Farmer’s market, soccer and Shakespeare … now get ready for some cold beer!

Hey, you heard it here first (unless you read about it on the Friends of Clark Park website over the weekend): Clark Park will be home to its very own (if only temporary) beer garden this Spring as part of the citywide “Spring into Your Park” event on May 18. Apart from the beer, the event will include food, music, games and other activities for adults and children alike (we’ll have more info about this later). The goal is “to promote the well-being of West Philly’s beloved green ‘town commons’ together.”

In order to make this neighborhood celebration a success Friends of Clark Park is seeking volunteers who can contribute in the following areas:

Advance work: graphic designers, sponsors, raffle-prize donors.

Event-day work: licensed bartender, decoration setup crew, security staff, acoustic musicians, membership-table workers.

If you’d like to volunteer, please email Anthony West (anthony.abbott.west@gmail.com) and let him know how you can help.

Confused about the new property tax system? Curious about how your property taxes or rent will be affected by the Actual Value Initiative (AVI)? There’s a good opportunity to learn more and have some of your questions answered at a neighborhood meeting on the property tax overhaul that will take place this Wednesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at the Griffith Hall of the University of the Sciences (Woodland Ave & 43rd St). The meeting is organized by Cedar Park Neighbors, Garden Court Community Association, Spruce Hill Community Association, Walnut Hill Community Association, and Woodland Terrace Homeowners Association.

The meeting will include: a representative from the Office of Property Assessment (OPA), Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s Office, Dr. Kevin Gillen, Economist, University of Pennsylvania, Patrick Kerkstra, journalist, moderator.

The AVI was devised as a way to make the tax burden more fair citywide: Some residents’ property taxes are going up, others are coming down. The initiative included a mass reassessment of the city’s building stock.

S. Epatha Merkerson.

Law and Order and Lincoln star S. Epatha Merkerson will be in West Philly on Tuesday, March 12, to present her first feature film, The Contradictions of Fair Hope, at International House. Ms. Merkerson is an executive producer and co-director of the film. The event is part of Scribe’s Producer’s Forum Series, which brings distinguished independent filmmakers to Philadelphia.

The documentary, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, covers a little-known aspect of American history; it examines how newly-freed slaves throughout the South formed “benevolent societies” to respond to hunger, illness, and the fear of a pauper’s grave. The film traces the development, struggles, and contributions of one of the last remaining African-American benevolent societies, known as “The Fair Hope Benevolent Society,” in Uniontown, Alabama.

The Contradictions of Fair Hope was released in 2012 and won Best Documentary awards at several film festivals, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Festival International du Film PanAfricain in Cannes. S. Epatha Merkerson and writer Rockell Metcalf who will also participate in Tuesday’s event, believe that the film is, “an incredibly important teaching tool and a powerful call to action to return to a community of benevolence, mutual care and concern in America.”

Screening of The Contradictions of Fair Hope (2012, USA, 78 min) with Co-Directors S. Epatha Merkerson and Rockell Metcalf
Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m.
International House (3701 Chestnut St)
Tickets: $10, $8 students/seniors, $5 for Scribe and IHP members
For more information and tickets click here.

Emily has been missing since Tuesday, March 5. She was last seen in her home near 50th and Hazel. She was not wearing a collar. Please call (614) 499-6506 with information. There is a reward for her return.

UPDATE (3/10): Emily was found.

By now you might have heard that the School Reform Commission (SRC) voted last night to close 23 schools around the city, including the neighborhood school Alexander Wilson Elementary and University City High School.

Schools closed also included the 100-year-old Germantown High School. Students from Germantown will be sent to Martin Luther King Jr. High School, a longtime rival.

Planning for the school closings will begin immediately and impacted students will start at their new school next fall. Opponents say the mass closures, which amount to about 12 percent of the city’s public schools, will destroy neighborhoods.

Here are some tweets from last night’s meeting.

Helen Gym, co-founder of Parents United for Public Education:

No matter today’s vote, history will remember people stood for a different vision of public ed that has yet to be realized. #phillyeducation

— Helen Gym (@ParentsUnitedPA) March 7, 2013

 

High school teacher Chris Angelini:

#phillyeducation is at a crossroads & closing schools may be necessary, but what occurred last night was a travesty. #urbaned — Chris Angelini (@MrTeachPhilly) March 8, 2013

Councilwoman Blondelle Reynolds Brown from the meeting gallery:

Generations have passed legacies of #phillyeducation Alma maters 2 children/ grandchildren. For many, this feels like a death in the family.

— Blondell R. Brown (@CouncilwomanBRB) March 8, 2013

 

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham includes a photo of student protesters.

Some in audience shout “moratorium!” “not letting the SRC in to vote on that sorry situation.” #phillyeducation twitter.com/newskag/status…

— Kristen Graham (@newskag) March 7, 2013

But in a meeting beset by rancor (there were 19 arrests, including the national president of the American Federation of Teachers) there was at least one scrap of good news for some students in West Philly. The Paul Robeson High School for Human Services (4125 Ludlow) was one of four schools saved from closure last night. Students there were supposed to be transferred to Sayre High School (5800 Walnut St.), a lower performing school. Robeson showed marked improvement in recent years. In a report released a few days ago, the school ranked among the top 10 high schools in the city with a graduation rate of 90 percent for freshmen who began in 2008. Sayre has a graduation rate of 53 percent.

Philadelphia has seen a drop in public school students – from about 200,000 in 2000 to about 150,000 this year – due largely to the increase in the number of privately run charter schools. District officials have maintained that the closures are necessary to save money. Superintendent William Hite, who recommended the closures to the SRC, was active on Twitter after last night’s meeting as well:

A decision to close schools is always difficult but now we must come together to ensure all students are safe and successful. — Dr. William Hite (@SDPHite) March 8, 2013

 
The closures impact about 16,000 students and 1,000 teachers overall.

Neighborhood Foods, a West Philly urban farm, is bringing its CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) back to Four Worlds Bakery for pick-up and adding one new pick-up point at 37th and Lancaster this year. Here’s a reminder of how CSA works: Customers pay the farmer at the beginning of the season and receive a box of local produce every week.

This year, Neighborhood Foods is working directly with Lancaster farmers to supplement what they grow in the city and are also incorporating Philly-produced jam, honey, bread, and locally roasted coffee, all of which are available through the CSA.

Neighborhood Foods consists of a group of activists, farmers, and entrepreneurs of all ages whose main goal is to unify communities through urban farming and civic action. They offer educational programs for people of all ages, bring neighbors together through events, and make fresh local produce accessible in low-income neighborhoods. All of the income from the CSA goes to support these programs.

The Neighborhood Foods CSA runs from May 24 through October 25. To sign up, please visit neighborhoodfoods.org or email: neighborhoodfoods@gmail.com.