A Girl Scouts information and registration meeting will be held tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the St. Mary’s Nursery School, 3916 Locust Walk (near 40th and Locust on the Penn campus).

Girls entering 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades are eligible. If you can’t make tonight’s meeting but want more info, write:

Janine Van Patten (2nd and 3rd graders) – janinevanp919@yahoo.com

Amy Kwasnicki (3rd and 4th graders) – kwaszilla@gmail.com

Reader April Carter has just sent us this photo of stormy skies above 44th and Larchwood. Wow, looks menacing!

Keep sending us your neighborhood photos at editor@westphillylocal.com. To see more photos, go here.

Neighbor Tara is looking for a permanent home for her foster cat Lucky who has been living with her since last July. Lucky is a big kitty, around 16 lbs. He is an excellent mouser and spider killer, and he loves to play with the laser mouse and catnip fish. He wants company, not necessarily cuddling, but the same room is good. The same lap is better. A good scratch under his chin makes his day. He is quite a character and is very opinionated.

Lucky needs a very special owner. When he came to live with Tara he needed to learn that people wouldn’t hurt him. Sudden movements like reaching down to pet him on the head made him duck and cower. Anticipating being hit, he would come back fighting. For the first months Tara couldn’t pick him up. He would turn into an angry, yowling, hissing, critter. Now she can hold him on her shoulder and he purrs and gives kisses.

Lucky needs someone patient, kind but firm. He probably should not go into a house with other pets or young children. For the right person Lucky will be the perfect pet. He is about nine years old, has a recent rabies shot and is in good health. If you’re interested in adopting Lucky, please email Tara at: inkfishpress@mail.com

The School District of Philadelphia has announced early dismissal today due to excessive heat. All public schools will close at 1:30 p.m.

The early closure includes early childhood programs. Routine transportation will be in place at the 1:30 p.m. dismissal time. All after-school programs are also canceled. Staff will remain in the buildings until all students are picked up. For more information visit the District’s website at www.philasd.com or call the Information Hotline at 215-400-INFO (4636).
 

It’s this time of the year again. As May 31st approaches and leases end, local graduate students are moving out and leaving a lot of stuff behind this week. Local residents fondly call it “Penn Christmas” since the move-out detritus often yields a tasty score or two, from Ikea furniture to designer clothes.

Hot spots for sidewalk finds are often near the large Dumpsters placed around the neighborhood (41st and Spruce, 45th and Pine, 43rd and Pine are a few). What doesn’t wind up in the Dumpster will often find its way to the PennMoves sale, which is this Saturday, June 2.

Clothes, furniture, kitchen items, electronics and many other items have been collected and sorted for the sale, which will be held at Penn’s South Bank at 3401 Grays Ferry Ave. Getting there early is the key. A $5 entry fee gets you in for the sneak preview from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. From 10 a.m.–3 p.m. you can get in for free but a lot of the good stuff might be gone. All items are sold “as is” with no returns accepted.

Free parking is available, and Penn Transit will provide free shuttle service to and from campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shuttles will pick up riders at the Schattner Center at 240 S. 40th St. (at Locust) approximately every 20 minutes. They’ll bring you and some small items back, but the shuttle won’t haul big items like furniture and appliances.

PennMOVES is organizing the sale for the fifth year, in an effort to find a home for items Penn students leave behind at the end of the academic year. Proceeds will go to Goodwill Industries.

The Fire Marshall’s office is investigating a fire at a three-story residential building near 45th and Baltimore that broke out early this afternoon. Firefighters were called to the scene at 12:49 p.m. and the fire was out about 20 minutes later. No injuries were reported.

Here are some photos of the fire submitted by neighbors.

Photo by Jen Horner.

Photo by D.W.