Lt. Brian McBride of the Philadelphia Police Department will discuss crime and crime prevention in the area tonight beginning at 6 p.m. at the Calvary Center (48th and Baltimore). The discussion is open to the public and is the first in a series of meetings on crime and crime prevention.

The meeting will take place in the center’s lower level.

Need a cheap tool? Maybe a hammer for a buck? A tool box for two bucks? Or maybe you just want a good cup of coffee and a scrumptious pastry on a Saturday morning. If so then head down to Woodland Avenue on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the annual Yard Sale Jamboree at the West Philly Tool Library (4620 Woodland Avenue).

The Tool Library is selling off all of the stuff it can’t loan out.

Michael Froehlich of the Tool Library writes:

Each year, the Tool Library receives hundreds of donations of tools, hardware, and, frankly, lots of things we don’t really know what to do with. Many of them we can put into circulation. But lots of them we can’t. This Saturday we’ll be emptying our basement and selling them off.

An added treat will be free coffee and pastries from nearby Four Worlds Bakery (4634 Woodland Ave.). Michael expects a visit from the Build-It Bus, the traveling workshop for kids, at about noon.

If you can’t make it Saturday but you still want to help out the Tool Library always accepts tools and cash donations. Click on their link above for more info.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be in West Philly on March 18 at the Annenberg Center (3680 Walnut St.) at 8 p.m. This show is very likely to sell out so we are giving you plenty of notice. The beloved South African vocal group will perform songs from their new album, Songs From a Zulu Farm.

Tickets for the performance are steep – $60. If that’s a deal breaker, then you might try to hold out for “West Philly Rush Hour” tickets. The Annenberg Center offers special first-come-first-serve $10 tickets for residents who can prove they live in the following zip codes: 19104, 19131, 19139, 19142, 19143, 19151, 19153. The tickets are on sale for an hour two hours before the show starts. So if there are any left for this show, they would be available from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the box office.

All of that said, though, there is a pretty good chance that the show will sell out.

The annual Philly Spring Clean-up is scheduled for April 2. Folks can volunteer for organized projects (the University City District is hosting a couple on Baltimore Avenue) or just step outside your own door and go to work for a little while.

We will try to keep track of individual projects as they are announced. If you would like to sign up to volunteer for a project go here. If you want to propose a project to attract volunteers go here. The deadline for submitting a project is March 18.

To volunteer for a project with the University City District, contact Dexter Bryant at cleanandsafe@universitycity.org or 215-243-0555 x236.

Last year 11,213 people throughout the city signed up to volunteer on 231 official project sites. More than 1.3 million pounds of trash was collected along with 139,540 pounds of recycling. Fifty parks and recreation centers and 763 city blocks were cleaned.

Mayor Michael Nutter is really into this project, so we’ll let him tell you more about it:

Our Siberian husky got out this morning between 6am and 1pm. Male with orange auburn coat, white under belly, white feet, and a black collar. If anyone happens to come across him please please please contact us 610-803-3474.

A cat has been missing for about 2 weeks in vicinity of 48th & Warrington. He is pudgy, all black, shorthair, sorry no pics available.
If you see him or catch him, call 267-974-3529.