Dozens of folks showed up along the 900 block of S. 47th late Wednesday morning to welcome Vice President Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, who were at the Saint Francis de Sales School for a visit connected to “National School Choice Week.”

Carrying rainbow flags and signs calling for fair funding of public education, protesters set up on both sides of 47th Street amid a fairly heavy police presence.  Continue Reading

A couple dozen people – neighbors and members from groups “N.O.” (Neighbors Organized to Protect Our Communities) and West Philadelphians for Progressive Planning & Preservation – gathered on Sunday afternoon to protest the new residential developments at and around 43rd and Chestnut – the former site of the Christ Memorial Church demolished earlier this year, and at 12 S. 43rd Street.

The protesters held anti-gentrification signs and chanted “Say No to Gentrification! Say No! Say No! Say No! Philly Needs to Say No!” and marched along Chestnut Street between the two developments sites.  Continue Reading

Photo from Kol Tzedek Facebook page.

Community members have a chance this Friday to show their support for our Muslim neighbors outside of a local mosque, the site of last week’s anti-Muslim protest. The event, titled “Stand with Muslims”, is organized by Kol Tzedek synagogue and the West Philly Coalition Against Islamophobia. It will take place from noon to 1 p.m. at 43rd and Walnut where Masjid al-Jamia mosque is located.

“Last week there was a small but very disturbing Islamophobic protest outside Masjid Al-Jamia, the mosque at 43rd and Walnut, during Friday prayers,” reads a Facebook post by Kol Tzedek dedicated to the event. “Please join Kol Tzedek and the West Philly Coalition Against Islamophobia to show our support for our Muslim neighbors and stand in solidarity with them.”  Continue Reading

Part of the police presence near 45th and Springfield on Saturday evening during a rally in Clark Park related to recent events in Ferguson, Mo. A small group of protesters, most of whom did not attend the rally, later clashed with police (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local).

A 20-year-old female, a Cedar Park resident, and 25-year-old male from New Windsor, New York were arrested Saturday evening after they threw balloons filled with paint at a police vehicle near 45th and Baltimore.

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. when a group of young people exited Clark Park “A” onto Chester toward 45th Street following a rally focused on the events in Ferguson, Mo. The members of the group did not take part in the rally and arrived as it was dispersing.

The group walked north on 45th Street and overturned trashcans, according to police. Approximately 20 police vehicles were parked in the area at the time, many of them on 45th Street between Chester and Baltimore.

Police say 20-year-old Hannah Weaver of the 4700 block of Baltimore Ave. threw a balloon filled with purple paint at a police car patrolling the area as she walked north on 45th Street. An officer who was in the car apprehended Weaver after a brief foot chase and struggle.

Two other officers exited their vehicle and pursued a male protester, identified as 25-year-old Jordan Davis of New Windsor, NY, after he also threw paint-filled balloons at police vehicles. One officer “deployed his Taser with no effect”, according to the police report, and Davis was apprehended after a brief struggle.

Police say that they found numerous leaflets in Weaver’s bag titled “Hoods UP!” recommending that protesters wear scarves or bandanas to avoid detection during a demonstration.

The estimated damage to the police vehicles is approximately $5,000, according to police. It is unclear whether Weaver and Davis have been charged.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) will hold a rally at the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust) on Tuesday to protest cuts in school funding.

The rally is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and is one of many events that the PFT is holding at neighborhood schools around the city in response to cuts in school funding. The PFT contract expires on Aug. 31.

Gov. Tom Corbett has made it clear that the state will contribute another $45 million to help close the $304 million budget shortfall if the union agrees in millions of dollars in concessions in its new contract.

The School District of Philadelphia laid off about 4,000 school personnel, including hundreds of teachers, in response to the budget crisis.

This Wednesday, May 29, Spiral Q Puppet Theatre, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), and a group of students from Powel Elementary are teaming up to stage an “artful action” in front of City Hall and in the City Hall Caucus Room to protest the proposed school budget cuts. Specifically, this event addresses the need for art instruction in the schools that would be eliminated if the proposed budget comes into effect. The students will be there from 9 to 11 a.m. and are inviting other kids to join them.

Spiral Q and PCCY, which helped arrange the event, will transport several of the “Terracotta Warriors” that children made this semester as part of this year’s school-wide thematic unit on China (students choose a different country/culture each year). Each warrior is the size of a child and was decorated by a small group of children.

Along with the visuals, the students and parents will deliver petitions to Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who is the chair of the Education Committee.

Powel invites other schools and kids to join in tomorrow’s action as it will be “a pretty cool sight to see” and also to bring “drums, signs, gongs, [and] enthusiasm!”

For more information and the tentative schedule please visit the event’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/139407546249353/