A taxi driver was shot in the hand by a passenger Thursday night on the 200 block of S. Farragut Street, according to police. The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. when the passenger pulled out a gun and announced a robbery after the cab stopped. The passenger was picked up at 48th and Baltimore and asked to be taken to 47th and Locust Streets, but when the taxi arrived at 47th and Locust he told the driver to turn down 200 S. Farragut St. and to let him out there. When the driver pulled over the passenger pulled out a black handgun, reached through the partition and pointed the handgun at the driver’s head, demanding money, police said. The driver, who worked for Freedom Taxi, grabbed the gun and a struggle ensued, during which the driver was shot and wounded in his right thumb and left index finger with a single shot.

After shooting the driver the passenger took his money, cell phone and car keys and fled south on Farragut Street. He ran into an alleyway and disappeared. The victim’s cell phone was later found on Farragut Street.

The cab driver was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment and is expected to be okay.

Police are asking for public’s assistance in locating the suspect. He’s described as a black male, dark complexion, 28-32 years old, 5’9-6’00” tall, thin build, thick beard with mustache. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and carrying a black backpack.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the Southwest Detectives Division (Lieutenant Walker or Joseph Murray) at 215-476-1131.

Have you ever dreamed of fixing an old boat and sailing it around the world? A group of young people led by hacker/anarchist/sailor Moxie Marlinspike did just that: they traveled to Florida, bought a junked boat, fixed it up and sailed it around the Bahamas, capturing their experience on a camcorder bought and later returned to Best Buy. This ultimate adventure movie, titled Hold Fast, is screening Thursday night (June 27), beginning at 7 p.m., at Cedar Works (4919 Pentridge St.) and everyone is invited, including families with children.

The film screening is a fundraiser for West Philly-based group AIDS Policy Project comprised of longtime activists pushing for a cure for AIDS for everyone who needs one. At Thursday’s event, the group members will be selling delicious snacks, raffling off boat trips and other nautical stuff, and “telling stories of maritime calamity and fun,” according to Executive Director and West Philly neighbor Kate Krauss. If you like, you can bring your maritime disaster story to share. If you bring your kids they can play on a big, fenced-in patio and still watch the movie through the glass wall.

Tickets are $10 to $20 on a sliding scale and can be purchased online or at the door. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the AIDS Policy Project website.

Photo: Neal Santos / www.nealsantos.com

If you’re looking to score locally-grown veggies to round out your grocery shopping this week, stop by Farm 51 this Thursday to purchase organic food goods—and support West Philly farming—from its weekly produce stand.

Opened in May, Farm 51’s farmstand operates every Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the educational urban farm and market’s site at 51st and Chester Streets. Currently, the farm will have its fresh, organically grown kale, collards, lettuces, herbs, carrots, radishes, flowers, beets, and eggs from its chickens available for sale, and will introduce honey from its bees, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons and more, later in the season. The produce stand, in operation since the farm officially opened four years ago, will close in late October.

Farmstand costs, which are marked by bag and bunch, range from $1 to $6 in order to remain affordable for the farm’s immediate residents, said Philadelphia City Paper Staff Photographer/Associate Web Editor Neal Santos, who runs Farm 51 along with founder Andrew Olson. The farm only accepts cash at its stand but is working on equipping itself to also accept SNAP, Santos told West Philly Local.

Proceeds from the farmstand will go towards paying Farm 51’s junior gardeners, who staff the single farmstand, as well as supporting its garden and “all of its critters,” said Santos. In addition to the West Philly location, Farm 51 will also host a stand at Philadelphia’s Open Air Market at 23rd and Arch Streets, where it’ll sell its organic cut flowers and Santos’s photography.

“The plan is to consistently provide fresh, affordable and locally grown organic produce to our customers,” Santos told West Philly Local. Farm 51 plans on holding open farm days for guided tours in the near future. “We also hope to create more of a meeting and community space in the parts of the garden that are not growing space for pop up events.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

We have received reports of a brazen theft pattern developing over the last couple of weeks at some local cafes. Tip jars were stolen from the counters of at least two local establishments last week.

Tip jars were stolen from the Green Line Café on Locust Street twice in the last two weeks, according to owner Douglas Witmer. It looks like both times it was done by the same person, he adds.

A tip jar was also stolen from Milk & Honey Market at 45th and Baltimore Avenue, according to owner Annie Baum-Stein, who added that the theft happened at the end of the day, around 7 p.m.

It’s not known how much money was stolen.

Neighborhood grocery store Mariposa Food Co-op with over 1,500 local members began accepting youth member applications last week. If you or some of your family members are between ages 14 and 17, this is a great opportunity for you/them to become a member-owner of a community-run business and to learn about the cooperative economy. By becoming a Mariposa member, our young neighbors, just like adult members, can participating in decision-making about the co-op through voting, earn a 5 percent shopping discount and receive other member benefits.

Interested youth or parents/guardians are asked to stop by the store located at 49th and Baltimore Avenue to pick up a membership application. By the way, youth member equity is only $5. For more information please visit: https://www.mariposa.coop/

There were 44 serious crimes committed within West Philadelphia’s University City District (UCD) boundaries (river to 50th Street, Market to Woodland) last month, which is the highest since last October. These crimes include 24 robberies  – 12 armed robberies (six in April) and 12 robberies with no weapon (eight in April). There was a slight decrease in residential burglaries though in comparison to April – from 17 to 13. The University City District reports that 12 related arrests have already been made.

While the new crime data provided by UCD in their monthly crime update distributed to email subscribers is somewhat worrying, the increase in criminal activity is typical for warmer months and usually subsides when the weather gets too hot in the summer and in colder months. It is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings at all times and to use a Walking Escort in the area to accompany you late at night or when you feel unsafe. UCD reminds that you can call 215-898-9255 or 215-387-3942 between 10 a.m. – 3 a.m. and a UCD Ambassador will be dispatched.