The Green Line Cafe located at 43rd and Baltimore was broken into and burglarized over the weekend, according to police. The burglar or burglars smashed the front window with a brick and stole a cash register. The burglary happened some time between Friday at 11:30 p.m. and Saturday morning at around 8:30 a.m.

The cash register contained approximately $300, according to a police report.

In August, West Philly Local reported about similar break-ins at Pho & Cafe Saigon and RX the Farmacy. In both of these cases, a brick was used to smash the front door or windows and cash was stolen. Police are still investigating those.

The University City Historical Society (UCHS), an organization interested in enhancing and preserving the heritage of West Philadelphia, is working on increasing community involvement. The UCHS will launch a new website next year where resources and information about UCHS events will be available. UCHS has also prepared a short online questionnaire and would appreciate any input from neighbors.

The survey should take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Besides a few questions related to UCHS membership, the survey asks neighbors about their favorite part of University City and what programming you would you like to see from UCHS.

To access the survey, please follow this link.

For more information please visit the UCHS website or Facebook page.

Updated with details at 12:57 p.m.

Police caught two men yesterday after a report of a gunpoint robbery at 45th and Pine. The robbery took place around 5:20 p.m., according to police, and the victim was also pistol-whipped. The police arrived quickly after the incident was reported, chased and caught both men. One of them was armed with a gun, according to a tweet by officer Joe Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) of the Southwest Police Detectives.

The victim, a 41-year-old male, said he was walking down the 4500 block of Pine Street, stopped at his mother’s house and pulled out his cell phone, according to a police report. He said two males approached him and when he looked down again at his cell phone, he felt an object strike him in the side of the head. He fell to the ground, looked up and saw one man holding a gun. One suspect said “Take the phone” to other, the victim told police.

The victim quickly ran into his mother’s home and called police. After a brief foot pursuit, police apprehended one of the suspects near 47th and Spruce. He had a 25-caliber handgun. The other suspect was captured on the 4600 block of Spruce Street. The victim identified the suspects, both of whom were 17 years old, according to a police report.

The victim received five stitches at Mercy Hospital and was released.

Every holiday season we encourage West Philly residents to support local businesses and spend more money in the neighborhoods, whether on holiday gift shopping, dining or entertainment. This weekend, some of you will be shopping for last-minute gifts and probably will be looking for books to give to your special someone. This is a brief reminder that we have some really nice bookstores in the area. Some of them are having holiday specials and hope you will stop by and check out their offers. So here are a few suggestions:

Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave) has lots of tasteful, pleasing gifts, including a nice selection of wall calendars. The shop will be open every day through December 24 for your last-minute holiday shopping: Noon – 7 today, Saturday and Monday, Noon – 5 (possibly later) Sunday, closing at 4:00 p.m. on December 24, and of course will be closed on Dec. 25. Stop by for cider at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Feel free to call 215-662-5780.

Penn Book Center (130 S. 34th St.) is offering a special 2 for 1 deal on Everyman’s Library hardbacks and assorted cookbooks. Frequent buyers get a $10.00 credit every time they spent $100.00. Check out the Penn Book Center website to see the poem of the day, for info about the poetry reading series, and more.

Also check:

House of Our Own (3920 Spruce St) – Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sat & Sun Noon – 6 p.m. E-mail: hooo@verizon.net or call 215-222-1576.

The Last Word Book Shop (220 S. 40th St) – Open Mon-Sat 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. For more info call 215-386-7750.

Hakim’s Bookstore (210 S. 52nd St) – Open Wed-Thu Noon – 6 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. E-mail: hakims_bookstore@verizon.net; Phone: 215-474-9495.

Good news for locals missing Philadelphia Community Acupuncture: come early January, PCA’s Sarah Lefkowich, who left the West Philly clinic before it closed its doors in October after six years of service, will open West Philly Community Acupuncture at 4636 Woodland Avenue, in the same building that hosts Four Worlds Bakery.

The new acupuncture clinic, which is a member of the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA), will offer treatments on a $15 – $35 sliding scale, with no first time appointment fee. In celebration of its grand opening, though, treatments at the clinic—based on the community acupuncture model—is running a $10 per treatment promotion for the month of January.

Once opened, West Philly Community Acupuncture’s hours of operation will be Tuesday and Thursday, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The clinic will be closed Sundays and Mondays; however, according to the website, it will open on those days “when you demand it!”

–Annamarya Scaccia

The woman convicted in the vicious abuse of a 3-year-old boy who died in 2011 was sentenced to 28-and-a-half to 57 years in prison yesterday.

Jaquinn Brewton (Photo from Faces of Angels Blog).

Nadera Watson, 25, lived with 3-year-old Jaquinn Brewton in an apartment at 49th and Chestnut. Paramedics were called to the apartment in June 2011 and found Brewton, who was developmentally delayed and was Watson’s godson, unconscious. Watson told police that he had fallen down a flight of stairs, but the investigation that followed revealed a pattern of methodical abuse involving boiling liquid, a blowtorch and periodic beatings. Jaquinn’s mother left the toddler in Watson’s care when she moved into a homeless shelter with her five other children.

The case was so horrific that it shook up long-time social workers and prompted an investigation into the Department of Human Services’ handling of the case. The Department of Public Welfare report on Jaquinn’s death is here. According to the report, Human Services “missed several monthly visits” to the child. The report alleges that timely visits “could have uncovered the abuse that was occurring in the home.”

Watson was convicted of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and child endangerment charges. Watson’s boyfriend, Marcus King, pleaded guilty to third degree murder in August and was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.