Bikram Yoga instructors Jill Holden, Schuyler Ferguson and Ammie Ferguson.

A Bikram Yoga studio is opening this Wednesday (Aug. 29) at 42nd and Chestnut and offering free classes through Tuesday, September 4. The brand new 5,000-square-foot studio space was built this year as a second level of the one-story building housing West Philadelphia Locksmith Co. The studio includes a 1,500-square-foot yoga room and space for a planned juice bar and organic foods store.

Bikram Yoga is the original form of “hot” yoga practiced in a heated room, so the studio has a custom built heating system, allowing it to maintain a 105-degree temperature and 40 percent humidity for every class. Although conditions like that may seem daunting, we hear that Bikram is the world’s fastest growing form of yoga. People of all ages and skill levels are welcome in the studio, local residents and students alike. A staff of eight Bikram certified instructors with extensive training and in-class experience will guide you through classes.

For more information on classes at Bikram Yoga University City, visit their homepage bikramyogaucp.com or Facebook page.

Tobey is a medium (14 lbs), short haired black cat with yellow eyes and may or may not be wearing a black collar with white skulls and crossbones. May run if approached. Last seen: August 24, at 10 a.m. at 47th St. and Warrington (very close to Baltimore).

If you spot Tobey, call day or night: Ryan (215) 817-4286 or Maureen (603) 315-1884.

Police say that there have been no robberies similar to this one in the area. A stranger approached a couple who were sitting on their porch near 50th and Osage last night, about 4:10 p.m., threatened them with a gun and robbed them. Here’s what one of the victims wrote. She calls the robber “a scam artist.”

On Friday evening at 4:10 p.m. a man came onto our porch at 50th st and Osage. He claimed something was happening in the neighborhood and we needed to know about it, he seemed friendly… later he “admitted” he was sent to hurt my boyfriend and he wanted to be paid off. He threatened both of us with a gun. He then led my boyfriend to an ATM and demanded $100. He got it. He was about 5’8″, dark skin, jaundice yellow eyes, buzz cut, round features. He was between 35-40yrs old with a gut. He wore a yellow polo. He was very calm, collected, manipulative, and convincing. He sat on our porch and smoked our cigarettes while threatening us. I want everyone to be warned…

The couple alerted their neighbors about this incident and would like to warn everyone to be careful when answering your door to strangers or to go inside if you’re on your porch and see any suspicious behavior.

Twelve bike racks will be installed in the sidewalks around Clark Park this Saturday and Sunday. A group of volunteers from the Friends of Clark Park will do the work. Please contact Doug Naphas (douglasnaphas@gmail.com) if you would like to help with the installation or if you can lend any of the following tools: a hammer drill, a portable generator, an impact driver, a Shop-Vac, extension cords, a caulk gun.

Registration is now open for the Fall 2012 season of Clark Park Youth Soccer League, a recreational, non-competitive soccer program. The program kicks off on Saturday, September 22 and kids ages 5 through 11 are welcome to register. Registration information and forms can be found on this page. If you have questions, please email clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com.

Community members will join hands tomorrow morning along Woodland Avenue, from 52nd to 70th Streets in an effort to promote peace in Southwest Philadelphia. The Hands For Peace Across Southwest event will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. and the sign-up will begin at 7:30 a.m. at NUAD office at 5214 Woodland Avenue. This is an opportunity to show your support for change, peace and quality of life in Southwest Philly.

Hands For Peace Across Southwest is an initiative by Paul (Earthquake) Moore, who has been a community activist in Southwest Philadelphia for more than 25 years. His passion has always been to create strategies to help save the community.

Lorraine Ballad Morrill from Power 99FM will cover the event. Everyone is invited to come out and be a part of this history making event.

Community Supported Arts, a program recently launched by the Philadelphia Folklore Project, is modeled after traditional CSAs, but instead of fruits and vegetables shareholders receive one-of-a-kind works of art from local folk artists.

This is how it works: Nine artists each make fifty unique pieces of art for fifty shareholders, so each shareholder receives nine pieces of art. Shareholders will get a chance to meet the artists at an exclusive preview party and dinner at PFP on September 21. The collection of art will be ready for pick up on December 7 at another shareholders-only dinner party with artists.

Each share costs $350+tax and can be purchased Saturdays at the Clark Park Farmers’ Market, online or by mailing a check to PFP’s gallery at 735 S. 50th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143.

The participating artists are: Ra’sheeda Bey, Alma Luz Castro, Maisaloon Dias, Stephanie Hryckowian, Christina Johnson, Eric Joselyn, Marta Sanchez, Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk Sikoun, and Matthew Smith. You can stop by the PFP gallery to see a sample of each artist’s work.

PFP staffer Thomas Owens will be at Clark Park Farmer’s Market (43rd and Baltimore Ave.), from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturdays with information about the program. You can purchase a share directly from him. For more information, visit this page.