A reader, James, reports that fire trucks responded to a call of smoke at Penn Alexander school at 43rd and Locust at around 8 p.m. Sunday. Some kind of smoke or steam was indeed leaving the top of the domed area on the school building, which might have triggered the call. The trucks left quickly after checking the building.

Photos by James Buckley.

Emily was last seen Wednesday, May 15 near 48th and Cedar. She was wearing a collar. Her right paw is injured and she is limping. Please call 614-499-6506 with information. There is a $100 reward for her return.

Update (5/20): Emily was found with the help of West Philly Local readers. Her owner, Matthew, would like to thank everyone who called.

This dog (a pitbull mix) was found in the Clark Park Dog Bowl (44th and Chester) on Thursday, May 16. If you have any information about the owner please call Sean-Michael at 347-399-4143.

The developers of the proposed residential building at 4224 Baltimore Avenue are seeking residents’ input on the project through a series of community engagement meetings, with the first one scheduled on Monday, May 20, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at International House of Philadelphia (South America Room, 3701 Chestnut St). The goal of the meetings is to come up with alternative design plans for the proposed apartment complex to be built on the large vacant lot at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore.

Vacant lot at 43rd and Baltimore where the new apartment complex is proposed.

Clarkmore Group LLC, the property owner, has obtained a conditional zoning permit for the 92 residential unit building, six parking spaces and 36 bicycle parking spaces. The proposed plan had received mixed reviews from the community, including comments by West Philly Local readers after our first article on this subject.

Clarkmore Group LLC is working with the Spruce Hill Community Association, which will coordinate the community engagement process that will include three meetings in total (we’ll post more details about the other two meetings when this information is available). At the meetings, community members can learn more about the project, meet the project team and work with it on a number of focus areas, including the building design, transportation and retail mix.

More details on this project and its stakeholders are available here.

Here’s a great opportunity for gardeners to get free compost and check out West Philly’s Dirt Factory. The Dirt Factory, which opened almost a year ago at 4308 Market Street, is inviting neighbors to Dirt Day on Saturday, May 18 where you can receive free compost created at the facility from waste contributed by local residents, attend free workshops and tour the facility. In addition, there will be free food from West Philly businesses, plantables, and even free buckets for collecting your compostable waste. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and here’s the workshop schedule:

• 11 a.m. – noon:  Making Your Own Compost featuring Christine Tilles, Penn State Extension Educator
• 1-2 p.m.:  Vegetable Gardening with Compost featuring Jessica Herwick, Penn State Extension Master Gardener

Everyone can take home up to 10 gallons of compost for free at tomorrow’s event, and while there, take a tour of The Dirt Factory to learn how the compost was made. Attendees are requested to RSVP at compost@universitycity.org

Reminder: The Dirt Factory is open for compostable waste drop-off from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesdays. For more information go to: universitycity.org/dirt-factory

While West Philly’s Hip Hop Fundamentals has already reached—and exceeded—their $10,000 Kickstarter fundraising goal, there are still 22 hours left to donate to the campaign supporting the dance crew’s upcoming educational assembly, “Civil Rights Movements: The Power of Youth Engagement as Seen Through the Eyes of Dr. King.”

Founded in 2011 by Repstyles Crew members Steve “Believe” Lunger and Mark “Metal” Wong, Hip Hop Fundamentals work to “empower and educate” local youth by teaching academics and social issues through hip hop assemblies. Their new hour-long “Civil Rights Movement” show (view video below), which will be performed at 10 Philadelphia public schools, will use dance, history lectures, music, interactive workshops, and audience participation to showcase the critical role students played in advancing civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s. A free May 5 public performance of the show at Clark Park kicked off the crew’s fundraising efforts.

During the show, students will have the opportunity to unite to “overcome prejudice, breaking unjust laws, writing letters to elected officials, marching and protesting, and boycotting,” Hip Hop Fundamentals’ Education Director, Aaron “Professor Peabody” Troisi. Hip Hop Fundamentals five-performer cast will read samples from different Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. letters and speeches, including “I Have a Dream” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” as well as highlight examples of student leadership and involvement  in the Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Freedom Rides.

“Civil Rights Movement” will also illuminate hip hop’s connection to the historic movement, with particular focus on Afrika Bambaataa and other founders of the politically and socially-conscious genres. According to Troisi, in drawing this connection, Hip Hop Fundamentals will show how hip hop “is one of the many legacies of the Civil Rights Movement; an empowering modern culture in which young people play a critical role.”

The tour will kick off before the end of this month and last through the end of the school year. While Hip Hop Fundamentals is still hammering out schedule and location details, the crew hopes to perform in West Philly’s Samuel Gompers and Overbrook Elementary schools, as well as Dimner Beeber Middle School.

According to Troisi, all funds raised through Kickstarter will go towards tour overhead, which costs roughly $1,000 per show for performers, transportation, production, and other expenses, with no costs passed on to the schools. He said some of the money will also fund arts programming provided free to local high-need schools, and hiring local young dancers for HHP’s youth-teaching-youth mentorship framework.

“We are hoping to bring empowering arts programming back to Philly’s public schools. We are hoping to work with and educate the youth in our communities who need it most,” he said. “This campaign has been so successful, it is obvious that our city is starved for good, educational arts programming. We’re honored to be a part of providing that to youth in our city.”

– Annamarya Scaccia