The “Philly Schools Town Hall” series is coming back to West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Class size, climate and safety and the quality of school facilities will be on the agenda of the West Philadelphia Education Town Hall at Paul Robeson High School at 4125 Ludlow from 5:30-7 p.m. City Council members Helen Gym, Jannie Blackwell, Allan Domb and Derek Green along with folks from Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild (POWER) will be on hand.

The views and input from citizens at a series of education town halls last spring helped get nurses and counselors back into public schools, among other important measures.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend and to speak. Folks are asked to RSVP here or to call Steve Paul at 215-686-5380.

SEPTA has released 1,000 new SEPTA Key cards that include the Travel Wallet feature, which means that customers can load them with cash value and pay as they go on all buses, trolleys and the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines.

These new SEPTA Key cards are available for purchase at the Sales Office and Fair Kiosks at SEPTA Headquarters, 1234 Market Street. SEPTA is using a soft-launch approach for the Travel Wallet to help familiarize customers with this new way of paying and to address any issues that customers experience before moving to a larger rollout.

Customers will be required to put a minimum of $10 on the card, with a maximum of $250. Those who already have SEPTA Key Cards from previous Weekly and Monthly TransPass purchases can also load money onto the Travel Wallet at the SEPTA Headquarters locations.  Continue Reading

This Monday (Nov. 14), the Neighborhood Advisory Committee at the People’s Emergency Center is organizing a community discussion on whether Lancaster Avenue would benefit from a Food Co-op. This will be a focused group discussion facilitated by NAC, and residents who are interested in participating in it, are asked to register by emailing NAC Program Manager Kevin Brown at: Kbrown@pec-cares.org

The discussion will take place from 5:30 – 7 p.m. in the Families First Building at 3939 Warren St.

Here’s the flyer with more information:

A quick scan of the vote totals at precincts in West Philly make it clear that this decidedly not Trump country. Another indication is a few things dropped off this week at Manakeesh, the Lebanese restaurant and bakery at 45th and Walnut.

Manakeesh posted pictures on its Facebook page yesterday of flowers and notes dropped off since Tuesday’s election. In response to the pictures of swastikas and hateful graffiti being passed around, we think it’s appropriate to show expressions of love and solidarity.  Continue Reading

Runners and walkers who regularly visit the historic Woodlands cemetery and mansion grounds will be happy to know that a new water fountain near the running path will be installed in the next few weeks. This became possible thanks to the success of last year’s Gobble Wobble 5K Run. This year’s Gobble Wobble, which has become an annual fundraising event for The Woodlands, will be held this Saturday (Nov. 12), and all proceeds will continue to go toward improving amenities on the grounds.

                            Click to enlarge

Registration for this event is still open (go here to register, $40 per person or team), and participants will receive a custom Gobble Wobble pint glass, a year long membership to The Woodlands, and the chance to win a Thanksgiving turkey or “tofurkey” from Mariposa Food Co-op. Clarkville is also sponsoring the race with beer at the finish line for all the runners.

The race starts at 10 a.m., and on-site registration opens at 9:00 a.m. If you’re not planning to run, you can also consider donating. For more information, go here.

And here’s some more exciting news from The Woodlands: Regular visitors may have noticed some construction work happening on the grounds and also near the Hamilton Mansion.  Continue Reading

This year’s LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day, an event organized by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Hundreds of volunteers will step out to clean up their neighborhood parks and help prepare them for winter. We’re happy to let you know that West Philly’s Malcolm X Park, located at 52nd and Pine, will be this year’s signature “LOVE Your Park” site.

Mayor Kenney and other dignitaries will be present at the park on Saturday to show support to the volunteers, including Gregorio Cojulun Jr., the President of the Malcolm X Park Friends group.

Gregorio has been a member of the Malcolm X Park Friends since 1996, and has been its president since 1997. He is credited with helping to rid the park of crime and bring it back to life through his ability to motivate neighbors to get involved in the programming and stewardship of the park.  Continue Reading