has a multitude of Halloween events – many of which rank high on the fright level. The intriguing new production Paranormal Cirque (https://paranormalcirque.com), which is intended for a mature audience,...

What To Do: Fall foliage tours hit their peak

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times West Chester Railroad There are people who love Halloween – people who love the concept of trick-or-treat — people who love pumpkins, eat pumpkin muffins with pumpkin-spiced lattes and would probably gargle with pumpkin-flavored mouthwash if it existed. Then there are people on the other side of the fence (or the other side of the pumpkin patch)....