Should Philadelphia have an elected school board? Should the school district’s governing body be appointed locally? Here’s a chance to have your voice heard.

These issues will be discussed when parents, students, educators and community members meet at a public forum on education governance on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in Center City.

Entitled “Governing the School District of Philadelphia: Do We Have the Right Model?,” the forum is open to the public and will be moderated by recently retired Daily News columnist Elmer Smith. Panelists will include Maurice Jones, a parent from the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust streets), who has helped spearhead improvements at the school over the last several months. The West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is a co-sponsor of the event.

The forum will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The United Way Building (1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Lobby 2). The first part will include a panel discussion and Q and A and the second part, which begins at 7 p.m., includes breakout groups to identify community concerns and priorities. Refreshments will be served during the breakouts.

You can get free tickets by going here.

A 47-year-old woman was killed early this morning in a vehicle accident at the intersection of 51st and Locust streets, according to reports.

The accident occurred at about 2:15 a.m. and involved two cars. The unidentified woman was the passenger in a minivan that struck another car, an SUV. The male driver of the minivan and a man and a woman in the SUV were seriously injured in the accident, according to ABC News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The minivan reportedly struck the SUV first and the impact was so great that the SUV flipped on the roof of a third, parked car. Rescue crews had to pry open the vehicles to extract all the passengers.

Both cars reportedly ran stop signs at the 4-way-stop at 51st and Locust.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Philadelphia office will move from its Center City location at 16th and Callowhill to West Philly by the end of 2012.

The new office will be located in 2.0 University Place, a new University Place Associates LLC’s five-story building at 30 N. 41st St. where it will occupy the first three floors (53,000 of the 97,000 square-foot space). The 15-year, $26 million lease was negotiated by building leasing and the US General Services Administration reps. The building is currently under construction.

University Place Associates founder Tom Leonard told The Philadelphia Inquirer, “they looked at what was available in Center City, didn’t like it, and broadened their (search) to West Philadelphia.”

“This will be a much nicer facility,” he added.

Located at the foot of the University City Science Center, the building will feature an extensive green roof with a 20,000-sf rooftop park, high-efficiency HVAC systems, open floor plans with 90 percent natural daylight, ‘gray water’ recycling systems that utilize rainwater to operate restrooms, onsite bicycle racks, changing rooms, and car sharing facilities among other things.

This week’s featured cat is Polly. She’s available for adoption through City Kitties. Polly is a polydactyl kitty with extra toes on each of her paws. Polydactyl cats are sometimes referred to as ‘Hemingway cats’ because the author is known to have favored them.

Polly was found wandering the streets alone and scared with a terrible eye infection. But as you can see, it didn’t take long for this stunning dilute calico to heal, clean herself up, and look forward to the next phase of her life.

Polly’s got more than a unique look—she has a winning personality to match. She adjusts easily to new surroundings and is quick to make herself at home. Her favorite toy is a string to chase, but she also enjoys curling up on a lap or pillow. As a young and gentle kitty, Polly is likely to adapt well to cats, dogs or children. She’s ready to find her forever home today, so don’t miss your chance to adopt this special girl!

Polly is spayed, FIV/FeLV negative, up to date on FVRCP and rabies vaccinations, and has been tested/treated for fleas and parasites as needed.

Polly’s adoption fee is $85 to help subsidize the cost of veterinary care. To fill out an application click here.

• The Philadelphia Tribune and WHYY’s Newsworks site both have stories about the innovative high school program located in the Navy Yard called The Sustainability Workshop, which has deep West Philly connections. The school, which teaches students to solve real-world problems, is run by West Philly resident Michael Clapper, a former teacher at West Philadelphia High School and until recently an education professor at Saint Joseph’s University, and Simon Hauger, who gained national attention as the director of West Philly High’s Hybrid X Team. The program gives about 30 seniors from West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and Furness high schools the chance to spend a year focusing on energy efficiency, climate change and other issues.

• Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer includes a story about the efforts of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) to keep school libraries open. The organization has helped reopen 10 libraries at schools in West Philly that were or would have been shuttered due to budget cuts. WePAC supplies volunteer storytellers and librarians and has donated a heap of books. We have also reported on WePAC’s good work.

• The City Paper‘s online restaurant blog Meal Ticket alerts us to the opening of Chewy’s food truck, which slings sandwiches, burgers, hand-cut fries and “tater tots tossed with buffalo sauce, Whiz, bacon crumbles and ranch dressing.” Meal Ticket reports that they also have an “Apples to Apples” BLT that includes Granny Smiths and cider mayo. The truck is a joint venture between Charlie Sokowski and Terence Jones, an old street food hand. The truck operates between 34th and 35th streets on Market from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Cedar Park Neighbors is hosting a neighborhood Meet and Greet event tomorrow night at Aksum (4630 Baltimore Ave.). Don’t miss the opportunity to say hello to your neighbors and spend some nice time in their company while enjoying complimentary hors d’oeuvres served by Saba Tedla, Aksum owner and Cedar Park resident.

The meet and greet will begin at 6 p.m and go on until 8 p.m., unless, of course, you want to stay for dinner. To RSVP go to the event’s Facebook page.