Spaces are still available for a terrarium workshop hosted by VIX Emporium and taught by artist Beth Richey. The workshop is next Saturday, May 19. Beth will teach you how to create a low-maintenance plant ecosystem in a jar – a little world with wild-gathered moss, water, and pretend inhabitants that Beth makes out of clay.

The workshop fee is $15 and includes instruction, moss, some decorations and other necessary materials. Bring your own jar with a tight-fitting lid, no more than 6″ diameter. There will also be a few jars available for purchase at the workshop, as well as special discounts on handmade miniature glass animals in stock at VIX.

To register for the workshop, please visit this page. The workshop is at 1 p.m. in VIX’s back room, 5009 Baltimore Avenue. If it fills up, a second session will be added at 2 p.m.

We couldn’t find the residents of the house on the scene. If anyone knows them and they need help, please let us know and we’ll pass it along.

8:15 p.m. We went to the scene. The fire is extinguished, but the top two floors appear to have been destroyed. It’s a duplex and the adjacent house at 5024 Cedar Ave. also sustained some damage.

7:23 p.m. A reader reports a fire at 5026 Cedar Avenue this evening. Stay tuned as we are trying to get more information on it.

Local photographer Stephanie Ricci sent us this awesome photo of a West Philly porch. Thanks Stephanie!

Send us your neighborhood photos to: editor@westphillylocal.com. Please include your name and your photo’s title.

Update (05/10): Pigpen was found the other night and is back home (see Comments).

Neighbor Stacey is looking for her beloved cat Pigpen who seems to have gone missing. Stacey believes he escaped last night as she was letting her dog out before bed and she unfortunately didn’t realize he was missing until this morning.

He’s a small, thin, orange cat, approximately 10lbs., wearing a bright red breakaway collar with an identification tag (unless it came off of him). He’s normally very friendly and chatty but he’s not used to being outside so most likely he’s scared and holed up somewhere. He was last seen on Sunday, May 6, at 10pm on 49th Street between Walnut and Locust.

If you’ve seen Pigpen, please contact Stacey at: litelysalted@yahoo.com

A masked man robbed the Chipotle Mexican Grill at 3925 Walnut St. last night, police said.

The suspect was described as a white male wearing a black mask and police have confirmed that he is the same person responsible for a string of gunpoint robberies at Green Line Cafes within the past two weeks.

The Chipotle robbery took place at about 10:30 p.m.. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m.

Stand by for updates.

(h/t The Daily Pennsylvanian)

Here are three community meetings and public hearings scheduled this week:

• On Tuesday, May 8, the Spruce Hill Community Association is holding its monthly board meeting at the SHCA office at 257 S. 45th Street. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm. For more information, please call 215-349-7825 or visit: www.sprucehillca.org.

• This Thursday, May 10, from 6 – 8 p.m. there will be a School District Community Budget Session at West Philadelphia High School. Neighbors can learn about and discuss the reorganization plan proposed by the School District and the Actual Value Initiative proposed by the Mayor. The Actual Value Initiative’s goal is to reassess properties in Philadelphia based on their actual market value, which basically means higher property taxes for many homeowners. The current proposal would help generate approximately $90 million to support Philadelphia’s schools. To read more about what will be discussed at the meeting, take a look at the following documents: A Blueprint for Transforming Philadelphia’s Public Schools, Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Property Tax Reassessment Talking Points.

• Also on Thursday, community members are invited to attend a presentation and a brainstorming session to generate ideas on how we can create greener, more sustainable schoolyards in Philadelphia. One of the schools whose schoolyard is being proposed for this project is West Philadelphia’s Lea Elementary (47th & Locust). The presentation is organized by the Community Design Collaborative, AIA Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Water Department. The presentation will take place from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street. To RSVP, go here. For more information, contact Cedar Park Neighbors Vice President, David Hincher, at david.hincher@gmail.com or visit the Community Design Collaborative’s website.