Restaurants Clarkville and Local 44, which are both owned by the same company, closed earlier this week while the owners “work internally with staff and the community to address what’s going on in a genuine and meaningful way,” according to co-owner Leigh Maida.

Staff members at Clarkville organized a walkout last weekend and protested outside the restaurant, located at 43rd and Baltimore, after one of their co-workers was fired, they believe, unjustly. There were also protests outside of Local 44 claiming bias in the restaurant’s employment practices. Many community members took to social media to express their concern over what has happened.  Continue Reading

Police are searching for two suspects in connection to an armed robbery that took place Thursday morning on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. Two men, armed with a rifle and a handgun, robbed an armored car guard on the 3500 block of Market Street at around 10 a.m. during a cash delivery to an ATM, according to reports. The men got a hold of two bags of money, but dropped them after the second guard in the armored vehicle opened fire, 6ABC reports.

The suspects fled the scene after the shots were fired at them. One suspect fled on foot eastbound on Market Street, and the other one reportedly fled in a maroon Chevy Trailblazer. Police recovered the stolen bags of money and a gun with an assault weapon clip containing 40 to 50 rounds that the suspects had dropped when fleeing.  Continue Reading

One of the signs posted near the alley accessing 303 S. 51st Street (Photo by West Philly Local).

About 60 people packed into a meeting room at a church at 51st and Spruce on Monday for the first public meeting of Neighbors for Healthy Community Development (NHCD), a group of residents organizing to bring attention to a planned residential development on an oddly located piece of land near Malcolm X. Park.  Continue Reading

The first heat health emergency of 2019 has been issued in Philadelphia due to extremely high temperatures (maximum heat indexes over 110 are forecasted for the region this week). The Health Emergency began Wednesday, July 17, at noon and is scheduled to end Sunday, July 21, at 11 p.m.

A declaration of a Heat Health Emergency activates the City’s emergency heat programs, including the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Heatline, extended hours at select Free Library locations that have been designated as Cooling Centers, home visits by special field teams, enhanced daytime outreach for the homeless, and a reminder from the City to the public to look in on older friends, relatives, and neighbors.  Continue Reading

Mariposa Food Co-op will be closed on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18 for a “store reset” which includes installation of new shelving units and thorough cleaning. The store will also close early (at 7 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 16.

“Along with getting new shelves and the deep cleaning, we’ll also be updating our product selection to bring on lots of new items, revamping pricing, switching up placement and much more!” reads an announcement on the Mariposa website.  Continue Reading

Rendering of proposed project at the Good Shepherd Community Church site on 46th near Spruce. The building on the left is the new nine-unit structure.

The Garden Court Community Association (GCCA) zoning committee will support a contentious proposal to turn the Good Shepherd Community Church on 46th Street near Spruce into apartments and build a second, 9-unit building in the church’s garden.

Hightop Development, which originally planned to demolish the church building, has agreed to several conditions requested by the GCCA zoning committee, including the addition of two “affordable” apartments, stipulations on trash storage, landscaping and building materials (see list below). The GCCA zoning committee’s support is contingent on a signed “memorandum of understanding” with Hightop that lays out the conditions.  Continue Reading