Philly Cuts owner Darryl Thomas (center) and his employees and supporters in front of his barbershop at 44th and Chestnut (Darryl Thomas Facebook photo)

The barbershop on 44th and Chestnut Streets in West Philadelphia seems to have only two floors: the ground floor for men’s haircuts, and the second floor for women’s haircuts. But there’s also third floor, a room plastered with maps and signs, with people taking calls and typing messages: A campaign office.

Philly Cuts has been in operation for 18 years, and this year its 43-year-old owner Darryl Thomas is running for political office for the first time. Thomas, a Democrat, is running for State Representative of the 190th District in the primary election on Tuesday, April 26th. This legislative district includes Belmont, Carroll Park, Cathedral Park, Mill Creek, Haddington, East Parkside,West Powelton, Strawberry Mansion, Allegheny West and Lehigh West. This is the district that Thomas grew up in and left for college—but eventually came back to.

Thomas said the barbershop is like a “watering hole”— a natural place for the community to come together, and a good place to reach them. Over the years, that barbershop has morphed into a community crossroads, a place where people can come for one service — a haircut — and find information and access to other services, like healthcare, education, and job opportunities.  Continue Reading

Pennsylvania’s primary is this Tuesday (Apr. 26) and, along with the well-hyped presidential races, there are a few local primaries on the ballot as well. Follow the links below to the Committee of 70 website for details on candidates for each seat.

The entire Pennsylvania House of Representatives (203 seats) and half the state Senate (50 seats, including Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 in Philadelphia) are on the ballot. Republicans currently have a 119-84 majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Primaries will also be held for state Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer.

Vincent Hughes is running unopposed on the primary ballot for the Pennsylvania Senate seat in District 7.  Continue Reading

UPDATE: Police are now saying that the 20-year-old woman who was abducted and sexually assaulted in an 11-hour ordeal on Saturday, knew her attacker. No other details are available at this time.

Police are looking for a man who they believe abducted and sexually assaulted a young woman early Saturday morning and held her 11 hours before she escaped near 57th and Larchwood.

The 20-year-old woman was forced into a black vehicle at gunpoint at about 4 a.m. near 49th and Lancaster. The vehicle had tinted windows and a garbage bag over the driver’s side rear window, she told police. She escaped from the vehicle at about 3 p.m. on Saturday near 57th and Larchwood, police said.

Her abductor was described as a black male, about 23 years old, with dreadlocks and a long beard.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will hold rallies in the city, the day before the Pennsylvania primary election on Tuesday, April 26.

Sanders will hold a rally on Monday with actors Susan Sarandon and Kendrick Sampson at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University, 3301 Market St. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and no tickets are required, but RSVPS are strongly encouraged since admission is first come, first served.

Clinton’s rally will take place at the City Hall Courtyard, 1401 John F Kennedy Blvd. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., and RSVP is also recommended.

The Republican frontrunner Donald Trump will be at West Chester University, 700 S High Street West Chester, PA, for a 4 p.m. rally on Monday. Doors open at 1 p.m. and tickets are available here.

It’s hard to imagine West Philly’s Clark Park without Uhuru Flea Markets. After a six-month break the popular event is returning on Sunday, April 24 (postponed from Saturday, Apr 23 due to rain). The Uhuru Health Festival & Flea Market will kick off the 2016 Flea Market season, with the powerful theme of Black Health Matters. The festival will feature local health practitioners, fitness workshops, free health screenings, live entertainment, and two important keynote speakers: APEDF President Ona Zene Yeshitela, and John Thomas, Manager of the Tyron Lewis Community Gym.

The Uhuru Health Festival & Flea Market is an economic development project of the African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF). As a national non-profit organization, APEDF is dedicated to raising resources and developing programming to overturn the grave disparities in health, education, and economic development within the African community. The Health Festival is only one part of the important work to carry out APEDF’s mission of developing self-determination for Africans and all oppressed peoples.

Little Marrakesh Bazaar will be there, too! (Facebook photo)

The festival will also feature free health resources and information from a large number of local health and wellness organizations, including Philadelphia FIGHT, Refugee Health Partners, music by Coco Sol & the Chillettes, and much more.

The festival will be held from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 43rd and Chester.

This year, Uhuru Flea Markets are scheduled for April 23 (Facebook page), May 21, June 18, Aug. 20, Sept. 24 (Book Fair), and Oct. 22. Visit uhuruhealthfest.blogspot.com for more information.

Indego bike share station in Clark Park (archived photo).

Philly’s bike-share program Indego celebrated its first birthday this week by announcing a couple dozen more docking stations around the city, including a few in West Philly. The program also introduced new rates and ways for low-income residents to pay for the service and a snappy new app.

New docking stations will be located near 34th and Mantua, 42nd and Lancaster and 46th and Market. Indego will also start accepting Pennsylvania ACCESS cards and offer an unlimited number of one-hour rides for 30 days for $5 – down from $15. The new rates should widen the availability of the program, something Indego officials had hoped for when the program began.

The program’s new app will allow riders to find stations, check on bike availability, renew membership passes and search trip history.

Indego has been very popular over the past year, logging about 420,000 rides and more than 8,000 memberships.