A Red Paw Emergency Relief Team volunteer and rescued dog posing near the donated car. (Photo by West Philly Local).

Here’s some great news for a great local organization that has helped save lives of hundreds of our little friends and companions since its inception in 2011. Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, a non-profit that responds to fires and other disasters in the city and helps displaced pets, has just received a new vehicle, which will allow them to continue their important work, since their old car started breaking down too often. The new car was donated by NRG Home.

The new vehicle was presented to Red Paw’s staff and volunteers, including the founder and former firefighter Jennifer Leary, this afternoon near the corner of 48th and Walnut Streets, across the street from the empty lot where the Windermere Court Apartments building once stood. Red Paw was created in the aftermath of the devastating fire at Windermere in January 2011. Many pets remained trapped inside the heavily damaged and structurally unstable building for weeks after the fire, which prompted rescue efforts by local pet rescue organizations.

Jennifer Leary was one of the firefighters responding to the Windermere fire. She founded Red Paw in July 2011.

There is something about eating a meal in the park. Food just seems to taste better outdoors, on a blanket. You can put that theory to test on Friday (May 15) at the third annual Picnic in Cedar Park. The picnicking proper runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. You can BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic) or you can grab a picnic special at these businesses along Baltimore Avenue: The Gold Standard, Dock Street, Hibiscus, Little Baby’s, Mariposa, Penn Pizza or Taco Angeleno and Fresh Deli. Here is the Facebook page for the event.

The park a few blocks east on Baltimore will be jumping on Saturday (May 16). The annual Party in Clark Park runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature live music, games for kids, food and a beer garden. The Four Prophet String Band and The Extraordinaires will provide the music and Dock Street will provide the beer. More details are available at The Friends of Clark Park website.

If you have some unwanted toxic or hazardous items or materials in your house or garage, here’s a great chance to dispose of them safely. On Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Philadelphia Streets Department’s Sanitation Division will be holding a free household hazardous waste collection event at the 1st District Highway Yard, 4800 Parkside Avenue.

The following materials and items are considered hazardous and will be accepted at this event:

• Paint and paint related materials, including solvent-based paints and stains, paint thinner, varnish, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, swimming pool chemicals.

• Kitchen, bathroom products and cleaning solvents;

• Automotive products, including used motor oil, antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, brake fluid, degreasers;

• Flammable materials (kerosene, old gasoline);  Continue Reading

Staff and volunteers from PA Working Families (Facebook page) were at 52nd Street Station this morning to distribute information to commuters about recently passed local legislation on paid sick leave.

Starting today (Wednesday, May 13), those working more than 40 hours per year in Philadelphia for companies of 10 employees or more will begin accruing paid sick leave time. Here is an informative poster about the new legislation. You can also visit the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces’ Website for more information. (Photos courtesy of PA Working Families).

The law passed in February and caps sick time at five eight-hour days per year and is accrued at a rate of one hour per 40 hours worked.

Those walking by the Science Center building on 37th and Market street can see colorful displays on the first floor windows, but little do most know that those colorful displays belong to an innovation tech camp called The Hacktory. The name was created to describe two goals the group set out to accomplish: find solutions and create products.

An early inception of the organization was created in 2007, which met on a monthly basis to celebrate do-it-yourself efforts in engineering and technology. Georgia Guthrie, The Hacktory’s executive director, began volunteering with the group right before it ran out of steam in 2009 but she was determined to keep it going in some sort of capacity.

Today, The Hacktory has three teachers and one teaching assistant. Currently one workshop is being offered, a micro controller programming class for Raspberry Pi. Past classes have covered topics such as building a bike bag, building a DIY arcade, intro to data mapping with map-making interface CatroDB and more.

The Hacktory also offers a weekly after-school program for 3rd to 5th graders (Kid’s Club), and enrollment has begun for its summer camp programs, which kick off on June 22. 
Continue Reading

Several noted public figures, including Cornell West and Chuck D., will be leading a rally and march to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the MOVE tragedy tomorrow.

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police under orders from city officials dropped a bomb on a home at 6221 Osage Ave. occupied by several members of the MOVE organization. Eleven people, including five children, died in the resulting fire and dozens of nearby homes were destroyed.

The rally starts at 11 a.m. at 62nd and Osage and organizers are asking participants to “walk, bike, jog or caravan” to 38th and Market where a speak-out will begin at 4 p.m. Activist Angela Davis and writer Alice Walker have prepared video messages that will be played. Speakers include West, Chuck D., hop hop artist Rebel Diaz, activist and attorney Alton Maddox and activists from the Black Lives Matter movement.

If you are unfamiliar with the MOVE or the events surrounding the bombing, here is an excellent documentary released in 2013 that pieces together news footage and interviews. Other background resources include a post on Philadelphia Magazine’s site today. Here is a look back from the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 25th anniversary.