Police are still looking for the man who stole a bag filled with gold jewelry from a car parked near 52nd and Market Streets on September 2, at about 12:40 p.m. It was reported earlier this month that there was surveillance video of the incident, but the video wasn’t released until yesterday.

Southwest Detective Division is seeking public help in identifying and locating the person seen in the video who, police say, smashed the front passenger side window with a hammer, took a blue duffel bag with various gold jewelry items, worth approximately $66,000 (previously, it was reported that the value of the stolen jewelry was over $100,000), and fled on a bicycle.

The 74-year-old owner of the bag parked his car and went to the nearby Cash For Gold store to conduct some business, according to police. He was at the store for about 5 minutes, during which the theft took place.

If you have any information about the suspect, please contact Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183/3184.

Here’s the video:

Lea School’s new playground. (Photo courtesy of West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools)

A couple of exciting public events are planned this month at the Henry C. Lea School, including a meet and greet with the entire school community.

This Friday, Sept. 19, community members are invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new school playground at 47th and Spruce. A new play structure was transferred from another West Philly school, the shuttered Alexander Wilson School, and the playground area was resurfaced, thanks to donations from parents, neighbors, and Spruce Hill Community Association.

The new playground opened earlier this week and now local residents are invited to celebrate the opening together with Lea’s new principal, Ms. Jennifer Duffy, teachers, students, and members of the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools (WPCNS), whose ‘Greening Lea’ initiative was key to the success of this project. The new playground is an early Greening Lea project since a lot of work is still ahead. Full Phase 1 construction is expected to start in the summer of 2015 (click here to learn more about Greening Lea and to support the initiative).

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 8 a.m. before the start of school.

On Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. families and community members are invited to the Lea School Auditorium (47th and Locust) to a meeting with the principal, teachers, and WPCNS members to learn more about the school’s mission, vision and its redesign initiative. As part of this project, the school and WPCNS will submit next month an application to the School District of Philadelphia’s School Redesign Initiative program, which would provide a small planning grant and expert resources for the school’s developing model to be implemented in the 2015-2016 school year.

The school leadership team led by the Principal Duffy has created a mission and vision in an effort to serve all the students, families, staff, and community of Lea, according to their statement. It is stressed that the goal is “not to create Lea anew but rather strengthen and build upon the important work that has been done in recent years, with the continued input and investment from the broader Lea community.”

The Spring Garden Street on-ramp to I-76 West will close on Monday, Sept 22 until the beginning of December for repairs and construction work. PennDOT is planning to replace expansion joints, widen the bridge deck, and install concrete barriers during this time. Watch out for detour signs that will take passenger vehicles over Spring Garden Street, 33rd Street, Mantua Street, 34th Street and Girard Avenue to access the Girard Avenue ramp to I-76 West.

The Spring Garden St/I-76 West ramp repair is part of PennDOT’s $6.6 million project to rehabilitate the two deteriorating Spring Garden Street bridges over Interstate 76, Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Schuylkill River and the Schuylkill River Trail. The project is expected to complete in summer 2015.

Really tragic news this morning. An 8-year-old girl has died after falling from a 9th floor window of a high-rise apartment building near 43rd and Locust.

The incident happened around 7:45 a.m. The girl fell from a window located on the east side of the Fairfax apartment building at 4247 Locust Street, across the street from Penn Alexander School. She was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition where she later died. Our deepest condolences to the girl’s family.

The University of Pennsylvania has expanded its home-buying program out to 56th Street, according to the university’s Department of Home Ownership Services. The program is designed to entice full-time staff and faculty to live in West Philly.

The new western boundary will extend from 52nd Street to the east side of 56th from Market Street south to Paschall Avenue (see map below). The eastern boundary is unchanged, running along the Schuylkill River. The northern boundary runs along Haverford Avenue to 44th Street where it switches to Market Street. These are the first changes to the program, which provides a $7,500 forgivable loan toward the purchase or improvement of a home, since 2004.

The loan benefit also applies to employees of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

The area shown in purple reflects the new boundaries of Penn’s housing loan plan.

Photo courtesy of University City District.

The summer’s second and last Dollar Stroll is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18 along Baltimore Avenue between 43rd and 51st Streets from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. As always, dozens of area businesses will be offering $1 items, from all kinds of food, ice cream and beers to special memberships and tickets. In addition to $1 food and drinks, the September Dollar Stroll will feature live entertainment including jugglers, fire artists and music from Y-Not Radio at the 46th Street Triangle.

Check out the list below of participating businesses and organizations and their offers.

Green Line Cafe
4239 Baltimore Avenue
Hebrew National hot dogs & carrot dogs

Friends of Clark Park
43rd and Baltimore Avenue
Clark Park Frisbees & keychains

Milk & Honey Market
4435 Baltimore Avenue
Bassets ice cream bars  Continue Reading