Lovers and Madmen Coffee at 28 S. 40th St.  (Facebook photo).

The Green Line Cafe announced today that it will soon be taking over Lovers and Madmen Coffee at the corner of 40th and Ludlow. The new shop is expected to be fully operational by January 15, 2015, according to an announcement on Green Line’s website.

Green Line will be rebranding the shop, which will offer a mix of fair trade coffee and teas along with their signature foods. “…We hope to continue the vision of a welcoming neighborhood coffee shop that Lover’s and Madmen established so nicely,” the announcement reads.

Lovers and Madmen Coffee has been in operation since early 2009 and was popular with students due to its proximity to Penn’s campus.

This will be Green Line’s fourth location in West Philadelphia, adding to the shops at 43rd and Baltimore, 45th and Locust, and 38th and Lancaster.

Green Line also announced today that they are closing their only Center City location at 15th and Moravian due to new plans for the building, which recently was sold. Currently, Green Line owners, Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut, are exploring a potential new location in Center City.

A sign erected this fall at the Wiota Street Garden aimed at Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell underscores the campaign to preserve the garden, which developers are eyeing.

A meeting will be held Thursday to discuss the controversial proposal to build housing on the site of the Wiota Street Garden, a neighborhood fixture for 30 years that highlights the tenuous existence of the hundreds of community gardens in the city.

The Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia, the city agency tasked with connecting private investors to developable plots, owns the 1,100-square-foot parcel in the West Powelton neighborhood. The plot, which is zoned for residential development, has been an active community garden, hosting a weekly farmers’ market and providing produce to local residents and food banks. But the proposed construction of a 12-unit residential structure would spell the end of the garden.

Construction is underway on a number of similar housing units, many aimed at students, in the immediate vicinity around the community garden. Supporters of the garden have been pushing to have the plot protected as part of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust.

That’s what Thursday’s meeting is all about. The ultimate arbiter of the parcel’s fate, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, will be at the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at 4001 Baring St. The Redevelopment Authority has reportedly deferred any decision to Blackwell.

Using the Wiota Street Garden as her main example, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Inga Saffron distills the “gardens or housing” dilemma facing many developing neighborhoods here.

– Mike Lyons

A reader spotted this decorated “Jolly Trolley” recently. Read more about SEPTA’s jolly trolleys here.

Instagram photo by Benjamin White.

Former Transition to Independent Living facility at 46th and Spruce.

Community members are invited to discuss new development projects in the Spruce Hill Neighborhood area at an upcoming Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee meeting this Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Two development projects are at the focus of Wednesday’s meeting:

1) A proposed six unit development at 100-02 Ludlow Street. The project was discussed at an earlier zoning committee meeting and the committee asked for some additional specifics. The property owners are following the procedure for RCO (recognized community organizations) notification.

2) The proposed development to replace the former Transition to Independent Living facility at 4536 Spruce St. This will be a second meeting with the developers to examine updated drawings and plans. The attendees will also hear a report from discussions between the developers and the owner of the adjacent property on 46th Street, according to zoning committee chair Barry Grossbach.

The Mission First Housing Group proposed a four-story affordable housing building at the southeast corner of 46th and Spruce, where the former Transition to Independent Living Center building is located (pictured). The building was damaged in a fire in 2011 and since then has been shuttered and slowly deteriorating.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th St).

UPDATE: A neighbor has notified us to say that Adon Everett’s family is having trouble getting an insurance company to honor his policy. A former EMT, he recently moved to the neighborhood to be close to family members, according to a GoFundMe page that was set up to raise money for funeral costs. More details on Mr. Everett’s background are there.

Earlier: Police have identified the man whose body was found two weeks ago on the sidewalk along the 5100 block of Webster Street. His name is Adon Everett. He was 55 and was from the 5200 block of Chancellor Street.

It was determined that the cause of death was stabbing, according to police. No arrests have been made so far.

Mr. Everett’s body was found in the early morning of November 30 with a wound to his neck, which was initially thought to be a gunshot.

Over the past few weeks Cedar Park residents have been donating money for holiday food baskets for their neighbors in need. Now it’s time to give away those baskets put together by volunteers at Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN). The annual CPN Holiday basket packing and distributing event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Renewal Presbyterian Church (47th and Cedar), from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., and more volunteer help is needed to make this event a success.

Also, volunteers who are comfortable lifting heavy items are sought to help with unloading poultry at 8:00 a.m. (meet at the church). If you have some free time this Saturday and would like to help out at the event please contact Michelle Smith-Lewis at: mlewis1071[at]gmail.com