UC Green is teaming up with the Philadelphia Orchard Project to raise money to plant fruit and nut trees along the streets of West and Southwest Philadelphia. They hope to raise enough money to plant about 100 trees by the fall. The fruit and nuts from the trees would be available to everyone. But don’t worry they are not going to choose trees that will leave a big mess on the streets and sidewalks.

The project has a page on the fundraising site Kickstarter.com. Here is the link. Donations start at just $1.

Here is their video pitch…

Here’s a note from our friendly neighborhood Tweeting Detective Joseph Murray at TheFuzz9143:

Looking for a white Ford Crown Victoria lic# HTD-9259. Wanted in connection to a dozen pharmacy robberies. Heavy tinted windows. Thanks

Buses bound for an education rally in Harrisburg will depart the School District of Philadelphia headquarters at 440 N. Broad St. tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. The rally is aimed at protesting likely cuts to the state’s contribution to the district’s budget, as much as $629 million. The cuts will have far-ranging consequences for the district, including cuts of about $61 million to schools themselves. These cuts will likely result in a host thorny issues, including larger class sizes, fewer specialty teachers and fewer special education teachers.

For more information and to sign-up for the free bus trip to Harrisburg call Evelyn Sample-Oates at 215-400-4041 or 215-400-4042 or e-mail her at esampleoates – at – philasd.org.

This note has been passed around the neighborhoods by e-mail yesterday and today and we thought we should pass it along:

Neighbors,
Our dog was viciously mauled late this afternoon. The dog that attacked (a big, dark, brindle pit bull terrier) was tied up outside  Salt and Pepper at 47th and Chester, but broke its leash, raced across  the street and attacked our dog. As we wait to learn about the extent of his injuries from the good folks at PennVet, I wanted to warn everyone to be especially cautious, especially those with small children and animals. Thanks to the kindness of a few strangers the police have identified the owner. Please be careful.

Writer Ann L. Rappoport has discovered and written about a well-kept secret in West Philly: The bathrooms at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College (4207 Walnut St.). They are pretty magnificent.

Rappoport writes in today’s Phialdelphia Inquirer:

Entering it through the bar in the school’s international restaurant, I was greeted by hundreds of antique perfume bottles. Vintage ladies’ hats and beaded bags commanded notice, posed on vintage hat racks suspended from the walls and ceiling, which also host over-the-top sconces and chandeliers. Lace and feathered boas drape the stalls, recalling at least the French Quarter of the Big Easy, if not Paris itself. Somebody had a blast putting this together.

College president Danny Liberatoscioli had the initial idea to make awesome bathrooms to compliment the school’s restaurants.

“We’ve got this thing for restrooms here,” he told Rappoport.

Click to enlarge.

If you are interested in or concerned about the planning process in West Philly or elsewhere in the city, then you should check out the courses offered by the Citizen Planning Institute aimed at helping residents learn the planning process. The institute is an outreach arm of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.

The one-off evening classes begin April 25. The “core” courses include:

• The BIG Picture: Planning in the City, April 25

• Land Use and Zoning 101, May 5

• The Development Process: Nuts and Bolts, May 9

The cost for all three sessions combined is $30. Completion of the core allows residents to participate in “elective” courses on commercial development, public transport and healthy communities and environmental justice.

The deadline for applying for courses is April 8.

The application is available here in the column on the right side of the screen.