West Philly Local readers are reporting a water main break on Osage Ave between 47th and 48th Streets, with water running down to 47th Street and over to Pine. Please walk and drive carefully in that area as the streets are icy. (Photos by Joel DeGrands)

According to latest statistics, 210,000 Philadelphians are without health insurance. This is where the recently introduced Affordable Care Act, or “ObamaCare,” comes in. If you’re considering this health care coverage but don’t know how to sign up or are confused about something along the process, here’s some help. The Free Library of Philadelphia is offering individuals and their families free appointments with Certified Application Counselors who will answer your questions and help you sign up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Open enrollment for 2014 coverage ends on March 31, so if you need assistance in the application process please call ahead to one of these Free Library branches in West Philadelphia and schedule an appointment with a Certified Counselor:

Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library
125 S. 52nd St. | 215-685-7429

Charles L. Durham Branch
3320 Haverford Ave. | 215-685-7436

Walnut Street West Library (starting Monday, Feb. 3; make an appointment with Certified Application Counselor Tiffany Nardella)
201 S. 40th St. | 215-685-7671

Wynnefield Library
5325 Overbrook Ave. | 215-685-0298

In addition, the Tech Lab at the Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street, will offer regular open hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., during which you can drop in for Affordable Care Act assistance without an appointment. Certified Application Counselors will be available on a first come, first served basis.

For more information, visit this page.

The kindergarten registration line at Penn Alexander School in January, 2012. The school switched to a lottery last year. (Archive photo/West Philly Local)

The worst kept secret at Penn Alexander School (PAS) made the Daily News today. The neighborhood elementary school, which last year switched to a lottery from the first-come first-served kindergarten registration, has students who don’t live in the school’s neighborhood catchment.

The Daily News article focuses on a particular family who lives in Overbrook but has kids enrolled in PAS (you can read it here) thanks to connections with former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman. The family’s name came up in comments on West Philly Local last year when the district implemented the kindergarten lottery.

Here are some other details from the Daily News piece:

• 34 students out of PAS’s 550-student enrollment are living outside the catchment, according to the school district.
• Not PAS administration, but former Philadelphia School District superintendents, including the most recent one, now deceased Arlene Ackerman, could and did use admission exceptions for out-of-catchment students for “an extenuating circumstance … that’s for the well-being and safety of the child,” according to Fernando Gallard, the school district’s spokesperson.
• Current superintendent William R. Hite Jr. has not used this privilege, Gallard told Daily News.
• The district won’t pull any children who live outside the catchment from the school to avoid disruption of their education. In the future, however, the district will allow only families living inside the school boundaries to attend the school, according to Gallard.

To read more about PAS and its recent enrollment issues, click here.

The Minor Threats are posing with the 1st place trophy they received at the Masterminds Summer League. (Photo by Jason Bui)

West Philly’s Minor Threats school chess club, which West Philly Local featured last winter, participated in state and national championships last spring thanks, in part, to community support. The young chess players brought home several trophies, but more importantly lots of positive experiences. The club also participates year-round in local tournaments –  since the beginning of last school year the kids have practiced and competed in more than 30 tournaments.

This spring, Jason Bui, a teacher and the club director, would like to take his kids to three more prestigious tournaments, one state and two national championships, but it only would be possible with financial support from the community. Bui has set up an online fundraising page where everyone who wants to help the club can donate money. The page lists the tournaments The Minor Threats would love to go to and even breaks down the expenses. The club hopes to raise $20,000 so the kids are able to compete in these tournaments. Nearly $3,000 has already been raised.

To read more about the club, the tournaments and to donate, go to: http://www.gofundme.com/506jqo

UPDATED (1/25/14, 9:45 a.m.): Two female suspects in the robbery spree have been arrested, 6ABC reports. Police are still looking for the two male suspects.

(1/24/14, 11:41 p.m.): Police are searching for a group of suspects involved in multiple robberies at West and Southwest Philly shops and restaurants, including three Thursday night robberies and attempted robberies at Stacy’s Pizza (4201 Market St), the Garden Court Eatery (4725 Pine St), and Gold Star Pizza (4627 Woodland Ave).

The robbery spree began last week, on January 18, when a group of four young people – two males and two females –  wearing masks robbed the Subway sandwich shop at 56th and Lancaster after pointing a handgun at an employee. The robbery took place around 6 p.m. and police say that all of the suspects are between 17 and 20 years old. They fled the store in a turquoise sedan. Later that night, at around 10:15 p.m., two males robbed Hibachi Grill located at 3000 Island Ave, also at gunpoint.

Police say the other three robberies and robbery attempts took place Thursday night, in the area between Market St and Woodland Ave and 42nd and 48th streets. The first took place at approximately 10:30 p.m. at the Gold Star Pizza restaurant when an unknown male, described as a 20-23 year-old black male with light mustache and a beard, walked into the store and after looking at the menu demanded money from the cashier. When the cashier attempted to alert other employees who were in the back of the store the suspect pulled a handgun. The cashier told the suspect that she didn’t have any money and the man fled the store, according to police.

The second incident happened about 15 minutes later at the Garden Court Eatery when a man fitting the above mentioned description, walked into the store pointing a gun at a female employee and demanding money. The employee started screaming and the suspect fled the store.

The third incident, at Stacy’s Pizza, took place at around 11:20 p.m. and this time two robbers were able to escape with an unknown amount of cash after pointing a gun at the cashier and forcing her to open the cash register. The robbers fled in a red Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows.

Police have released surveillance video of the incidents and ask anyone with information about these individuals to contact Southwest Detectives Division at 215-686-3183/3184 or call 911 immediately if you see them.

AIRSPACE will host the 4th Annual Friends & Neighbors Exhibit. (Photo courtesy of the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence program.)

Don’t miss the chance for a great show opening tonight at AIRSPACE (formerly known as AIR Gallery). The annual exhibit showcases the work of 40th Street resident artists’ friends, neighbors, students and colleagues. Each resident invited two artists to participate in the show. So here’s who’s participating this time:

Barbra Chigounis
Rachel Dobkin
Justin Duerr
Adam Fergurson
Petra Floyd
Lauren Hansen-Flaschen
Najee Haynes-Follins
Terry Johnson
Brooke Lanier
Nicole Myles
Johnny Plastini
Shawn Thornton

To check out the profiles of the participants, who work in a variety of media, visit the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program website. The program awards West Philadelphia artists with free studio space for one year. In exchange, the resident artists “give back to the community” by organizing shows and teaching workshops and classes.

The opening reception starts at 6 p.m. (we hear there will also be some great food!) The gallery is located at 4007 Chestnut Street, First Floor. If you don’t make it to the reception you can also see the show on the following Saturdays: Jan. 25, Feb. 1, and Feb. 8 1-4 p.m.) and by appointment (email: 40th.air.app@gmail.com).