Oakley, a female calico cat, about 1 year old, went missing on 3/20/2011 from 46th and Locust.
Contact: comm-cvtfv-2278489594@craigslist.org Please check yards, alleys, basements, under porches.

Found two little dogs. One black with white paws and a purple harness, the other brown with white on the nose and a red collar. Both are female and look to be mixed with corgi and maybe some beagle.
Please contact if you have any information to help these dogs find their owner. I found the dogs at the Rite Aid near 57th & Chestnut St – 215 990 4722. I will post pics soon.
Thank you. Tiffany (email: comm-7dhe9-2275271219@craigslist.org)

About 150 people gathered outside the Windermere Court Apartments at the intersection of 48th and Walnut Streets this afternoon to call for the building’s owners to let former residents in to gather their belongings and pets left behind after a devastating fire last month.

Protesters blocked the intersection, prompting police to close streets within a block of the building. Demolition of the Windermere Court building is scheduled to begin Monday. The organizers of the protest said they will file a court injunction Monday to stop the demolition until residents are allowed to enter the building to retrieve their belongings and look for pets, mostly cats, that are still missing after the January 10 fire. No one was injured in the fire.

The organizers also called on protesters to return to the building on Monday at 8:45 a.m. to continue the demonstration.

“People’s pets are in there,” said one organizer. “Their family heirlooms are in there. The ashes of their relatives in urns are in there.”

The city Department of Licenses and Inspections (L and I) has deemed the building “imminently dangerous,” which has led to the decision to demolish it. L and I offiicials have said that the owners of the building must decide whether residents can reenter. So far the owner, which residents say is nearly impossible to reach, has not granted that authorization.

The Walnut Hill Community Association has been very helpful to the former residents of the Windermere. Residents have advised us that any call for donations should go to Walnut Hill CA. They have a page set up for donations here.

Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell stood with the protesters. Blackwell has pressed the city on behalf of the former residents.

Here is a slideshow of Saturday’s protest, which lasted from 2 p.m. to about 3 p.m.

West Philadelphia High School garden. (Photo by Allison Ostertag)

The West Philadelphia High School Garden at 47th and Locust Streets needs a volunteer group or individual to design and/or build a rain water harvesting and garden watering system. A stand for a rain barrel needs to be built and the barrel needs to be adapted to collect rain free-standing, not from a downspout.

Right now the only access to water is inside the school, which is very inconvenient and unavailable during school breaks.

Volunteers should have some building skills, tools (they can be rented from the Tool Library) and possibly a vehicle to transport the lumber. The garden has drills, hammer nails and will supply building materials.

To apply and for more information contact Allison Ostertag at 504-710-5406 or by e-mail: freeduh2 – at – hotmail.com.

Here you can see more photos of the garden.

Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers speaking at about
7:30 p.m. as firefighters brought the blaze at 48th and Walnut Streets under control.
(Photo by West Philly Local)

8:35 p.m.: Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said 89 of the 90 apartments affected by the fire were occupied. Ayers said the fire, which appeared to have started in the northwest corner of the building, moved east toward 48th Street. “It went west to east through that building pretty fast,” Ayers said. He did not speculate on a cause.

So far about 100 residents have registered with the Red Cross at their shelter at the Locke Alaine School at 4550 Haverford Ave., according to Red Cross Philly CEO Donna Palmieri. She said the youngest person displaced by the fire is a 4-week-old baby. Palmieri suggested donating money to Red Cross Philly rather than clothing or supplies so that the Red Cross can buy exactly what the families need, everything from medication lost in the fire to offsetting costs for lost driver’s licenses. Individual case help will be available beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Locke Alaine School at 4550 Haverford Avenue.

“Most of the families right now are in pretty good shape,” said Palmieri. “They’re distressed about the loss. They’re concerned about their pets and their belongings.”

8:29 p.m.: School officials announced that West Philadelphia High School and Henry C. Lea Elementary School will be closed on Tuesday. West Philadelphia High School was used as a temporary shelter in the early hours of the fire.

7:40 p.m.: The fire has been contained. A city worker was injured and taken to the hospital, according to fire commissioner Lloyd Ayers.

6:50 p.m.: The fire has spread to three sections of the building along Walnut Street.

Firefighters battle blaze from northwest corner of the Windermere Court Apartments complex at 48th and Walnut Streets. (Photo by West Philly Local)

A five-alarm fire is blazing at the southwest corner of 48th and Walnut Streets at the Windermere Court Apartments, a multiple-section four-story brick building. The fire appears to have begun on the top floor of the far west building but has spread to an adjacent building.

UPDATE: Here is some raw video of the fire shot at about 4 p.m.

Fire officials could not confirm whether anyone was trapped in the building or how the fire began.

Several residents reported that there was no warning when the fire started at about 2:35 p.m. Many said they did not hear a fire alarm.

An evacuation center has been set up for those displaced from the building at the Locke School at 46th and Haverford Avenue.
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Young orange and white tabby with a fluffy tail found on 49th and Baltimore, approx. 6 months old. Needs a foster home after tomorrow. Call 215-589-2437 or 267-882-8817 if you can help.