“This car is very light,” the video says, “but you will feel very right.”

That’s one of the slogans attached to the latest success story at the West Philadelphia High School Automotive Academy.

The Academy’s West Philly EVX team this week won the Pete Conrad Scholars in Clean Energy award for their latest super fuel-efficient vehicle – the EVLC (Electric Very Light Car). The award includes a $5,000 cash prize that will help the team finish the car prototype by the end of the year and get it ready for commercial development. The team submitted a technical report, business plan and graphical representation as part of the competition.

The team members include Leon Johnson, Stefon Gonzalez, Shamere Palmer, Brandon Ford and Kaya Presley. Their coach is Paul Holt.

Their car combines performance and range, two important characteristics if it is to be commercially viable. The team reports that ZipCar and Philly Car Share are already interested in the idea.

This is the latest in a string of awards for the program, which has been recognized everywhere from the White House to Time Magazine.

Check out the video the team submitted as part of their project:

The Spruce Hill Community Association May Fair is this Saturday in Clark Park, where there will be music, food, a moon bounce and raffle prizes ranging from injera to haircuts to an I-Pad 2.

The 53rd annual fair runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the “B” section of Clark Park, south of Chester Avenue.

Children, especially, should enjoy it because this year some new kids’ activities will be added. Bring your little ones to try out things like a moon bounce and an obstacle course and to participate in a variety of games. Live music for kids will include performances by Alex & the Kaleidoscope Band (1:40-2:20 p.m.) and Jay Sand of “All Around This World” (2:30-3:10 p.m.).

The fair will also include food from popular local vendors, arts & crafts, live music, an expanded book sale, a raffle, and a silent auction.

Live music performances, brought by Green Line Cafe, will begin at 11:00 a.m. The Whippoorwills and The Old Fashioneds will be entertaining the crowd with country and folk tunes.

A long list of items to be raffled off is on the Spruce Hill Community Association website and Facebook page.

Raffle tickets are available now at University Pinball (4008 Spruce St.) and last-minute tickets will be available at the fair on Saturday.

At the silent auction, you can bid on a night’s stay at the Gables Bed & Breakfast and a 155 CD set of Bach!

Finally, there will be a plant sale during the fair organized by the University City Garden Club.

A reminder that community members are invited to a discussion on improving neighborhood schools tonight that will include talks by two authors who gained national attention for their efforts to turn around an underperforming elementary school in Chicago.

Authors Jacqueline Edelberg and Susan Kurland describe in How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood Renaissance the transformation of Nettelhorst, an elementary school in Chicago. Both women were pivotal in the school’s turnaround and now consult with civic organizations and neighborhood groups on improving local schools. They will talk about their work at tonight’s gathering, which begins at 5:45 in the Lea School auditorium (4700 Locust St.)

Other speakers at tonight’s meeting include:

• Stanford Thomspon, the director of Tune Up Philly.
• Sterling Baltimore, the director of the Lea Community School (afterschool program)
• Maurice D. Jones Sr., Lea Elementary Home and School Association president
• Daniel Lazar, Greenfield Elementary principal.

The gathering will offer parents and community members the chance to connect with Home and School Association representatives. Lea’s gLea Club will also perform.

The meeting is sponsored by the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools and hosted by The Enterprise Center CDC and the Parents in Action Council.

Update: Vinny has gone to a rescue group.

Vinny is a 3-5 year-old Pit Mix currently living at the PSPCA shelter. He urgently needs a temporary foster home. This came from a person who wants to adopt Vinny in a few months:

Can someone in West Philly near 50th and Baltimore foster this poor ringworm dog, Vinny? I can’t because of my current roommate situation – but I could come to your house to take care of him every day. I could walk him, feed him and play with him.

I am moving into my own apartment in a few months and would most likely be able to take on the fostering then. He is at the PSPCA and I want him to get out of there so he can heal, be in a loving environment, and not be at risk for being put down.

He has ringworm but the PSPCA will cover treatment and I think even obedience classes. This makes me really sad and I’m hoping someone can give him a chance. I have my own dog, so I know what I’m doing and would like him to have a playmate sometime. I would need to make sure they got along before fostering, though. Thanks.

You can find more photos and information about Vinny here. Reply to:

comm-yabre-2361574582(at)craigslist.org

Update: Mufasa has been found.

This came from our neighbors who live at 41st and Spruce:

One of our cats escaped last night or this morning through a broken window screen at 41st and Spruce. His name is Mufasa and is a skinny orange tabby. He’s a little flighty, so if you think you may have seen him, please call Chelsea 215-880-6868, Jess 410-916-7260, or Erin 717-818-6078.

We’re very worried about our little Mufasa. If you’re in the W
Philly area, please be on the lookout!

Music that traces its history to a wrecked slave ship near what is now St. Vincent centuries ago is coming to West Philly tomorrow.

Umalali (the Garifuna word for “voice”), a musical ensemble consisting of Garifuna women from the countries of Belize, Honduras and Guatemala, is visiting West Philly this Wednesday, May 4, with two performances at Crossroads Music (801 S. 48th Street). The first show is for children and their parents, and starts at 6 p.m. Children’s tickets are only $5 and the accompanying adults go for free! The main performance begins at 7:30 p.m. All tickets can be purchased here.

The Garifuna culture traces back to 1635 when a ship carrying people from present-day Nigeria to be sold into slavery wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent in the eastern Caribbean. The people who survived the wreck were absorbed into the indigenous Carib population and created their own unique culture. Four centuries later the Garifuna culture was recognized by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” It’s mostly Garifuna women who should take credit for this recognition, because they carried on the teaching of the language and passed on songs from generation to generation.

The tour that stops in West Philly is the result of a 14-year process of recording Garifuna songs – first in their original setting – and then in a studio. Belizean musician and producer has led the project, which has become like a Buena Vista Social Club for the Garifuna music and culture. The resulting album, “Umalali: The Garifuna Women’s Project,” was recorded in a studio set up in a thatched-roof hut in the village of Hopkins, Belize.

Here’s a video preview of Umalali: The Garifuna Women’s Project.