This is a reminder that SEPTA will stop selling paper transfers beginning August 1st.

Paper transfers for travel on buses, subways and trolleys will stop being issued at the end of the service day on Tuesday, July 31. Starting August 1, to receive a qualifying $1 transfer, customers will need to use a SEPTA Key Card with Travel Wallet. Customers who are eligible for reduced fare travel will need to use a SEPTA Key Card with Travel Wallet to receive the half-fare $0.50 transfer.

This is the latest effort by SEPTA to encourage more customers to switch to the Key Card, which was launched in June 2016. The majority of SEPTA customers have already made the switch.

After eliminating token and magnetic stripe TransPass sales at SEPTA-operated locations in the spring, SEPTA will also end third-party retail sales of tokens and magnetic stripe passes by Aug. 1.

For more information about the SEPTA Key Fare program, visit: www.septakey.org.

Police have released surveillance video (see below) and are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run in West Philadelphia over the weekend. The victim, a 61-year-old man, was struck near Lancaster Avenue and Aspen Street on Sunday, July 22, at 3:14 a.m. The vehicle that struck him was traveling at a high speed west on Lancaster Avenue from Fairmount Street and fled the scene after the accident.

The victim was found lying in the bicycle lane by officers patrolling the area and was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he later died.  Continue Reading

Pax Ressler (Viola) and Angela Bey (Duke Orsino). Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

Shakespeare in Clark Park returns this week with five performances of Twelfth Night in the park’s bowl near 45th and Chester. The first show of the well-known Shakespearean play is scheduled for Wednesday night.

This production by the popular outdoor theatre company will be filled with music. It’s inspired by Glam Rock (check out this review by WHYY’s Peter Crimmins), and will feature some of Philly’s finest actors (prepare for some cross-gender acting), student musicians, and local cabaret performer, Jess Conda.  Continue Reading

Mariposa Food Co-op is planning to directly support local community groups and organizations through a new initiative – Round-up for Change. The Co-op is currently accepting applications from Philly-area groups and organizations to receive funding/donations from this initiative, which is expected to launch in early September.

Through the program, the Co-op will donate the extra change when shoppers choose to “round-up” their purchase to the nearest dollar, at the register at their store at 49th and Baltimore.  Continue Reading

The I-76 West ramp to 30th Street is closing for four weeks beginning this Saturday for repairs and resurfacing, according to PennDOT. The ramp will close at 12:01 a.m. on July 21 and is expected to reopen in mid-August.

During the ramp closure, motorists are advised to use an alternate exit at South Street and should expect delays.

The closure is part of the $103.6 million project to rehabilitate the Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River and several nearby structures. The project is expected to be completed in Fall 2020.  Continue Reading

Rendering of New Market West building coming to 5901 Market St.

The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority is seeking interest from artists for an original public art project at a new residential and commercial building at 59th and Market.

The project will be at the New Market West building, a four-story, 135,700 square foot hub which will be built on a 1.5 acre vacant site at 5901 Market Street, a half a block from the 60th and Market Street El stop. The new building will house organizations focused on early childhood education, workforce development, educational and emergency support services, behavioral health service, and will include community-serving retail.  Continue Reading