The row home at 4616 Larchwood Avenue this morning, after the fire was put out.

A woman was injured after jumping out of the 2nd floor window trying to escape a row home fire early this morning at 4616 Larchwood Avenue. The fire broke out shortly before 4:30 a.m. and was put out just before 5:30 a.m., NBC10 reports. The woman also sustained some burns and was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Her condition is unknown at this time.

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A series of classes on basic home repair is starting this week, scheduled for every Thursday at Calvary Center (48th and Baltimore). All four classes are free and open to the public. The classes are presented by the West Philly Tool Library and The Other Carpenter (Facebook page), a company based in the Mantua neighborhood, both of which will familiarize you with the tools you might need for a job and show you how to tell if you can do a home repair project by yourself or if you need an expert’s help. The classes will be held from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Calvary Center basement. To RSVP, please email Stacey at stacey@westphillytools.org or call the Tool Library at 215-833-3190.

Here’s the class schedule:

Thursday, Jan 24: Power Tools – Learn how to use power tools safely in a hands-on demonstration.

Thursday, Jan 31: Basic Carpentry – Learn about what’s in your walls while using hand and power tools to build a half-scale wall section including studs, drywall and trim. You’ll gain an understanding of wall anatomy and construction.

Thursday, Feb 7: Basic Plumbing – Learn how the plumbing in your house works and how to replace a bathroom faucet.

Thursday, Feb 14: Basic Electricity – Learn how the electrical in your house works and how to rewire a lamp while keeping yourself safe.

Here’s how you can get involved in the Day of Service and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King on Monday, Jan. 21.

SERVICE PROJECTS

Who: Bartram’s Garden

Where: 400 Lindbergh Boulevard

When: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

What: Volunteers are needed to assist with projects in Bartram’s Garden, including clearing around the split rail fence border of the central historic garden; removal of small trees, vines, and other invasive plant materials along the rail fence line; and light fence repairs and garden clean up. To register for this volunteer event, please email Head Gardener, Todd Greenberg, at tgreenberg@bartramsgarden.org.

Who: UC Green, USciences and Woodlands Cemetery

Where: The Woodlands Cemetery, 40th and Woodland

When: 9:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.

What:  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service will start at the Woodlands Cemetery. Volunteers are needed to work in the cemetery, at the SEPTA garden portal and the triangle at Baltimore and 41st Street to beautify the area. Lunch will be provided by Woodlands. For more information or to sign up call 215-573-4684 or email: wharris@ucgreen.org.

MARCHES/CELEBRATIONS

MLK Day with Reverend Paul “Earthquake” Moore

Paul “Earthquake” Moore hosts the 18th Annual celebration of Dr. King. In an effort to promote peace and to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Moore has organized a community clean up from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and a historical reenactment march starting at 4:00 p.m. at 65th and Woodland Avenue. The march will end at 7001 Woodland (New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church). A celebration of Dr. King with gospel singers and praise dancers begins at 5:00 p.m. For more information, call Paul “Earthquake” Moore at 215-386-2696 or email: earth_quake1@hotmail.com. Donations: PO BOX 5323 Philadelphia PA 19142.

MLK Day Speak-Out for Jobs, Education & Justice

A special MLK Day Speak-Out for Jobs, Education and Justice will be held at 52nd and Market Sts., beginning at 1:00 p.m.

The controversy over kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School has moved from “the line” to “the list” and “the lottery.”

The School District of Philadelphia announced yesterday that kindergarten registration would move to a lottery system, ending the first-come-first-served process.The lottery will be held in early April.

“In an effort to make this process more efficient and less challenging for parents in the catchment area, the School District of Philadelphia has decided to conduct a lottery to determine kindergarten enrollment for Penn Alexander,” Superintendent William Hite wrote in a letter distributed last night to parents in line.

Reactions were mixed from some 70 parents who started lining up yesterday morning, four days before registration was scheduled to begin. Some parents threatened a class-action lawsuit. Others requested that the district honor the list that each parent had signed next to a number indicating their place in line. Still others were relieved by the news.

One person who asked not to be named said that parents’ feelings seemed to correspond to their place in line. Those in the front protested the change, sometimes vociferously, while many near the end felt that transitioning to the lottery was a good decision.

A sign posted by parents at the entrance to the school makes note of “the list.”

“Families on the list will continue to advocate for enrollment based on the ‘first come, first served’ policy,” the sign reads.

A nearby sign posted by the district reads in bold letters “the process is no longer conducted on a first-come first served basis.”

The deadline for lottery registration is April 1 and children with siblings already attending Penn Alexander will not receive preference, according to the district. Penn Alexander currently has 72 kindergarten slots spread over four classes. Some of those spots will be reserved for children with documented special needs and children coming from early intervention programs like Head Start.

Applications for the lottery are available here. For more information call the district’s Office of Student Placement at 215-400-4290.

The annual Christmas tree recycling initiative by UC Green received a great response from the community this year. Residents brought more than 400 Christmas trees to Clark Park on January 5, the University City District reports. Residents also donated money to UC Green, which turned the collected trees into wood chips that will be used in the neighborhood’s community gardens. On the same day, eForce Compliance collected nearly 11,000 pounds of used electronics from local residents, which will also be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner.

One of other ways to help UC Green, a local non-profit that works on community greening projects, is to buy their firewood, all local and all split by volunteers, currently available at Mariposa Food Co-op (49th & Baltimore).

Photo courtesy UCD.

Evan Sweitzer (photo from Citykitties.org).

Evan Sweitzer, a 10-year-old boy who’s been helping a local cat rescue, is a celebrity after Reddit shared a story about him and The Huffington Post picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Now Evan will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that will air today at 3 p.m. on NBC (you can watch the segment here).

Since 2009 Evan has been sending letters and his allowance money to City Kitties, a West Philly-based cat rescue organization. His family adopted a cat, Macha, from City Kitties and Evan wanted to help other cats. For 2012, Evan donated $110, which his parents matched for a total of $220.

Here’s Evan’s letter that City Kitties received along with his latest donation.

To read more about Evan and how he’s been helping West Philly’s stray cats and kittens, visit Citykitties.org.