PIC’s Spring Plant Sale will be held at St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce) this Friday and Saturday (Photo courtesy of PIC).

The annual Parent Infant Center’s (PIC) fundraising plant sale kicks off today at 4 p.m. at St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce). The two-day sale is an opportunity not only to purchase annuals, perennials, fruits, veggies, herbs and houseplants locally, but also to support PIC’s Tuition Assistance Fund and to visit the beautiful St. Andrews Chapel at 42nd and Spruce, which is usually closed to visitors.

The sale hours are:

Friday, April 29 – 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 30 – 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

New items will be brought in especially for sale days on Friday and Saturday, so customers who stop in to pick up advance online orders will want to take a moment to browse the weekend inventory.  Continue Reading

The School Reform Commission last night approved the conversion of the three more public schools to charters, including the Samuel B. Huey School at 52nd and Pine.

The Global Leadership Academy Charter School, which currently operates a school at 4601 W. Girard Ave., will take over Huey beginning in the fall. The SRC also voted to convert Cooke (Logan) and Wister (Germantown) Elementary Schools into charters. The charters are tasked with turning around the “chronically under-performing” schools, often against the wishes of parents. Huey has an enrollment of about 550 students.

Meanwhile Councilwoman Helen Gym, who was elected last fall in part for her dedication to public schools, called for a moratorium on charter conversions.

The Spring edition of Go West! Craft Fest is returning on Saturday, April 30 to the green space of the historic Woodlands cemetery grounds (40th and Woodland), and it looks like it’s going to be a great show.

Over 100 vendors will present their beautiful handmade items, so it’s a great opportunity to shop for something unique. At the fest, you can find locally made jewelry, pottery, stationery, prints and original artwork, clothing, bags, candles, bath & body products, children’s items, and much more (check out the event’s Pinterest board).

And here’s the schedule for free live music and entertainment for the whole family:

11 a.m. – Sing along with Ann from the Green Tambourine, Baltimore Avenue’s children’s music studio
11:45 a.m. – The Daisy Pickers, folksy, rootsy, joyful Americana
12:30 p.m. – Philadelphia Women’s Slavic Ensemble will present choral music from eastern Europe
1 p.m. – Jay Sand of All Around This World, a musical exploration of world cultures for children
1:45 p.m. – River Bones, Philly-style bluegrass (with Sean Dorn on bass)
2:30 p.m. – Evan Cory Levine makes great-grandpa’s jazz sound brand new
3:15 p.m. – Tinycircus, aerial flights of fancy by Tangle Movement Arts
4:15 p.m. – Shakey Lyman, blues legend  Continue Reading

Two important community meetings are scheduled for tomorrow in the Mantua neighborhood – on re-zoning and gentrification issues. Residents are encouraged to attend.

Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell has scheduled a Mantua community re-zoning meeting for Thursday, April 28 after hundreds of Mantua residents participated in a mass letter-writing campaign to her office. The meeting will take place at Grace Lutheran Church (3529 Haverford Ave.), from 6-7:30 p.m.

At this meeting, residents can share their voice about how development occurs in their community and finalize re-zoning based on priorities that:

1. Promote and protect single family homeownership
2. Focus commercial zoning along highly trafficked corridors
3. Correct zoning for parks, recreation centers, and public-use spaces

The meeting is hosted by the Mantua Civic Association and Mt. Vernon Manor CDC.  Continue Reading

Photo via www.thepennrelays.com

The oldest annual track and field event in the nation, The Penn Relays, kicks off this week at Franklin Field (233 S. 33rd Street), and that means there will be a lot of additional traffic on the east end of Penn’s campus.

The 122nd edition of The Penn Relays starts Thursday and runs through Saturday. If you have the scratch, the events are worth attending (information on tickets is here). Some 15,000 athletes participate, some of whom you will likely see at this summer’s Olympic Games in Brazil.

Otherwise, it’s a part of town to avoid for a couple of days if you’re trying to get somewhere else. Expect heavy delays around the stadium all day Thursday through Saturday. On Saturday, 33rd Street from South Street to Walnut Street will be closed from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

If you make the trip to Franklin Field, here’s some info on what you can take in with you.

The 2016 Pennsylvania Primary Election results are in, and here are some local results and a breakdown by wards on the vote for presidential candidates. Overall, West Philadelphia’s Democratic voters supported Hillary Clinton, except for the 27th Ward where Bernie Sanders came out on top. Note: the results below are unofficial and incomplete. To view more results, go here.

PA Representative, District 190

Vanessa Lowery Brown – 36.45 percent (5381 votes)
Wanda Logan – 28.37 percent (4188 votes)
Ray Bailey – 12.02 percent (1775 votes)
Darryl Thomas – 11.37 percent (1679 votes)

PA Representative, District 188 

James Roebuck (incumbent, unopposed) – 99.87 percent (12134 votes)

Representative in Congress, District 2 (Democrats)

Chaka Fattah (incumbent) – 36.76 percent (58821 votes)
Dwight Evans – 43.51 percent (69622 votes)

Continue Reading