Neighborhood Bike Works’ Earn-a-Bike Education Cause has been selected as one of 100 finalists in the Cause an Effect program on Facebook and has a chance to win one of the $25,000 grants being awarded by State Farm through the program. From April 27 through May 17, any Facebook user can vote up to 10 times per day for Earn-a-Bike Education on the State Farm Facebook page.

The 40 Causes that receive the most votes will be announced on May 22, and a $25,000 grant will be awarded to the winners.

Neighborhood Bike Works has been headquartered in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on 40th and Locust for the past 13 years. The organization seeks to increase opportunities for urban youth in underserved neighborhoods in greater Philadelphia by offering educational, recreational, and career-building opportunities through bicycling. Neighborhood Bike Works also promotes cycling as a healthy, affordable, environment-friendly form of transportation.

If funded, “Earn-a-Bike Education” would allow Neighborhood Bike Works to offer five 8-week after-school Earn-a-Bike classes in the area, providing a total of 60 youth with free, enriching programming.

The Green Line Cafe at 45th and Locust was robbed last night around 9:35 p.m., police said. The person working in the cafe was about to lock all of the doors and count the register. Right before locking the front door, a young man came in, pointed a black gun at the cafe worker and asked him if he wanted to get shot or to give the money up. The worker handed over the cash (approximately $1,000) and the robber ran out and fled north of 45th Street towards Walnut Street.

The robber is described as a white male, late 20s, 5’7-5’8, thin build. He was wearing a green jacket, with a black hoodie underneath, dark jeans, and a black scarf over his face.

Also Thursday night, around 9:20 p.m. there was a shooting near 49th and Baltimore, police said. A 26-year-old man was shot once in the stomach, and then ran to Cedar Park where he saw two of his friends. The victim’s friends transported him to HUP where he was listed in critical condition as of 1 a.m. No arrests were made. Police said that this shooting was not random.

Here’s a sampling of events scheduled in the neighborhood this weekend. For more upcoming events, visit our Happenings page.

• The Woodlands is hosting a Science Scavenger Hunt this Sunday, April 29, as part of the Philadelphia Science week. The beehives will be opening every half hour, the archaeologist will have artifacts from the greenhouse site for kids to sift through, and the Academy of Natural Sciences will have dinosaur fossils (including fossilized dinosaur poop) at paleontologist Ferdinand Vanidiveer Hayden’s grave site. Also UC Green will be there with tree related activities, seed planting at the community garden, and last, but not least, the College of Physicians will have a Civil War Medical Kit and information on Satterlee Hospital at the grave site of Jacob Mendez DaCosta.

• Also on Sunday, at 7:30 p.m. Crossroads Music presents Cobalt Blues Band performing “Pumped-Up” Chicago & Delta style blues. The concert is preceded by a free children’s program at 6 p.m. with Cobalt Blues’ singer Joe Becton (pictured), who will demonstrate African American musical styles from their origins to the present day. Both events will take place at the Calvary Church (48th & Baltimore). For more information and to purchase tickets ($5-15), go here.

• On Saturday, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Nursery School is hosting an adults-only cocktail reception at the LGBT Center at Penn (3930 Irving St). It is open to community members. Proceeds from this event will go to upgrade the school’s playground equipment and to improve classroom spaces. Tickets are $30 in advance and a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Click on the flyer for more information.

Bartram’s Garden, home to America’s first great native botanist John Bartram and the largest public green space in Philadelphia, is celebrating spring with several exciting events and openings.

Next weekend, May 4-6, visitors of all ages are invited to enjoy a plant sale, hands-on gardening activities and guided tours of the historic site, including a new educational Green Room, native plant nursery and community farm. The Green Room will open in Bartram’s historic stable. Visitors will be able to borrow binoculars for bird watching and watercolors for painting. An educator will be on hand to answer questions and provide tours, and guest feedback will directly influence how the Green Room evolves.

The garden will be open to all on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entrance is free. Day passes, which include a guided house and garden tour, and access to seasonal activities in the Green Room, are $8 to $12 (free for members).

Also on hand Saturday and Sunday: spring planting tips, children’s activities and plant sale. Most of the plants were grown on site in a new nursery, located next to the Garden Shop. While in the garden, also make sure to check out a new orchard, with more than 40 heirloom fruit trees. The orchard is adjacent to Bartram’s new community garden. Last year, workers cleared shrubs and removed unused tennis courts and baseball fields from the southern end of the property to make way for a 1.5-acre community garden.

Finally, this summer a one-mile portion of the Schuylkill River Trail will be completed and connect to the 58th Street Greenway, the Cobbs Creek Parkway and eventually lead to Valley Forge and points beyond.

“This trail, which will wind through Bartram’s beautiful meadow and show off views of the Philadelphia skyline, will not only be a great addition to Bartram’s Garden but to the City of Philadelphia,” says interim director Stephanie Phillips. Stay tuned for information on bike-related events and workshops coming to the garden.

Bartram’s Garden is located at 54th St. & Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, visit: www.bartramsgarden.org. or call 215-729-5281.

Reader Sunny Bavaro took this photo on Baltimore Avenue right outside Baltimore Pet Shoppe.

Send us your West Philly photo at editor@westphillylocal.com. Please include your name and your photo’s title.

State Rep. James Roebuck has fended off a challenge from Fatimah Loren Muhammad in a 188th District General Assembly race that centered on school vouchers.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Roebuck stands with 56 percent of the vote this morning. Muhammad, who was defined in the press by her connection to big, pro-vouchers donors, was vying to upset Roebuck, who has been in the seat since 1985. A Democratic primary victory, of course, virtually assures reelection in the fall election.

Elsewhere in the city, longtime legislator state Rep. Babette Josephs appears to have lost her 182nd (Center City and South Philadelphia) District seat to her former campaign treasurer Brian Sims, who would be the first openly gay member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Associated Press called the race for Sims.