Bill Green, who lives on the 4800 block of Regent reports that there was an attempted robbery by two people wielding a machete and a baseball bat on his block. He writes:
Another attempted robbery at machete point tonight on my block, 4800 Regent St. This time two men with ski masks, one with a machete & one with a baseball bat. They grabbed the man they tried to rob & acted menacing, but he yelled & lots of people (first & loudest his girlfriend) came out yelling & they ran away without getting anything. They wanted the man’s backpack. No one was hurt. This was about 8:30 pm, February 9th.
There was a similar mugging on the 4800 block of Beaumont, about four blocks north of Regent, in early January.
Neighborhood resident Katie Bonier has temporary custody of a spayed female shepherd mix named Missy. She relays the story below:
I found her wandering around Chester and 46th on Saturday, she had a tag with her name and address. Through interviewing neighbors and a web search I found that a young woman named Vanessa has owned her since birth, had two dogs, fell on hard times and had to move away 3 weeks ago, to an apartment where dogs aren’t allowed. She left Missy with her parents on 50th and Kingsessing a few weeks ago asking them to find someone to adopt her. The parents kept her in the yard, and she escaped. I talked to Vanessa, and she needs help finding a home for Missy.
I’ve got an elderly 100 lb dog. I don’t want a second dog as Lula goes into old age. Lula has been tolerant because Missy is polite and submissive, but she clearly doesn’t want another dog in the house. Missy weighs about 40 lbs, spayed female shepherd mix. Seems well-trained, not familiar with dog cookies or human food, sits, comes, behaves well with other dogs. Seems trusting and even-tempered, and like maybe she’s used to being left places. She seems quite happy with everyone she meets.
Mayor Michael Nutter and Spruce Hill Community Association President Mark Wagenveld. (Photos by Mike Lyons)
Folks gathered for the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) board meeting last night got a surprise when Mayor Michael Nutter stopped by for an impromptu appearance. Nutter aide Erica Atwood, a neighborhood resident, helped arrange the visit.
Nutter spent about 10 minutes talking to SHCA board members and visitors at its 45th street headquarters about general city issues, such as the budget. Nothing groundbreaking.
Nutter lauded SHCA board members for their civic engagement efforts. “Keep up the good work,” he said before leaving.
As for the SHCA meeting itself, the board:
• Discussed a proposed study of the SEPTA trolley portal at 40th Street between Woodland Avenue and Baltimore Avenue as a “gateway to University City.” The University City District plans to fund a study of the area around the unnel entrance that would improve the area aesthetically as well as add more green space.
• Was informed that restaurant along Baltimore Avenue were hoping to convince the city to allow them to apply as a single entity for permits to allow outdoor cafe seating. Currently the city requires every business to file an application, a fairly arduous process. The Baltimore Avenue Business Association plans to hold a meeting soon to gauge neighborhood support for the plan to apply for the permits as a group. These permits do not apply to businesses that serve alcohol outside.
Sheesh. We forgot to include Secrets of the Silk Road in the weekend preview. This looks like it will be a really fabulous exhibit. It opens today and runs through June. But this weekend looks especially fabulous. This is from the museum:
A host of special sights, sounds, and activities are in store for visitors at the grand opening weekend of Secrets of the Silk Road. Camels will be circling the Museum, stopping for guest encounters and hourly presentations about life along the ancient routes. Central Asian silks, textiles, furniture, and other trading route goods will be for sale in the Museum Shop. Enjoy performances, craft demonstrations, and a café with tea and Chinese pastries inspired by ancient foods in the exhibition.
And here’s a video of curator Victor Mair:
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. Museum admission is $10 for adults and $6 for kids and youth.
Here’s a schedule. (Oh, did we mention that there would be real camels?)
Camels
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Two Bactrian camels (at ease in blistering heat-or freezing cold!) circle the Penn Museum, stopping for guest encounters and hourly presentations about life along the ancient routes, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Storytelling
Saturday Only at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm
Michele Belluomini of Blue Deer Storytelling tells traditional tales from Silk Road lands.
Dance Performance
1:00 pm
Young dancers from Chinese For Families present a short program of Central Asian dance.
Drum Performance
10:30am, 12:30 pm, and 3:30 pm
Silk Road hand drumming demonstration with Joseph Tayoun.
Music Performance
11:30 am and again at 1:30 pm
Classical Asian musician Kurt Jung performs on the traditional Chinese zither.
Get a Henna Tattoo
Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Henna is a popular plant dye used to create body tattoos throughout India and other regions of the Silk Road. First come first served.
• Great Expectations • 8 p.m. • Curio Theatre (815 S. 48th) •Tickets $10 to $15.
Join the Curio Theatre performers as they explore Charles Dickens’ world of Pip, Estella, Miss Havisham, Joe and a small army of other characters in a classic story of love, revenge, redemption and the discovery of self. Preview performances will be Feb. 4, 5 and 10. The play opens Feb. 11. Jared Reed adapted the play and will direct it.
•Serafin String Quartet• 8 p.m. • Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts • General admission $25
Serafin String Quartet debuted in New York in 2004 to a sell-out crowd at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and has consistently received rave reviews in the press and ovations in the concert hall. New York Concert Review has applauded the quartet for their “excellent music making” and “uncommonly fine interpretation.” Enjoy Sky Quartet by 2010 Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Philadelphia composer, Jennifer Higdon.
Saturday
• SAT Prep for Teens • 1 p.m. • Walnut Street West Library (201 S. 40th St.)
• Peanut Butter and Jams Welcomes Bollywood Dance • 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. • World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut St.) • Tickets $7 to $10
This workshop is a unique fusion of Bollywood beats, Indian folk dance moves and western style with an exhilarating style of dance technique, all in an easy-to-understand, format that anyone can follow. It’s a great way to experience healthy physical activity, broaden cultural understanding, develop musical skills and have fun. All Workshops are designed and conducted by celebrity choreographer Rujuta Vaidya who has the credit of choreographing this year’s Oscar ceremony as well as the Bollywood dance routines for superstars like Britney Spears, Cheetah Girls and Black Eyed Peas among others
The 10 a.m. show is for kids 4-11 and the Noon show is a fitness workshop for teens and adults.
Sunday
• Charles Dicken Birthday Party • 2 p.m. • Griffith Hall (University of the Sciences, 43rd and Kingsessing Mall) • Free
The success of the Penn Alexander school (4209 Spruce St.) sometimes overshadows what happens at other schools in the neighborhood. The fact is that many of these schools, while having individual successes, are struggling overall. The students are bright, the teachers are usually qualified and engaged, but the schools are not living up to their potential.
One problem is the lack of parental involvement in schools. Research has consistently shown that parental involvement is a key factor in a students success as well as a school success. Another factor, activists argue, is the school system itself.
The Enterprise Center hosted a screening of a school reform documentary called “A Community Concern,” which chronicles grassroots neighborhood reform efforts in the Bronx, Oakland and Boston. The documentary makes it clear thast school reform is rarely just a top-down process – that there has to be movement from below, among parents, community leaders, teachers and students to make real change. After the screening, several community members involved in school reform in West Philly discussed their efforts. These include parents from West Philadelphia High School (4700 Walnut St.), Henry C. Lea Elementary (4700 Locust St.) and Alain Locke Elementary School (4550 Haverford Ave.).
The same grassroots organizing that changed schools in Oakland, Boston and New York is alive in West Philadelphia as well with groups such as the West Philly Coalition of Neighborhood Schools.
The following excerpts from the discussion will provide an important primer on the efforts in local schools and a window into the issues that need to be addressed.
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