Mayor Michael Nutter and Spruce Hill Community Association President Mark Wagenveld. (Photos by Mike Lyons)

Folks gathered for the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) board meeting last night got a surprise when Mayor Michael Nutter stopped by for an impromptu appearance. Nutter aide Erica Atwood, a neighborhood resident, helped arrange the visit.

Nutter spent about 10 minutes talking to SHCA board members and visitors at its 45th street headquarters about general city issues, such as the budget. Nothing groundbreaking.

Nutter lauded SHCA board members for their civic engagement efforts. “Keep up the good work,” he said before leaving.

As for the SHCA meeting itself, the board:

• Discussed a proposed study of the SEPTA trolley portal at 40th Street between Woodland Avenue and Baltimore Avenue as a “gateway to University City.” The University City District plans to fund a study of the area around the unnel entrance that would improve the area aesthetically as well as add more green space.

• Was informed that restaurant along Baltimore Avenue were hoping to convince the city to allow them to apply as a single entity for permits to allow outdoor cafe seating. Currently the city requires every business to file an application, a fairly arduous process. The Baltimore Avenue Business Association plans to hold a meeting soon to gauge neighborhood support for the plan to apply for the permits as a group. These permits do not apply to businesses that serve alcohol outside.

Within a day of the Jan. 10 at the Windermere Court Apartments at 48th and Walnut Street people from around the area stepped up to help the 100 or more people that the fire made homeless. Folks donated clothes, money and other things to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and other organizations. Little of that help has seemingly made it to the victims. We wanted to alert readers to a discussion on our original story on aid to the victims. Here is a sample comment from Lara, a former resident of Windermere Court:

I am also a former resident of the Windermere apartments, and yes, I can confirm that none of the clothing donated to the Salvation Army goes directly to us. And the same goes for any money donated to the Red Cross – it DOES NOT go directly to us. We have each been given a $100 voucher to use at a Salvation Army store, in one visit, before mid February. As far as donated clothing goes, unfortunately I have no idea where it can be donated where it will be held for us. Some of us have found adequate clothing through friends, coworkers, and the help of other former residents of Windermere Court. Others have had more difficulty finding what they need. I will say this though… we have barely seen any of all of the aid we keep hearing of, and it is not only disheartening, but angering. Where is it going? We (many former residents) keep reading misinformation about such resources that have supposedly been provided to us in news articles again and again. We have not been put up in hotels or apartments by anyone but perhaps friends or family, and we have been mostly fending for ourselves at the same time as grieving what we’ve lost. We’ve been communicating with one another and have been each other’s best source of information and resources. I wish I could help you help us, but I don’t know exactly how to do that.

See more comments here. Next week we plan to do a one-month update on what’s happening with fire victims and the building.

Philly.com reports that 14 people reported injuries this afternoon when a Route 11 trolley collided with a SUV on Woodland Avenue near 48th Street. Eight trolley passengers, three passengers in the Mercury Mountaineer involved in the collision and three people outside the trolley reported minor injuries. The collision was the second in as many days involving a trolley and another vehicle.

If you need an intern, here’s a chance to give a kid their first break in the work world. And it’s free. The Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.) will host the West Philadelphia Youth Workforce Summit on Thursday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to provide employers the chance to hire student interns for 6 to 15 hours per week at no cost to them.

The internships are compensated through the Philadelphia Youth Network, a co-sponsor of this week’s event, and their “Work Ready” program. The students available for internships are pre-screened and will be on hand at the Summit with resumes and presentations to market themselves.

Summit organizers stressed that even if businesses are unable to hire an intern for the spring they should still send representatives. Part of the point of the Summit is to help students practice the work-related skills they have been working on over the year.

Check out the video below for more on Work Ready and the Philadelphia Youth Network.

Temporary power lines supplying electricity to University Mews at 45th and Spruce, one of several buildings along Spruce Street that was without power on Thursday.

PECO crews worked into Friday night to finally restore full power to about 800 residents along Spruce Street between 43rd and 45th Streets. The outage began early Thursday morning when a Philadelphia Gas Works crew reportedly looking for a leak accidentally severed a power line that powered several buildings along Spruce Street. Power remained out to most residents through late Thursday.

Residents of University Mews at 45th and Spruce got full power back late on Friday thanks to two large generators placed along 45th Street near Spruce. The switch from generators to full power was completed at 9:06 on Friday.

As you may know – and I  sympathize if you do because I’m writing this from a neighborhood cafe – power is out for many in West Philadelphia. PECO doesn’t have a grasp on exactly how many are without power in the neighborhood yet. The outages seem to be on the south side of Spruce around 45th Street. According to the PECO hotline, power will be restored by 12:40 p.m.

Here are the PECO numbers:

1-800-841-4141. The PSE&G notification line is 1-800-436-7734.