The March cover of Grid.

This month’s issue of Grid, a magazine that covers sustainability in Philadelphia, features a cover story on West Philly activist Iris Marie Bloom, who is organizing to challenge natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

In an article entitled “Stepping on the Gas,” Bloom, director of the environmental group Protecting Our Waters, explains opposition to drilling in a massive rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale, which stretches from the northeast corner of the state to the southeast corner. Much of the drilling is concentrated in small farming areas in the northeast, northcentral and southeast parts of the state, in towns that most Philadelphians have probably never heard of – places like Towanda, Wilcox, Dimock and Hickory.

Bloom and others argue that the drilling, which includes a process of forcing sand, water and chemicals into the ground to break up the shale and free natural gas, is an imminent threat to fresh water in the state. The process is known as “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) and Bloom and others are pointing to water contamination as one of the main hazards of the process.

“Drilling is being done in a rush because it is underregulated,” Bloom told Grid reporter Jacob Lambert.

Bloom’s opponents in the fight are, of course, big gas companies and drillers, legislators who support them and, sometimes, the residents of these areas themselves. In most cases, drilling companies have paid handsomely for the rights to drill on vast swaths of privately owned farm land, making many farmers instantly wealthy.

Willingness on the part of state legislators to regulate the drilling is likely to wain with newly elected governor Tom Corbett, she said. Just yesterday newly elected Governor Tom Corbett rescinded a moratorium on new leases for drilling in state forests.

The West Philly-based feline rescue group City Kitties announced this morning that it will stop attempting to rescue cats that may still be inside the Windermere Court building because it is becoming more structurally unstable.

The group wrote on its Facebook page this morning:

Our trapping efforts inside the Windermere are over. The building is deteriorating, & we had to weigh the safety of the humans involved against the possibility of finding more cats. None of the 5 traps had any food eaten out of them or paw prints inside. We feel confident that no cats remain inside. Doors & some windows are open; cats DO have an opportunity to escape.

City Kitties has a page that lists the cats, including photos, that are still missing at the Windermere.

ABC6 has a story about a parishioner at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral (3723 Chestnut St.) who has leveraged the savings from clipping coupons to help fund the church’s community outreach efforts.

Here it is:

Rocco (Photo from City Kitties Facebook page)

If you have been following the saga of Rocco, a cat stranded in the Windermere Court Apartments, you will be happy to know that City Kitties is reporting that he has made it out. The orange tabby was rescued this morning.

Meanwhile, City Paper is reporting today that Windermere residents who have been waiting outside the building for access to some of their belongings are worried that the ice, which may have helped keep the floors and ceilings stable, is beginning to melt in the warm weather. The melting may affect the ability of demolition crews to salvage more belongings.

The demolition of the building has been put on hold indefinitely. The Department of Licenses and Inspection has said that the decision to demolish the building rests with the owners, who have not been available for comment.

2:46 p.m.: Police say no arrests were made at the fire last night, but that some people were resistant to leave their apartments.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the two-alarm fire that destroyed the top two floors of the four-story building at 4500 Walnut St. last night. Two people were hospitalized. The fire began in the apartments above Saad’s Halal Restaurant, which is on the ground floor.

Fire department spokesman Chief Richard Davison said the fire appeared to start on the third floor, trapping residents on the fourth floor inside the building. Firefighters rescued several residents from the fourth floor.

Fire crews received the call at 6:46 p.m. and the fire was under control by 7:36 p.m.

A heavy police presence was also on the scene and a man was pulled from the building, handcuffed and led away from the scene. Police would not comment on why the man was placed into custody. We posted video of that incident last night here.

Saad’s suffered water damage and as of this morning had not reopened. Plates and food were still on tables inside the restaurant at about 8 a.m. this morning, evidence of people fleeing.

10:14 p.m. The fire heavily damaged the third and fourth floors at 4500 Walnut St. Saad’s Halal Restaurant is on the ground floor of the building. We talked to Saad at the scene and he said his place has sustained heavy water damage. The Southeastern PA chapter of the Red Cross is reporting that 12 of the 15 apartment units in the building were destroyed. The Red Cross is currently providing assistance to 30 people displaced by the fire. Three people, including one firefighter, were reportedly taken to the hospital.

8:19 p.m. The fire has been extinguished and there have been no injuries, according to a fire official on the scene who asked not to be named. The fire began in a fourth floor apartment in a four-floor building on the southwest corner of 45th and Walnut. Firefighters heard an explosion from the apartment at one point. It is still unclear why the man in the video was handcuffed. Police on the scene would not comment.

7:20 p.m. A multi-alarm fire is burning near the corner of 45th and Market Streets. The fire appears to be south of Saad’s restaurant at the corner of 45th and Walnut. One man was pulled from the building, down a ladder and handcuffed. Police have taken over the scene and could supply no information on the fire or the arrest. At least one other person was pulled from the building and placed on a stretcher.

The area around the fire was quickly declared a crime scene with multiple police units responding, including plain clothes police. The fire itself was not visible from 45th street. It appeared to be in a low-rise building one or two doors south of Saad’s.

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