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Pet funerals: Fido, Fluffy rest in peace

By: Daveen Rae Kurutz

Pet owners mourning their dearly departed cats, dogs, rats and llamas, are spending as much as $10,000 on funeral services.
That’s about $3,500 more than the average funeral for a person in 2004, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.
“The sky is the limit,” said Aaron Beinhauer, funeral director and supervisor at Peaceful [...]

Market Square bar serves up religion

By: Bridgette Kennedy

A gruff, older Englishman, Tony Evans paces around his Market Square bar, Mick McGuire’s, on a recent Sunday morning, railing against society, acts of discrimination and the people who have abandoned Pittsburgh.
“I used to be a drunk and do everything that a bar owner does, and then I had a heart attack and [...]

Wing with a prayer

By: Gina Puppo

On what is expected to be the busiest travel day of the year, Pittsburgh International Airport seems like the last place to find some peace and quiet.
But savvy travelers know where to find their inner calm: the airport chapel, tucked away on the mezzanine level of the airside terminal.
“There are busy travelers and [...]

Shoe cobblers thrive by saving soles

By: Jodi Weigand

Shoe repair hasn’t gone out of style like last year’s fashion trends. It has the staying power of heels and oxfords – especially the expensive kind.
Customers at Charles the Cobbler shoe repair on Washington Road in Peter’s Township, include many affluent business men and women who purchase more expensive, and therefore, better quality [...]

Seniors head back to driver’s ed

By: Daveen Rae Kurutz

Gloria Bernson felt her foot slip off the brake of her Honda Accord as she headed downhill toward a stopped sports utility vehicle.
She made a snap decision — and inadvertently stepped on the gas.
“After the accident, I was terribly frightened,” Bernson said. “My first thought afterwards was, ‘I have to take a [...]

Semi-pro football: For the love of the game

By: Jodi Weigand

Defensive end Scott Dolfi thought he was on his way to the NFL, until a devastating injury, rather than a 300 pound lineman, stopped him in his tracks.
The Miami Dolphins had invited him to training camp, but first he had to show he had what it takes to play professional football with the [...]

Laypeople outnumber nuns at Catholic schools

By: Rachel Weaver

Ask Rick Buxter about his days at Monroeville’s St. Bernadette Catholic School in the 1960s and one image pops into his mind: a petite woman with a furrowed brow in a full nun’s habit.
“She was very short in stature, but you knew you had to toe the line with her,” he says. “She [...]

Point Park students hit the streets for a midnight film shoot

By: Carrie Potter and Katie Carroll

White paper Chinese lanterns and student dancers dotted Wood Street on a recent night for a midnight film shoot by Point Park University.
The short film called, “Young Hearts,” will be the first program aired on the university’s new closed circuit channel, U-view, set to premiere in February.
“This film is an [...]

House-trained vets come to their patients

By: Sara DeMarco

When her family’s 13-year-old Akita, Rosebud, had to be put down, Elizabeth Moquin wanted her best friend to spend her last moments at home – not in a veterinarian’s office.
She called Pet Vet Express of Mt. Joy, which sent an animal doctor her house.
“It was February and it was just disgusting out and [...]

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