For those interested in recycling their Christmas tree,  we have so far found two options. The best local option in West Philly is to take it to Clark Park at 43rd and Chester Ave. on Jan. 9 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.. UC Green will turn your tree into wood chips that will be used for neighborhood parks and gardens. The cost is $5, which will go toward recouping the costs of the chipping. Your tree should be free of decorations etc. before you drop it off.

The City provides a second option. Trees will be accepted for recycling from Jan. 3 through Jan. 15 at three locations in the city. The closest for West Philly residents is 3033 South 63rd St. (between Lindbergh Blvd. and Passyunk Ave.). Other drop-off locations include near  the intersection of Domino Lane and Umbria Street in Manayunk, and State Road and Ashburner Street in the Northeast. More information about the program is available at (215) 686-5560.

Trees left curbside will be taken to the landfill.

Here is a flyer on the UCGreen option:

If you can stand the wind – and it is brutal at times – there is good sledding to be had at Clark Park today. A nice little ramp has been set up near the maintenance building. See more photos on our Flickr feed. About a foot of snow fell in West Philly overnight.

The City has announced that trash and recycling collection has been suspended for today. Residents with regular Monday trash and recycling collection should hold their trash until next week for regular pickup on Monday, Jan. 3. On Tuesday through Friday, residents with rear driveway collection should place their trash and recycling in front of their homes for pickup. Rear trash collection will resume next week.

Tuesday pick-up appears to be on as usual.

In a recent piece in Philadelphia Magazine, the new Drexel president John Fry lays out his hopes for the remaking of the neighborhoods near the campus – the Eds and Meds (universities and medicine/science) approach a la Penn. Fry imagines a Drexel that is the most “civically engaged university in America.” The plan seems to be similar to what has taken place at Penn, where Fry was a vice president under former president Judith Rodin. The plan includes more police, help with faculty and staff mortgages and improved schools.

From the piece:

The short-term goal is to make the northern University City neighborhoods around Drexel more like the clean, leafy, surprisingly safe and prosperous precincts that adjoin the Penn campus, whose very niceness Fry had more than a little to do with creating during a seven-year stint as Penn’s executive vice president under then-president Judith Rodin.

The piece is also sprinkled with contrasts between Fry and the neighborhoods he proposes to revamp – references to his Land Rover, his degrees and the fact that he lives in Bryn Mawr.

Young orange and white tabby with a fluffy tail found on 49th and Baltimore, approx. 6 months old. Needs a foster home after tomorrow. Call 215-589-2437 or 267-882-8817 if you can help.

A robbery/shooting left one man injured last night near 54th St. and Springfield Ave. The Daily News writes: