On Monday, March 13 at 1 p.m., Councilman Curtis Jones and the Philadelphia City Council Public Safety Committee will host a hearing on body-worn cameras in room 400 of City Hall (1401 John F Kennedy Blvd).

Upturn, a technology company that helps citizens understand law and policy, recently compiled a report card of body camera policies all over the country. According to their report, Philadelphia body cam policy allows officers to review footage before filing a statement; potentially limits the deletion of unflagged footage; doesn’t allow those filing police misconduct reports to view footage; and doesn’t cover the use of biometric technologies (like facial recognition) to identify individuals in footage. Additionally, there is room for improvement regarding footage tampering and unauthorized access because the policy doesn’t indicate if footage is audited or logged.  Continue Reading

The intersection of 40th and Chestnut Streets has seen some restaurant changes as of late, with Dim Sum House and Ekta opening a couple of months ago. Now, a brightly colored Xi’an Sizzling Woks BYOB has found a sprightly colored yellow, blue and red home on the southwest corner of the intersection where Saigon Cuisine used to be.

Craig LaBan described the flagship location in an Inquirer review back in 2013 as “this isn’t your dad’s old Cantonese chow mein joint. It isn’t his Hong Kong duck house, either. Or even your cool-kid friend’s latest Sichuan obsession.”

With adventurous menu items such as Chinese hamburger with minced pork, pita bread soaked in beef and lamb soup in addition to lamb kabob skewers, the restaurant puts on a fresh spin on Chinese cuisine. The menu also offers some interesting specials such as Smoked Tea Duck and a house noodle casserole.  Continue Reading

Youth soccer returns to Clark Park this month. Registration has begun for Clark Park Youth Soccer League (CPYSL), a low-cost sports and recreation program of Friends of Clark Park that provides soccer instruction for children ages 5 to 11. The CPYSL spring season will begin on March 25 and will feature 90-minute sessions every Saturday through May 20.

Children are assigned to teams by age:

– Mornings (10:30 a.m.-Noon): ages 5 to 6.5 and ages 6.5 to 7
– Afternoons (Noon-1:30 p.m.): ages 8 to 9 and ages 10 to 11

Deadline for registration is March 20. Online registration is available here. Walk-in registration will be possible on Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the University of the Sciences, Rosenberger Hall (43rd and Woodland).  Continue Reading

Do you live in Cedar Park and want to get more involved with the neighborhood? Here’s a great chance. The Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN), the recognized community organization for the Cedar Park neighborhood, is currently seeking new board members to serve the community for the next two years beginning in June 2017. The following message was recently posted on the CPN website:

“Are you a renter, homeowner or business owner? Are you a long-time resident or a recent transplant? People of color, women, men, trans and gender non-conforming people, queer people, people with disabilities, elders and young people are encouraged to run. If you live or work in Cedar Park and are dedicated to improving our community, please participate in your neighborhood board!”  Continue Reading

The Walnut Hill Community Association will hold a public zoning meeting on Tuesday, March 7, to discuss a few development projects proposed in the area.

Developers have requested zoning variance for construction of a four-story, nine-unit apartment building at 4622-24 Sansom St. The building will include a roof deck with a pilot house and a covered porch (see rendering image). The building’s height is requested at 38 feet.  Continue Reading

Sad news came in from The Woodlands Cemetery recently: Despite all the efforts to save the four remaining elms of the Grove of Seven Giants, the trees eventually succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease, and The Woodlands personnel began the process of de-limbing the historic grove that dates back to the Hamilton Era. Tree experts believe that this was the only remaining Elm grove of its kind in the country, according to a blog post on The Woodlands website.

The first signs of Dutch elm disease on some of the trees were discovered in May 2014, and testing confirmed the infection. After that The Woodlands began inoculating the remaining elms in an attempt to keep them free of the disease, but unfortunately, the trees could not be saved.  Continue Reading