We’re happy to pass along information on two local causes that support community education.

Metropolitan owner Jim Lily and PIC executive director Debbie Green (photo courtesy PIC).

The Parent Infant Center (PIC) at 42nd and Locust recently received a generous and heartfelt gift from a local business. Metropolitan Bakery & Café’s owner Jim Lily sent a touching letter to PIC’s Executive Director Debbie Green and presented a $600 donation for PIC’s Cindy Fund. In his letter, Lily wrote about his close relationship with PIC (his daughter participated in the after-school program there) and about his friendship with former executive director Cindy Roberts who passed away in February. Roberts and Lily were also neighbors; they lived across the street from each other.

University City’s Metropolitan celebrated its 12th anniversary on April 26, and a portion of sales on that day made up this donation. Read more about this wonderful gesture on the PIC website.

The Cindy Fund was established in memory of Roberts, who was passionate about children and families and believed in equal access to quality preschool for all families, regardless of income. To learn more about the Cindy Fund, go here.  Continue Reading

We always knew that Cedar Park is one of the best neighborhoods in West Philadelphia, and next Friday (June 3), it will be featured on Fox 29’s Good Day Philadelphia! Fox’s TV crew, including Alex Holley, Bob Kelly, Sue Serio, and Quincy Harris, will be broadcasting live from the neighborhood from 7 to 10 a.m.. There will be music, food, special guests, and a chance to be on live TV!

Local community organizations or businesses are invited to set up a table at 49th and Baltimore to be featured in the show. If you’re interested to participate, email Berlinda at Berlinda.garnett@foxtv.com by 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 26, and let her know your organization or business name and what you would feature/do on the show.  Continue Reading

If you live in West Philly, chances are you or someone you know has a porch where you’ve spent time drinking your beverage of choice on a warm summer day. Porch sitting is a neighborhood activity that people have engaged in as a way of exchanging ideas and bonding with neighbors for years, and the organizers of West Philly Porchfest (WPPF), which will be held on Saturday, June 4, would like to harness that energy to build stronger connections within the West Philly music scene.

“Porchfest is something that the neighborhood can do for itself that really breaks down all sorts of barriers [between music and fans]. Varying skill levels, genres, people who are on tour, people who have never played music before, people whose friends didn’t know they played guitar can play music. It opens up the opportunity for people who have never been invited to house shows in the past to appreciate this music,” explained Owen Lyman-Schmidt, of the West Philly Porchfest Coordinating Committee.

No one is sure of where the first Porchfest took place, but WPPF is modeling its event after Somerville Porchfest. The idea is simple: The West Philly Porchfest coordinating committee of five people will compile a list of participating porches and performers, each porch will be responsible for donating its own sound, electricity and performers. A sense of independent “Do It Yourself” will guide event participants, but Lyman-Schmidt says he hopes to also cultivate a sense of “Do it Together” where porches will collaborate with one another to make the festival a reality.  Continue Reading

The 18th Police District has released an alert about a crime pattern in the area that includes two gunpoint robberies, one at the Falafel restaurant near 44th and Chestnut on May 15 (read full report about it here), and the other near 44th and Ludlow on Thursday, May 19. Police believe these two robberies may be related and may be committed by the same person.

The May 19 robbery took place shortly before 6 a.m., when an unknown male approached two people, a man and a woman, siting on the porch on the 4400 block of Ludlow St., pointed a silver handgun at them and told them to “give him everything.” He then forced the pair to stand up and patted them down, according to the report. He left on foot with one of the victim’s backpack containing various electronics, documents and prescription medications. He also took the victims’ cell phones, according to the report.  Continue Reading

61st and Pine Bus Loop Reconstruction project (Image courtesy SEPTA)

61st and Pine Bus Loop

Today, SEPTA along with local officials and neighborhood leaders broke ground on the reconstruction of the 61st and Pine Bus Loop, a key transit hub in West Philadelphia. The 61st and Pine Bus Loop is a terminus point for the Route 42 bus, one of SEPTA’s busiest with an average daily ridership of nearly 13,000. The $1.8 million capital improvement project is expected to be completed in Spring 2017.

The project will result in a number of improvements, including:

• A new driveway, new curbs and a new passenger boarding platform that are accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Installation of energy efficient lighting and improved security features
• Construction of an open-air passenger waiting shelter
• Installation of site amenities including trash cans, bike racks and fencing
• Landscaping of the site; new signage throughout the facility

During construction, the Route 42 will continue to serve passengers at 61st and Pine. Buses will utilize portions of 61st Street and Pine Street when necessary to accommodate the work.

The 61st and Pine Bus Loop project is part of the overall “Rebuilding the SEPTA System” capital improvement plan.

The owner of a car damaged in a hit-and-run this morning near 47th and Cedar sent us this information in case anyone has surveillance cameras in the area or saw or heard anything:

“This morning around 5:30 a.m. a light grey or dirty white van blew through the intersection at 47th and Cedar, slamming into parked cars. The van (possibly minivan) fled the scene immediately.

The car at the corner received the most damage and was pushed forward and on the sidewalk, hitting the car in front. The police were on the scene at 6 a.m. and notified the owners. The last car had to be towed out with major damage and the others were limited to minor bumper damage.”