More details have been provided about the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the University of the Sciences (USciences), one of three new mass vaccination sites run by the city’s Department of Public Health.

The site will be open twice a week starting this week and will administer vaccine doses to eligible residents who had pre-registered on the COVID-19 Vaccine Interest website or by phone: (215) 685-5488. The department will send out invitations to people by email or call about scheduling an appointment.

The site will offer first doses of the vaccine on one day and second doses on the other day of operation. The Health Department is planning to vaccinate about 500 people per day at each site, gradually increasing the amount to up to 3,000 doses per week.  Continue Reading

The mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the City’s Convention Center, which was previously run by the controversial Philly Fighting COVID organization and then by the City’s Department of Public Health, will soon have a new operator. FEMA will take over the site in early March, according to today’s announcement by Philadelphia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley.

The center is expected to open on March 3rd and to administer several thousand vaccine shots per day. Since FEMA is a federally-run organization it is expected to receive its own allocation of vaccine doses directly from the federal government and not use any from the city’s general allocation, which also comes from the federal government, according to today’s announcement. This will help increase the number of vaccinations administered in the city. Currently, Philadelphia is receiving about 25,000 COVID vaccine doses per week.  Continue Reading

Here’s some great news from University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI), an award-winning workforce development program founded in 2009.

• Philadelphia residents who are interested in becoming a bus operator are welcome to apply for a new job training program with WPSI and SEPTA. The Skills Initiative is recruiting customer-service “superstars” who have had a valid driver’s license for at least the last three years, who have open schedule availability, and who possess an interest in growing a career at SEPTA.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (2/18/2021, 7:35 p.m.): The snow emergency has been lifted. It’s now allowed to park vehicles along snow emergency routes.

(2/17/2021): Another storm is approaching the Philadelphia area and is expected to bring up to 6 inches of snow. The City has declared a snow emergency beginning at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. Be sure to move your vehicle to a safe location if it’s been parked on a snow emergency route. The list of snow emergency routes can be found here.

If your car has been towed, call 215-686-SNOW to locate it.  Continue Reading

The School District of Philadelphia has postponed the reopening date for its schools from Feb. 22 to March 1. The decision to delay the reopening, which is part of the District’s hybrid learning model, was made due to the ongoing third-party mediation requested by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT). The organization has instructed teachers earlier this month not to return to school buildings until it is decided by a third party that it is safe to do so.

The District is now planning to begin the first phase of the hybrid learning plan, which includes welcoming students in PreK-2 back to school buildings, on Monday, March 1. Older students will be phased in later. No additional dates have been provided yet.  Continue Reading

Here are a couple of new grant opportunities for West Philadelphia businesses and organizations who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest.

• University City District (UCD) has partnered with several neighborhood associations to offer $15,000 in small business and non-profit grants. UCD and five neighborhood associations – Garden Court Community Association, the Walnut Hill Community Association, the Spruce Hill Community Association, the Powelton Village Civic Association, and Cedar Park Neighbors – will select 15 brick-and-mortar businesses/organizations (up to three in each neighborhood) from the list of applicants to offer them $1,000 grants.  Continue Reading