As of about noon, 66 people were in line. If it continues, the duration of this year’s line will be measured in days not hours.

UPDATE: The School District of Philadelphia decided tonight that Penn Alexander will go to a lottery system for kindergarten. See Superintendent William Hite’s statement here.

At the risk of contributing to the hysteria surrounding kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School, we feel compelled to post something. The line has already begun and as of about noon included about 70 people.

Registration for next year’s kindergarten class begins Tuesday morning. Small clusters of parents nervously huddled and strategized along the 4200 block of Locust Street this morning. They spoke about the provisions and shelter they will need to stand in line for four days. One parent said she rented an RV to park near the school.

All vowed that they would not start the line, but that they would be nearby ready to join it if someone else did. That happened about two hours later, when a woman – a prospective student’s grandmother – started the line.

“I am a nervous person, I saw people standing around and I didn’t know what to do,” said the woman, who is holding a spot for her son.

She was in a line that had started earlier – at about 8:20 a.m. – but broke up after parents of current Penn Alexander students, who had just dropped their kids off, asked the lined-up parents to leave. One reader wrote us:

“I could hardly believe my eyes but at 8:20 this morning there were parents lining up outside Penn Alexander for registration, which I believe starts Tuesday morning.  Other parents or community members were confronting them and asking them to leave, threatening to call the cops to disperse them.  A child was shivering in her mother’s arms.  Is there any talk of moving to a lottery next year?  The current way seems insane.  If kindergarten registration is going to be a physical endurance test they might as well schedule a footrace from a mile away and award spots to the parents that finish first.  (Not a serious suggestion, just pointing out the absurdity of awarding spots to parents who camp out in the cold for 4 days.)”

Here is a timeline to illustrate how we got here.

• 2010 – The line started in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. This is the year where things seemed to have changed.

• 2011 – The line started at about 10 p.m. the night before registration began, prompting television news crews to interview parents. A spot in kindergarten becomes even more coveted when the District announces that students who did not attend PAS for kindergarten may not get a spot in first grade due to overcrowding.

• 2012 – The line last year started 24 hours before registration began. The Spruce Hill Community Association distributed a letter to parents in line calling for community residents to make their voices heard on the issue. It began, “No one should have to line up in the cold for nearly 24 hours to register their child for kindergarten.”

If the trend of lining up earlier and earlier continues, that 24-hour wait will soon seem like the good old days of kindergarten registration when all you needed was a cup of coffee, some snacks and a sleeping bag. Now you need an RV.

The line could become a public health issue. It is already a social justice issue.

The first-come-first-served system, of course, favors those who are connected and can rearrange their lives for a few days. Some will just not be able to compete – those who work inflexible jobs, single moms or parents for whatever reason simply can’t spy on that stretch of Locust Street along the school’s north side waiting for the line to start. That said, no parents can be blamed for doing what they perceive is best for their child.

The School District of Philadelphia last year approved a additional kindergarten class that the University of Pennsylvania funded. But some kids were still turned away. The District and the School Reform Commission has bigger, whale-sized fish to fry – budget shortfalls, school closures, failing schools. Those are profoundly important issues.

Shouldn’t devising an admission system that keeps parents off the sidewalk be comparatively easy?

– Mike Lyons (editor)

Police have arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the rash of tire slashings that occurred in the early morning hours of January 7 on the 4700-5000 block of Hazel Avenue and the 5300 block of Chancellor Street.

Harry Gaines from the 6000 block of Angorra Terrace is charged with criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief and related offenses. He was arrested yesterday on the 5200 block of Market Street.

Tires were slashed on some 59 vehicles between 5:30 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. on January 7. Surveillance video showed a man puncturing tires while a woman walked on the sidewalk nearby. The woman turned herself into police on Jan. 11.

Police offered a $10,000 reward leading to an arrest and said they received several useful anonymous tips.

The annual Christmas tree recycling initiative by UC Green received a great response from the community this year. Residents brought more than 400 Christmas trees to Clark Park on January 5, the University City District reports. Residents also donated money to UC Green, which turned the collected trees into wood chips that will be used in the neighborhood’s community gardens. On the same day, eForce Compliance collected nearly 11,000 pounds of used electronics from local residents, which will also be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner.

One of other ways to help UC Green, a local non-profit that works on community greening projects, is to buy their firewood, all local and all split by volunteers, currently available at Mariposa Food Co-op (49th & Baltimore).

Photo courtesy UCD.

Evan Sweitzer (photo from Citykitties.org).

Evan Sweitzer, a 10-year-old boy who’s been helping a local cat rescue, is a celebrity after Reddit shared a story about him and The Huffington Post picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Now Evan will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that will air today at 3 p.m. on NBC (you can watch the segment here).

Since 2009 Evan has been sending letters and his allowance money to City Kitties, a West Philly-based cat rescue organization. His family adopted a cat, Macha, from City Kitties and Evan wanted to help other cats. For 2012, Evan donated $110, which his parents matched for a total of $220.

Here’s Evan’s letter that City Kitties received along with his latest donation.

To read more about Evan and how he’s been helping West Philly’s stray cats and kittens, visit Citykitties.org.

These handsome, affectionate, fun, and sweet foster kittens are looking for a home together. They are all up to date on shots for the next year and have been neutered, and microchipped so they can go home with you ASAP! Check out this message from a neighbor, Sarah, who’s fostering them for ACCT Philly:

“Rick (tabby, boy) is what we refer to as rick-tastic! He’s a ridiculously sweet little goofball! You will know the second he is happy as can be because he looooves to purr. With big brown eyes that will melt your heart, this guy could get away with murder. But he doesn’t take advantage of his cuteness! He’s well-behaved, stays off counters, and uses the scratching post and litterbox. He’s not crazy all-over-the-place wild like many kittens, but he IS adventurous and makes his own fun! I’ve found him climbing up a screen-like radiator cover and balancing on a bag full of other plastic bags. We like to describe him in this house as “squishy,” and he’s definitely the squishiest little kitten I’ve ever met. I could hold him tight to my chest and “squish” cuddle him all day. Rick was brought to ACCT as a stray with his brother and sister. They were too small to be adopted, so I picked them up to foster.

Biscuit (tuxedo, boy) is Rick’s best friend. These two LOVE each other so much! They follow each other around the house to play, rough-house, cuddle, snuggle, and groom each other. They make each other purr all day long. Biscuit is super friendly, lovey, and affectionate. He is quite adamant about playing. It can be too much for some cats. He’s pretty good about adjusting based on feedback, but he may be too much for kitties who are more docile. Biscuit is a charmer. Everyone who meets him falls in love. He loves to be in your lap and makes those awesome chirps that cats make when he runs up to you. He always greets me at the door when I get home from work with snuggles. Biscuit was found by a friend of a friend as a stray on Hazel St. in West Philadelphia. I took him to ACCT to be scanned for a chip and looked for possible owners to no avail, so he became my foster.”

Sarah said that January adoption price is $75 for both of them with the “adopt a buddy” program. She will definitely consider separating them, but Rick and Biscuit are the cutest pair and Sarah would love for them to find a home together. Please contact her at: rstlne36912@gmail.com with any questions.

The police are asking for the public’s help in the search for two suspects, a man and a woman, involved in Monday’s kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl and have raised the reward to $10,000 for information leading to their arrest. The woman, who picked up the girl on Monday morning at her school, Bryant Elementary at 60th and Cedar, was wearing dark-colored Muslim garb covering her face. She is described as a black female in her late 20′s, 5’5″ to 5’8″, thin build, with greenish or light eyes and possibly pregnant. She reportedly told the girl that her name was “Rashida.”

The child was taken out of the Hazel Street exit of the school and walked left on 61st Street, a police report states. The woman took the child to a residence several blocks away where she was joined by a man, who is described as a light-skinned (possibly white) male, in his mid-30s, with short brown hair.

Philadelphia Police Captain John Darby said at a news conference that the child was interviewed by police and said that at the residence where she was taken to she was told to remove clothing and was restrained. Darby also said that investigators have narrowed their search for the suspects to an area from Spruce to Christian streets and from 56th Street to Cobbs Creek Parkway. Police are going door to door on those blocks and handing out flyers.

If you have any information about this crime or the suspects please contact Detective Gonzalez, Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251/3252/3265.