Mayoral candidate Jim Kenney (Facebook photo).

The 27th Ward Democratic Executive Committee will host a forum Thursday, March 26 with candidates contending in May’s primary. The forum will include mayoral candidate and former city councilman Jim Kenney and city council candidates Blondell Reynolds Brown, Helen Gym, Ed Neilson, and W. Wilson Goode, Jr., Paul Steinke, and Sherrie Cohen.

The public is welcome to attend this meeting, which will take place at Rosenberger Hall at the University of the Sciences (600 S. 43rd Street, near Woodland Ave.), starting at 7:30 p.m.

This forum was originally scheduled for March 5 but was cancelled due to snow.

The primary election will be held May 19 and the general election is slated for Nov. 3. You can get up to speed on the council and mayoral candidates on the Committee of Seventy website.

– Mike Lyons

Some residents said that their trash was picked up a day late last week. Now we have the explanation. The Philadelphia Streets Department has just announced that due to the extreme weather the city has experienced over the past several winters, an unusually high number of trash trucks, which double as plows, have been either scrapped or are in the shop for major repairs. As a result, trash pickup has been impacted citywide with scattered one day collection delays.

“We understand the frustration that comes with delayed trash collection, and we regret this inconvenience,” said Streets Commissioner David Perri. “During these past winters, there have been several occasions where Sanitation trucks have been fitted with snowplows to assist in snow removal. In these instances, Sanitation trucks account for over one-third of the vehicles used during snow removal.”

Residents are asked to continue placing their trash out on the regular scheduled day at the normal location as delays are expected to continue for the next several weeks. Materials not collected on the scheduled day will be picked up the following day.

Corner Bakery Cafe at 38th and Market Streets. (Facebook photo)

Pennsylvania-based franchisee The Rose Group is opening its second Corner Bakery Cafe location in Philadelphia this week. The fast-casual cafe that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and bakery-quality desserts will open its doors at 3737 Market St. on Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 a.m.

To celebrate the opening the first 100 guests will receive a free travel mug and daily coffee refills for one year. Also, a drawing will be held next week to award someone free grilled panini for one year.

The Rose Group currently owns and operates six Corner Bakery cafes in Eastern Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey.

The 38th and Market Corner Bakery Cafe location also has a Facebook page.

The local non-profit Media Mobilizing Project, which uses media to organize poor and working people to tell their stories, has recently moved to a new location from their old location at the church on 43rd and Chestnut Streets. Their new office is at 4534 Baltimore Avenue; the space is owned and until recently was occupied by O’Donnell Real Estate. Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania has also moved to this location from 43rd and Chestnut.

As was reported earlier, the former Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church building on the corner of 43rd and Chestnut is undergoing renovation, including extensive roof repairs.

By the way, O’Donnell Real Estate, a locally-owned company specializing in West Philly property sales and rentals, no longer acts as agents for sellers and buyers, according to their website, but they buy homes, apartment buildings and vacant land.

Photo courtesy Triskeles Programs.

Triskeles Programs, a non-profit organization teaching youth the skills needed to live a healthy life, as well as teamwork and leadership skills, is offering a few great free afterschool programs and a paid summer internship for local teens. The afterschool programs start on April 6, and summer internships in the Green Economy kick off on June 22. All programs are offered at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, 3509 Spring Garden Street. Here are more details:

      Free After school Classes in Cooking, Gardening, &  Environment Studies

What: Three programs are offered: The Cooking and Nutrition Program integrates activities such as recipe reading; study of food groups and nutritional guidelines; and menu planning and budgeting. The Urban Sustainability Program provides youth a hands-on introduction to the key environmental issues facing urban communities. The Urban Agriculture Program gives youth practical experiences in the basic concepts related to growing healthy organic food in urban settings.  Continue Reading