Senator Kamala Harris of California will join Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey in West Philly this Friday (July 13) to talk about this November’s mid-term election.

Harris, the former district attorney of San Francisco and California Attorney General, is poised to be a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Harris is campaigning on behalf of Casey, who faces Republican Lou Barletta of Hazelton this fall, and other Democrats in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

Harris and Casey will be at the First District Plaza at 3801 Market St. from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. You can RSVP here.

The West Philly chapter of ACTION United is holding a public meeting on Thursday, March 10, to discuss improvements to schools and city services in the Cobbs Creek section.

“We need to come together to fight for the services and institutions our neighborhood needs,” Chinara Bilaal, an ACTION United member, said in a statement. “From streets and schoolyards to vacant lots and homes, we’re getting ignored. We need to make our voices heard as a group.”

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Sayre Morris Recreation Center (5835 Spruce Street). Light refreshments will be served.

Members of ACTION United in West Philadelphia organized last week’s rally calling for improvement of safety on and around the property of West Philly’s Andrew Hamilton Elementary School located at 57th and Spruce Streets.

Thursday’s meeting will be the first public meeting of this new group.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

The inaugural meeting of the Cobbs Creek Neighbors Association will be held Monday, Feb. 1 at the A.W. Christy Recreation Center (728 S. 55th St.), beginning at 7 p.m.

“Because we are a new group and still growing we are hoping to have an open discussion to hear what you would like to see more (or less) of in the community,” the group posted on its Facebook page.

The Cobbs Creek neighborhood is generally thought to be bounded by Market Street to the north, Baltimore Avenue to the south, east to 52nd Street and Cobbs Creek Parkway to the West. The public is invited. The agenda is open and might include discussion of development plans along 60th Street.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the Committee on Historic Designation of the city’s Historical Commission will review some West Philadelphia buildings for nominations – at 4300-02 Osage Ave/4304-06 Osage Ave and 3600-3630 Lancaster Avenue. Historic designation will help prevent demolition of the buildings and new development on the sites. The Advisory Committee meeting will be held in Room 578 in City Hall, starting at 9:30 a.m., and public support of the nominations is encouraged. Here’s more information on the buildings:

Satterlee Heights – 4300-02/4304-06 Osage Avenue

The three-story five-bedroom Victorian home at 4300-02 was purchased by Osage Realty Investment for $725,000 in May, 2015. The property has a large yard sloping down toward 43rd St. and that preservation advocates fear will become a building site if it is not saved by the city. The Committee on Historic Designation will consider for nomination this house and the adjoining twin at 4304-06 Osage Ave.

Lancaster Mews – 3600-30 Lancaster Avenue

Demolition of Lancaster Mews, a group of historic red-brick apartment buildings on the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, has already been proposed. As was reported in May, the owner, AP Construction, was preparing to sell the block-long row of buildings and was interviewing demolition contractors. A community meeting hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was also held in May to discuss the future of the block. Residents and business owners who gathered at the meeting vowed to save the historic block from demolition (read more about the meeting here). The buildings at 3600-30 Lancaster Ave date back to 1870’s and also host neighborhood businesses.

It was standing room only last night at the Community Education Center as residents and business owners discussed the future of the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, one of the signature blocks in the Powelton Village neighborhood (photo by West Philly Local).

Residents and business owners met in the Powelton Village neighborhood last night and vowed to take a stand against the possible demolition of the 3600 block of Lancaster Ave., a historic commercial block that stands in the shadows of glassy high rises encroaching on the neighborhood.

Known as the Lancaster Mews and built in the 1870s, the block of ground floor commercial and upstairs apartments on the south side of Lancaster Ave. is the latest neighborhood symbol of angst over rapidly increasing development in the neighborhood. The Powelton Village Civic Association (PVCA) has tried to stave off the rumored demolition of the block by having it added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

The PVCA filed the application after it became known that AP Construction, which owns the block, reportedly began interviewing demolition firms.

“The threat of demolition was imminent,” Powelton Village Civic Association zoning chair George Poulin told the standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people gathered at the Community Education Center last night. “We feel really really threatened by what we are seeing in the neighborhood.”  Continue Reading

Cedar Park Neighbors is holding its annual meeting tonight, from 7 – 9 p.m. at Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore, entrance on 48th). The meeting will be preceded by voting for the CPN Board Members, which starts at 6:30 p.m. The list of the candidates for the CPN Board is available here (only CPN members can take part in the voting).

Tonight’s meeting will include brief presentations on various neighborhood zoning and development issues, improvements to the neighborhood and upcoming park events. Philadelphia Water Department will also present its “Rain Check” program. Following these brief presentations, there will be an indoor fair with tables for various committees, businesses, community groups and individual programs to learn more, sign up for programs and become more involved in the community.

The annual meeting is a great introduction to the organization and the work that it does throughout the year. An informal meet and greet will follow the meeting.

For more information, visit: cedarparkneighbors.org.