Blue Stoop, a literary hub supporting Philadelphia writers and readers from all walks of life, is offering 8-week writing classes for the 2020 Fall season, including Foundations of Fiction Writing, Foundations of Cultural Essay Writing, and Foundations of Poetry Writing. All classes will be virtual this fall – through Zoom – led by Philadelphia based writers and poets.

The organization is also offering shorter intensives, the first being “Creating the Creative Life You Want” with writer and founder of the online community “Permission to Write,” Ashley Coleman, on Saturday, Aug. 22.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (8/12/2020): Joyce Miller has been found and reunited with her family, according to neighbor reports. We’re still waiting for confirmation from police.

Joyce Miller, 70, has been missing from her West Philadelphia residence since Sunday, Aug. 9, according to police. She lives on the 3600 block of Hamilton Street in the Powelton Village neighborhood and was last seen early Sunday morning. She is 5 feet tall, weighs 150 pounds and is physically very fit, but she suffers from dementia and easily gets lost, according to police.

If you have any information about this person please call Detective George Williams, PPD, at 215-686-3160.

The City’s Streets Department is expected to collect this week’s trash and recycling a day behind the normal schedule beginning Monday, Aug. 10. Residents should set their trash and recycling materials one day later than their regular day. The Streets Department will use Monday, Aug. 10 to only collect recyclables that have been accumulating curbside from previous weeks.

Streets Department crews have been working hard in the last several days to return to a regular trash and recycling collection schedule after significant delays over the past month due to staffing shortages, increased amount and weather. Trash collections have been on or close to a regular collection schedule over the last week, according to Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams. However, recycling collections have been significantly delayed as the Department prioritized trash collections for health and safety reasons.  Continue Reading

Last month Philadelphia entered a modified Green reopening phase and most businesses were allowed to reopen, including hair salons and barber shops, and spas and gyms, with COVID-19 safety protocols. Many West Philly restaurants also re-opened for outdoor dining, but indoor dining has been delayed until at least September. Unfortunately, since the COVID-19 pandemic struck some businesses in the area closed their doors permanently. Here’s an update on what’s currently happening at some local businesses and organizations since we posted the list of temporary closings and cancellations in the spring.  Continue Reading

A 33-year-old woman was shot several times on the 46th Street platform of the Market-Frankford line just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

The unidentified woman was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and her condition is “unknown,” according to police. She was shot several times in the stomach and once in the leg. No weapon was recovered and no arrests were made as of Thursday morning, police said.

West Philly artists are invited to submit their designs for the Enterprise Center’s 52nd Street Banner Design Contest. The Enterprise Center is seeking design concepts that will “positively represent 52nd Street culture, and that community members will be proud of.” The winning design will not only be featured prominently on 52nd Street, but the artist will also be awarded a $2,500 prize!

A panel consisting from representatives from the Enterprise Center and from the West Philly arts scene will select the winning design. Preference will be given to artists who live in West Philadelphia.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31.

For more details and to submit your design, go here.