This week’s weather will try to convince us that spring is right around the corner. OK, we’ll take the bait, and remind folks that registration for youth sports leagues is upon us. Here’s a quick rundown of a few popular ones:
• Clark Park Youth Soccer
The registration deadline is March 1. The season runs March 19 through May 21. The cost of registration is $42 for one child, which includes membership in the Friends of Clark Park. Additional kiddos in the same family are cheaper. All the forms you need to make it happen are here.
Each 90-minute Saturday session includes instruction and a game. The league is open to kids 5-11.
• Fairmount Sports Association baseball and softball
Many kids from neighborhood play softball and baseball across the river in the Fairmount Sports Association youth leagues off Ben Franklin Parkway. T-Ball typically involves age groups (boys and girls) starting at 4-6 years old. Girls softball begins at the rookie level with league play for ages 6-10 years of age. There is also a junior–senior level league for ages 11-16 years of age.
Boy’s baseball begins at the Rookie level (7-9), Junior or Pony League (10-12) and Senior league (13-16). Travel teams will be made up upon coaches and players availability.
You’ve already missed the early bird registration for this one, so it will cost you an extra $10 to register now. Online registration is available here. Walk-in registration is also available at the FSA building near the fields every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and Tuesday/Thursday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Taney Youth baseball and softball
This league headquartered in South Philadelphia is also a popular one for neighborhood kids. The league plays its games on a number of fields in Center City. Opening day is April 9. Early bird registration is closed for this one too. But be quick because there is a cap on the number of players that will be allowed to register. The league is trying to get everyone to register online here. The registration fee is $90 for the first child and $80 for each additional child. The league is open to kids ages 3-15.
The protests at the Windermere Court Apartments seemed to have worked – for now. The demolition of the building has been put on hold until Wednesday.
Demolition crews began work on the west side of the building on Monday.
A judge is reportedly reviewing the Department of Licenses and Inspections decision to demolish the building before residents have a chance to retrieve their pets and belongings, which were left behind after the Jan. 10 fire.
It’s still not clear if residents or a private contractor or investigator will be allowed to enter the building to assess the possibility of residents legally reentering to assess the damage to their apartments.
Residents who have snuck into the building in the last few days have said that many of the apartments have been looted.
Demolition crews began work today on a large tree on the west side of the building. But late in the afternoon the crane that had started to work was parked quietly near the building.
About 150 people gathered outside the Windermere Court Apartments at the intersection of 48th and Walnut Streets this afternoon to call for the building’s owners to let former residents in to gather their belongings and pets left behind after a devastating fire last month.
Protesters blocked the intersection, prompting police to close streets within a block of the building. Demolition of the Windermere Court building is scheduled to begin Monday. The organizers of the protest said they will file a court injunction Monday to stop the demolition until residents are allowed to enter the building to retrieve their belongings and look for pets, mostly cats, that are still missing after the January 10 fire. No one was injured in the fire.
The organizers also called on protesters to return to the building on Monday at 8:45 a.m. to continue the demonstration.
“People’s pets are in there,” said one organizer. “Their family heirlooms are in there. The ashes of their relatives in urns are in there.”
The city Department of Licenses and Inspections (L and I) has deemed the building “imminently dangerous,” which has led to the decision to demolish it. L and I offiicials have said that the owners of the building must decide whether residents can reenter. So far the owner, which residents say is nearly impossible to reach, has not granted that authorization.
The Walnut Hill Community Association has been very helpful to the former residents of the Windermere. Residents have advised us that any call for donations should go to Walnut Hill CA. They have a page set up for donations here.
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell stood with the protesters. Blackwell has pressed the city on behalf of the former residents.
Here is a slideshow of Saturday’s protest, which lasted from 2 p.m. to about 3 p.m.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office told West Philly Local today that the demolition of the Windermere Court Apartments at 48th and Walnut Streets in West Philadelphia will begin Monday.
“The city and the owner have come to agreement and the building demolition will commence on Monday,” said Mark McDonald, a spokesman in Mayor Michael Nutter’s office. “The property owner is the one to talk to about the retrieval of anything inside the building. It is structurally unsound and has been declared imminently dangerous by Licenses and Inspections. But again, it’s under the owner’s control.”
The Windermere Court building was partially destroyed by fire on January 10. Residents have been pressing city officials and the owners of the building for access to retrieve their belongings and search for pets, which they have been denied. A barbed wire fence was erected around much of the building.
Many residents have organized their own security for the building to watch over what might remain from their belongings and to look for pets that were left behind during the fire and may still be alive.
“My biggest frustration is that we know that there are still pets in there alive,” said Lara Figueroa, a former Windermere resident.
Residents and the animal rescue group City Kitties are holding a rally tomorrow at 2 p.m. to protest the lack of information and cooperation from the building’s owners, who were not available for comment.
A large water main broke earlier today near 38th and Spruce Streets in West Philly. No injuries have been reported, but at least one car was submerged to the door handles. The southbound lanes of 38th Street between Market and Baltimore Avenue are closed and probably will remain closed well into the evening.
John Digiulio, a spokesman for the Water Department, said the crews on the scene are still unsure what caused the break in the 16-inch main pipe.
“The winter months are not very kind to our infrastructure,” he said.
Digiulio said that construction crews had been working in the area before the break.
Residents in the area reported that water pressure dropped soon after the main break at about noon. Digiulio said water pressure should have returned to normal by now.
We recently returned (3:22 p.m.) from the corner of 38th and Spruce and traffic is already very gnarly. Steer clear of that area if possible. The water has receded but it’s going to be a tough rush hour around there.
Here is raw footage of the break shot at about noon today by Channel 6:
The poster for Annie that was put up around the neighborhood.
Another Windermere cat was found alive a month and a day after the West Philly building was devastated by fire. Annie, a tortoise shell, jumped into the arms of a City Kitties volunteer around dawn this morning outside of the Windermere Court Apartments at 48th and Walnut. You may have seen posters for Annie up around the neighborhood (see left). She is missing her tail.
Here’s how the volunteer tells the story (on the City Kitties site):
Before dawn this morning, as a City Kitties volunteer left her house, she heard a cat howling in distress. On a neighbor’s porch, she spotted a tailless tortoiseshell cat. “Annie?” It couldn’t be.
The second she heard her name, Annie came running and practically jumped into the volunteer’s arms. She knew this was her chance, and once safely inside, she knew just what to do: purr like crazy.
One month and one day after the Windermere fire, just when hope seemed to be running out, Annie made a miraculous appearance one block from the burned out building she used to call home.Not only that, she showed up right outside of City Kitties “headquarters.” We don’t believe in fate — just really smart cats who know exactly where to find help.
A rally for Windermere residents and their pets is planned for tomorrow outside West Philadelphia High School. See the story about that here.
• Clark Park Youth Soccer
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