A woman in her mid 20s was found shot dead near 47th and Springfield early Tuesday, according to police.

The unidentified woman, who was naked except for socks, was found with a gunshot wound to the head.

Police responded to reports of gunshots shortly after midnight on Tuesday. The woman was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday. A handgun was found near her body, according to reports.

A police spokesman said this morning that the woman’s death was likely a suicide, but added that an investigation was underway.

The Philadelphia Streets Department has announced street improvement work on some West Philadelphia streets, including the 3800 to 4600 blocks of Spruce Street, for the week of June 11. The work schedule includes temporary, full street closures and parking restrictions (weather or special events in the area may alter the resurfacing schedule).

Work will be completed in separate phases – milling and adjusting of manhole covers and resetting of utility boxes – which will take place in separate activities over the course of the week.

Temporary ‘No Parking’ signs will be posted in advance of each scheduled activity. Residents are urged to move their cars from the work sites when temporary ‘No Parking’ signs are posted, so that vehicles are not towed. If your car is towed, please contact your local Police District to determine its location (also check this earlier post about where a towed car was found).

Go here to see the list of streets where improvement work is scheduled for next week. To view the complete list of streets scheduled for improvements during the 2018 Paving Season, click here.

SEPTA will conduct a track renewal project on a portion of its Route 13 trolley line from June 8 – June 15, 2018. The project will take place on Chester Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets, on the eastbound and westbound tracks. During the track renewal project, buses will replace trolleys along the Route 13 from Darby Transportation Center (9th and Main Streets) to the 40th Street Trolley Portal. Passengers can board any Route 11, 34, or 36 trolley for service between the 40th Street Portal and Center City.  Continue Reading

Cedar Park Neighbors is taking advantage of a city program to raise some money and get rid of those illegal slapdash signs posted on light poles, sidewalk trees and other public places offering cash for your house, your car or even your diabetic test strips.

The city is offering community groups 50 cents a sign during the “Illegal Signs Roundup” from June 1 through June 15.

Michael Froehlich, an attorney with Community Legal Services’ Homeownership and Consumer Rights unit and a Cedar Park resident, said the initiative particularly targets the signs of “real estate predators” offering to buy homes for cash.

“They rip off seniors and low-income families. Their illegal advertising litters and disrespects our communities,” he said in an e-mail. “For us, it’s a win-win-win: we protect homeowners from being tricked by these predators, we clean up our streets from these ugly advertisements, and we raise money to support our Friday night jazz series, scholarship program, and other community activities.”  Continue Reading

Photo via Philly Police Blog.

Police are asking for the public’s assistance to help find the person who they believe robbed five banks in the city in the past month, four of them in the University City area. The latest robbery was Tuesday, May 22 when the suspect, a man in his late 40’s to early 50’s (pictured), entered the PNC Bank branch at 40th and Walnut at around 4 p.m. and and held up the bank at gunpoint.

The suspect was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun in this robbery. He fled on foot with an unknown amount of cash, according to reports.

Police believe this person also committed the following robberies: Continue Reading

Artist’s rendering of 6-story apartment building proposed for 4312-20 Market Street. The white box on the first floor is a driveway that goes through the building to access five off-street parking spots in the rear of the building.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) zoning committee heard plans for 36-unit “higher end” apartment building last night that would be built across five fenced-in vacant lots on the 4300 block of Market Street.

The six-story building would include two- and three-bedroom apartments, a roof deck and five off-street parking spots at 4312 through 4320 Market Street. Its proposed design includes a driveway cut through the middle of the building to access the five off-street sites. That driveway, which would require drivers to pull across the sidewalk along Market Street, caused some concern for zoning committee members.  Continue Reading