A man, who police describe to be in his late 30’s, robbed the Sunray drugstore located at 5006 Baltimore Avenue of prescription painkillers at 9:45 a.m. this morning. The unarmed man walked into the store, demanded the drugs, and then climbed over the counter, took a handful of pills and ran out, according to police.

The robber was described as a black male, light complexion, wearing a multi-colored hat, and a blue and white striped shirt.

A 19-year-old woman was arrested and charged with murder for fatally stabbing her boyfriend over the weekend on the 100 block of S. 46th St.

Police say Shanekia Miller stabbed 19-year-old Terrell McNeal on Saturday during an argument in their residence, Philly.com reports. McNeal died of his wounds on Sunday.

Miller was charged Monday with murder and possession of an instrument of crime. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 4 at 9 a.m.

Beer lovers have a new place in West Philly to call home. Local 44’s bottle shop opened this afternoon to a throng of beer drinkers and bystanders who crowded the shop adjacent to the bar at 44th and Spruce to get a look at the estimated 500 different beers on sale.

The shop includes a small bar that will always have two casks on offer. But the biggest draw will be the mighty beer selection in a wall of coolers and a special upstairs nook that houses mostly large bottles ranging in price from under $10 to more than $70. Most of the bottles in the cooler are loose and priced individually, so mixing and matching six packs is encouraged. They have plenty of six-pack carriers on hand.

By the way, there is a hallway that leads from the Local 44 bar next door to the bottle shop, but the use of it by anyone except staff is frowned upon. Consider yourself warned.

The hours for the shop are:

Monday-Thursday, Noon-10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Noon-Midnight
Sunday, Noon-10 p.m.

Check out the short slideshow for other views inside the shop:

A handful of candidates for state offices will be in West Philly tonight to talk about statewide issues, including school vouchers and the voter ID law.

Candidates scheduled to be on hand at the forum, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at  USP’s Rosenberger Hall (600 S. 43rd St.), include 188th District State Rep. Jim Roebuck, Attorney General candidate Kathleen Kane and a representative of Patrick Murphy, who is also running for Attorney General.

Roebuck’s opponent in the April 24th primary, Fatimah Loren Muhammad, pulled out of the forum at the last minute, according to 27th Ward Leader Carol Jenkins. Muhammad, whose Obamaesque campaign posters have popped up all over West Philly,  is a proponent of school vouchers, which Roebuck opposed as the Democratic chair of the Education Committee.

The forum will include a brief address by each candidate and a Q and A session.

There is space available in the spring Clark Park Youth Soccer Program. Kathleen Turner, the program coordinator, has sent us this information:

“Clark Park Youth Soccer still has space at all age levels — 5 to 11 — for more kids. We’d be very happy to have more girls to balance out the teams, so if there are any future Abby Wambachs or Alex Morgans out there, sign them up!

You can still download registration forms, but please do not mail them! Walk-in registration to fill the remaining slots on all teams will take place Saturday, March 24 beginning at 10 a.m., at Rosenberger Hall (43rd Street near the basketball court).”

For more information about the soccer program, including the Spring schedule and fees, visit: http://www.friendsofclarkpark.org/?page_id=58

 
Several heavily damaged vehicles remained along the eastbound lane of the 4700 block of Spruce Street this afternoon after an early morning accident that sent a SEPTA bus careening out of control and into a row of parked cars.

A westbound Route 42 bus collided with an SUV that ran a red light at 47th and Spruce at about 4 a.m., according to 6ABC. The driver, who along with four others was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for “non-life threatening” injuries, lost control of the bus. The collision pushed the bus into a tree and nearby parked cars. About a dozen cars in all were damaged.

The accident is under investigation.