Multiple injuries have been reported after a packed SEPTA Route 13 trolley was struck by a paratransit vehicle late Tuesday morning. The incident happened near the intersection of 41st Street and Chester Avenue at around 11:30 a.m., according to reports, after a collision between a CCT Connect paratransit bus and another car.

At least 31 people were injured in the incident, according to a report by NBC10 Philadelphia. The drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision were taken to the hospital, and their condition is currently unknown. None of the injuries sustained by the trolley passengers are considered life-threatening, according to reports.  Continue Reading

Since the beginning of this month, PennDOT has been doing rehabilitation work on Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge, which connects the Kingsessing neighborhood in Southwest Philly with the Grays Ferry neighborhood on the east bank of the Schuylkill River. The bridge was built in 1976 and includes four lanes of traffic in both directions.

Here’s what motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians should expect in the next couple of years (the entire bridge rehabilitation project is expected to be completed in late 2020).  Continue Reading

             

Jamie Gauthier, a Garden Court resident and the former head of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, has announced that she will mount a primary campaign against Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose family has controlled the 3rd District seat since the 1970s.

Gauthier is a former president of the Garden Court Community Association, was born in the district and returned as an adult to get a master’s degree at Penn and raise her children here. She served as executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy from October 2017 until yesterday when she stepped down to announce her candidacy. She previously served as head of the Sustainable Business Network, a non-profit started in West Philly that helps small businesses balance profitability with social and environmental responsibility. Gauthier has a master’s degree in city planning from Penn.  Continue Reading

A few days after he was handpicked to run for the vacant 190th state District seat, West Philly native Darryl Thomas has withdrawn from the race following a Philadelphia Inquirer article questioning his place of residence and voting record.

Within 48 hours, Movita Johnson-Harrell, who runs the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Victims Services office, was unofficially named the new Democratic nominee for the special election on March 12. She announced the nomination on her social media late Sunday.  Continue Reading

Right in the middle of the cold season, a new urgent care center has opened in the University City District area. “vybe urgent care,” an independent operator of urgent care centers in greater Philadelphia, has opened its newest location at 3550 Market St.

“We believe the diversity of West Philadelphia is one of its greatest strengths, and we look forward to serving the diverse healthcare needs of this community,” vybe urgent care President Peter Hotz said in a statement.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (Monday, Jan. 28, 2019): Darryl Thomas stepped down over the weekend. Democratic leaders appointed Movita Johnson-Harrell as the nominee for the March 12 special election.

Democratic ward leaders have selected Darryl Thomas, a Howard University graduate and the owner of Philly Cuts barbershop on Chestnut near 44th, to stand in a special election in March to fill the 190th state House District seat left vacant when former Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown resigned in December.

Thomas has long been vocal on community issues, including zoning, and ran in the Democratic primary for the seat in 2016, losing to Brown.

“I’m not a politician, even though I’m running for office. I’m a social activist,” Thomas, a West Philly native, told West Philly Local during the campaign. Continue Reading