People in Philadelphia woke up to loud cheers from some West Philadelphia YMCA members yesterday morning.

Here’s the video.

View more videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com.

 
Folks at West Philly’s Calvary Baptist Church (6122 Haverford Ave.) got a sweet surprise when Grammy Award winning singer John Legend swung by to sing a tune during Sunday’s service.

Legend, who was in town to perform with Sade at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night, returned to his gospel roots and belted out Aretha Franklin’s “How I Got Over” with the help of the Calvary Baptist choir.

Some in West Philly may remember Legend when he was John Stephens (his given name), an a cappella performing University of Pennsylvania undergrad in the late 90s.

The video of the performance below, which was posted on Legend’s Facebook page yesterday, is fairly polished so this wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. But it’s still very, very cool.

Today’s cat is Rosie. Currently she’s in foster care through Project Meow.

Rosie is a soft-spoken and elegant Calico cat with soulful eyes. She likes hanging out with her foster mom wherever she is and sitting on her lap. She also loves to be praised and admired.

Rosie was a little shy when she first came to her foster house. Somewhere in her life on the streets of West Philly, a terrible thing happened and she has an old burn scar on her side as a reminder.

Before Project MEOW, Rosie was staying at the City Shelter and time was running out for her. The minute she got to her foster mom’s house, she started licking her hand to show her how appreciative she was to be safe.

Rosie is O.K. with other cats, but needs a little help learning to trust them. She’s learning how to use her “Indoor Manners” fast because after all, she’s a Calico. She is very smart and enjoys making the people she loves feel happy.

She is spayed, vaccinated, FELV/FIV negative, free of parasites and up-to-date on her flea preventative medications.

Please contact projectmeowadoptions [at] gmail.com to meet this super great kitty.

Adoption application and fee ($85) apply.
 

The School Reform Commission, as expected, has formally approved the partnership agreement between the Penn Alexander School and the University of Pennsylvania for another 10 years.

The agreement between Penn, the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, requires Penn to contribute $1,330 per student per year to the school to help maintain reduced class sizes and support other services.

Penn President Amy Gutmann praised the partnership.

“Nothing is more important to the health and vitality of a community than the quality of its public schools, and the Penn Alexander School illustrates this important fact every day,” she said in a statement. “This agreement recognizes the partners’ wish for Penn Alexander’s continued success and supports the University’s goal to enable every child to benefit from proven educational practices at this award-winning public school.”

Penn Alexander has come under much scrutiny in recent months after an announcement from the district that the school would have an enrollment cap that would prevent some children who live within its catchment area from attending. A parents group formed last month, Advocates for Great Elementary Education, is trying to get specific answers from the school, the District and Penn about the enrollment limitations.
 

The second in a series of forums to discuss development along 40th Street is tonight at 7 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.).

Conversations at the forums will help determine development along 40th Street, particularly the character of transportation along the 40th Street corridor (from Baltimore Avenue to Lancaster Avenue and extending to 41st and 39th Streets). The planning agencies, which include the University City District, Penn’s Project for Civic Engagement, Penn Praxis and Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) West, say they are looking for input about what makes for a successful mixed-used, residential/commercial corridor.

The forums continue this Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at Christ Community Church (4017 Chestnut St.) and Monday, June 27 at 6 p.m. at the Greater Faith Baptist Church (4031 Baring St.)

 
In case you missed the official opening of the park yesterday, here’s a little slideshow. My favorite moment of the whole thing was turning around during the pomp and circumstances and ribbon cutting, etc. and seeing two guys sitting at one of the new tables playing chess. They were oblivious to everything else going on. That’s the Clark Park we know and love. The new look is great and functional, but the people make the place.