When St. Charles resident Justine Riggs rescued two sister Weimaraners four years ago, she wasn’t thinking of becoming an author. But necessity is the mother of invention, after all, and a family Thanksgiving trip showed her how difficult it can be to find hotels and restaurants that accommodate dogs. In fact, at one restaurant where the family went inside, leaving the dogs (still within eyeshot) in the car, she says, “I could see (one dog) turning around in the seat. What I didn’t realize was that she was ripping a hole in it! She really did not like that we were inside and she was out there.”

Summer is here. I know that not because of the magical June cloudbursts, nor the brilliant summer blooms. I know that not because of the smell of chlorine in newly opened pools, nor the waft of charcoal from a grill. I know it is summer because I am suddenly called upon to drive three over-scheduled children to various destinations all day, every day without the reprieve of an eight-hour school day. I am telling you there are air traffic controllers at Lambert who haven’t handled as many routes in a day.

“We serve some of the most frail and fragile people in the whole world,” says Sue Hockensmith, co-founder of Pony Bird Inc., a care provider for non-ambulatory individuals with profound mental and physical disabilities.

Story: Louise Seger, a Houston homemaker with a husband and two children, becomes an instant fan of rising young country singer Patsy Cline when she hears the latter perform on The Arthur Godfrey Talent Show on CBS in 1957. She soon pesters the local disk jockey regularly with requests for tunes by Cline. In 1961, when she learns that Cline will be performing at Houston’s Esquire Ballroom, she and her husband and boss arrive 90 minutes early for the concert.

My wife and I are parents with tweens. As our kids straddle the line between independence and dependence, our child care needs have changed. Now, it is about efficiently maximizing our baby-sitter usage, which includes driving assistance, house management and Saturday night parental respites. When our boys were babies, however, our child care concerns were focused on social interactions, developmentally appropriate challenges and safety. Different life stages require different levels of care.

Marsha Mason’s horizons have expanded significantly from her childhood in St. Louis. The one-time Catholic schoolgirl attended Holy Rosary grade school in North St. Louis and later Mary Queen of Peace when her family moved to Crestwood. She became interested in theater while attending Nerinx Hall High School and the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University before embarking on her illustrious stage and film career.

When it comes to summer fun, St. Louis makes it easy to be a kid—or stay young at heart. Follow this family-friendly guide to the city’s best summer attractions for kids—and their parents.

The middle-school years are tough, even under the best of circumstances. That's when kids are most susceptible to negative influences, with some easily falling prey to drugs, alcohol and gangs.

Last month, we started discussing nuggets to lessen the fear of public speaking. These are proven practices I use with coaching clients and talk about in my presentation seminars.

Ladue’s own GRANT WEBER will be featured on the Lifetime Television show, The Balancing Act. Weber is the CEO of Riley’s Premium Pet Products, a local manufacturer of healthy dog treats that are good enough even for humans to eat. In fact, we’re told that most of the Lifetime crew sampled the treats during filming! Weber’s segment on the show will air on Lifetime June 4 and 11 (6 a.m. St. Louis time).

It is considered the most important day of your life—and you don’t want to spend it worrying about tables, décor and dealing with vendors. Brides who want to plan their own festivities often feel overwhelmed by the way things will—or will not—come together on the big day, and St. Louis event organizer Kate & Company offers a unique semi-planning services to help these brides stay blushing, not flustered.

It's getting closer…soon, St. Louis will be hosting the top senior professional golfers in the world.

The Missouri History Museum is now offering a fun way for history buffs and barflies alike to gain an appreciation and a new perspective on the city’s fine public houses. The new initiative is called History On Tap: Pub Tours of St. Louis' Historic Neighborhoods. The first excursion led participants through Soulard. The next tour will focus on Dogtown and is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24. More info can be found at mohistory.org.

Colonial Marketplace, LN’s longtime digs, is continuing to see new tenants sign on amid the homestretch of renovation on the dining, retail  and office plaza.

We have more national recognition for our local culinary scene to report:

While it may not be swimming weather yet, the season of sunscreen and pool chairs is rapidly approaching. With a forecast of ‘90 and sunny’ undoubtedly on the horizon, pool owners need to take this last spell of cool weather to prepare their backyard oasis.

He began his career on the local high school stage and is now an award-winning Broadway star. Since his early days growing up in South St. Louis, Norbert Leo Butz has found great success on Broadway, as well as in film and television. Even with a busy schedule that includes the lead role in next month’s world premiere of Big Fish in Chicago, Butz remains close to his roots. In May, he will return to St. Louis to headline a benefit concert for The Angel Band Project, a nonprofit that uses music to encourage healing and empathy for survivors of sexual violence. The Angel Band Project was created following the murder of Butz’s sister, Teresa Butz, in 2009. With the first show on May 8 at The Sheldon sold out, a second show has been added for May 9 at the 560 Music Center. Recently, Butz took a few minutes to speak with Ladue News about his career and the concert.

Although Wally and the Beaver might have rather been playing baseball, Ward and June insisted that their rambunctious sons come inside at dinnertime to share a meal and talk about the events of the day.

Tee time approaching? You had better hope you’re heading to one of these spectacular Missouri golf courses. Never sub-par, these local courses offer some of the best views and amenities to golfers—and have the rankings and professional events to prove it.

The secret of Best Transportation’s success is out: In the past 10 years, sisters and company co-owners have built Best into the largest limousine/party bus/shuttle service company in St. Louis.

St. Louis native Scott Langley enjoyed a solid debut on the PGA Tour. Langley, a Parkway South and University of Illinois graduate, earned a spot on the tour this year.

Fans of  CRUSHED RED URBAN BAKE & CHOP SHOP, which opened last year in Clayton, soon will have two new locations to get their fix: The eatery is scheduled to open its second space in May at 140 S. Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood; while a third location should bow at 313 N. Euclid Ave. in the CWE later this summer, if all goes according to plan.

We just reported last week about the closing of Araka in Clayton, and now there's already news to relate about the next resident of the space at 131 Carondelet Plaza: It’s 801 Chophouse, and it'll be the fifth location for the Des Moines-based restaurant chain, which specializes in USDA prime steaks, chops and seafood items. We'll keep you posted on an opening date.