Jasmine Wright

The handyman accused of killing 27-year-old Jasmine Wright in her apartment near 50th and Locust has been held for trial.

James Harris, 56, faces murder and rape charges in the death of Wright, who had recently graduated from a Drexel University graduate program. She had been raped and strangled, according to police. Her body was found on July 15, about 24 hours after she was murdered.

Harris worked in the building but was fired about a week earlier, according to reports. Police say he still had a set of keys to the building, and his fingerprints and DNA were found on the scene.

Harris had 31 prior arrests, police said, including sexual assaults. He was also convicted in 1982 for the murder of his own father. He had been in custody since July 19, when he was detained on suspicion of robbery and trespassing for re-entering the building.

Well-known West Philly based photographer Lori Waselchuk has spent the last couple of years hanging out with block captains, attending block parties and photographing the people that hold streets and neighborhoods together.

You can get an intimate look at the results of that work at two exhibitions that open this Friday. Block Party is an exhibition of Waselchuk’s newest work connected with her multimedia project Them That Do.

West Philly block captain Lisa Barkley (Photo by Lori Waselchuk).

For Windowishes, Waselchuk teamed up with six block captains for an installation in the storefront display windows on the west side of South 40th Street between Chestnut and Ludlow. Waselchuk and her collaborators – block leaders and captains Lisa Barkely, Mary Campbell, Carol Dubie, Freda Egnal, Elizabeth Waring, and Renée McBride-Williams – installed “a small environment in each of the bay windows inspired by their community stewardship and neighborhood histories,” according to Waselchuk.

The result is seven stand-alone exhibits that invite us into the life of a single block. For example, the children of Dubie’s block on South 46^th Street made flags for her display, “Legends of the Block.” Teens from Waring’s block of Powelton Avenue helped design and construct a four-foot tree for her display, “Our Trees.”

A whole bunch of community organizations came together for this one. Local cabinet maker and carpenter Gordon Richardson of Oberholtzer Custom Cabinetry donated labor, materials and expertise. Community organizations such as the University City Arts League and the Spruce Hill Community Association also supported the project.

So come have a look and celebrate the launch of both exhibits on Friday, Oct. 16 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the AIRSpace Gallery (4007 Chestnut St.).

So it’s the not-too-distant future and an oppressive Christian theocracy has overthrown the U.S. government. Most women are not allowed to read. Things are fairly grim. That’s the setting for the opening performance of The Curio Theatre Company’s 11th season.

Curio is staging the Philadelphia premiere of Joe Stollenwerk’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a work based on the Margaret Atwood novel. The show previews on Oct. 15, and the opening is slated for Oct. 23.

In a solo work, Curio company member Isa St. Clair plays Offred, who takes us back to a world after a staged terrorist attack in a cautionary tale that predicts our worst fears of fundamentalism. Offred is a heroine who struggles to maintain her individuality, personhood, and hope for a better future.

The Handmaid’s Tale closes on November 14. Curio shows run on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15-$25 per person. Tickets and more information are available online at www.curiotheartre.org.

UPDATE: Police identified the victim as 50-year-old Tony Harris. Harris, who worked as an electronics repairman, recently posted on Facebook a photo of his wife holding bundles of cash that he claimed amounted to $60,000, according to reports. Police say it was done as a joke, but may have prompted the attempted robbery and shooting.

Police are looking for three suspects who shot in the head and killed a 50-year-old man, a married father of three young children, during a home invasion robbery near 54th and Warrington. Police say the home invasion took place shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday on the 1100 block of S. Ruby Street. The intruders, described as three teenagers wearing masks, entered the house through the unlocked front door. They found the man, his wife, ad three children ages 5, 2 and 10 months upstairs.

One of the men, armed with a black and silver handgun, took the woman to the kitchen where he put the gun to her head and demanded money, according to a police report. Then she heard another man yelling at her husband in the living room, asking: “Where’s the money?” She then heard a single gunshot. She found her husband lying on the floor suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The woman called police. Police say they found a shotgun on the front porch when they arrived.  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a local non-profit that has been providing bike education and recreation opportunities to youth for nearly 20 years, has a new home. The organization has recently opened a new, larger community shop and bike education hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave. For many years West Philly’s NBW headquarters had been located in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on Locust Walk.

The new space’s grand opening celebration, which included community bike shop dedication, volunteer awards, and commemorative t-shirt screen printing, took place on Saturday:  Continue Reading

Here are a few reminders for Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12.

• Public schools, government offices and libraries are closed

• Post offices are closed, and there is no mail delivery

• SEPTA buses, trolleys and trains are operating on a regular weekday schedule

• There will be no trash or recycling pick up today. If your trash pick up day is Monday, set out your materials for Tuesday pick up. Trash collection will be one day behind schedule for the rest of the week.