chinwag (noun) – Light informal conversation for social occasions.

The idea of this site has always been conversation – about the news and about the neighborhood. “West Philly chinwag” is a conversation starter. Drop a rant, a rave or a well-reasoned comment below.

Today’s topic:

SEPTA ridership is at its highest level since 1989. Gas prices probably have something to do with it, but SEPTA officials surmise that the increase has much more to do with the increase of young professionals in the city. Folks took some 13 million more trips on SEPTA this year over last year. The overwhelming majority of those trips, 12 million, were on SEPTA’s “City Division” – city buses, subways and trolleys.

Are you using SEPTA more? What do they need to do to lure you aboard more?

Youth from the University of Pennsylvania’s Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI) are hosting the 13th Annual “Rooted in Community” national food and justice conference this week, July 27-31. More than 100 young people from across the country have come to build a youth-led food justice movement.

The conference includes a community outreach event on Friday, July 29. Community members are invited for a potluck dinner from 6:30-8 p.m. at the University City High School garden (3601 Filbert St.). Attendees are expected to bring a dish to feed 20 people.

AUNI was created by Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships and works to improve community nutrition and health through implementing a set of programs and activities in specified neighborhoods.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a nice piece today on Urban Apiaries, the citywide honey operation co-owned by Annie Baum-Stein of Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave.).

Local cheese blogger Tenaya Darlington, aka Madame Fromage, penned the article, which details the “ultra local” honey – bottled by zip code – that Urban Apiaries will begin to sell next month. Honey made in the city, the article explains, often has more taste diversity than country honey because of the wide variety of flowers. Honey from the operations hives in Mt. Airy, for example, tastes different than that from the rooftop hives above Milk and Honey here in West Philly.

Click here for the entire article.

Philadelphia photographer Joseph Minardi has a new book out on the architects and architecture of West Philly.

Historic Architecture in West Philadelphia, 1789-1930s includes more than 500 images of the buildings and houses we walk by every day. The book chronicles the transition of West Philadelphia from open farmland to the streetcar suburb. It also includes vignettes of the architects who helped shape the area, from Powelton Village to Cedar Park.

Minardi is the 2007 recipient of the Preservation Initiative Award from the University City Historical Society.

The 192-page book retails for $50 from the publisher here. It is also available at a significant discount at Amazon here.

If you pick it up, stop back and drop us a comment below with your impressions.

Here is some more information on yesterday’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service will begin considering closing thousands of post offices nationwide, including several in West Philly.

Just to recap, the West Philly locations under consideration include:

• 30th Street Train Station
• West Market – 5011 Sansom
• West Park – 5300 W. Jefferson St.
• Kingsessing – 5311 Florence Ave.
• Overbrook – 658 N. 63rd St.

Post Office officials said no final decision on closures will be made before December.

One way that the Post Office will compensate areas affected by the closures will be small retail locations called Village Post Offices that will be located in pharmacies, grocery stores and other large retail locations. These could include collections boxes, stamps, pre-paid Flat Rate boxes and envelopes and, in some locations, post office boxes.

But that leaves many questions about mail service. It’s clear that many post offices will be closed. Around here, we are wondering how much pressure this will put on the post office near 40th and Locust (228 S. 40th). The big, shiny new main post office at 30th and Chestnut will likely get more action too.

UPDATE: We searched the list again and discovered that there are four more locations in West Philly to be considered for closing. They are: 30th Street Train Station, West Market, Kingsessing, and West Park (5300 W. Jefferson).

Earlier today USPS announced that it would study approximately 3,700 post offices across the country to determine if they should be considered for closing due to insufficient revenues.

14 Philadelphia post offices are on that list. Only one, Overbrook (658 N. 63rd St.), is in West Philly. There are five post offices serving the University City, Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Squirrel Hill, Garden Court, and Cedar Park areas: at 2955 Market Street (30th Street Train Station), 3000 Chestnut Street (Philadelphia), 228 S 40th Street (University City), 5011 Sansom Street (West Market), and 5311 Florence Avenue (Kingsessing). Those are all safe for now.

FYI, one of the offices to be considered for closing is Philadelphia’s historic Ben Franklin Post Office. Read more about it here.