That time of year is coming up when SEPTA trolley riders will have to switch from trolley to subway when traveling to Center City. SEPTA’s annual Center City trolley tunnel maintenance project, “Trolley Tunnel Blitz,” is scheduled for 10 days this year – from July 13 to July 23.

Due to power, track and station improvement projects in the tunnel that runs between the 40th and 13th Street stations, SEPTA Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 will not operate in the tunnel from 10 p.m. on Friday, July 13, through 4 a.m. on Monday, July 23. Trolley service will begin and end at 40th and Market Streets, and trolleys will use their alternate diversion service routing to connect to SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line at 40th and Market Streets. Trolley passengers can board the Market-Frankford Line at 40th Street Station for travel to-and-from Center City, as the work efforts will not affect that service.

This is the fifth consecutive summer SEPTA has held the Trolley Tunnel Blitz. During this year’s tunnel closure, members of SEPTA’s in-house Engineering, Maintenance & Construction Division crews will work around-the-clock on key maintenance and construction tasks throughout the five-mile, single loop Center City tunnel.

If you’re spending the Fourth of July holiday in the city, here’s some useful information on the festivities, where you can watch the fireworks, and SEPTA service.

Wawa Welcome America July 4th Fireworks

The July 4th Concert and Fireworks will be held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Wednesday, July 4th beginning at 7:00 p.m. The event is FREE and open to the public. Guests are invited to come early and enjoy the Party on the Parkway featuring food trucks, games, activities and more! The July 4th Concert will end with Philly’s largest Wawa Welcome America fireworks show in more than a decade, according to organizers. Produced by Pyrotechico and Comcast, the show will feature new special effects and a soundtrack dedicated to love.  Continue Reading

In response to forecasted maximum heat indexes over 100, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley issued a Heat Health Emergency in Philadelphia beginning Sunday, July 1, at noon.

A declaration of a Heat Health Emergency by the Health Commissioner activates the City’s emergency heat programs, including the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Heatline, extended hours at select Free Library locations that have been designated as Cooling Centers, home visits by special field teams, enhanced daytime outreach for the homeless, and the City’s annual reminder to the public to look in on older friends, relatives, and neighbors.  Continue Reading

Artist Stacy Levy hopes that while you’re sweating the lack of parking spots or that missed bus, you will sit for a beat to notice the massive natural force that’s as big as the moon, the sun and the sea, unfolding daily in your midst.

Her installations, “Tide Field” and “River Rooms,” aim to help Philadelphians to connect to the tides that push water up and down Schuylkill River every day.

You may have noticed the clusters of buoys near the boardwalk along the river, near the Art Museum or at Bartram’s Garden. Those are part of “Tide Field.” The basic idea is to show you the tide, that mostly invisible rise and fall of the river that brings the forces of the sun and moon on the ocean into the city every day. The Schuylkill’s tide changes up to six feet daily.  Continue Reading

If you haven’t visited The Penn Museum‘s iconic lower level Egypt (Sphinx) Gallery for a while you may want to do it within the next 10 days. On July 9, the gallery will close for extensive artifact conservation which will take several years, according to a museum announcement.

This is the first time the red granite Sphinx surrounded by colossal architectural elements of a Pharaoh’s palace circa 1200 BCE is taking a break, after more than 100 years of educating and entertaining guests. The new Ancient Egypt & Nubia Galleries are expected to open in four to six years.  Continue Reading

A potent mix of cocaine and the synthetic opioid fentynyl led to at least 20 overdoses in West Philly in the past two weeks, including two deaths, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. There weren’t more deaths in part due to the administration of Narcan, the overdose reverser that is saving lives across the city. If you want to learn how to administer it, here’s a good opportunity.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is offering “overdose awareness and reversal training” at the Walnut Street West Library (40^th and Walnut) on Wednesday, June 27 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and again on July 11 and 25 and August 8 and 22 at the same time.  Continue Reading