Volunteers from local credit unions and the Democratic National Committee recently finished building a “health and wellness” garden at CHOP’s Karabots Pediatric Care Center at 48th and Market, a project built for the Democratic National Convention later this month and designed to operate long after the convention leaves.

The vegetable and flower garden will provide fresh vegetables for the Karabots Center and host wellness and nutrition workshops and other events for patients. The garden is at the western edge of the Karabots property, along 49th Street, and is only regularly accessible through the parking lot to the rear of the building.

Credit Union volunteers have a tradition to “leave behind” projects in cities hosting the national party conventions. A similar project is underway at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, the site of the Republican convention.

Belmont Charter, a neighborhood K-8 school in Mantua, will open a high school in the fall 2017. The School Reform Commission (SRC) voted on Friday in support of the school’s application to create a 300-student Belmont Charter High School. Belmont has the choice of creating a new charter or amending the existing charter to create a K-12 school. The school can eventually enroll 500 across grades 9-12.

Currently, most Belmont graduates advance to the catchment area school, West Philadelphia High School. Admission to Belmont Charter High School would give preference to Belmont’s rising K-8 students, who would account for a projected 60 of the 125 grade level seats.

“Over the years, we have watched too many good students drop out or struggle immensely when they reach high school because they aren’t able to get the kinds of support they critically need,” Jennifer Faustman, Chief Executive Officer at Belmont Charter School, said in a statement in May. “Our community school model gives them positive out of school time and wraparound services which help them succeed. Too often once students graduate from Belmont, the reward for their success is being placed into a school that takes those resources away, and that’s not right.”  Continue Reading

July 4th is this Monday, so here’s information on the festivities, where you can watch the fireworks, and holiday SEPTA service.

Photo via www.welcomeamerica.com

July 4th “Wawa Welcome America” Celebration & Fireworks

As always, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will host a huge July 4th celebration, which includes a free outdoor concert from 5 – 10 p.m., followed by fireworks. SEPTA will have additional late-night service to accommodate holiday revelers from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (see more info below).

If you’re planning to celebrate in West Philly there are some great places to watch the fireworks west of the Schuylkill. One of them is Drexel Park at 31st and Powelton. Just bring a blanket/chair, pack some snacks and enjoy.

By the way, there will be two more fireworks this weekend, both on Penn’s Landing – on Friday, July 1, 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 2, also at 9:30 p.m.  Continue Reading

University City Dining Days return on July 14 with an impressive list of participating restaurants, well-established and new. Just a reminder that the purpose of this popular annual event organized by the University City District is to encourage folks to visit their local eateries during one of the slowest summer months. This summer, a record thirty-four of University City’s most popular dining destinations – including seven restaurants participating for the first time – will offer a pre-fixe three-course dinner special for $15, $25 or $35 (drinks and tips are not included).

The restaurants are now taking reservations, including popular spots such as Distrito, Dock Street Brewery, Stephen Starr’s Pod, Han Dynasty, and more. Seven new restaurants have joined this year’s program: Jose Garces’ JG Domestic, new Baltimore Avenue eatery Renata’s Kitchen, Nicole Marquis’ HipCityVeg, new fast casual concept Herban Quality Eats, Bobby Flay’s Bobby’s Burger Palace, Japanese hand-drawn noodle spot Ochatto, and Indian restaurant Tandoor.

The event will run for 10 days: July 14 through July 24.

The full list of participating restaurants, prices, and contact information for each restaurant are available at: www.ucdiningdays.com (make you reservation directly at your restaurant of choice).

Students at Samuel Powel school design sashes inspired by North African tile patterns in a partnership with University City Arts League (Photo by Gudmund Iversen).

Thirteen Philadelphia groups that offer youth arts enrichment programs have recently received recognition and some financial boost from the city, and it’s great to see some West Philly arts organizations on the list.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund announced the 2016 Youth Arts Enrichment Grant recipients, which include well-known West Philly-based organizations: Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, University City Arts League, and Spiral Q Puppet Theater. Grants are ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.

The Youth Arts Enrichment (YAE) Grant Program supports specific programming that uses the arts to enrich the lives of Philadelphia’s young people both in and out of school. YAE grants provide project support for programs that occur between July 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017 and will deliver high quality arts instruction, training, and participatory experiences to young people (aged 5 to 18) who are least likely to access cultural enrichment through other avenues. This includes programming in Philadelphia’s most underserved, impoverished communities.

Besides the YAE grants, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund has awarded general operating grants to dozens of local arts and culture organizations. See the full list of recipients here.

UPDATE: (7/2/2016): Betty Jean Severe has been found and is back home with her family. Police say Ms. Severe was located at Hahnemann Hospital on Wednesday, June 29.

Police are asking for the public’s help locating Betty Jean Severe, a 62-year-old West Philly woman who has been missing since Friday, June 24. She was last seen at her residence on the 500 block of S. 52nd Street at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Betty Jean suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to police. She is known to frequent the area of 49th Street and Baltimore Avenue, as well as McDonald’s located at 52nd and Markets Streets.

Betty Jean is five feet five inches tall, weighs 140lbs, with a thin build, brown eyes, dark brown complexion, and curly black/gray hair; unknown clothing description.

Anyone with information on Betty Jean’s whereabouts, please contact Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183 / 3184 or call 911.