Police are investigating a theft from a car parked near 52nd and Market that left the owner, a 74-year-old man, short of about $140,000 worth of gold jewelry.

The incident happened at around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday when the man parked his car, a Lexus SUV, and went to the nearby Cash for Gold store. He left a duffel bag inside his vehicle containing approximately $140,000 worth of various jewelry items, including rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, according to police.

The man told police that he was inside the store for about 5 minutes. When he returned to his car he noticed that the front passenger side window was smashed and the bag with jewelry was gone.

Police are searching for the male theft suspect, who was riding a mountain bike. Witnesses told police that the man broke the car window with a hammer and took the bag. Police say they have surveillance video of the incident from a nearby store and that the investigation continues. We’ll update when we have more information.

We hope you are enjoying your Labor Day Holiday despite the hot and sticky weather that set in in the area. We have a few reminders.

• All government offices and public libraries are closed today in observance of the holiday.

• Post offices are closed and there is no mail delivery.

• SEPTA is operating on a Sunday schedule (visit septa.org for more information and schedule).

• There will be no trash and recycling pick-up today. Trash and recycling collections will be one day behind schedule for the rest of the week.

Yes, we know it’s the Labor Day weekend and many of you will head out of town or to the Parkway for the Made in America Festival. But those of you who will stay in West Philly might want to check out the events below, all happening on Saturday, Aug. 30. Have a great weekend!

• The Ultimate Back 2 School Basketball Challenge will be held at the Kingsessing Recreation Center, 4901 Kingsessing Ave, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The goal of the tournament is to collect school supplies for local schoolchildren. The event is hosted by State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and a group of other locally elected officials will be there, including Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and Rep. James Roebuck. This is a free event, but all attendees are asked to bring a school supply to donate. Sixteen basketball teams will represent 16 West Philly schools and the winning team will then donate all of the collected school supplies from the tournament to their selected school. Approximately 20 vendors will be offering food, free beverages and resource information. More details can be found here.

• If you want to learn more about the Pagan community and their beliefs, come to Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore this Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to celebrate Pagan Pride Day. The festival, which is intended to bring together Heathens and Pagans of all traditions, will feature a wide array of vendors, workshops, and entertainment. Project Wendigo is the musical act that will be performing at the event. Doug Stafford, a juggler, illusionist, and otherwise awesome performer is also on the entertainment lineup, according to the organizers. Workshops begin at 11 a.m. The event is free but the organizers are asking to bring a nonperishable food item to benefit the Mazzoni Center’s food bank, or a make a monetary donation to one of the festival beneficiaries. Visit the Pagan Pride Day website for more details, list of vendors, and schedule of events.

• The Stooges Brass Band from New Orleans is a headline performer at a Saturday afternoon concert organized by City Tap House in collaboration with the production team from The Blockley. This is the second and last concert in the August outdoor concert series (the first one was held last Saturday). The concert will take place outside of City Tap House at 39th and Walnut from 3 – 8 p.m.. New Sound Brass Band (from the Mummers community) will also perform. Admission is $15 and tickets can be purchased here. 21+

• The University City District and The Rotunda invite all residents to the next free outdoor music concert in the 40th Street Summer Concert Series this Saturday. As always, the event will be held on the green lawn behind the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut) starting at 6 p.m. Nation Beat and The Highwater Preachers (Facebook page) will be performing. Also, there will be ice cream vendors and entertainment for kids. The last concert in the 2014 series will be held on Sept. 27. Click here fore more info.

5 Broken Cameras flyer in Clark Park.

The 2014 Clark Park Summer Film Series, which brings documentary and other independent film screenings into the park’s bowl near 45th and Regent, concludes Friday, Aug. 29. 5 Broken Cameras, the winner of the World Documentary Directing Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Academy Award nominee for the best documentary feature, will be screened, starting at 7:30 p.m.

The film, shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, portrays non-violent resistance in the West Bank (see trailer below).

This is an outdoor screening, free and open to the public. Bring your chairs, blankets and popcorn!

A few other great events are scheduled in the area this weekend. Clark Park will host Pagan Pride Day on Saturday and there will be a couple of live music concerts. More info is coming soon.

Philadelphia Streets Department is seeking young adults, who are not enrolled in higher education and are unemployed, for its paid job-skill training and real-world work program called Philly Future Track. Applications are currently being accepted for the program’s third session, tentatively scheduled to begin on Monday, Sept. 15.

Throughout the six-month program, participants will work in teams to clean and beautify Philadelphia’s streets, while completing an educational program to improve their skills for future job prospects. Although it is a temporary employment opportunity, the program is designed to provide career readiness to its participants. The young people enrolled in the program receive enough resources and education to transition into full time employment, attend a two or four year higher education institution, enter into a vocational training program or school or be prepared to take the military aptitude test.

To qualify, applicants must be a Philadelphia resident and eligible to work in the U.S. To benefit the most from the program, applicants should be between 18-24 years old.

Completed applications must be submitted in the Philly Future Track drop box located in the first floor lobby of the Municipal Services Building (1401 JFK Boulevard, across from City Hall). Applications are accepted by 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.

To download your Philly Future Track application and for more information, visit: www.philadelphiastreets.com/philly-future-track
 

Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity house. (Photo West Philly Local)

Police are searching for two armed men who forced their way into and robbed a fraternity house at 42nd and Pine near 42nd and Baltimore Wednesday morning at around 2 a.m.

The fraternity members in the house, the University of Sciences students, were hosting a birthday party at the time, NBC10 reports. Students at Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity house answered a knock on the door. The gunmen ordered the students to the ground, took cash – much of the fraternity’s newly collected dues from a safe in the house – and fled, according to police. One of the students was also attacked during the invasion as he told NBC10.

Penn and the University of Sciences planned to issue safety alerts to their students today.