Unemployed West Philly residents are invited to participate in a job training program with University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative.

The nationally-recognized program is partnering with Brightview Landscapes to offer positions as landscape crew members. Goal-oriented and motivated individuals who have experience working in landscaping, labor, outdoor work, and related fields are welcome to apply for the program.

Program participants will receive a generous, performance-based stipend and an opportunity to interview for open positions in the area. Over 90 percent of program graduates find employment.  Continue Reading

Two armed robberies have been reported in the University City area in the past few days, according to a crime alert issued by University City District’s Division of Public Safety. One robbery took place around 7:40 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4 on the 4600 block of Ludlow, and the second occurred on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 9:30 p.m. on Farragut near Walnut Street. In both cases, iPhones were taken from pedestrians walking at night.

Both UCD Public Safety Ambassadors and Philadelphia Police will have an increased presence in the area, according to the report.  Continue Reading

Bowsers is available for adoption.

Project MEOW, the West Philly-based cat rescue organization, has many cats and kittens available for adoption.

This month’s spotlight cat is Bowsers, a rambunctious black kitty with a big personality. Bowsers entered Project Meow’s world voluntarily, when he followed one of our volunteers home one night in September. Because of the sheer volume of cats in need of being spayed and neutered, Project MEOW TNRs (Trap-Neuter-Return) many of the strays they find, and releases them back to where found.

He was not happy in his trap while we initially took care of him and had his vet work done, but since he has been with his foster mom, he has put on weight and his coat has become healthy and sleek, and he’s much happier.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (1/9/2019): Xavier has been found safe, according to police.

(1/8/2019): Police are asking for the public’s assistance to locate a missing endangered person. Xavier Brower, 14, was last seen on Friday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. on the 5000 block of Ludlow Street.

He is six foot one, 185 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair. He was wearing black sweatpants, a black t-shirt, and a coat.

Anyone with any information on Xavier’s whereabouts is asked to contact Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183 or 911.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) monthly board meeting will be held this Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th Street). All community members are invited and welcome to attend.

The guest speaker at this month’s meeting is Nicole Ozdemir from the City Planning Commission. She will join SHCA members to talk about the city’s efforts regarding affordable housing. This will be an informational discussion to educate and update the board on the city’s mixed-income affordable housing bill and related initiatives. Regular committee reports will follow.

Affordable housing is becoming a big problem for Philadelphia, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods like Spruce Hill.

It was reported last month that Mission First Housing Group, one of the largest providers of affordable housing in the city, decided to move ahead with their plans to sell the Arvilla apartment building on the 4500 block of Osage Avenue and elicited protests from neighbors.

Photo courtesy of The Woodlands.

Do you want to learn how to tend to planters and help beautify a historical cemetery in West Philly? The Woodlands is currently accepting applications for their 2019 Grave Gardeners program.

The Grave Gardeners are a group of volunteers who are each assigned a “cradle grave” at The Woodlands. These graves were originally designed to be planters and would have been planted and cared for by loved ones in the Victorian era. The Grave Gardeners tend to their assigned cradle grave throughout the entire growing season, from March to November. A wide variety of plant material will be provided to gardeners by The Woodlands. Group workshops, demonstrations, and planting happy hours are also scheduled throughout the season.  Continue Reading