This Monday, three important community meetings are scheduled in West Philadelphia, and residents are encouraged to participate.

Cedar Park Neighbors Annual Meeting – 7 p.m – Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). Read more about the meeting’s agenda here.

UPDATE: POSTPONED UNTIL MON, APR 25: Friends of Clark Park General Membership Meeting – 7 p.m. – University of the Sciences, Griffith Hall (Lecture Hall A), 43rd and Woodland (see map here). Bring your questions and concerns, and find out what’s happening in the park.

Powelton Village Civic Association Monthly Meeting – 7:30 p.m. – 3500 Baring Street. On the agenda are two Dornsife / Drexel lawyers talking about deed restrictions and ways to sell one’s house to a single family.

The Cedar Park Neighbors Community Association is inviting community members to hear reports on their activities over the past year at their annual meeting on Monday, Apr. 18. Representatives from CPN’s committees on Zoning, Jazz, Scholarships, Holiday Baskets, and the Park will be available to talk about CPN’s work in these areas.

In addition, attendees will get lightning round updates on lots of cool things happening in and around the neighborhood. There will be five-minute presentations from:

• Ryan Kuck, Greensgrow West, talking about this summer’s expansion plans

• Akeem Dixon, 52nd Street Commercial Corridor Manager, discussing recent developments on the street

• Jeff Wicklund, The Enterprise Center, providing an update on the Common Table and the Culinary Center at 48th and Spruce

• Kittson O’Neill, Shakespeare in Clark Park, previewing this summer’s presentation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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UPDATE (April 15, 2016): If you wanted to pre-order your plants at the annual Parent Infant Center’s Plant Sale, but didn’t get a chance yet, here’s good news: Pre-sale deadline has been extended through Monday, Apr. 18. Please go to http://picplantsale.org/ to browse the selection of plants and to make your purchase.

A large variety of annuals, perennials, fruits & veggies, herbs and other plants is currently available for pre-order at the annual Parent Infant Center (PIC) Spring Plant Sale. The sale will be held on April 29 and 30 at the beautiful St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce), which will be turned into a pop-up garden center that weekend.

This annual event supports PIC’s Tuition Assistance Fund. About 100 volunteers help prepare and run the sale.

Over 100 varieties of plants are available for online pre-order, and you can pick up your order on Thursday, April 28 (for orders over $250), or during the sale on Friday, April 29, 4-6 p.m. and on Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. There are also $1 raffle tickets available for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Talula’s Garden.

For more information about the sale at St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce), visit: http://www.parentinfantcenter.org/support-pic/plant-sale

The issue of free speech has, over the past year, become a highly charged one on college campuses across the country. Free speech — once seen as an uninflected, universal value — has been re-framed. Now, there is a feeling among some students and faculty that unfettered speech can create an environment that marginalizes certain groups and impedes learning. The result has been a series of confrontations on campuses from Connecticut to California.

On April 21, 2016, the Center for Cultural Media in the Pennoni Honors College at Drexel University will host a special event, The Smart Set Forum 2016: Free Speech on the College Campus, to explore this controversial issue. The Forum will feature talks by cultural critic Camille Paglia and noted legal scholar Laura Beth Nielsen, with respondents from the Drexel faculty to their respective positions. The event will also include a panel of Drexel students who will address the free speech issue, drawing on their own perspectives and experiences.
Possible topics to be discussed will include the Yale Halloween costume debacle, the reach of Title IX policies, the value or harm of trigger warnings and safe zones, and the difficulties attached to defining hate speech and harassment.  Continue Reading

A few community meetings will be held this week – in the Spruce Hill and Walnut Hill neighborhoods – where residents can learn more and ask questions about public safety, development projects, and other important issues.

Two meetings are scheduled at Spruce Hill Community Association’s office at 257 S. 45th St this week:

• SHCA Board Meeting will take place tonight (Tuesday, Apr. 12) at 7:30 p.m., and the guest speaker is Jess Hinchey, a volunteer coordinator at Refugee Corps.

• SHCA Zoning meeting is on Wednesday, Apr. 13, and has the following agenda:  Continue Reading

Jaden’s Voice, a non-profit organization supporting families and people impacted by autism in underserved communities, has recently opened an office in West Philadelphia.

In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, Councilman At-Large Derek Green and Founder/CEO of Jaden’s Voice, Terri Matthews, both long-term advocates in the autism community, will host a special Autism Awareness Community Open House on Saturday, Apr. 9, at Jaden’s Voice West Philly location at 5548 Chestnut St. The purpose of this event is to help build awareness about autism in the community and provide resources for families who are impacted by autism. This event will also serve as Councilman Green’s ongoing autism initiative as Chair of City Council’s Committee on Disabilities, and support Jaden’s Voice official grand opening of their West Philadelphia office, which will now offer programs and services directly to the community.  Continue Reading