Jamie Gauthier

City Council candidate for the 3rd District, Jamie Gauthier, will have meet-and-greets this week with two West Philly wards.

On Tuesday, April 23, Gauthier will meet with the 51st Ward at her campaign headquarters at 5121 Baltimore Avenue, from 6 to 8 p.m. She will have another at the same location and same time on Thursday, April 25 with the 46th Ward.

All interested individuals are invited to meet the candidate and ask questions. Free dinner will be served at both events.

The map with Philadelphia political ward boundaries is available here.

Jamie Gauthier is running against long-term incumbent Jannie Blackwell in the May 21 primary election.

Two hundred library Friends and staff rallied for Full Library Funding at City Hall in December (Photo courtesy of Friends of Walnut St. West Library).

“Robbing Peter to pay Paul” has become the norm as Free Library branches loan staff to each other so they can keep their doors open. Philadelphia’s public libraries are now operating with skeleton crews, short 150 staff positions system-wide, due to unremedied attrition.

Last weekend, Walnut St. West Librarian Bruce Siebers worked Saturday at the Cecil B. Moore branch, along with three others borrowed from other branches. According to Siebers, Cecil B. Moore Library only has four full-time employees.

Libraries are required to have at least four staff present to open, including a guard. If four are scheduled and one calls in sick… you get the picture. It happened 375 times last year. When neighborhood libraries open late, or not at all, people stop using them.  Continue Reading

All Philadelphia public schools will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 20 due to the forecasted inclement weather, which includes snow and sleet throughout the day, according to an announcement by the School District of Philadelphia.

All after-school activities, including all athletic programs and professional development sessions scheduled for Wednesday, are canceled as well. All District early childhood centers will also be closed.

The decision regarding administrative offices is expected to be announced by 5 a.m. on Wednesday. Visit the School District website for more information and updates.

Due to sleet expected in the area throughout Monday night and early Tuesday morning, all public schools will open Tuesday, Feb. 12 on a two-hour delay, according to an announcement by the School District of Philadelphia. All buses will also begin their morning routes two hours later than their normal time.

Parents and caregivers are asked to be patient as some yellow bus routes may experience moderate to significant delays Tuesday morning due to road conditions. Families can also visit the Bus Status Page on the School District website to see if there are additional delays for their child’s bus route.  Schools will dismiss students in the afternoon on their normal schedules.

All District-operated early childhood programs will also open on a two-hour delay. After-school activities, including athletic programs and professional development sessions set for Tuesday, will continue as scheduled.

             

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

If you’re looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve and/or New Year’s Day, check out events below, plus some useful information on SEPTA service during these days.

There will be two New Year’s Eve fireworks shows on the Delaware River waterfront – at 6 p.m. and midnight. There are several locations where you can watch the show, including Penn’s Landing, Race Street Pier, and more. For more details, go here.

SEPTA will have enhanced New Year’s Eve service on Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines on New Year’s Eve:  Continue Reading