As always, we are publishing information on upcoming Easter egg hunts in West and Southwest Philadelphia. If you know of any other Easter egg hunts, please drop us a line at: editor@westphillylocal.com or post in the comments below.

Saturday, March 30

Easter Egg Hunt and Crafts & Fun in Clark Park

Where: Next to the toddler playground (43rd and Chester)

When: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. (rain or shine!)

Who: Age 1 – 8

The event is being hosted by the Renewal Presbyterian Church (47th and Cedar). Participants should sign up for the egg hunt at the beginning of the event. Contact information:  e-mail: office@renewalchurch.org, phone: 267-564-5105.

Spring Egg Hunts at Walnut Street West Library

Where: 40th & Walnut

When: 10:30 a.m.

Who: Preschool age kids

When: 1 p.m.

Who: School age kids

The Spring Egg Hunts are sponsored by the Friends of the Walnut West Library. Contact information: Phone: 215-685-7671.
 
Eastwick Library’s Spring Egg Hunt

Where: Free Library of Philadelphia Eastwick Branch, 2851 Island Avenue

When: 1 p.m.

Join the Friends of Eastwick Library for a Spring Egg Hunt inside the library. Contact information: Phone: 215-685-4170.

Woodland Presbyterian Spring Fling and Egg Hunt

Where: Woodland Presbyterian Church, 42nd and Pine

When: 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Come out this Saturday to the Easter Spring Fling at Woodland Presbyterian at 42nd and Pine. Hot Dogs, lemonade, basket making, egg decorating, balloon animals, face painting, egg hunt and more! The Egg Hunt begins at 1 p.m. Enter a raffle to win some delicious honey bunny bread. Make a Easter Egg Race Car with the Build-It-Bus.

Sunday, March 31

The Great St. Mary’s Easter Egg Hunt

Where: St. Mary’s Church, 3916 Locust Walk

When: after Easter Sunday service, approximately at 1 p.m.

All children and their families are welcome. BYOB (Bring Your Own Basket).

Dr. Wan Yanhai.

Dr. Wan Yanhai, a prominent Chinese AIDS activist, will be in West Philly this Friday to tell his story of fleeing his country in 2010 and discuss human rights in China. Dr. Wan will join West Philly AIDS activist Kate Krauss in the discussion. A portion of the film “The Central Plains” will also be screened.

Dr. Wan organized China’s first HIV/AIDS telephone hotline and was instrumental in advocating for the rights of tens of thousands of families who became infected with HIV/AIDS in Henan Province due to illegal blood selling practices. He later expanded his work to advocate for the health of injection drug users, sex workers, and other marginalized groups affected by AIDS.

Dr. Wan is also a co-founder of the Beijing LGBT Center, the first gay community center in China. He has won numerous human rights awards and is currently the director of the country’s foremost AIDS-awareness group, the Aizhixing Institute of Health Education. He has been detained by the authorities three times in the past 12 years, including a month-long detention in 2002 that made international headlines.

On May 10, 2010, Wan Yanhai together with his family fled China and moved into the home of Ms. Krauss in West Philadelphia, where they stayed for several months before continuing on to various academic appointments. Dr. Wan currently lives with his family in New Haven, Connecticut.

Katie Krauss.

Katie Krauss is Executive Director and Founder of the AIDS Policy Project and has worked on a wide range of AIDS issues, from AIDS vaccines to Medicaid and housing for people with AIDS in Philly.

The event will be held at the A-Space gallery (4722 Baltimore Ave) beginning at 7 p.m. Snacks will be available. A $5 donation is suggested. To RSVP please email: info@AIDSPolicyProject.org.

The deadline to appeal property assessments under the new Actual Value Initiative (AVI) is fast approaching. First-Level Review Request forms are due in the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) by Sunday, March 31 (or 30 days after you received your assessment notice).

The OPA recommends submitting other documents that may help the office consider your case. These could include photos or recent third-party appraisals. The First-Level Review Request form should have been included with the new assessment notifications. If you need a new form, they are available to download here. The forms should be mailed here:

Office of Property Assessment
P.O. Box 51498
Philadelphia, PA 19115

They also can be dropped off at:

311 Walk-In Center in Room 167 at City Hall
Municipal Services Building Concourse-level, 1401 JFK Blvd.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you can file another appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes. That appeal is due by Oct. 7, 2013.

Below is a video produced by the City as a guide to the appeal process.

The 18th Police District is organizing a crime prevention event this Friday, March 29, where community members can learn about new programs designed to help combat property related crimes. The event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Sayre High School parking lot located at 5800 Walnut Street.

The goal of the event is to spread awareness and encourage participation in the following programs (information provided by Philly Police Blog:

OPERATION I.D. is a Property Identification Program developed to aid in the prevention of crime and identification of personal property in the event that it is lost or stolen (e.g. cell phones, computers televisions, GPS, DVD headrests, car stereos, etc.).

The B.O.N.D. [Business Owner Notification Decal] Program is a program that registers local business owners with the police department in the event of a burglary or other emergency and ensures the owner is contacted immediately.

The S.A.V.E. [Stolen Auto Verification Effort] Program is an effort in which citizens register their vehicles with the police department for the application of a special decal to their car window. Enrollment in the program permits officers to stop their vehicles and conduct an ownership investigation when the vehicle is being operated on the streets of Philadelphia between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., seven days a week.

VIN ETCHING [Vehicle Identification Number Engraving] is an effort to prevent theft of vehicles and theft of glass parts from vehicles in which the VIN is professionally etched on the car windows. Etching can be done on side mirrors and on some headlights.

All the programs are free to the public and are very effective, according to police. Residents are invited to participate in all or some of them. Friday’s event will also provide other crime prevention information.

For more information please contact P/O Andrew Campbell (CPO) or P/O Mike Davis (CRO) at 215-686-3180 or 215-686-3181.

Spring Break is here for most city schoolchildren and we wanted to pass along information about some free activities for West Philly kids this week. The Free Library Hot Spots at select West Philly locations will offer some fun events from Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, where kids, tweens and teens can learn how to make video games online, spice up their wardrobe with e-textiles, practice their DJ skills, make videos, and more.

At Blackwell Regional Library (52nd and Sansom), teens and tweens ages 12 and up can visit the Hot Spot to get creative. On Tuesday, March 26 from 2-4 p.m., teens at Blackwell can create and play video games. On Wednesday, March 27 from 1:45-3 p.m., there will be creative digital freeplay, from making beats to editing photos and making videos.

From Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, teens, tweens, and kids ages 8 and up are invited to visit the Free Library Hot Spot at Heavenly Hall located at 4015 Poplar Street (Hours: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.) to make video games, edit music, create an e-textiles project, or edit photos. Also, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, there will be a dance party to close out the week.

If you have questions about these events, please email Jazmin at: idakaarj@freelibrary.org

An artist’s rendering of the building project at 43rd and Sansom. This is an early rendering and thanks to some pressure from the Spruce Hill Community Association, the building will include some brick facade, windows on the west-facing wall and more landscaping.

Construction of a 4-story, 31-unit apartment building (artist’s rendering above) on the southeast corner of 43rd and Sansom could begin as early as this spring.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the project earlier this month. The building will occupy 121-133 S. 43rd St., which is now a vacant lot near the Bravo Advanced Care Center on the 4300 block of Walnut Street.  The Spruce Hill Community Association signed off on the project in February.

The project will include 31 off-street parking spots and 11 bicycle “parking spaces.” Two commercial spaces will also be located in the building ground floor. Most of the 31 apartments are between 600 and 750 square feet.