University City Dining Days, the popular annual event organized by University City District, is returning this Thursday, July 12. This is a great opportunity to visit some of the best local restaurants and enjoy a three-course dinner at a fixed price – $15, $25 or $35.

More than 35 restaurants, from craft beer bars to celebrity chef restaurants to cozy BYOBs, are participating in this year’s Dining Days (the biggest one yet!). University City’s international dining scene features dishes from India, Ethiopia, China, Vietnam, and more! Some recently opened restaurants are also on this year’s list of participants.  Continue Reading

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced charges against the person allegedly responsible for the hit and run accident that killed 5-year old Xavier Moy in the Walnut Hill neighborhood two weeks ago. The accident happened on Friday, June 22 at approximately 4:07 p.m. on the 5000 block of Irving Street. Twenty-five-year-old Anissa Thompson surrendered to authorities on Thursday morning and was charged later that day. The charges include homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and fleeing the scene of an accident, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Xavier was struck by the car while playing in the street. He was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition and died about an hour later.

The bail  has been set at $500,000.

That time of year is coming up when SEPTA trolley riders will have to switch from trolley to subway when traveling to Center City. SEPTA’s annual Center City trolley tunnel maintenance project, “Trolley Tunnel Blitz,” is scheduled for 10 days this year – from July 13 to July 23.

Due to power, track and station improvement projects in the tunnel that runs between the 40th and 13th Street stations, SEPTA Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 will not operate in the tunnel from 10 p.m. on Friday, July 13, through 4 a.m. on Monday, July 23. Trolley service will begin and end at 40th and Market Streets, and trolleys will use their alternate diversion service routing to connect to SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line at 40th and Market Streets. Trolley passengers can board the Market-Frankford Line at 40th Street Station for travel to-and-from Center City, as the work efforts will not affect that service.

This is the fifth consecutive summer SEPTA has held the Trolley Tunnel Blitz. During this year’s tunnel closure, members of SEPTA’s in-house Engineering, Maintenance & Construction Division crews will work around-the-clock on key maintenance and construction tasks throughout the five-mile, single loop Center City tunnel.

If you’re spending the Fourth of July holiday in the city, here’s some useful information on the festivities, where you can watch the fireworks, and SEPTA service.

Wawa Welcome America July 4th Fireworks

The July 4th Concert and Fireworks will be held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Wednesday, July 4th beginning at 7:00 p.m. The event is FREE and open to the public. Guests are invited to come early and enjoy the Party on the Parkway featuring food trucks, games, activities and more! The July 4th Concert will end with Philly’s largest Wawa Welcome America fireworks show in more than a decade, according to organizers. Produced by Pyrotechico and Comcast, the show will feature new special effects and a soundtrack dedicated to love.  Continue Reading

In response to forecasted maximum heat indexes over 100, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley issued a Heat Health Emergency in Philadelphia beginning Sunday, July 1, at noon.

A declaration of a Heat Health Emergency by the Health Commissioner activates the City’s emergency heat programs, including the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Heatline, extended hours at select Free Library locations that have been designated as Cooling Centers, home visits by special field teams, enhanced daytime outreach for the homeless, and the City’s annual reminder to the public to look in on older friends, relatives, and neighbors.  Continue Reading

Artist Stacy Levy hopes that while you’re sweating the lack of parking spots or that missed bus, you will sit for a beat to notice the massive natural force that’s as big as the moon, the sun and the sea, unfolding daily in your midst.

Her installations, “Tide Field” and “River Rooms,” aim to help Philadelphians to connect to the tides that push water up and down Schuylkill River every day.

You may have noticed the clusters of buoys near the boardwalk along the river, near the Art Museum or at Bartram’s Garden. Those are part of “Tide Field.” The basic idea is to show you the tide, that mostly invisible rise and fall of the river that brings the forces of the sun and moon on the ocean into the city every day. The Schuylkill’s tide changes up to six feet daily.  Continue Reading